Kate and John made their way through the rubble that surrounded every twist and turn they made on the main path through town.  Men were working furiously to clear the streets so that wagons could make it through to help those outside the town.
 
            “You heard about the blacksmith’s shop?  They had damage to the building and they lost several horses from the storm.  The blacksmith’s new apprentice has a broken arm, but he’ll survive,” commented one man.

            “From what I seen, the livery stable is gone away.  Dunno what they are gonna do,” replied a much older man, struggling to keep up with his younger counterpart as they tried to move a rather large object out of the pathway as Kate and John were walking by.  The object, it turned out, was part of the roof from Tug and Lucinda’s mercantile.

            “It shouldn’t be much further,” stated Kate, frantically trying to get around a broken hitching post.  Stepping over a large branch covering much of the path, John helped his sister step over and down to the hard packed dirt with relative ease.  

            As they rounded the corner of a building which was shattered and lay in pieces all around, Kate looked up and saw something that stopped her cold in her tracks.  She looked up to see the hotel William was staying at in near total destruction.  Portions of the backside were missing, as were large sections of the second floor.  Standing there taking in the entire view, shock began to permeate her entire being.  

            Kate’s heart sank to her stomach.  She didn’t know what his room number was let alone where to begin looking to obtain information.  Her eyes began to distort what she was seeing due to the mounting tears.  She began calling out his name in hopes he was outside somewhere and could hear her voice.  She prayed aloud with each step she took towards the hotel, fear deepening and strengthening as it coursed through her veins.

            “Kate, he could be sitting out here somewhere, anywhere,” John commented, trying to be optimistic, as he looked over the area around them.

            “I don’t see how anyone could be in one of those rooms and survive,” she quietly voiced as she pointed to a section of the hotel’s second floor.

            “With God, all things are possible,” he replied, reminding her of her favorite verse.  

            She looked over at John, swallowing hard, as she tried to control her mounting fears.  Nearing the hotel, she saw a small dimly lit area with people milling about.  She looked over at John before they both hurried to the small clearing.  They hoped that somewhere in the group was William and they only had to find him.

            “Ma’am, can I help you with something,” asked a gentleman holding what appeared to be a type of swaddling to his forehead. 

             “I’m looking for someone who was supposed to be in the hotel,” she anxiously replied, “Did you have a room here?”

            “No ma’am, I’m the desk clerk,” he replied, gently swaying.  He briefly closed his eyes, the swaddling slowly turning a bright red as the blood spread throughout the bundle.

            “I need to find out if someone was here.  He was on his way back, but I don’t know if he made it before the storm hit,” she muttered aloud as she glanced at the crowd around them.
 
            “What’s his name,” asked the gentleman as he slowly sat down on part of the broken stone wall that once wrapped around the entire perimeter of the hotel’s property.
 
            “William.  William Miller.  He just got a room this evening,” she replied nervously.  She wanted to find out, but was afraid to hear the answer.

            “Yes, I saw him.  He came in right before the storm hit,” he replied, the material at his forehead becoming more blood stained.
 
            “What room was he in,” she asked, helping him lie back to rest.
 
            “He is in room fifteen,” he slowly replied.  Kate, unsure of how bad the clerk’s condition really was, called out for help.  He needed more attention than what she could offer.
 
            “Please, where is room fifteen located.  I have to know,” she pleaded.  For a moment she thought the clerk had passed out as he didn’t respond at first to her question.
 
            “Second floor, over there,” he replied, pointing to a corner of the hotel. Kate’s heart suddenly sank in despair as that part of the hotel was completely missing both the first and second floors.  She had to find him, she had to find William before any hope she had was completely destroyed.
 
            Before the clerk could comment anymore, he slumped forward, his hand dropping into his lap as the bundled piece of blood stained cloth fell to the ground.  What no one could see until that point was a nasty gash that ran from nearly one side of his forehead to the other.  

             “He needs a doctor,” John explained to the woman who had arrived at his side.  She in turn called for the doctor who was finishing up splinting a leg that was broken due to a large tree branch falling through a roof and onto the bed of a sleeping child.
 
            Kate turned and looked at what was left of the hotel.  As she numbly went to the front of the building where the doorway once was, she gingerly stepped over debris until she was able to scale the staircase.  She had to get inside, as close as she could, to where he possibly could have been those last few moments.  
 
            The few calls from strangers scattered about the grounds urged her to come down due to safety issues.  Those warnings went unheeded as she was determined to get as close to the room as possible to see that he had at least made it to his room.
 
            Stepping over strewn clothing, not to mention ducking under timbers hanging from the ceiling, she got to a broken part of wall which exposed what would have been his room.  The flooring was there, but missing were the furniture, bed, and walls that defined it as a hotel room only a short while before.
 
            “Kate,” called out John repeatedly, trying to see where she was on the second floor.
 
            Kate shook her head to try and clear out the cobwebs of confusion.  It didn’t make sense.  None of it made sense.  Several hours earlier she was with William enjoying the supper basket she made.  The new blacksmith in town went on a bidding war with William for the basket, to which William had eventually won.  And now, now she didn’t even know where he was.  
 
           She didn’t know what the future held, and dared not even think about it.  She knew in her heart she couldn’t bear to live without William, so she held out hope that he would be found miraculously alive despite the devastation all around her.
 
            As her mind abruptly jarred back to reality, Kate heard John’s urgent calls to her from out front.  She turned back and proceeded down what use to be the hallway when she looked over and saw what appeared to be a worn, scruffy looking leather pouch.  

            It had a look of familiarity to it at first.  It then dawned on her that she should know who it belonged to. Recognizing it as William’s, she grabbed it and undid the leather drawstring ties.  Inside were his clothes and all his savings.  She gasped at what was there.  Pulling it from within, she stuffed the money in the top of her dress, securing it until she found William and could give it back to him.

            Pulling the edges of her knitted cape closed to her bosom, she pressed the bag into her bosom to help hold the money in place, as well as keep the edges of the cape from opening up and exposing her deed.  Coming down the staircase she hurried over to where John stood waiting for her.

            “You need to come over here,” he told her as he glanced over his shoulder at the crowd.  As she neared him, he turned and called her over to a large area where the doctor and several women had been working since they first arrived at the hotel.

             “What is going on,” she asked, confused as to why he was calling her over.  She wondered to herself if John had found him among the wounded which were lying scattered about the grassy plot of land.

             “Over here,” he replied as he led her a short distance further.  He stopped underneath the broken remains of what use to be a tall, stately elm tree before turning to face her.
 
             “I don’t understand,” she commented, looking all around the barely lit area.  John took a deep breath before kneeling down.