A Graduation Gift

Cassandra was the person Dylon least expected to see here. The situation had been so dangerous, with aftershocks seizing the location every other minute. It boggled him how Cassandra managed to drive up here despite the risk.

"I can't go back now. I need to find Maggie's uncle and his family!"

Cassandra said stubbornly.

Dylon looked at Maggie whose eyes were red and swollen. Her hand was being held by Cassandra tightly. He frowned slightly before answering, "Park the car at the town hall nearby and get on the ambulance with us!"

Dylon pointed at the vehicle he just got out of.

Cassandra smiled at him, grateful with his offer.

"Thank you so much, Dylon!" she exclaimed as she hurried over to the car and drove towards the town hall.

Once she was done, she and Maggie ran to the ambulance and rode with Dylon on the way to A City. Everything was in ruins. The roads were all destroyed, and buildings kept crumbling apart.

"My team was dispatched to the site near the home of Maggie's uncle. You two can come with us. But you must follow me closely,"

Dylon explained to Cassandra and Maggie. They had started to formulate a plan just to ensure all their safeties.

Maggie's uncle lived near the school, where he and his wife worked as teachers.

The house was crumbling and bound to fall any time soon. It was just a good thing that her uncle and his family weren't there. However, some necessities in the house were gone.

Cassandra noted that the towels and quilt were gone. "Your uncle must've come back to take them out somewhere else. Don't worry, Maggie. They probably went to an emergency shelter nearby,"

Cassandra reassured. Maggie's face softened upon hearing her manager's words.

"Thank you, Manager Qin. I'll go and search around in a bit. I saw some tents by the playground when we passed,"

Maggie said excitedly, trying to look for a few supplies before heading out herself. Cassandra followed suit.

The playground was crowded with people. Maggie searched around several times but failed to see her uncle and his family.

Cassandra, however, was determined to find him. She took Maggie to the broadcast station and asked the broadcaster to page Maggie's uncle for them over the loudspeaker.

It only took a few minutes until a middle-aged man peered out of one of the tents. Maggie immediately recognized him and ran towards the tent. The man smiled as she rushed over to him.

"Maggie! What are you doing here?"

The man's eyes were watering from happiness. He never would have expected for Maggie to appear in A City.

"Uncle!"

immediately ran into her uncle's arms and wailed. She was so

She revelled in the comforting feeling of bringing the

was the type to

"Uncle, this is Manager Qin. She came with me all the way

beamed at

uncle was a stout old man who had a kind face and a gentle stature. He wore a pair of glasses to frame his face, which shifted downwards as he

bring Maggie here. Your journey must

such a dangerous place. It also was a rare sight to see a manager going at such great lengths for her subordinate.

as worried about Maggie's well-being, especially when he lost contact

dear cousin brother contacted you

about whether her cousin brother had contacted his father to check about his

I have no son like

cursed in a cold and angry tone. The mere mention of his son's name made him immediately feel unpleasant.

back.

cousin sister are not far from here. I'm sure you'd want to

and tugged at it. However, he stopped and turned to Cassandra, nearly

We do have enough food with us, however. Would you like to

Cassandra immediately shook

wish to intrude on such a nice family reunion. Please, I insist. Maggie, just go and spend time with your family. I'll go to see if Dylon needs

glanced over to the rescue teams not far away from them, who were strategically planning their entry into one of the abandoned buildings. Maggie smiled and thanked her once again, before turning to leave with her

to look for Dylon, who she found waiting in front of a ruined

had sunken so far below that it caved into a basement. Cassandra noted that because of the storm and earthquake, the area was covered in a sludge of dirt

glass windows were shattered everywhere. The scaffolding seemed to still be intact but only barely, which was why the search and rescue teams were under crucial

team was using the thermal imaging to find missing persons underground. They were extremely focused and diligent with their work; a complete opposite from the frowns and worried expressions

Are there people still

Dylon as she approached. He was

first we thought that everyone was evacuated. It wasn't as crowded as the other areas since this was a pretty old building and there were only a few business centers inside. However one of the evacuees

his eyes, and it tugged at Cassandra's heart to see such an expression. The rescue

the rescue team managed to retrieve people,

for a day already? The aftershocks

growing anxious over the lives at stake. The rescue team was just about ready to go inside; and Dylon and Cassandra patiently waited by the

inside the building now. We're not even sure if the building's stable enough to do a rescue operation. But it's a risk we have to take. We can't

sighed. He was

be another collapse? It's so risky to bring

her bottom lip between her

we're all nervous. It's such a risky operation but there's not