THE END

Chapter 11

Nightmares. That's all I remember about last night. I barely slept, and I can hardly function now. Judging from the silence from above, the bombing is over. I wonder if the main floor collapsed, and if anyone else is okay.

After not having dinner last night, I'm pretty starving. So I rummage through the nearest bags of supplies and manage to scrounge up a few granola bars, a bag of trail mix, and some dried fruit. After munching for a couple minutes I go up the stairs to investigate the trap door I came through. It opens, thankfully, so I may not be stuck down here after all.

I push open the door the rest of  the way and peer outside. The main room is about half way intact. Certain parts of the ceiling caved in, and almost all the tents and things are crushed. But the room itself is still mostly intact. All the walls are still there, and the floor is as solid as ever. The same few people are huddled in the same little corner.

A man, a woman, and a little boy, maybe only 2 years old. They must be a family. "Are you alright?" I ask upon approaching them.

The thirty-something man with white-blonde hair looks up in surprise. "We didn't think anyone made it down here besides us. Where were you?"

"I took cover in the lower floor for the night. I'm Cecily. Who are you? Do you know why no one else made it down here? Is anyone else okay?"

"I'm Austin, this is my wife Madeline, and our son Trent." The man paused. "One of the Metal Heads got hit by a bomb and fell over the trap door so no one could get in. We're lucky we got here before it fell. I don't know if anyone else is okay. I imagine they hid in the Metal Heads, but we can't assume that they were safe there, especially if one fell."

"I'm just grateful all three of us got out." Madeline said to Austin. She turned to me, "Do you have any family out there?"

"Something like that." I turned and ran to the stairs, climbing them as fast as I could. I hope the others are okay. God, I hope Neil's still alive.

I get to the trap door and try to open it. It swings down, which means it opens with ease, but there's only about two feet of space between me and metal. One of the Metal Heads, tipped on its side, lay directly over the trap door. The metal goes as far as I can see from left to right, because of how tall the Metal Head was right side up. But in front of me is only about twenty feet of metal. Two feet above my head.

I start getting an idea. I could make it. I could shimmy twenty feet and then inspect the other Metal Heads. I could look for survivors.

Beginning to feel claustrophobic in the tight space, I climb out of the trap door and lay on my stomach between dirt and metal. Carefully, I shift my weight and move forward. I keep going until I hear a creak above me. I realize that the Metal Head was propped up by a rock, that explains the space between the metal and the ground. But even a rock won't support it forever.

It creaks again and I hurry forward. Eventually I make it out. I squint at the sunlight and take a deep breath of the morning air.

I stand up, stiff after crawling in an awkward position for so long. "Hello?" I call out. No response. I duck into the nearest Metal Head, still smoking from being hit by bombs. All the Metal Heads are at least slightly damaged, except one. Slowly I make my way there, thinking that people could be hiding inside.

On the way I come across the first bodies. Charred and blackened beyond recognition, I count out five of them. I can't even tell if they were men or women. The stench burns my nostrils and makes me nauseous.

A little further ahead I see more bodies. I count eight this time. I see more underneath the wreckage and don't even bother to look. I turn away and focus only on getting to the undamaged skyscraper. Standing tall, surrounded by ruins, it looks like some kind of alien building. It doesn't belong.