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Outside.
The sight was ghastly.
Dark.
Dusty.
Out of order.
Broken blocks settled on top of one another, making the once large apartment building fall into a chaotic stack of walls. Dust rose from it like smoke, disappearing into the barely lit night sky. Lights in the nearby buildings began turning on, people wondering what that massive noise was, a rattling noise that sounded a lot like an earth quake.
When they noticed what had happened, many ran out of their homes and buildings, phones on their ears and their voices filled with impatience as they informed the police of what had happened. Bystanders stood on sidewalks, watching what took place before their eyes mouths agape, and shock making them stand in a completely still statue figure.
Others, who knew those who lived in the apartments, began calling them, checking to see if they were in there, wishing that they weren't. Hoping that in the dreadful moment that this had happened, they were out doing something else.
In the distance, ambulances, fire trucks and police sirens, so many of them were suddenly audible.
And then...
There was Cassy, running with a grocery bag in her hand. Running and looking around at the destruction, the unbelievable event that took place in the forty minutes she was gone.
She pushed through the crowd of people, dropping the bag she held behind her.
"No." Her lips began shivering, and her heart pounded with fear. "No."
Her throat was clogged. She ran to the first person she saw, a woman who was speaking on the phone, and held onto her arm. "Did–she come out?" She could barely talk. She would stutter between every other word. "Please–tell me. She can't. No."
She began running towards the collapsed building, but police officers took ahold of her arms and began pulling her back as she screamed for her little sister. As she cussed and struggled to get passed them, to find her first.
She fell to the ground, bawling her eyes out. And the last thing she could remember when she closed her eyes, was her little sister's naked body in that bathtub.
Battered.
Weak.
Fragile.
Hurt.
Desperate.
And now, lost.
***
Inside.
The building was dark, however, there was an advantage to it being as tall as it stood. As it rumbled down, many large walls provided openings, large enough to be considered small rooms. All the way in, down, and deep into the building, rooms with still working lights, and walls that were only weakened by the falling that took place on top, held on to what was left of the stable foundation.
"Sh–shit."
Aden began straightening up, rubbing a sore spot on his head. He looked around, his face twisted as the sudden blast of pain rushed throughout his body. The dust, which had yet to settle, disabled him from seeing around him. And in that second, a thought chilled his mind.
So this is what hell is like? Foggy?
Nearby, coughing made him jump. He looked around, trying to figure out who else was there. A guy was whacking the dust in front of his face away, his expression caught in disgust. It took Aden a second, but he was finally able to see who it was. Harley.
Well, that makes sense. Weird though, at the same exact time?
"What the fuck." Harley commented, standing to his feet and burping as he tried to clear his chest from the fine drywall powder. "At least I'm alive I guess." He pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
Okay. What's going on? Aden looked around as the dust settled, and almost immediately, he saw the bigger picture. I'm not dead. I'm trapped in a fucking collapsed building.
"Shit." He repeated.
Harley looked over at him. "Hey, what's up man. Nice seeing you around here." He took a long drag from his cigarette and blew it out. "Come on, let's see who else is alive. I get the first dead body to fuck." He winked with a smile.
"Fuck you." Aden said, coughing. He stood to his feet, having a hard time to regain his full posture.
Harley shrugged. "Nope. You getting enough of that from your dad." He took another drag. "Come on, I was kidding about the dead bodies." After a quick pause, he added, "Kinda."
How the hell did he know? Shit. Oh shit.
Feeling trapped by what he knew, Aden stood up and followed Harley, mostly knowing where to go by the lit cigarette that guided him through the dust.
Now... Let's find that pretty little thing I saw earlier. I hope she didn't die...yet.
<3
By the way you guys, for those of you who are interested in writing, especially stories with a lot of plot twists. This story is fresh, literally, unedited, unrevised, un-anything. So YOU, you should come on this journey with me and see how I write stories, and then rewrite them until they are what they end up being. You won't believe the huge difference in-between the first draft and the final copy.
Amazing, gorgeous Cover is by Me_For_President_ I miss you <3 please make more covers. <3
