You wake to the sound of shattering glass, your apartment shaking and tossing.
"Hu..-ahk! What the-!" Your surprise cut short as you hit the bedroom floor with an *oohf,* another concussive wave rocks your complex sending books and games tumbling from the shelves to the floor. Your ears are ringing from the blast and your heart is racing at thousand beats per minute, you can only think of one thing, getting the hell outta there. Your hearing starts to clear as you throw on some pants and shoes, the fire alarm has been sounded in your building and everyone will be trying to leave at the same time. Having no choice but to face a crowd of panicked and sleepless people, you brace yourself before throwing open your door and stepping into the hallway.
It's chaos. Families, students, children all trying to make their way out of the besieged building. You see an eleven-year old girl take her baby brother from his basket to carry on through the tight hallway, their parents still trying to calm down two other siblings who are in hysterics. Lucky for you, you aren't encumbered by anything more than the clothes on your back, so you manage to squeeze your way through the crowds and avoid getting trampled or tossed about by the mass of frightened tenants. You get out via one of the stairwell exits on the east side of your building, feeling fortunate for living on just the third level. As you run away from the complex, a nagging sense of guilt for putting your safety ahead of everyone else's, as you ducked and weaved your way through the halls without a second thought, makes you pause and look back.
You find some relief to see that any damage to the building appears to have been superficial, the only visible damage being the shattered panes of glass that were knocked out from the concussive blast that rocked your neighbourhood. Moving away again, you notice the street lights are out, whatever caused the explosion must have knocked out the power to your block; you can see sirens flashing in the distance.
What the hell is going on? You think to yourself, was this a terror attack? Concern starts to grip you again. Not wanting to get closer to the area where the explosion happened but, also, not wanting to run off into the dark streets to get trampled by terrified civilians or mugged by anarchist-type looters. You decide to move closer to the sirens, at least the police might have some answers as to what you should actually be afraid of here, they might provide some tangible form of protection for you as well and you doubt they'll shoot you on sight... You hope.
As you get nearer to the flashing red and blue lights, you can see the red tinge of brightly burning flames against the billowing, smokey background. You can hear the fire department rounding the corner followed by a series of ambulances, they're probably too late. Looking at the building coming in to view you can see that it is completely engulfed in fire, anybody unlucky enough to still be in there wont likely be rescued in time. You can't help but stare at the tragic spectacle, it's like watching a train jump the tracks and crash into a building - you know you are watching people's final moments but you can't look away. This bothers you, but you are brought out of your reverie by your phone buzzing in your pocket, looks like you forget to put it on your nightstand before bed last night.
A text from your older brother appears on the screen, *Hey, u ok? Somethin that sounded like a bomb woke me up, I can c some smoke and fire from my high rise* You swipe your screen to compose your reply.
*Yea, pretty fuckin crazy here right now. Windows and power blown out at my place, everyones in a panic.* You send, thinking that you wouldn't mind getting the hell out of here as well you send another text, *Hey, think you could pick me up? I'm by the place that exploded, thought I'd rather be by some cops than take my chances on the streets.*
Your phone buzzes in a few rapids successions, *Are u fuckn kidding me?**Ok I'm on my way but dont get too close**god knows who the hell blew that shit up, might still be there**Jus stay put, where r u?*
You try to remember what this place used to be, a lab of some kind? or a hospital? You text some directions, *I'm by that hospital-lab thing just off of First and Carling* There's a bit of a pause before another text pops up.
*Great, I'm getting into the car now, try not to breathe the air to much, who knows what fresh hell could've been cooking up in ther* You look at the text thinking he is probably right, there does seem to be a bit of metallic taste in the air, though that could just be your imagination. You notice one of the cops has spotted you and is heading your way.
"You should clear the area, son. We don't know what caused this explosion, so it would be wise to get yourself somewhere safe in case anything else were to happen." The man's face is a little drawn, defined lines showing his age as much as his salt-and-pepper hair, but his expression is rather soft and bespeaks of a man who has spent his life trying to do the right thing. You can't help but wonder what kind of skeletons this man must have in his closet.
"Yessir, I was just trying to get someone to pick me up, I wont be here any longer than I have to," You say to the guy, "I was only hoping to avoid the mobs just down the street" The older gentleman nods his head and frowns. The firefighters have been busy unreeling their hoses and getting the flames put out, paramedics standing on the perimeter to ensure anyone who needs help can receive it.
"Alright, but due to the nature of this building we can't guarantee that something wont explode from within the structure. I'd feel better if yo-" His words are lost as another explosion throws you and the officer into the street. You head is ringing and your vision has a blurry quality to it. You're vaguely aware of a burning sensation across the right side of your body, you can't move and it feels like you're burning alive. You try to scream, but you can't hear yourself and your throat feels sore and taxed. Just before you pass out, you see one of the paramedics running up to the motionless form of the cop you were just talking to, both of them look cut up and charred. You feel your own body being rolled over and picked up, that's when you finally lose consciousness.