Darkness Falls

Darkness Falls

Just like that the sirens went off all around us as me and my friends on the soccer field started running towards the field house for cover as the first of many bombs began to hit all around the town and unknown to us at the time we were the trial run. The school house being the main emergency shelter center now up in flames and rubble. Once inside the field house we all pull out our phones and try to call our families.

“Alex, we can’t get through what’s going on?” asks my friend Kyle.

“I think the bombs may have taken out the cell towers, my dad said something like this was probably going to happen. There had been rumors around at the State office that all military bases and law enforcement centers were put on standby,” I said as I walked over to the window of the field house to see bombs still falling in the distance.

“Well what do we do?” asked Kyle in a semi panicked tone.

“We wait,” I said as I walked over and sat down on one of the weight benches and began to shake.

“X, are you okay?” asked Laney, my childhood friend as she walked over to me and placed her hand on my shoulder. “I’m sure your mom and siblings are okay, your dad has a bomb shelter.”

“Yeah, I know, it’s just we got into this stupid argument this morning, she didn’t want me to leave the house because of the rumors and I told her I didn’t want to be trapped inside my own home just because of rumors. That I wasn’t going to live my life in fear, I don’t even have my locket,” I said as I looked Laney in the eyes with tears in mine.

“It’s going to be okay X,” says Laney as she walks over to the window of the field house a missile hits just outside blowing the side of the building to pieces and the force from the explosion threw me and my friends to other side of the building where debris began to fall in on us. I’m not entirely sure how long I was out of it, but when I woke it was dark all around me, I could only see the glow from fires through the debris all around me. I called out to my friends but got no response, as I tried to move dust began to fall from the rubble causing me to choke a little, as a sharp pain shot through my side. I called out to my friends again still with no response. I made up my mind at that point I needed to get out of that rubble; I had to find my family, and make sure they were alright. I prayed they were alive, but expected the worse. After all here I was stuck up under the rubble of the field house. I reached out and began to pull the small pieces off of me slowly so I could get to my phone in my pocket. When I was able to get to my phone I switched on the flashlight so I could see better to get out of this mess. I’m not sure how long it took me to get out from under the rubble, I know I kept blacking out, but when I finally was free it was daylight outside. As I finally stood to my feet I staggered for a bit grabbing hold of the broken pieces from trees and buildings just to keep my balance. Fires still glowed faintly in the distance as I made my way slowly home. I could tell my right leg was banged up and kept collapsing to the ground from the pain, taking in sharp breathes but I had to make it home, I just had too. I kept pushing myself to get home to the point I collapsed on the side of the road and when I woke up again I was in a grungy looking hospital room with noise all around me from the cries of adults and children. I couldn’t really move because I was strapped down to the backboard I had apparently been carried in on still.

I began to call out for help, “Help! Somebody! I can’t move!”

A nurse came into the room where I was shocked and surprise, “You’re alive?”

“Yeah, can you help me?” I asked in a pleading tone.

“Yes of course, let me get a doctor, just in case,” says the nurse as she walked out of the room.

I laid there for a few more minutes, before I started panicking again, because I couldn’t move, so I began to holler out again. “Somebody! Anybody! Please!”

The nurse came back, with a doctor as they got down on their news to unloosen the straps from the backboard. “Just breathe and take it easy,” said the nursing in a calm soothing voice, “What’s your name, do you remember your name?”

“Alexandra Blake, can you call my mom? Please I need my mom.”

“Alexandra, unfortunately all the missiles took out the cell towers so we have no way of getting through to anybody. Do you remember your address?” asked the nurse as she continued to loosen the straps around me.

“Uh, yeah it 1620 Brookdale Drive, how many others are here? Are my parents here?” I asked rapidly because another anxiety attack was hitting me.

“Okay, slow down, your breathing young lady,” said the Doctor as they brought in a gurney and help place me on it. “All in good time, let’s get you checked out, after all you were dead.”

“I was dead,” I asked in disbelief.

“Yes, that’s why you were in that room, so I need you to stay calm we will let the authorities know where you live and have them check it out for survivors, unfortunately we weren’t prepared for anything like this, so we lost a lot of innocent people, for foolish people’s ignorance. Alright Nurse Lisa, I want you to give her some medicine to fight off infection and to help her rest for now till we can run test.”

“Yes Doctor,” said Nurse Lisa as she walked out of the room to get supplies.

I must have lost consciousness again because when I woke, I had all sort of wires hook to me, along with a heart monitor. Every time I would wake up I would ask about my family, but no one could give me a straight answer. As the week went by they continued to tend to my wounds but also kept me pretty sedated, and in-between my consciousness I picked up bits and pieces of what was actually going on. Words like total destruction all over the world, thousands of lives lost. Governments, experimentations on survivors, and what gave me the most hope in those moments was hearing that there were a few cities unharmed by the missiles all over the world. I could feel my strength returning to me, and asked on several occasions if I could get up and move some, but they didn’t want me to move too much. Still surprised by my survival; especially, after my heart had stopped on several occasions. The one thing I did noticed is I never saw another doctor or nurse, it was always the same two, something was going on and a part of me knew I had to get away some way, somehow.

When the nurse came back in I grabbed her by the hand and asked,” Any idea when I can get up and move some, or at least get some of these wires off of me.”

“Soon, just hang in there,” she said as she injected more meds into my IV.

“Okay,” I said in a slurred tone as I pretended to drift off to sleep, when the doctor walks in.

“They are impressed with here resistance to the meds we are putting in her, they want us to start further testing with her and the others that survived all our medical trials,” said the Doctor as they eased out of the room.

When I could no longer hear their footsteps, I began to ease my body up into a seated position to where I could reach the monitors to turn them off so the alarms wouldn’t go off when I disconnected from them. Thank God I watched my mother countless times with these machines, even though she didn’t realize I was watching. After I was disconnected I found a pair of medical pants to put on under the gown I was wearing. I have no idea where my shoes or anything else is, but I had a feeling I didn’t want to know. The lights dimmed across the hospital, signifying that everyone had turned in for the night. From everything I had heard, figured they had security camera’s everywhere, but the good thing about inheriting my father’s height, I can reach places that people wouldn’t expect for and average size person. So I climbed up through the ceiling tiles and eased my way as quietly as possible stopping and peeking through grates every so often to see if I was close to an exit. Thankfully and more than likely only because of God did I make it through the facility without being caught. I didn’t understand how I knew which way to go, but I listen to what my heart and mind was telling me to do in order to get home. The sun rose and set for three days before I made it to the street I had lived on. Tired, hungry and thirsty, I pushed myself those last few steps to my house, where I saw that half of the house had been completely destroyed. I made my way through the house and into what use to be our living room where I saw something shining up under the rubble. When I moved the rubble I saw my golden heart shaped locket lying with a white envelope up under it with my mother’s handwriting. All it said was Find Us. We are still alive. When I opened my locket there was a smaller picture of my mother holding my as a baby and another note folded up. Trust no one and follow your heart, I know you are alive my heart, never give up hope. See you soon, Love mom. I heard a car pull up in the yard and made my way behind the rubble to hide that was up against one of the few walls still standing in the living room. As they searched the house up and down I held my breath not once moving or taking the chance of being heard or seen. Trust no one her words said, and that’s what I intended to do. When the men dressed in soldier uniforms came back to the living room.

“Corporal? Why are they so interested in this one?”

“She survived a direct hit from one of the missiles not to mention all the experimental drugs they put in her that supposed to bring out latent abilities. When they scanned her it showed she had a lot of power in her, the government with the most power right now rules the world, and our government wants that power. Come on this is useless; she wouldn’t be that stupid to return her after escaping there, plus, every city was destroyed there is not much she can survive on. She will surrender once she gets to the point of no return. Her father was a politician so he’s probably at one of the shelters close to the capitol. We will return in a few days,” said the Corporal as they walked away to the car and drove off.

I wasn’t going to give up though, I am going to find my family, even if it takes my last breath. Let the hunt begin.