Sequel: Two Quakes ›
Two Doves
Chapter Four
Outside, the horror mounted, tall buildings swayed uncontrollably, cars toppled as they drove insanely fast to get away from any damage. The speeding cars struck innocent people. Lampposts and traffic lights came tumbling down blocking roads. The restaurant window behind us smashed throwing glass all over me and my parents. The building we had just been in began to crack and like a wave the building fell sending out a cloud of dust. We ran from the building avoiding glass falling from building, parts of buildings that had broke off of the tall buildings and horrible to watch but the odd person jumping out of buildings losing all hope and falling to their unpleasant deaths.
The shaking didn’t seem to stop, my parents and me were sent of track, we were trying to get back to the car but we ended up near to the Gherkin. We were not at all welcomed to this area, as we arrived the newly built Gherkin swayed horrifically. People lean out windows deciding whether or not to end their troubles now. The decision was made for them, my father ordered us to turn around and run when a huge booming noise came from the foundations of the tall building. In an instant the huge monument began falling. Screeches could be heard as people were crushed by the tall building. The entire glass content of the building smashed under pressure and was flung down to the ground, one unfortunate women stood underneath the glass as it came down with severe cuts she fell and didn’t get up, I wanted to help the poor woman, but in situations like this if I had turned back I would have a very slim chance of even saving myself let alone this unfortunate women. Eventually the building came to the ground sending out a cloud of smoke and dust, we were too slow to get away from the cloud so my mother and father told me to get down and cover my mouth and eyes from any dust.
As I lay on the ground, the cold concrete shaking against my face I tried to keep still. It felt like torture, the cloud of dust, which was going to eventually engulf us, seamed to take forever to reach us. Whilst I lay, my breath heated up my face. As if it were a swarm the cloud of smoke engulfed me and my parents. It became hard to breathe due to shock and the dust that entered my airways, even though I blocked my mouth and nose with my hands. The dust made a thick layer on my skin and finally passed. The earth quake continued. I retook my stance and had a glance round; people ran in panic, blood lined most of the floor cars piled on top of each other and on top of people and lay ruin under huge parts of broken building. My mother and father got up, I had very little rest and immediately we were off again running. We came to a street were another building had fallen blocking our passage it was either turn back and face the huge collapses or head underground to the other end of a underground car park and hope, in fact pray that the car park was going to hold. In the commotion we were not quite sure which way to go we looked back but another building fell sending it and the people under to their stone graves, the underground was our only hope at this moment.
So we made our way to the underground car park things under here was much safer than on ground; no huge segments fell only a slight collection dust here and there. We sprinted as fast as possible through the underground car park. It was dark and damp, we could see other families trying to escape from the catastrophe, to our horror we saw a man trapped under a car for a split second I thought my dad was going to help him but as we got closer it became evident the man was dead, a sharp piece of metal came out the car plunging into the man chest, blood pouring to the ground surrounding him. My mother gave a yelp when we had to walk through it. The large concrete columns holding up the car park roof began to crack. The underground car park could not take this battering anymore and it began to fall, pieces of metal and concrete fell from above, my mother and I caught sight of a man running but unfortunately a long and sharp scarp of metal came down striking the man through the head. Impaling through his eye, spitting blood for metres. My mother screeched, this sight seemed more of a horror movie than reality, at this moment in time I wished it was a movie. My footsteps squelched in the man’s cold blood I felt a horrible sickness in my stomach as the smell of old blood caught my nose. My father trying to reassure took my mother’s hand and went for the exit, it became more of an obstacle course as we had to jump over clumps of concrete and shards of metal. It was a near miss for my father as he was almost ran over, the car had no driver its brakes must have broken or it must have rolled back, under the shaking. I and my parents were forced to climb over the car I could hear dripping I wasn’t sure whether it was the car leaking or a pipe burst but I dare not look back only get away from the collapsing rubble.
My mother was tripped up by a small shard of metal, which had broke away from a column. In panic I did not realise she had fallen so I continued on but only for a few seconds and I turned around. Holding her hand I helped her back to her feet my father came to her aid but I was already helping and he was not sure what to do. She got on her feet and suffered no apparent injuries to her legs. My father still in front set off again I was behind him now holding my mother’s hand.
The underground car park was now empting of people but no more could enter the entrance was blocked by a giant piece of fallen concrete, anyone left on the other side I feared to be left for dead. We were now behind everyone. My mother’s fall, although it only took up seconds, did take its toll on our escape. Insight was only a few people I could only see about three at the most. We felt as though we had found salvation when we almost reached the exit but we were stopped in our tracks a sharp piece of metal on the floor which I and my father had stepped over not realising it was there caught my mother. She stopped once again and yet again I didn’t realise for a few seconds my father and I were out of the car park. My mother stood in the threshold of the exit. The scrap metal cut almost all the way through her foot. She shrieked once more as the pain shot up her leg and a tear fell from her eye. As we ran to her we were forced to stop as the three-story car park produced a cracking noise a segment of concrete fell and hit my mother on the back and she fell to the ground. I and my father gave out a yelp and before the building fell completely we ran to her side and pulled her out. Were we stood and my mother lay, there was no tall building or anything to fall on us so we stayed here for a while.
The shaking finally stopped a ton of relief lifted off our emotions. After pulling my mother out I felt my hands were wet and not just their usual sweat. I looked down in horror to see blood on my hands in confusion I wondered where the blood had come from I felt no pain and I was sure I wasn’t cut, I took a glance at my body I could see blood on my shirt and then I remembered my mother was hit and an overwhelming sense of sadness took over my body, I turned to look at my mum, I could hardly stand the sight I looked down at. My father held her hand as she lay in a pool of her own blood. I ran to her and bent down grabbing her other hand noticing the two doves around her neck now drenched in blood.
“Mum no!” I shrieked.
“I won’t forget you my lovely son” she told me
“Don’t talk like that, we will get through this” I said tears pouring out my eyes and the warmth of her hand leaving.
“I love you, my boys” said my mother her voice trembling.
My heart seemed to stop as her head fell into my father’s lap. Her hand went cold and her grip was lost, I would never feel my mother’s warm grip again. Everyone around stared at my mother’s corpse. My tears fell onto her favourite shirt. I pulled out the tissue she gave me earlier and wiped away the tears from my eyes.
At the loss of my mother at that moment I felt empty, words could simply not describe the way I felt. My mother would never be there for me again, when I am scared her hugs would never comfort me, when I am hurt her healing hands would never put the pain away, never seeing her smile again and growing old without a mother would be the hardest thing I would have to do.
My father picked her up and we could now make our way back through the town to our car, the falling of rubble had finished and we made our way back to our car.
As we make our way through the city we saw the sheer amount of fallen buildings hundreds of people stand and sit crying for their lost loved ones. Cars toppled everywhere; buildings that touched the skies lay in ruin now only metres off the ground. Corpses lay in the roads under rubble, metal and broken cars. The horror of what had just happened wasn’t going to be erased easily, tall monumental buildings ruined. London’s skyline was broken.
With my mother in my father’s arms, we staggered back to the car a horrible smell of blood and mould lingered in the air. Every now and then my mother’s perfume would catch my nose filling me with sadness once more. People stared in sadness as we passed almost as if we were heading to the funeral. After a long walk which seemed to last a life time with multiple emotions confusing me we got to the car. It was in its same place in perfect condition it was parked there as if nothing had happened.
The rest of my life was never quite right. I would wake up to an empty kitchen table, I would hardly ever play on my PS3 I now got a shower before my father. The pile of newspaper’s, gone. My mother’s magazines she had bought stayed in the kitchen collecting dust. Her wedding ring lay on my fireplace, creating an airy sadness in my house.
The kitchen would never smell of sweet tea or the perfume she put on so thick. Her long blonde hair would never curl again. Her favourite shirt now cleaned hung in my mother’s wardrobe never seeing daylight. The house never seemed to be as bright as when she was here. In our garage her car that she would use almost every day parked with a white sheet covering it. Her countless amounts of phones, PDA’s and headpieces were thrown into a box and hid away in her wardrobe. The seat she sat at every morning was now tucked in to the table never being moved. It created a feeling as if there was a hole at this seat. A hole that would never again be filled!
The shaking didn’t seem to stop, my parents and me were sent of track, we were trying to get back to the car but we ended up near to the Gherkin. We were not at all welcomed to this area, as we arrived the newly built Gherkin swayed horrifically. People lean out windows deciding whether or not to end their troubles now. The decision was made for them, my father ordered us to turn around and run when a huge booming noise came from the foundations of the tall building. In an instant the huge monument began falling. Screeches could be heard as people were crushed by the tall building. The entire glass content of the building smashed under pressure and was flung down to the ground, one unfortunate women stood underneath the glass as it came down with severe cuts she fell and didn’t get up, I wanted to help the poor woman, but in situations like this if I had turned back I would have a very slim chance of even saving myself let alone this unfortunate women. Eventually the building came to the ground sending out a cloud of smoke and dust, we were too slow to get away from the cloud so my mother and father told me to get down and cover my mouth and eyes from any dust.
As I lay on the ground, the cold concrete shaking against my face I tried to keep still. It felt like torture, the cloud of dust, which was going to eventually engulf us, seamed to take forever to reach us. Whilst I lay, my breath heated up my face. As if it were a swarm the cloud of smoke engulfed me and my parents. It became hard to breathe due to shock and the dust that entered my airways, even though I blocked my mouth and nose with my hands. The dust made a thick layer on my skin and finally passed. The earth quake continued. I retook my stance and had a glance round; people ran in panic, blood lined most of the floor cars piled on top of each other and on top of people and lay ruin under huge parts of broken building. My mother and father got up, I had very little rest and immediately we were off again running. We came to a street were another building had fallen blocking our passage it was either turn back and face the huge collapses or head underground to the other end of a underground car park and hope, in fact pray that the car park was going to hold. In the commotion we were not quite sure which way to go we looked back but another building fell sending it and the people under to their stone graves, the underground was our only hope at this moment.
So we made our way to the underground car park things under here was much safer than on ground; no huge segments fell only a slight collection dust here and there. We sprinted as fast as possible through the underground car park. It was dark and damp, we could see other families trying to escape from the catastrophe, to our horror we saw a man trapped under a car for a split second I thought my dad was going to help him but as we got closer it became evident the man was dead, a sharp piece of metal came out the car plunging into the man chest, blood pouring to the ground surrounding him. My mother gave a yelp when we had to walk through it. The large concrete columns holding up the car park roof began to crack. The underground car park could not take this battering anymore and it began to fall, pieces of metal and concrete fell from above, my mother and I caught sight of a man running but unfortunately a long and sharp scarp of metal came down striking the man through the head. Impaling through his eye, spitting blood for metres. My mother screeched, this sight seemed more of a horror movie than reality, at this moment in time I wished it was a movie. My footsteps squelched in the man’s cold blood I felt a horrible sickness in my stomach as the smell of old blood caught my nose. My father trying to reassure took my mother’s hand and went for the exit, it became more of an obstacle course as we had to jump over clumps of concrete and shards of metal. It was a near miss for my father as he was almost ran over, the car had no driver its brakes must have broken or it must have rolled back, under the shaking. I and my parents were forced to climb over the car I could hear dripping I wasn’t sure whether it was the car leaking or a pipe burst but I dare not look back only get away from the collapsing rubble.
My mother was tripped up by a small shard of metal, which had broke away from a column. In panic I did not realise she had fallen so I continued on but only for a few seconds and I turned around. Holding her hand I helped her back to her feet my father came to her aid but I was already helping and he was not sure what to do. She got on her feet and suffered no apparent injuries to her legs. My father still in front set off again I was behind him now holding my mother’s hand.
The underground car park was now empting of people but no more could enter the entrance was blocked by a giant piece of fallen concrete, anyone left on the other side I feared to be left for dead. We were now behind everyone. My mother’s fall, although it only took up seconds, did take its toll on our escape. Insight was only a few people I could only see about three at the most. We felt as though we had found salvation when we almost reached the exit but we were stopped in our tracks a sharp piece of metal on the floor which I and my father had stepped over not realising it was there caught my mother. She stopped once again and yet again I didn’t realise for a few seconds my father and I were out of the car park. My mother stood in the threshold of the exit. The scrap metal cut almost all the way through her foot. She shrieked once more as the pain shot up her leg and a tear fell from her eye. As we ran to her we were forced to stop as the three-story car park produced a cracking noise a segment of concrete fell and hit my mother on the back and she fell to the ground. I and my father gave out a yelp and before the building fell completely we ran to her side and pulled her out. Were we stood and my mother lay, there was no tall building or anything to fall on us so we stayed here for a while.
The shaking finally stopped a ton of relief lifted off our emotions. After pulling my mother out I felt my hands were wet and not just their usual sweat. I looked down in horror to see blood on my hands in confusion I wondered where the blood had come from I felt no pain and I was sure I wasn’t cut, I took a glance at my body I could see blood on my shirt and then I remembered my mother was hit and an overwhelming sense of sadness took over my body, I turned to look at my mum, I could hardly stand the sight I looked down at. My father held her hand as she lay in a pool of her own blood. I ran to her and bent down grabbing her other hand noticing the two doves around her neck now drenched in blood.
“Mum no!” I shrieked.
“I won’t forget you my lovely son” she told me
“Don’t talk like that, we will get through this” I said tears pouring out my eyes and the warmth of her hand leaving.
“I love you, my boys” said my mother her voice trembling.
My heart seemed to stop as her head fell into my father’s lap. Her hand went cold and her grip was lost, I would never feel my mother’s warm grip again. Everyone around stared at my mother’s corpse. My tears fell onto her favourite shirt. I pulled out the tissue she gave me earlier and wiped away the tears from my eyes.
At the loss of my mother at that moment I felt empty, words could simply not describe the way I felt. My mother would never be there for me again, when I am scared her hugs would never comfort me, when I am hurt her healing hands would never put the pain away, never seeing her smile again and growing old without a mother would be the hardest thing I would have to do.
My father picked her up and we could now make our way back through the town to our car, the falling of rubble had finished and we made our way back to our car.
As we make our way through the city we saw the sheer amount of fallen buildings hundreds of people stand and sit crying for their lost loved ones. Cars toppled everywhere; buildings that touched the skies lay in ruin now only metres off the ground. Corpses lay in the roads under rubble, metal and broken cars. The horror of what had just happened wasn’t going to be erased easily, tall monumental buildings ruined. London’s skyline was broken.
With my mother in my father’s arms, we staggered back to the car a horrible smell of blood and mould lingered in the air. Every now and then my mother’s perfume would catch my nose filling me with sadness once more. People stared in sadness as we passed almost as if we were heading to the funeral. After a long walk which seemed to last a life time with multiple emotions confusing me we got to the car. It was in its same place in perfect condition it was parked there as if nothing had happened.
The rest of my life was never quite right. I would wake up to an empty kitchen table, I would hardly ever play on my PS3 I now got a shower before my father. The pile of newspaper’s, gone. My mother’s magazines she had bought stayed in the kitchen collecting dust. Her wedding ring lay on my fireplace, creating an airy sadness in my house.
The kitchen would never smell of sweet tea or the perfume she put on so thick. Her long blonde hair would never curl again. Her favourite shirt now cleaned hung in my mother’s wardrobe never seeing daylight. The house never seemed to be as bright as when she was here. In our garage her car that she would use almost every day parked with a white sheet covering it. Her countless amounts of phones, PDA’s and headpieces were thrown into a box and hid away in her wardrobe. The seat she sat at every morning was now tucked in to the table never being moved. It created a feeling as if there was a hole at this seat. A hole that would never again be filled!