Warped Sunshine

“Attention please. All occupants of the bunker please report to the main hall at four o’clock. Thank you.”

Tempy and I looked at each other as we rose to our feet. She gave a blank smile and muttered, “Another one of Ambrose’s speeches about how ‘we must act as one in order to survive these dangerous times,’” I shrugged my shoulders at her and later walked to the main hall.. I saw a room filled with the permanently shocked and distorted faces of children, teenagers and adults (many of them were armed with rifles and guns). We now stood in the crowd and listened.

“I know many of you have heard this speech at least a-thousand times and you’ll probably hear it a-thousand more but before I continue… let’s take a moment and bow our heads in remembrance for those brave men and women who sacrificed their lives in effort to resurrect freedom and democracy. But in order to get through this, we have to work together and act as one so we can survive.” When his words settled everyone dispersed.

Ambrose was just like the rest of us. He put on the same brave face that the other adults wore. The face of trying to cope with the reality of the situation. It was obvious by the way adults interacted with the children. They would bend down and pat their shoulder, then rise and offer a hand to hold. The children were silent, still in dazed by what was happening around them. They were silent because they didn’t know what to say and didn’t was to excite the tearful effort of empathy that adults would often shower them with.

I followed Tempy back to our room I could tell that she was upset so I sat down and looked at her. I never really understood why she got so hostile whenever Ambrose spoke. But before she said anything a sharp thud hummed, followed by a hiss of tearing metal. The force shook the structure. I felt my insides lurch and I looked at Tempy, her eyes were wide. From outside voices shouted, “Hurry! Into the panic room.” I jumped to my feet to where I was outside the room.
People scattered in the direction of the main hall where the entrance to the outside stood. Children screamed running in circles like ants whose hill was stomped on. I ran, with my body close to the wall that corned around into the main hall. Tempy’s dark brunette hair ribboned behind her as she raced in front of me. I followed her into the belly of the main hall. Her figure disappeared into the crowd of gun bearing men and woman. Children dotted the chaos as girls about my age tried corralling them across the room into a hallway that leads to an over sized room. All I saw were people running and all I could hear was my terrified blood throbbing in my ears as I looked for Tempy. The large steel door that opened to the outside now lay collapsed and blackened as smoke curled into the air.

My focus darted around the area, I saw, men. Others dressed in khaki military styled uniforms. They wielded hand guns others rifles. Shooting at our rag-tag group of defenders. I saw heard someone shouting with a shrilled pitch tone, “Blythe! Run!” I turned around and saw Tempy struggling and wrestling against two men. Their arms twisted around her torso another pair of hands clasped the edge of her jaw (her green eyes widened) and above her forehead and jerked her head once to the right. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head (they let go) as she fell. I – I. No! She can’t be dead. No! I bit my tongue hoping that in some way this was just a dream. A nightmare, it had to be. I bit until the rusty taste of blood made every image all too real. I barely know what happened next and all I could remember was running and screaming my eyes burned with tears. With every pace came with such force I didn’t notice that my foot got pinned in between fallen debris until I hit the ground. I remember distinctly that as I was trying to push myself up when a sudden impact struck the back up my head. I heard a high pitched ringing as the vision a Tempy’s crumbled body was flooded by stars and then nothing.
…