London Bridge Is Falling
When The Storm Starts
I listen to the tapping of footsteps outside my room. I have about ten thousand things running through my brain. But for now, I'm safe and that's all that matters. I check my watch, it's 3:40AM. I slip on some sweatpants and head out into the hallway then up a few flights of stairs. At the very top is door, I push it open and feel a cool breeze flow around my face. I can see the community and some purple UV lights scattered around the city, must be scavengers or other survivors. I let my hair down and let the air caress my hair. And then something catches my eyes. A row of vehicles, military. I panic and head for the stairs, almost tripping down a flight. I run into a man, I believe his name is Bill. I can barely make out the words, I'm breathing too hard.
"Military...Coming...Here" I say, gasping for air.
His eyes widen and he runs off, then a bell starts ringing and lights turn on, blinding me. Everyone is running around in sync. It's like they've practiced for this day. Marina grabs my hand and pulls me into my room, telling me to get dressed and grab all of my gear.
"What's going on?" I ask, packing up my stuff.
"They're coming to collect a survivor fee and Mason, the leader, doesn't have enough" She's in a panic. "Enough money to pay it off. He has to pay for each survivor and we've been getting a lot of new people, so we don't have enough"
I pack up all my gear and meet Selena and Sen downstairs. They've came up with a plan to leave and head somewhere else. I just got here, but I don't wanna be the reason a few people get rounded up and shot. So we take the sewer, Mason gives us some supplies and tells us goodbye, shutting the sewer lid as Marina climbs down. Marina insisted she come with us, I have no complaints, we're stronger in numbers.
The sewers don't smell very great but we decide to wait until they leave, just to go back for some things. It's not even a few minutes later and gunshots ring throughout the tunnel. Screams and gunshots, that's all that's heard for the next hour or so. They aren't just killing a few people, they're killing everyone.
We leave, not looking back, not thinking of what happened. Once we're finally out of the sewers, it's morning and the sun has just arose from it's slumber. I can't believe this, finding the sanctuary and leaving a little bit later, how can we live in a world like this. I see Selena grasping her machete, her knuckles are turning white. Sen looks like he's been through hell, and he has...we all have.
"I miss Dylan" Selena says, sitting down on the ground.
"I miss Jo" Sen replies.
"I miss new music" Marina says, playfully. She lightens the mood.
"Yeah" Selena smiles. "I miss Pepsi and chocolate"
"Don't forget zombie movies" I say and we all giggle to ourselves.
"I miss Jake" A man says, I turn around to see Dylan standing there, his neck bleeding. I awake, screaming. Selena runs to me, calming me down. We're sitting behind a fence with the portable UV lights attached to them.
"Dylan" I say.
"He's gone, Lara" She pulls me into a comforting hug. "He's gone"
The moon is shinning through some trees, it shines on the small building that's inside the fence, I almost forgot we were underneath a tall tower. That's it...the tower.
"I can climb the tower and see if I can broadcast a signal to the B.T.A.R. in West Virginia"
"What if you fall?" Sen asks, like he's worried. He know's I can handle myself.
"Once I get up there, I'll use the tower to boost the walkie-talkie signal"
I grab the walkie-talkie and begin to climb. I manage to make it to the first platform, it's high but not too high. I've climbed mountains before, this should be easy. I climb to the next platform, now it's worrying me. I put my foot on the next rung and it snaps off the pole. I take in a deep breath and continue my climb. When I make it to the top, I latch myself to the safety harness. I stand quickly and instantly feel dizzy. The tower sways and creaks loudly. I attach the walkie-talkie to some cords and start turning nobs.
"This is Lara Almore, Co-leader of the B.T.A.R. Please respond"
Nothing.
"This is Lara Almore, Co-leader of the B.T.A.R. Please respond"
Static.
"B.T.A.R. My team needs evac"
Still nothing.
"Lara Almore, this is West Virginian Branch. We thought your team was dead"
"Thank god. No, Dylan Hale, leader of B.T.A.R. died. But the half of the original team is still alive"
"We've located you, there's a tall building with windows that look like mirrors. See it?" He asks.
"Yeah" I reply.
"Your evac will be there"
I climb back down and give the good news. Hopefully the odds are in our favor...
"Military...Coming...Here" I say, gasping for air.
His eyes widen and he runs off, then a bell starts ringing and lights turn on, blinding me. Everyone is running around in sync. It's like they've practiced for this day. Marina grabs my hand and pulls me into my room, telling me to get dressed and grab all of my gear.
"What's going on?" I ask, packing up my stuff.
"They're coming to collect a survivor fee and Mason, the leader, doesn't have enough" She's in a panic. "Enough money to pay it off. He has to pay for each survivor and we've been getting a lot of new people, so we don't have enough"
I pack up all my gear and meet Selena and Sen downstairs. They've came up with a plan to leave and head somewhere else. I just got here, but I don't wanna be the reason a few people get rounded up and shot. So we take the sewer, Mason gives us some supplies and tells us goodbye, shutting the sewer lid as Marina climbs down. Marina insisted she come with us, I have no complaints, we're stronger in numbers.
The sewers don't smell very great but we decide to wait until they leave, just to go back for some things. It's not even a few minutes later and gunshots ring throughout the tunnel. Screams and gunshots, that's all that's heard for the next hour or so. They aren't just killing a few people, they're killing everyone.
We leave, not looking back, not thinking of what happened. Once we're finally out of the sewers, it's morning and the sun has just arose from it's slumber. I can't believe this, finding the sanctuary and leaving a little bit later, how can we live in a world like this. I see Selena grasping her machete, her knuckles are turning white. Sen looks like he's been through hell, and he has...we all have.
"I miss Dylan" Selena says, sitting down on the ground.
"I miss Jo" Sen replies.
"I miss new music" Marina says, playfully. She lightens the mood.
"Yeah" Selena smiles. "I miss Pepsi and chocolate"
"Don't forget zombie movies" I say and we all giggle to ourselves.
"I miss Jake" A man says, I turn around to see Dylan standing there, his neck bleeding. I awake, screaming. Selena runs to me, calming me down. We're sitting behind a fence with the portable UV lights attached to them.
"Dylan" I say.
"He's gone, Lara" She pulls me into a comforting hug. "He's gone"
The moon is shinning through some trees, it shines on the small building that's inside the fence, I almost forgot we were underneath a tall tower. That's it...the tower.
"I can climb the tower and see if I can broadcast a signal to the B.T.A.R. in West Virginia"
"What if you fall?" Sen asks, like he's worried. He know's I can handle myself.
"Once I get up there, I'll use the tower to boost the walkie-talkie signal"
I grab the walkie-talkie and begin to climb. I manage to make it to the first platform, it's high but not too high. I've climbed mountains before, this should be easy. I climb to the next platform, now it's worrying me. I put my foot on the next rung and it snaps off the pole. I take in a deep breath and continue my climb. When I make it to the top, I latch myself to the safety harness. I stand quickly and instantly feel dizzy. The tower sways and creaks loudly. I attach the walkie-talkie to some cords and start turning nobs.
"This is Lara Almore, Co-leader of the B.T.A.R. Please respond"
Nothing.
"This is Lara Almore, Co-leader of the B.T.A.R. Please respond"
Static.
"B.T.A.R. My team needs evac"
Still nothing.
"Lara Almore, this is West Virginian Branch. We thought your team was dead"
"Thank god. No, Dylan Hale, leader of B.T.A.R. died. But the half of the original team is still alive"
"We've located you, there's a tall building with windows that look like mirrors. See it?" He asks.
"Yeah" I reply.
"Your evac will be there"
I climb back down and give the good news. Hopefully the odds are in our favor...