Second Chance

Chapter 72

The stress and pressure of finding Morgan in one hour is starting to set in, as I'm running through the streets of the burning city. I know what truck I'm looking for, and it helps that it's not very average, so it should be easy to spot. That is, if there are only a few buildings to check, but there's not, there's got to be close to one hundred buildings stuffed behind that damn wall!

As I'm running, I'm thinking about what would happen if I don't find Morgan, or if I find her and she's dead. What would I do then? By that time, Alex would probably already be gone, so I would have to fend for myself. I haven't really been alone since I got here though, besides when I woke up and realized I was in a completely different spot than I remember. Even then, I only lasted for about an hour before I got a knife to my throat. So basically, I wouldn't be able to survive a day out here alone. I have to find Morgan alive, that's my only option for survival.

I round a corner, but am immediately blown backwards by an explosion only a few feet away from me. I lay on the pavement for a moment, my ears ringing. I blink a few times to clear my vision, then slowly get up. Luckily, I didn't break anything, but I still feel a little dazed. I don't let that stop me though, as I keep running.

Up ahead, I think I see what I've been looking for, and as I get closer, I know that I'm right. It's the truck, but of course, Morgan isn't in it. I stop briefly to catch my breath, but as I lean against the truck I start to get really dizzy. I know what's coming, but right now is not the time to break down. I have to keep going.

I turn my attention to the building the truck is parked beside, and directly across from me is a door, so I'm guessing Morgan went through there. I stagger towards it, but my wooziness only gets worse. It's taking all my energy to stay upright, and I don't know how the hell I'm going to save Morgan if I can barely walk in a straight line.

I make it to the door and open it, which leads directly to a staircase. I start to climb up it, but each step seems a mile away, and by the time I make it up the first flight of stairs, I'm pretty sure I burned away an entire five minutes. There's no way that I'm making it back to Alex in time. I just have to hope that she decides to wait a little longer.

As I'm getting higher up into the building, more people start to swarm around me, which is making it more difficult to climb one way, while everyone else is going a different way. No one who is passing me is Morgan though, and I just have a feeling that she's on the top floor, based on the vision I had, at least.

With all the strength I have left, I finally manage to stagger onto the top floor and open the door to the main area. Once I take in the scene around me, a sharp pain slices through my skull, and I nearly fall over. Apparently Morgan is here then.

Everything around me is destroyed, and it's a wonder that the floor hasn't caved in yet. Although, with me coming in here, am I just making everything worse? My guess is that this is a bar or something. It looks super fancy, but it got hit hard by the explosions. I think it might actually be a few minutes away from collapsing in on itself, so I need to find Morgan and get the hell out of here before we both die a horrible death.

I so badly want to just run across the floor and yell out to her, but that's probably not a good idea. So, I treat this situation like a frozen pond, and carefully skirt across the fragile floor, hoping I won't just fall through. It seems to be holding my weight though, so that's good.

I don't know what Morgan would do if she found me here, but she doesn't really have anywhere to go, so it's not like she can run away from me. Still, I don't want to scare her by calling out to her now, I want to wait until I find her, then get her attention.

As if the universe is reading my thoughts, I round a bend, and see that a portion of the roof has caved in right on top of what probably was a table. I look closer, and see to my delight that Morgan is laying there, with her bottom half of her body covered in rubble. That delight is short lived though, as I realize she's not moving.

"Morgan!"