Collection of Stories

Echo

The crunch of footsteps on glass sounded like church bells to him. Funeral bells. He couldn't see, but he could almost smell them searching for him. No, that's my imagination. Imagination. The word echoed over and over in his head until he heard a different echo. A real echo. "I think I found one!" shouted a man's voice.

"Found one...Found one...Found one..." The metal walls repeated. Teran heard the sound of things being thrown aside: the clang of metal, clatter of wood and crack of stone landing on the concrete floor, all of them mimicked by the metal walls. It fell silent again and now a different person spoke.

"Is it dead?" a woman asked.

"Dead...Dead..Dead..." the walls replied.

"I can't find a pulse."

Something was kicked aside, landing with a dull thud.

"Well, I reckon that was the last." She said, her voice fading as the crunching footsteps grew quieter.

Teran was left to wallow in miserable, guilty relief, hidden under the rubble.