Triallaire

Devastation in its Purest Form

8 August, 2154

Castlebay, Isle of Barra, Scotland

CATRÌONA POV

I was about to finish my rounds for the day when I was told that I had a visitor at the front desk. Confused, I made my way over from the ED to find Maevis, now seven years old and looking every bit like me at that age, dressed in her school uniform with her backpack on her back. "Maevis?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hi, Mama," said Maevis, waving at me from the front desk. "Mrs. Lewis was just tellin' me aboot her kitty!"

"Oh, was she now?" I asked her. "And what are ye doin' here? I thought Miss Muirreach was supposed te come and get ye from school."

"Oh, she did, but I told her ye wanted me te come here instead," Maevis replied to me.

"But I didnae want ye te come here, Maevis Anne," I told her in a mildly scolding tone.

"But I wanted te come Mama. Ye said ye'd show me the operatin' theatre!" Maevis whined to me, and I let out a heavy sigh.

"Aye, I did, didnae I? Well, let's see if there's one open, aye? Come wi' me, lass," I said, holding out my hand to her, which she gladly took, and mouthed a 'thank you' to Mrs. Lewis. "So, how was school?"

"It was fine," she said. "Miss Connors told me I'm readin' too good fer her class."

"How can one read 'too good'?" I asked her with confusion. "Well, ye dinnae listen te her, hen. Ye ken tha' yer verra smart, and just because the other bairns arenae as smart as ye doesnae mean ye should be held back from it."

"She says 'slow and steady wins the race'," said Maevis.

"Aye, in some situations, it does, but not all," I told her, passing the doctors' lounge. "Why dinnae we pop in here fer a second? Ye can meet some of Mama's coworkers." I led Maevis inside, where we were greeted by two doctors and three nurses, who were excited to learn that Maevis was interested in medicine.

"Have we a future doctor on our hands?" asked one of the nurses.

"Aye, ye do!" Maevis said excitedly.

"Maevis has been dreamin' of bein' a doctor ever since she could talk," I chimed in, running my fingers through Maevis's slightly wavy hair. It was certainly much straighter than mine, but still just as thick.

"I want te be a trauma doctor, like Mama is," Maevis replied, looking up at me. "Of course, I'll do it without glasses." I couldn't help but chuckle - ever since I had gotten glasses the year before, Maevis teased me for having 'old lady eyes'. Playfully, of course - she was never mean about it, but she wasn't wrong. I was now thirty-eight, definitely getting close to being middle-aged, and my eyesight wasn't nearly as good as it used to be. Suddenly, the television, and all of our mobile phones, screeched out an alarming tone, drawing all of our attention to either the television or the phones. I pulled out my mobile phone and glanced at the screen:

EMERGENCY ALERT

BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO GLASGOW. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.

"What in the hell?" I heard one of the other doctors, Dr. MacPhearson, say.

"Mama, wha's happenin'?" Maevis asked me, not frightened but definitely uneasily.

"I dinnae ken, hen," I said, looking up at the television as a news anchor appeared on the screen speaking in an urgent tone.

"This is breaking news, seek shelter immediately! A ballistic missile of some kind has been launched from Aldermaston in southern England, seemingly on its way te Glasgow. It is unknown at this time what sort of ballistic missile is headin' fer us right now, but Aldermaston is kent fer storin' nuclear warheads," said the news anchor, and two of the nurses gasped. As the anchor continued to speak, the screen switched to a visualisation of a missile as it flew over southern Scotland, destined to hit its intended target within minutes. All of us watched in horror as the missile drew nearer and nearer. "Residents of Glasgow, if ye havenae sought shelter yet, please do so immediately . This is not a drill, this is a verra real threat. This missile appears te be a nuclear warhead. Remain calm and dinnae leave yer shelters until-" The screen went black. For a few moments, all was quiet, until the ground began to shake and the sound of a very loud 'boom' shook the building.