"Конец здесь. Через пятнадцать минут-- локация начнет-- умирать"
"-- fin est là. Dans quinze minutes,
cet endroit commence-- mourir"
"The end -- here. -- fifteen minutes,
this -- will die."
A crowd running from the airport runway, to the hangar, into the shuttle buses.
One of the buses made it to the highway, turning through the traffic. Then, without any warning, the bus made an illegal u-turn. Then, not long after, a sharp right turn. Now off the highway, on a small, cracked road. The bus drove for a couple minutes before turning off next to the dock. There was a small structure, an old elevator shaft. The cage elevator inside sat empty infront of them, sticking out like a sore thumb in the clear grass just next to an Eastern Russian town.
Three other buses soon approached the spot, just as the first bus' passengers had all made their way down.
"Пожалуйста, идите -- приют"
"Merci d'aller -- refuge"
"Please -- to shelter"
There was a light sitting low in the sky. People crammed into the elevator with pets and luggage.
The elevator disappeared down the shaft, soon rising back up to collect another small group.
About 20 people now remained on the surface. A loud metallic crash echoed up the rickety shaft.
"Waar is de lift?!"
"Oh God. Ze hebben ons verlaten..."
"Is this a fucking joke?"
"Allô?! S'il vous plaît!"
The glow blanketed the skies above them, a red tint shining high above them, morphing the soft clouds.
The people began screaming, banging on the entrance.
"S'il vous plaît! Laissez nous entrer!"
"Ich h-habe für mei- pla-atz b-bezahlt!"
"What?! Have they fucking locked us out?!"
"This isn't fucking funny! Please, let us in now!"
The door didn't open. The crowd of people sobbed and screamed and pleaded in several languages, all to no avail. Turning on their phones, they texted and called people, mainly those who had already entered the the elevator.
A man was texting on his phone, "Lily. No confíes en nadie. Si alguien se te acerca, ignóralo. Entra en el túnel del canal ahora."
The message was sending. Slowly. He dropped his phone, falling to his knees.
Other people were placing their phones, bags, tablets, pet carriers, small children onto the ground. The crowd fell to their knees, watching the setting sun. They began to cry out, begging to the last time.
A sudden red glow morphed the clouds above, the Angara river a glistening orange ahead of them as the northern lights made spectacular colours directly above them.
YOU ARE READING
Hiraeth: Cities To Embers
Science Fiction'It came from outer space' or 'it was a bioweapon gone awry' The day a commercial airliner departs from London and a group of school students return from a trip to Paris, is also the day a disaster of biblical proportions begins to wipe out both hum...
