Thunder and Storm

The Escape

SALLY.

Alarms blared as I walked out into the snow on shaky legs. Snowflakes fell on my face, my breath puffing in the air. I was still weak but there was a sense of urgency in me. My eyes were wide as they scanned my surroundings in search of the threat.

I propelled myself forward even though all I wanted was to lay down and curl in myself. People ran out in droves, a blur of green, blue, yellow and orange. The ground shook beneath my feet and I fell. There was an earthquake.

There was bedlam everywhere, trucks were burning, soldiers running for dear life and then kids like me running into a big truck. A blonde boy was navigating them into the truck.

I needed to get there.

I tried to get up but failed. My lips were cold. The tear tracks on my face made my cheeks cold and I shivered. My neck hurt, my throat throbbing with the pain of being choked. I wheezed out a breath, tried to stand but fell. My eyes closed as darkness enveloped me and I gave in to it, letting the cold seep into my skin.


A sinister laugh echoed around me. I whimpered as hands caressed my skin. I tried to get away but was grabbed by the throat in a chokehold.

I was choking, gasping for air.

I sprang upright with my hands outstretched in front of me. I grabbed my throat and it hurt. There were probably bruises there. I looked around me. I was in a tent not back at the Underground. My heartbeat slowed down.

It spiked up again as the tent opened suddenly and a boy with platinum blond hair poked his head in.

“Hey.” He gave me a boyish smile. I calmed down. It wasn’t a threat.

His eyes roamed my face down to my neck. They lingered there for a while before moving back to my face.

“Nice to see you awake.” He commented on the bruises around my neck.

He moved further into the tent and stretched his hands out to touch me. “Here, let me help you up.”

I remembered his face. He had been the one leading kids into a truck. “Don’t touch me,” I said hurriedly.

“Okay.” He frowned, raising his hands in surrender. “Come out by yourself then. You must be hungry, it’s time for food.”

He moved out of the tent. I struggled up and moved out. We were underground somewhere. There  were lots of tents around and kids moving about. It looked like a refugee camp. The boy moved in front of me and I got a good look at him. He was tall, lean and dressed in all black. He had light brown eyes that twinkled with amusement as he looked down at me. His lips curved up slightly in a smirk.

“You done checking me out?”

“I wasn’t...I wasn’t checking you out.” My voice was raspy. I brought my hand up to my neck and rubbed it.

“Who did that to you?” He motioned with his head towards my neck.

“Nobody. You mentioned food.”

He nodded his head and turned, motioning with his hand for me to follow him. I followed him down the path that was cleared in the middle for passage. People stared at me and I frowned, wondering why I was drawing so much attention. There were at least ten of them.

I looked down at myself and realized why they were staring. I was in my red jumpsuit with the Medex symbol drawn on the chest. Even here, I stood out.

“You have a strange hair colour,” the blonde boy in front of me commented.

Oh! That was what they were staring at.

“By the way, I’m Ryan.” He turned and stretched out his hand for a shake. I contemplated taking it. What happened in the cafeteria flashed in my mind. I wasn’t certain if he was human or enhanced like me.

“I’m Sally,” I kept my hands beside me.

“Sally, uhn?” He smiled. “You have a thing with touching people.” It was a statement.

“I’d rather not.” It was safer this way.

He nodded. “Noted.”

We made it to a big tent and he stopped. He moved the flap of the tent aside and poked his head in.

“Hey, Cam, look who’s awake,” he shouted.

He was really loud. I was sure he didn’t need to shout to get the person’s attention. I had a feeling he was a very playful persona. He moved out of the tent and a few seconds later, another blonde boy came out. This one with hair the colour of sunshine and an expressionless face.

A small gasp escaped me as Cameron Downing looked down at me. His blue eyes appraising me.

“Hello, Sally,” he said in a gruff voice. I remembered his voice was thick. He looked bigger, his hair longer and he had stubble on his jaw. He looked hardened.

“Cameron,” I rasped out.

If he noticed my neck, he didn’t act like it. He moved towards some boxes stacked by the wall in the corner and picked up an apple. He threw it at me and I caught it. The boxes were marked by Medex emblem. We were never served fruits back at the Underground. I glanced at all the boxes, they were all Medex boxes with fresh produce in them. We were never served these. Where did they all go then? I bit into the apple, chewed and swallowed. He carried a box and Ryan lifted another.

“Join us,” he said as they went round and shared the fruits.

I devoured the apple and picked up another. I noticed this part of the wall was cool and shiny. A closer look revealed it was covered by thin ice. We were in some kind of cave.

“My sister made that,” Ryan spoke up from behind me suddenly and I jumped, the apple falling out of my hand, back into the box.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He gave a slight chuckle. He bent, picked up the fallen apple and gave it to me.

“Your sister?” I swallowed. I shook my head and he dropped it.

“Yes, she made the ice coating to keep them fresh. You’ll meet her,” He moved away. “Come, you need to take a bath and change.”

“There’s a bathroom here?” I followed him, surprised by his words.

“Yes, with a jacuzzi, a five-star restaurant–“ I raised a brow; he glanced at me and laughed. “I’m just messing with you. No, there’s a pool where you can take your bath.”

The pool he spoke of was deep in the cave, far away from everyone. It was a small waterfall leading into the cave. There must be a lake or a river around here. He bent and dipped his hand into the water. It glowed orange as vapour started to come out of the water. He was enhanced after all.

“It’s warm now. Enjoy your bath, Sally,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away.

I took off my jumpsuit and stepped into the pool. The heat emanating from it soothed my aching muscles. I bent, submerging myself in it and just enjoying the warmth. I was no longer back there. No more cold baths and tasteless food. I could finally go back home.

I stood up and scrubbed my skin, imagining I was shedding off layers of dirt from the Underground. When I emerged from the water I’d be a new person. The water sparkled and I looked down at my blurry reflection. I was leaner than before, and my hair stuck to my face like a drenched rat. Gone was the chubby Sally. This Sally was changed, a life of hardness had reshaped her.

The change wasn’t only physical, I could feel it in me, I was different. I wondered if my parents would still recognise me when I went back home.  I touched my neck. There were bruises on it, glaringly obvious. Bruises in form of a handprint. Images flashed before my eyes and I flinched.

Forget them.

I wasn’t back there anymore. No one could hurt me. I was going home, my parents would protect me.