Strangely Familiar - The Flaw in Time

Chapter 19

"Civilization begins with order, grows with liberty and dies with chaos." - Will Durant

***

The chaos broke out.

Samraat yelled, losing his balance, tripping on the floor, his arms floating at the sudden pull of gravity, yet somehow taking support of the arm of the sofa at the last second, and though, his fingers slipped along with the cover, they did halt his speed earning him a few microseconds, thus reducing the severity of blow that undoubtedly arrived. He grunted the moment his elbow struck the floor, which was still vibrating in uneven motion.

The ground beneath them shuddered, the walls of the Mansion shaking and trembling as things around them lost their fight with gravity and collapsed on the floor, lying so casually, one would assume they found a new home, selfishly without paying any heed to the living beings around it. The earthquake dislodged several showpieces and antiques to the ground.

The chandelier above their head was swinging to and fro at an alarming speed, as if it was relentlessly trying to break itself free, feeling compelled to hug the ground beneath it. Ignoring the pleas and panic of individuals, who would undoubtedly be crushed beneath, should it fall on them.

Rahil Kazmi lost consciousness for only seconds before he realized the need of the hour and rose to his feet like a man in action, placing himself back in the role of a detective, quick in his task as he launched himself to get hold of the younger ones to lead them out. Aged he may be, his bones were strong enough to fight and survive.

Tia jostled, against the wall, legs refusing to do their job, as her arms struggled to get a hold of something within her reach. A hand shot out and grabbed her arms to pull her upright. Mr. Kazmi balanced himself but only just.

Supporting one another, the four of them got together and tried to walk towards the door of the Wing. Reaching the entrance, Tia tried to push the door open, but it wouldn't budge.

"You would think something sealed the entrance." She spoke in panic. "It's jammed."

"If the roof falls on us. We are toast." Samraat yelled, banging the door before leaning against it, fear gripping his tone.

"We need to get out." Mr. Kazmi shouted and tried to push his weight against the heavy door to knock it down. No windows were guarding the entrance. The door was iron, making it impossible to break their way out.

Naina knew the tremors were the result of some magical disturbance. Her adoptive mothers' voluntary and reckless approach triggered the magic inside the wall to ricochet off the polished floor they were currently standing on, exploding around them. Her eyes searched for something - anything that could help them with the situation, as the other occupants tried to unlock the entrance, but mostly trying to fix their balance on the ground.

The bits of the roof started to collapse on top of them. The dust swirled around them as Tia sat on the floor, inclining against the surface, dejectedly.

"We only have seconds left," Samraat yelled in utter panic, striking his arms against the door with twice the force. "Please open the door."

"I don't want to die."

Their voices were all mingled up, yelling and screaming in panic.

Naina looked back in haste. Was this it? They were all going to die.

Contrary to the situation, she took a deep breath to calm herself and summoned her shield. Warmth spread through her body the moment the shield enveloped her. She tried hard to extend her magic to others. Her arms started to shake, realizing only an instant later that the level of power it required was beyond her, yet she chose not to lose hope.