Man's Down

Lily

The bunker was big and filled to the brim with people. As I walked along the corridors to our room, I managed to listen in to some peoples conversations.

" I think he got concussion from the blast."

"Metal rods falling like rain."

"I don't see why there's a secret exit round the back." I felt like I needed to remember that one, it seemed important. We reached our room for the next few nights. It was packed with people, all talking and fumbling. It smelt like sweat. We searched for beds, and we found some spare beds at the front. It was already night, and I was tired, so I lay down and started to close my eyes. Lily watched me then sat in the bed next tome.
"Dad, are you sure we're safe down here?" Her bold brown eyes stared into mine.

"I'm positive, honey. Now go to sleep." As my eyes started to get heavy, my last thoughts were of Summer and how much I missed her after just one day.

The bunker shook. People screamed. People panicked. People shoved. I grabbed Lily's hand through the tumult, and tried to get into the reinforced room.Another shake. I nearly fell over. Everyone was getting aggressive now. Another big shake. They were getting worse. This time I fell. I let go of Lily's hand. They say that when this kind of thing happens time goes into slow-motion. But no, it doesn't. It's fast, and scary and terrifying. I searched around the floor, looking for her hand.One more shake. The roof started to give. The door for the reinforced room slammed shut. And then. And then. The last thing I remembered was Lily's scream.

I had a deafening headache. I couldn't get up. The room was eerily silent. I opened my eyes. Most of the roof had fallen, I was incredibly lucky to be alive still. I thought they said it was safe. I managed to get up, and saw a nurse on the other side of the room. I needed to get to her, I needed to check that she was safe. I tried to move my leg, but it gave and I almost fell back down again. The nurse saw me and started coming to me.
"Are you OK?" Her voice was soothing. "I'm going to give you support." She reached me and let me lay my arm over her shoulder. "Did you have anyone else with you?"

"Yes." My mouth was dry and sore. "My daughter, her name's Lily. Lily Palin."

"Okay. We will fix you up, then we can help you find your daughter." She took me into the infirmary. It was fairly empty, but there was still about twenty people in the room. They put a bandage over my leg, gave me a drink,and gave me food. I felt better, but I couldn't be better. Not without Lily.

"Where is she? Where is Lily?"I asked the doctor, then talked to the nurse. "The other infirmary is over there" He pointed to the right. "You might find her inhere, or in the other room. I'm sorry, but I can't help you more than that." I climbed out of the bed. My leg was still limp, but it wasn't bad enough for me not to walk. I moved around, looking at every bed and the person inside it. An old woman with a green cardigan and a fag in her mouth. No. A small girl, coughing but she wasn't my Lily. No. A soldier, eating a cereal bar with his arm in a sling. No. I looked like this for another quarter of an hour in this room but I couldn't find her, no matter how hard I looked at each person. I moved to the other room. I walked over to the other room, limping.The room had a lot more people. About fourty or fifty. I moved around the room. Thirty minutes passed. And that's when I saw her. Her head was bleeding, and she was surrounded by doctors. I pushed through them. They shouted at me. I didn't care. All I wanted was to see Lily.
"Dad." Her voice was quiet. She stroked my cheek. The doctors stopped shouting.
"How bad is it?" I asked to one of the Doctors. She shook her head.

"I'm sorry." She sat me down."She's got about five minutes left."

"No, no, no. She's a strong girl, she isn't dying. Stop being silly."

"I'm very sorry for your loss."I held Lily's hand and looked deeply into her eyes. She stared right back at me. The doctor stepped back. I just watched Lily and she just watched me. The doctors didn't care. I needed to make these last moments special.
"Lily, I love you. I really, really love you.Every day when I was on the train back from work, all I could think about was seeing you. You inspired me at the beginning of every day.And at the end of the day. You are my life."

She looked at me, heartened. I kissed her forehead. I struggled to hold back a tear, because I didn't want to upset her.

 "I love you Dad. Please find Mum for me, and look after her." She closed her eyes, but she kept breathing. I kissed her forehead again. And then her heart stops. And then it stops. They always glamorise the death, but she just stopped.She just stopped.