Quake

That Morning

I got up and got ready for school like normal. My dad left before I woke up, but I wish he hadn't. A simple goodbye would've been nice, but it's too late now. Anyway, we dropped of my sister, then my brother, then me. I said bye to my mom as I walked out of the car and into school. I saw my friends in the gym, so I sat with them. We had an assembly about K-Prep testing, then we were dismissed to class. The day was completely normal, up until 4th period. That's when it started. There was a tiny, tiny earthquake, so small it could barely be felt. There was another one a few minutes later, slightly larger, but still unnoticeable. We could've taken the hint, but we didn't. Ol'Madrid was getting tired of going easy on us, so it gave us another. This time, it was enough for us to get under our desks, but nothing besides dust fell. We got back to class, and everything was normal. We were in last period, with only a few minutes left in class, and then it hit. The big one. The one they warned us about, the real earthquake. I heard tiles falling from the ceiling, and saw a hole appear in the floor next to me. I grabbed at the window sill next to my seat, but I was too late. I fell with the floor and most of my class. I felt pain all over, and I couldn't bring myself to get up when I saw the ceiling collapse above me. I was lucky, the debris formed a tent over me. My classmates weren't as lucky as me. I heard screams of pain and sadness all around me. The ground continued to shake, harder and harder and harder. It just wouldn't stop. It kept going and going and- a tile hit me on the head and knocked me unconscious.
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I didn't know how long I had been here, but the earthquake was over. I was too tired to open my eyes, when suddenly, I was freezing cold and... wet. I opened my eyes a crack and saw a figure above me. I didn't care who it was, I wasn't the only one alive. I tried to sit up, but I was pinned down by the rubble that had probably saved my life. Whoever it was moved the stuff off of me, then helped me sit up. They laid me away from the collapsed building, then walked back towards the destruction. Then the aftershock came. I was safe with where I was, but the stranger wasn't. I barely caught a glimpse of them running when the rest of the building collapsed on top of them. All I thought was this isn't real, this is just a dream, I'm just imagining this... Then I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.
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I woke up and kept my eyes closed. I wondered why I was laying in the grass then... oh. It all came back to me in a flash, then I just rolled onto my side and cried. I couldn't do this. I cried for my friends, my teachers, everyone who just died in that building then I realized, what about my family? They... I... What can I do? I slowly got up the courage to open my eyes, then I sat up. I scanned my surroundings for anything useful, when I saw an empty backpack to my left. I crawled towards it and put it on my back. I used a tree to get up, then I began to walk towards my house, but... what about the other kids? I backtracked toward the building, and looked through the rubble for any signs of life. I found a total of six halfway alive kids, so I pulled the debris off of them and dragged them into the open area in front of the school. Satisfied that I had done something good, I walked towards my house. There were no buildings still standing, and the smell of death was everywhere. I picked up some water, food, rope, and a knife on my way home. Hopefully I wouldn't need to use the last one on another human being, but if it meant my or my family's survival...
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I arrived at my pile of a house, and saw signs of recent activity, but I didn't see anyone. There were footprints leading to my backyard, and I followed then to the shed. I slowly opened the shed door and looked inside... nothing. I decided to grab a sleeping bag and my pistol, along with some ammo. There was a lighter, so I grabbed that too. I organized my backpack, and I kept the knife out. I grabbed the knife by the handle, then walked back around the house.