Dream Come True

17

I felt the ground shake beneath me and I slapped my hands to the floor as if I was trying to stabilise the earth underneath me. Screams erupted into the early-morning silence through the metal door. We all scuffled out of our sleeping bags and Peter slowly pushed open the trapdoor.

Cool early morning breeze brushed back my disheveled hair as I resurfaced. The stench of sulfur and smoke wafted up towards the still dark sky, obliterating any sense of peace, replacing it with an atmosphere of dread. Curling wisps of black clouds billowed above the trees, entwining with wails of mourning.

"Oh no." I breathed. I took off towards the flames, Xander's voice calling my name. Ash showered down on me like snowflakes, coating my hair and grimy clothes. My breathing clawed out of my throat, my legs pumping forward until I reached the town.

Tears sprang to my eyes as I took in what was in front of me. Horror filled me so fully I stumbled back, trying to get away from the nightmare that lay right before my eyes. Bright orange lights lit up the darkness as smoke billowed out of the ruins.

Screams and cries fill my head and I flung my hands to the sides of my face, trying to stop the deafening sound from reaching my ears. I shook my head, wishing it wasn't real.

But it was.

Anger seemed to spread through me like a disease, seething like a viper. How could Drey do something like this? All these people... Xander and Peter caught up with me as I walked forward.
"Where are you going?" Peter hissed at me. Xander's mouth was turned down in an unfamiliar frown, devastation and grief tainting his eyes as he watched me. He grabbed my hand and we walked towards the rubble to salvage whatever broken lives we could.

* * *

Everything reeked of burnt rubble and gas. The heat from the left over flames made my skin damp as I rushed through the destroyed streets, tiptoeing through the trash that filled the paths. I searched through shops and rummaged through homes, searching for anything, anyone. Someone who's body hadn't given up in agony. Xander was beside me, digging his hands through the black charcoal, while Peter looked around the corner. My heart clenched and my mind refused to accept the image in front of me. Hundreds of people sprawled on the unforgiving concrete, all life torn from them like pages in a book. Children clinging to mothers, fathers forming barriers in front of their loved ones. I made a guttural sound, a sob catching in my throat.

Xander held me close.
"Let's see if anyone is still out there." He whispered, the scene around his making his voice devastatingly sad. We searched for hours, afternoon sun sweltering on our backs, until we finally sighed in defeat.
"There's no one here." Peter said. "It's getting dark. We need to go back to the bunker." He said. We all turned and began to walk away when we heard it.

A faint whimper escaping from someone's lips.

I whipped my head around the direction of the voice and rushed to a pile of disintegrated trash outside the butcher shop. Xander and Peter were soon at my side, their hands delving deep into the burnt wood until we found her.