2050: The Beginning of the End

Chapter 13: Jason

I'm pulled rudely from sleep, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out that something is seriously wrong.

An ear splitting siren cuts through the air, accompanied by a knock on my door that pales in comparison.

"Jason! Jason, get up this instant!"

It's Theo, and he sounds terrified.

I sit up, pulling on my boots and looking around in a daze. I realize vaguely that I should probably get a move on, but I'm still a bit groggy from my sleep. It must be around sunrise, though the sky outside is cloudy.

I blink rapidly as my door is thrown open.

This time it's Rose.

She runs across my room and pulls me, still wearing yesterday's clothes and probably looking like a mess, out of bed. She grips my wrist firmly, attempting to drag me out of the room.

"Okay okay I'm up." I shout, the screeching of the siren threatening to give me a headache, "Rose! You can let me go."

She stops pulling, but she refuses to let go, the fingers of her disfigured hand remaining wrapped tightly around my wrist.

I notice then that she's shaking, and in the light of the hallway I see how wide her eyes are.

"What's going on?" I demand, yelling to Theo's retreating back, "Theo! Theodore! What's going on?"

The answer is short as he sprints up a flight of stairs.

"Air raid? Probably the Russians."

The full force of my terror is setting in now, threatening to drown me.

"Rose, what do we do?"

Rose's gaze reveals nothing but fear, but she begins to once again lead me down the corridor. We move down a flight of stairs, at which point we nearly run into Lili and Shemik. Lili's face is deathly pale, and she looks as though she could be knocked off her feet by the slightest gust of wind. Shemik doesn't look much better, but I can tell she's trying to stay calm for the rest of our sake.

Emilio and Theo run down the stairs behind us, the former pulling Katerina along in a death grip as she struggles to keep the pace.

"Can you teleport down there?" Emilio is asking. Katerina is shaking her head, eyes almost as round as Rose's.

"I-I th-think I am too afraid for it to work. I c-can't concentrate."

I sort of feel bad for her; there's no denying she's telling the truth.

Emilio takes a deep breath.

"I guess we will just have to run."

And that we do.

We move down the stairs in single file, me and Rose in front and Emilio forming the end of the line with Shemik.

It sort of reminds me of Dad's old action movies, the ones where there's some disaster and they send the youngest kids to safety first.

That way, at least the young ones survive.

Once we reach the first floor, Rose pulls me down a narrow corridor. Over the past few days, I can't remember having been down this hallway. There's a door at the end, and still gripping my wrist, Rose uses the other hand to turn the knob. It swings open, revealing a stone staircase that seems to go on for eternity. The two of us move downward. Shemik is the one to close it, being last in line, leaving us in darkness.