Ascension

Chapter Two

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"RUN!" I shout, my voice barely audible over the howling wind.

A few seconds after I shout it, I realize how stupid it is. We are in the middle of nowhere with nothing to shield us, and we most definitely cannot outrun the colossal front of dust racing toward us.

Nevertheless, we both begin to run. I run as fast as my legs can carry me, my heart pounding in my chest like a hammer. Within thirty seconds, my legs are on fire and Allison is over fifteen feet in front of me. I'll add one more thing to the list of things that Allison is better than me at; Allison is much more in shape than me.

Daring to look behind me, I twist my head, glancing at the progression of the dust storm. My stomach flips when I see how close it is to us. It can't be more than one hundred feet away...

"What the hell are we going to do!?" I scream breathlessly, pumping my arms as hard as I can as we continue to run for our lives.

"THERE!" Allison shouts, pointing her finger ahead.

I follow the direction of her finger to see a small, dilapidated barn, about fifty feet away to our right. We both veer to the right and begin to race towards it, our feet crunching and crashing through the scorched, crisp grass. By now, the dust storm is almost upon us. I begin to cough as course particulates whip through the wind and enter my lungs.

We are almost at the barn. 

Just a few more feet...

I don't know how we make it in time, but just as the dust storm is about to consume us whole, we both dive into the entrance of the barn. I skid across the rough ground, slamming up against the old, rotted wall. Before I can even process anything that is going on, the storm hits.

Hard.

With the force of an eighteen-wheeler slamming into a brick wall, the dust storm slams against the barn, shaking it violently. I squeeze my eyes shut, putting my head between my knees and tightly wrapping my arms around my legs. I can hear the terrible creaking noise as the ramshackle barn sways back and forth, succumbing to the force of the storm, followed by many loud crashing sounds.

Please don't fall down, please don't fall down, please don't fall down...

The only thing I am capable of doing right now is praying.

I don't know how much time goes by, but finally, the roaring noise begins to die down. Slowly and carefully, I lift my head out from between my legs and open my eyes. It takes me a few moments to fully assess the damage done.

Large planks of wood from the ceiling and walls of the barn are scattered across the ground. Dust is loftily swirling around in the air, causing my eyes to tear and my lungs to tickle. I cough a few times, trying to clear my lungs, but no matter how many times I seem to cough, I cannot get rid of the burning feeling inside.

"A...Allison?" I ask wearily, slowly standing up.

No response.

"Allison?" I ask again, this time much louder.

Still no response.

Oh no.

My stomach twists sickeningly as I scan my eyes around the barn, searching for her.

"Allison!" I scream again, this time followed by an episode of intense coughing.

When I am finally finished hacking up a lung, I hear a small, weak groan from across the room. Without a word, I rush forward and begin to sift through the rubble, throwing planks and chunks of wood behind me as I search for her.

"Allison, where are you?!" I shout panickedly, my heart thumping in my chest.

That's when I see it; her long, blond hair sticking out from under a pile of rubble on the opposite side of the barn. Roused with a surge of adrenaline, I sprint forward and begin to lift the rubble off of her as quickly as I can.

"It's okay, everything's going to be okay," I keep repeating, trying to convince myself that it will be true.

It is only when I finish clearing the last parts of rubble off of her body that I can fully see her. From head to toe, she is coated in a fine layer of dust. Blood is steadily streaming down from a gash on her forehead, most likely from the impact of a wooden plank slamming her in the head.

"Allison, are you okay?" I murmur, utterly stunned.

What a stupid question. Of course she's not okay.

She moans again, then begins to cough. Her cough is a terrible rattling sound; one that shakes her entire body up and down. I wait, biting my lip in fear as she continues to cough for what seems like ages. Finally, to my relief, she stops and her eyes flutter open.

She slowly sits up, leaning up against one of the few remaining pieces of the barn's wall.

"Are...are you okay?" I ask again, unsure of what to say.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she croaks.

Allison has always been strong. We sit there for a few moments, suspended in a deafening silence. The sun has returned from the clouds, its rays shining through the broken window and scattering across the demolished ground.

Suddenly, Allison murmurs,

"Do...do you think it destroyed our town?"

I hadn't even thought about that yet. This whole new thought makes me feel nauseous.

"I hope not. Our buildings are much stronger than this barn," I say, trying to sound more hopeful than I actually feel.

"We should go, to make sure that our families are okay," Allison whispers.

It hits me like a brick to the head.

My father.

I really hope that he is okay.

Swallowing back the lump that has begun to form in the back of my throat, I nod then stand up, reaching my hand out toward Allison. She grabs it and I help pull her up. When I see that the blood is still oozing out from her gash, I tear off a piece of my shirt and gently press it against her forehead in a crude attempt to clean the cut.

"Lina, you didn't have to do that. You ruined your shirt!" Allison exclaims, pointing to my torn sleeve.

Right now, that is the least of my worries.

"Don't worry, this shirt was a piece of shit anyways," I say quickly, giving her a small, weak smile.

I've never had nice clothes like Allison. But I've always been okay with it. In fact, sometimes it's easier to have shitty clothes. You don't have to worry about spilling stuff and ruining your $300 shirt.

After double-checking that Allison is okay to move on, we walk out of the barn and onto the ravaged field. The already burnt grass is now covered in dust, making it look even more dead. I pull my shirt up to try to prevent myself from breathing in the dust-filled air, and immediately realize that this attempt is futile since my shirt is covered in dust as well.

Great.

We begin to walk in silence toward town, which is not visible from here. All that is visible now is a thick, dirty haze, which has appeared to have settled and enclosed upon our town like a bubble.

"I'm scared," Allison suddenly blurts out, her voice trembling.

I turn to her, looking into her blue eyes. Over the past few traumatic minutes, I have forgotten the fact that Allison is going aboard the STARLINE. The fact that she is leaving in two weeks. The fact that she will never have to live on this dying planet ever again.

I swallow hard, then say,

"Me too,"

We continue to walk, our eyes solemnly trained ahead at the ominous, hazy cloud surrounding our town. With every step closer, the knot in my stomach tightens even more.

If only we knew what lay ahead.