Follow The Buzzards

IV

      Shaken by the loud screams and chaos, I got up. I was dizzy and needed to sit back down because I was still very nauseous from the gas. I collected what memories I could from earlier. Then I realized I was still in the truck, but the doors were wide open and sunlight beamed through. People were being taken out and being lined in age groups. Dean wasn't here. I saw him ahead in a line being forced to go through security checks.

          I was still very lost and needed to figure out what was going on. As I heard gunshots in the background, fighter jets shot past over head. A man in a uniform grabbed my wrist and yanked me out slamming the doors of the truck closed behind me. I figured I was the last one in there and they needed to move things along.

         I ran over to Dean who was still arguing with an attendant. I bumped into a lot of people with shocked looks on there face. I slowed down to see that everyone was looking at a large television screen. It was a broadcasting warning everyone about large scale nuclear attack. Texas, and California were torn to shreds and with missiles still sailing in our direction, it was obvious what was happening. They went through with the idea of a safety vault.

         I didn't know what to expect. I didn't want to expect anything. Everyone held a collective breath as they showed a timer. A timer indicating how long we have till Chicago was up in dust. We had two hours to get off the surface of the planet and into a vault. I was lost in the moment as officers forced us through age categories. I lost track of Dean and I was squeezed between a red head about my age and a boy too young to witness this war.

         To my left, elderly folk. Some in wheel chairs. Some limping. Their line led to a closed off room with black walls and a red floor. I soon came to find out that the floor was red with blood. I felt weak at the thought of what was happening in that room. I watched as I saw a old woman's body being dragged out the back. They were killing off extra baggage.

         "What the fuck are we becoming?" I whispered to myself.
        
         I was shoved forward back into line by the red head.

        "Get going, we don't have time for this!" she ordered.

         I returned a dirty glare before realizing she was right. I moved up through and archway that revealed an area far bigger than any stadium. Looking to either side of me, I saw thousands of people, all of them brought here for a central cause. Assuming that we were entering some vault, how on earth were we all to fit in there? Straight ahead, a large ramp declined downward to a large door. This door was at least thirty feet wide. A woman in a suit standing on an elevated platform read orders we were expected to follow.
 
      "All residents are ordered to proceed through the entrance, any sign of disturbance will lead to imideate termination."

         That was the only thing I caught while trying to look for Dean.

         "There may be a limit as to the number we can take."

         Though she wasn't finished speaking, that line she just said had triggered every person willing to survive to charge the entrance. Out of instinct, I bolted for the door as well. I wasn't the fastest. I was thin, but I hadn't worked my body in years. I reached the door where many people had piled up. I could only hear shouts and anger as people fought punched and pushed their way forward. I saw people getting stepped on and kicked.
   
       Luckily for my size, I could work my way through people's legs and work my way up. I forced my way in and turned back to see my friend. Dean was standing in the back. I remembered he couldn't run as well due to the leg injury caused by the guard the other night. I shouted for him to push, and I caught his attention. He started clawing his way though the crowd that was fighting to save themselves.

         Unfortunately, Dean had pushed the wrong man, a man with a large red birthmark covering his right eye who clutched his daughters hand had turned around and sent a fist into Deans mouth. I saw the doors begin to close and I had tears in my eyes. He wasn't going to make it. I screamed his name but no response. At this point I couldn't even leave to stay with him. The crowd pressed me against the back wall and I was forced to see the last doors close on Dean, as he laid on the cold floor, his jaw probably broken.

         The man held his daughter and cried. She seemed no older than five. Others stood outside the closed blast proof glass doors in shock. Knowing what slow death awaited them.