I cannot sleep. All night long I toss and turn in my sleeping bag, my tail bone aching from where it meets the hard cement ground. Moonlight casts a silver glow in the cramped room Yuki and I share. She is sound asleep, and might be snoring.
It is about 2 A.M. when smoke streams in through the ceiling vent.
Thomas!
I tear out of my sleeping bag so fast that I rip the zipper open.
"Yuki, wake up!" I shake her violently so she wakes.
She groans. "Unnh.."
"Get up! I'm going to wake the boys."
Down the hall I run, towards the room the boys are sharing. We decided we should share rooms to look out for one another.
I grab the door knob, a round brass one, and turn it.
Fear grips me as I find the door locked.
No, no, no -
I pound on the door. "Thomas!" I scream. "Thomas, wake up!"
Smoke, wispy and snake-like, edges through the gaps in the doorway. Shit, shit, shit.
"Thomas! Goddammit, wake up, Thomas!"
I hear no movement in the room.
I back away and try to angle myself like they do in movies. Feeling as coordinated as a seal, I raise my foot and kick the door with all my might.
It budges, but not enough. I yell a swear word and kick again. And again. And again.
Finally - BANG! - the door swings open.
Clouds of white smoke swirl in the room. I can barely see the lifeless bodies of Thomas, Mathias and Max, all of them still zipped up in their sleeping bags.
<What's going on?>
Yuki stumbles down the corridor, her hair disheveled, her eyes still groggy with sleep.
"Yuki, quick - help me wake the guys!"
She jolts awake when she sees the three unconscious boys. <Oh shit.>
"Deep breath."
We draw large breaths and dart into the cloudy room. The smoke is cool and moist to the touch. I am tempted to sniff it to see what it smells like - will it be bitter, or will it be sweet? - but resist the temptation. There will be no one to save the boys if Yuki and I go as well.
No amount of shaking will wake them. They are out cold, like they've been tranquilized. I worry the smoke may seep through my skin and knock me out too.
I start to drag Thomas towards the doorway. Yuki looks at me, wide-eyed. <What are you doing?>
I jerk my had towards the door. Maybe the smoke is preventing them from waking. Maybe they'll wake if we bring them to fresh air.
Yuki gets my message and starts dragging Max towards the door, but he's too big for her to move alone. She shifts her attention to Mathias instead. Once Thomas and Mathias are in the corridor, where the air is strangely free of smoke, we take another deep breath and go back for Max.
It takes all our energy to shift Max an inch. I knew he was big, but I didn't know he was this heavy.
Both our backs are facing the door as we drag Max's heft towards the open door.
Then I feel a gush of air. Almost like -
I turn and watch the door slam shut.
YOU ARE READING
Empty City
Science FictionA girl awakens in an empty city devoid of people or any semblance of life. She cannot remember her past, or why she is here. Then she meets a boy whom she so badly wants to trust - because there's no one else. But is he who he seems to be? Why is...
