Dark Sky

01 - Trapped

Chapter One

30minutes After The Bombs

The room was in complete darkness and the sound of the chaos outside was muffled. The only sign of movement from inside the room was the occasional scatter of dust as it fell from the broken concrete above.

The man lay motionless in the pitch blackness partially buried in the debris that now littered the area. He hadn't been conscious since part of the ceiling came down and struck him across his head, the bleeding from the resulting wound was not that serious however.

Some more crumbled cement freed itself from the ceiling above and gently rained down on his face making him cough as it found its way into his lungs. The spasm brought him to and he finally opened his eyes.

Joe Randell looked around but it was in vain, the room was in total darkness and no matter how his eyes adjusted he could not see what had happened.

'What had happened?' He thought to himself. The last thing he remembered was coming down to the basement to turn on his washing machine. Now he was in the dark. He knew his house was damaged, he could sense that much from the amount of dust he was covered in. Oh and the heavy beam that had pinned him to the floor across his right leg.

But what had happened?

There had been an explosion sound somewhere outside. Yes he remembered that. But it had sounded like it was miles away, not close at all. So why was he laying in his basement covered in rubble?

There must have been an earthquake! He remembered the house had started to shake, quite violently too. But that was impossible. England only suffered minor tremors at most. Yet still he lay in the broken basement of his house.

He thought hard to try and remember more, but he guessed that must of been the point the ceiling had come down as his memory was completely blank after that.

He tried to move but was unable to get up as the beam had him pinned. His legs did not hurt though and he hoped that was a sign the heavy object had not done him any damage. He also knew the weight on his legs may be the reason he couldn't feel pain. He pulled himself up into a seated position and fumbled around in the darkness to try and survey exactly what was on him. It was a relatively small lintel as far as he could make out, but even at the size he guessed it at it would prove difficult to move. From feel alone he knew it was metallic and probably made of iron. Heavy.

Placing his hands against the beam he pushed in an effort to try and free himself from the restraint. It did move slightly but was heavy and he did not possess the strength to shift it in one movement. If his legs weren't damaged now they could be if he moved the beam incorrectly and it fell harder on him and so he abandoned his effort whilst he thought for a while.

Maybe if he waited long enough a neighbour would realise he hadn't come out and come to the rescue. But then who was he trying to kid, he couldn't remember the last time his neighbours had even acknowledged him. He also couldn't rely on his wife coming home either, no dought she was with him!

His best chance was to wait for the emergency services. They must be on their way if something bad had happened. Yes that was probably best considering his circumstances.

He sat in the darkness for a few more minutes before the realisation hit him that it could be a very long time before any rescue came. What ever had occurred was serious enough to bring down part of his house and one could assume if his house had suffered collapse many more would have done too. There may be hundreds waiting, stuck in their broken homes. How far down the queue was he? Would rescue come in time?

The thought made him feel a bit claustrophobic. The relative calm was draining from his body and the thought of being trapped in his own basement was letting some panic creep in. It was a new feeling to him and not a nice one. Enclosed spaces didn't usually bother him much but this was different. If he didn't get free he may not get out in time.