Random short story's

Open Fire

Alex sat on the tube and stared out the window. She had been to see a movie at the cinema with her friends and was now going home so she could get changed and go to her uncles party. The tube slowed at the next station, it was almost empty being the middle of a Sunday and on the outskirts, it had a few trees and she could see the car park behind the mesh fence that was supposed to make everybody go through the tiny ticket office. One or two people got off and then the train doors slid shut and the tube moved swiftly out of the station. It passed through London's drab grey streets before slipping underground and vanishing in darkness.

Alex turned around to see the seven other occupants of her carriage immersed in their own activities. A young mother and her five-year old son where sitting at one end reading a picture book, a large shopping bag at their feet. Three rowdy teenage boys of about seventeen, three years older than Alex herself, where exchanging pictures on their phone and arguing about football. A smart business woman was sat opposite Alex and as reading a newspaper while listening to music in from her iPod. An elderly gentleman was sitting with his walking stick glaring at the boys as they roared with laughter.

Alex herself was sitting in her casual hoddie listening to music from her iPhone, handbag by her side empty of the sweets it had held when she had left home that morning. Her black hair fell in waves to her shoulders and her keen blue eyes swivelled around as she examined everybody. She was hoping that when she got home the charity run she had done for Stand up to Cancer had gained lots of sponsors and wondering why her life was so... Normal.

***

90 minutes before.

Ex-Corporal James Smith was walking down SPIDER's secure underground facility of nuclear development when his friend and newly appointed head of weaponry Ethan Marks caught up with him. They didn't speak. They didn't need to. Ethan was ex American air force while James was from Canada. They had joined SPIDER together to escape dying and had never regretted it. They and SPIDER didn't exist but had contacts in just about every country in the world. SPIDER existed for revenge purposes only, and every member in it wanted revenge on somebody, something, some group or some nation. Of course they had to do the occasional ransom or bank robbery to pay for their bills and for their plans but it mostly was revenge, chaos and lots of death.

James was head of the latest scheme and had enlisted the help of Ethan to put it into action. They had both had their revenge long ago but a few people in their crew wanted it and it was more putting the planet on alert and having them blame each other than the revenge part. This meant that when they next planed a revenge they could blame it on somebody and carry on scheming in peace.

They reached a security door and both swiped keycards before being allowed through. Inside was a mini NASA control centre, there was only three people in it. Jack Bullard a British MI5 agent who had a knack with bombs, Jade Petit a French scientist who happened to fall into SPIDER and never wanted anything from it. There was also Zed a random guy who had been in the organisation forever and nobody knew where he came from. When James and Ethan entered Jack glanced up and smiled at them.

"She's all ready to go. Just have to input the coordinates." he beamed. Jade huffed.

"You and your toys." she said rolling her eyes as her accent came out. "let it be random, zis is about chaos is zis not?" James nodded.

"Good idea. Who needs coordinates?"

"Might I input a small idea?" Zed asked. James waved at him to continue. "We may wish to set it to er... Well not here."

"That's a good point." said Ethan. "we'd be kicked for sure." Jack shrugged.

"I can do whatever." he span around and ploped himself in a soft spinny chair and typed at a computer, after a minute an image of the world appeared on a large screen at the front of the room. Jack looked around.

"When you say." she said. Jade leaned forward watching the scream eagerly. Ethan looked to James while Zed sipped a cup of coffee, watching them with a mild expression of humour.

James put his hands in his pockets and smiled at the screen.

"Open fire."

***

85 minutes after

Charles Thomas ran down the corridor to the Cabinet Room of number 10 ten, a peice of paper in his hand. He pushed open the door and ignoring the stares he got walked right over to the PM. He held out the paper and the Prime Minister read it through once. He stared at Charles who nodded.

"What can we do?" he asked.

"Nothing." Charles replied. "We're too late."

***

Alex's mobile beeped and she brought it out to see she had a text from her friend Shauna: u left ur purse behind. ive got it dont panic. :)

Alex laughed and went to reply when her phone cut her out. Confused she glanced at the top corner of the screen. No signel. She sighed and typed in her thanks anyway to send when they got to the next station. As the thought came into her head the train slowed and she glanced up to see her station. She grabbed her bag and hopped out, ignoring the mind the gap notice. She traveled up the escalator and out into the bussy street. Strange though she still had no signel. Knowing the text would have to wait she put her phone in her pocket and crossed the road.

Behind her somebody screamed and a car fired over nearly hitting her. She glanced around to see the sky was lighting up and what looked like a comet was flaying towards where she was standing. Her bag fell to the ground in her shock and then she saw light and then nothing.

The empty void of death.

What had seconds before been a vibrant street was now ashes and alight from a nuclur blast. The earth was rubble that went down to the Underground below and the air was toxic. SPIDER's small, very direct nuclear weapon had wiped out thousands and then left the city around it liveable.

James Smith considered that a success.

---

I was sad so I wrote this. A story about a nuclear blast. At least it's not he world ending... Just most of London.