Soul Survivor

Chapter 5

Think. I ran over rooftops - surely I can find a way to exit a house without using a door...

Okay, I know what I have to do. I remember what the guys at the fire safety course said. "If you ever get suck upstairs in a house fire, get to a bedroom and open the largest window. Throw the duvet and pillows and anything else soft you can find onto the street. Then, climb out of the window and hang from the windowsill. Stretch out your body as much as possible so there's less space between you and the ground. Lastly, drop onto the pile of bedding and cushions to reduce the risk of injury."

I grab the bedding and anything else - pillows, soft toys, winter clothes - and start chucking it out of the window. "What are you doing now?" Dexter quizzes. "Get ready: I'm going to throw you out of the window."

"You what?!" He complains, "I am not going to let you kill me!"

"I'm not going to kill you - I'm just going to push you out the window." I turn around and smile at him. The terrified look on his face is priceless. "Don't be a coward." I tease, gripping his hand and tugging him towards the open window. "We can both jump at the same time, if you would prefer that." I suggest. "No way, this isn't Romeo and Juliet - I'm not going to die with you." He argues. We both sit on the ledge. "Ready? On three. One -" I shove him off and he screams as he flails and drops like a stone onto the bedding. He stays lying there for at least 20 seconds before I yell down to him, "Move, unless you want to be squashed!"

He rolls himself over onto the pavement. I propel myself away from the wall and slip into a free fall. After landing with a thump that knocks the air out of me, I drag myself up. Turning to Dexter, I say, "You okay?" "Fine." He grumbles, "So what now?" I have to tell him. "Look, this has been fun but I need to go and find my family. You can come if you like but I'm sure you would much rather do whatever you need to do. Besides, I don't want to drag you into anything stupid. I could have killed myself about 3 times already today."

"I understand. You're right, I have to start looking for my brother. I might head down to his school." He nods. "Goodbye, Dexter." I say, focusing on his eyes. Sunlight hits his irises at the perfect angle and for the first time I can distinguish between his pupils and irises. "Bye... Keep yourself safe, you're a good person." He compliments me. I pat his arm. After all, I may never see him again.

We split and I abandon him, setting off along a complex route of roads and pathways towards my home.

When I turn a corner, my path is blocked by a fallen oak tree and the rubble of a house. I spot a grey leg peeping out of the mound. A small stream of blood trickles down it. Whoever is under there is, for sure, dead. I can't go forwards any more. Is there another way? Glancing around, I spot an alleyway. That way.

I jog into the darkened, narrow pathway. It is a crack between two old, brick houses. Movement scares me for a second, until I realize it was just a cat running across the alley. A strain in my stomach tells me I'm growing more nervous with every yard. Slamming of my bare feet on concrete echoes through otherwise silent space. The rotten stench of rubbish bins fills my nostrils. Although food waste isn't the only possibility of a bad smell. The thought makes me shiver.

Finally, the alley ends. It cuts off at a familiar place - a crossroad. This lets me know that I could have used that alley as a shortcut home; if the world as I know it hadn't suddenly spun into disaster. I pause for a minute, to catch my breath an let my eyes adjust to the abrupt increase of daylight. As I do so, I scan the area. Home isn't far from here. Although the lack of cars on the road sends a shiver down my spine, I can't help but wonder where they are. With the exception of parked cars, there aren't any vehicles. No crashes, no hum of engines, nothing. Not even a bus in sight. It's disturbing. Now that I think about it, there aren't any people around either - apart from dead ones. Usually, in today's modern life, everybody is busy rushing around. But not today. Today is the day when the world stopped. Are they hiding in their houses? Are they all gone? Fled this place or disappeared underground? Spontaneously combusted? Cowards. All of them. I understand that not everyone is willing to risk their life but there could be others who need help. Aren't they at least curious as to what caused all this destruction? Like Dexter, I'm sure he isn't the only one out looking for what's left of his family.

On the move again, I continue this train of thought through the wrecked streets, watching fires burn and sway to the rhythm of smoke. I don't even know what is happening. My best guess is that people caused it. Like the Illuminati, if you believe they exist or not, nobody can deny the theory is plausible at least. An organisation of rebels, perhaps, who have been planning this for years - to wipe out the evil ways of society and rebuild a new one. Could the government be to blame? They have no reason to murder the very people they control.

Finally, I arrive at my road. It is a mess - in ruins. A few houses still stand, but not many. I can't view my own home from here, so I start padding along the centre of the road. All I hear is the whispering of the breeze and the melodic pounding of my skin on the tarmac. I step on a shard of glass and curse, hopping a few times before yanking it out of my foot and carrying on - limping. Leaving a trail of blood drops along the road, I slow my pace.

A few more steps and I catch sight of my house. Amazingly, it's still standing. All of the windows are broken but the door is still shut. I skip up and press down on the handle. The door literally falls off of its hinges. I gasp and step back. It tilts in and leans against the wall with a cloud of dust enveloping us both. My breath tickles the back of my throat and I cough a couple of times before the dust clears.

I climb over the door and step inside.