And The Ashes Will Fall

Chapter One

October 27th, 1962.

Samuel Ederehart was born of James and Penny Ederehart, and was raised, and currently living in a little suburban town by the name of Lewes, Utah. Lewes was no more than a half hour outside of Salt Lake City, the well-known capital of the state.

Sam was standing in the hallway of his apartment, watching the local 9 a.m. news on his black-and-white television, the broadcast had an older, greying man. "...and a new study shows that cats don't land on their feet all the time."

The anchorman went silent for a minute, then spoke once again. "In other news, the current crisis in Cuba has made our tensions with Russia skyrocket. At this point, you all should all build a bunker and stock up on supplies, because at this point, nuclear war seems imminent. Thank the dirty Commies over in our lovely neighbor, Russia!"

Sam sighed aloud, getting up and turning off the television. He went into the kitchen, turning on the coffee pot and trudging over to sit down in an old, black, leather armchair, which was a gift from his now-deceased mother, and a memory for Sam to cherish for a sweet and somber moment.

Sam snapped back to reality a few minutes later, after hearing the coffee maker begin to pour the caffeinated beverage into the glass chamber. "I'm sick of hearing about the possibility of nuclear war." Sam thought, thinking about the news once again. 'It's all fake. The press just wants to scare us. We might have high tensions with Russia but there's no way that either side would allow nuclear war to happen."

Sam rubbed his forehead with his hand in frustration. It was everywhere. 'Nuke this!' and 'nuke that!' it was migraine-inducing, annoying, and pointless. Why couldn't the world just be at peace? We can do much more useful things than fight and compete to decide who is the best.

BEEP! BEEP! The coffeemaker went off. While standing up, Sam decided he would at least try to stop stressing over the situation. He walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup, no creamer.

Sam gazed longingly out the window whilst sipping the dark and thick liquid. He felt something off, like his gut was telling him something bad was going to happen. He pushed it off and opened the fridge. Nothing. Nothing but a few old vegetables. He would have to stop by the store after his interview.

* * *

When a few hours had gone by, Sam's interview had ended, as usual, they didn't seem to like him very much. He headed over to the store, getting his usual groceries and his meal for the night. When he got home, he cooked a silver-colored salmon for dinner. After he was done, he collapsed on the couch, full and satisfied. He fell into a deep sleep, his dreams empty, sorrowful, cold, and dark.

He awoke many hours later in a cold start, his back in pain from the uncomfortable couch. "Am I 24 or am I an old man?" Sam grumbled and complained, stretching his arms.

After getting up and washing his face in the bathroom sink, Sam went outside to take a short walk down his street, Rosecrest drive, Sam noticed that it was starting to get dark, probably about 5:30 p.m. He took a left turn and continued walking. Nobody out here but the occasional group of teens. He took a deep breath, pondering for a while as he strode along the sidewalk.

Not even a second later, out of nowhere, a brilliant light filled the air, Sam couldn't see anything but white for a second, until the flash blindness faded, and he saw the red-orange mushroom cloud rising up in the distance. His eyes widening, he was speechless, as fear overtook him. "They weren't lying, they were telling the truth" is all he could think, unable to move.

An atomic bomb had just risen up from Salt lake city, 'NO' his thoughts screamed, he ran as quick as he could back to his house, but ran into a military officer who was guiding a small group of terrified people. "Please come with me, sir! We need to get you and other civilians to one of the local fallout shelters for safety!"

Sam wanted to get his family heirloom. It had been in the Ederehart family for generations, and it was too important for him to lose. Family meant everything to him, he couldn't lose it now. "Just let me get something from my house! I'm begging you! It's very important to me."

"Sir, we don't have time, we need to get you safety, now!" The officer responded forcefully, starting to get angry at Sam for trying to run home anyways. The officer grabbed sam and began to drag him, throwing him into a haphazard line of people gathered outside of a fallout shelter which was imbedded into the ground.

Still very alarmed from the bomb, and from the treatment he just received, he began to feel waves of stress rising up in his gullet. He wasn't sure what to do.

"Everyone please get into a single file line so we can escort you into the fallout shelter!" An officer hollered over the crowd. "Single file line people!"

It was difficult, but eventually, the crowd got into a line. He was lined up behind a woman with long, golden locks and a delicate, but strong body. He was curious, there was something about her that eased he stress a bit.

One by one, they all filed into the fallout shelter as thick, ebony clouds began to form around Salt Lake City.