The Plague

Chris Lee

The nightmares came every night. I awoke as my house shook on its flimsy frame. It was suddenly very hot. I pushed my covers off my body and sat up. The room was illuminated by a great light from behind the curtains of the window. I grabbed my stuffed bear and walked to the window. I pulled the curtains away, and saw yellow and red. I saw fire, people who were stuck in the fire. I saw something fall from the sky right across the street from me. An invisible force of heat threw me against the wall, and I fell to the floor. I screamed and ran down the stairs to find my parents. As I ran, I cried out for them, begging for them to come to me. I felt the wave of heat as another bomb detonated on the other side of my house as I ran into the kitchen. My mother was in the kitchen, reaching for something above the refrigerator. She was reaching for a photograph my family had taken. It was us at the beach, acting silly with the ocean behind us. As she reached, my world seemed to slow down. I saw a support beam crash down, slowly landing on top of her. It covered her chest, and crippled her legs. The photo slowly glided through the air in my direction. I grabbed it, and I noticed my mother's eyes. They looked so sad, and I ran to her. She was yelling something, but I could not hear it. I felt someone grab my young body from behind, through me over his shoulder, and run away. I realized the culprit was my father, and as he ran, all I could see was my mother, and before she escaped my view, she mouthed the words "I love you." My vision blurred, and I saw people. People who were laughing and striving. I recognized a few of the faces. Not far away, an oddly black cloud was forming, slowly closing the gap between the cloud and the community. Suddenly, the cloud covered the community, and I woke up in a sweat, the screams of people still ringing in my ears.