Bricks of Ash and Blood

Chapter 8: Aftermath

SIMON

The sound of thunder, unrelenting. For hours, I'd listened to it, unable to open my eyes. Finally, it had been annoying enough that I wrenched my eyes open. My vision took a few moments to clear. I lay in our hospital. I wouldn't have known, but for Astrid, sitting at a desk a few meters away.

"Water." I croaked.

She turned around at my voice. It hurt to talk. Still, she took a bottle from the desk, and crouched beside my bed. Astrid tipped the bottle to my mouth, and I swallowed as much as I could before she took it away.

"Took you a while to wake up." She said, in her usual matter-of-fact way.

"How long?"

Astrid strolled back to her desk and sat. "Two days." She crossed her arms. "This is the second time you've been here, in just a few weeks. Both times, it was because you did something incredibly stupid."

"I had to do it. I didn't have a choice. Both times."

"No." she stated. "You aren't as strong as Alex, or Flynn. Stop trying to fight your way through things; the raiders, the fire. You're going to get killed. Don't be a hero."

She was right, of course. I wasn't strong. I couldn't fight well. I needed to start playing things safer, if I was going to be at the school for very much longer.

The school!

"Astrid!" I managed to sit up, but my arms and face stung. "The school! Did we save it?"

She relented a small smile. "You hear that? It's rain. Everyone fought to keep the school from burning, for hours. Then it started raining. It hasn't stopped since."

Finally, I noticed it. It was the sound of thunder, it was rain. Torrents. "Can I go outside?"

Astrid took off her glasses, and placed them down on the desk. "I guess so. It'll hurt though. You've got some nasty burns."

Every second that passed, I felt a little more awake. My left leg moved off the bed, followed by the right. I stood. I was wearing jeans that smelled of smoke, and a plain green shirt. My hands were wrapped in gauze.

I felt dizzy when I took a step, but Astrid steadied me.

"Sorry." I said. "I'm okay now."

We walked towards the door, and when Astrid opened it, the sound of rain filled my ears. All I could see was grey. Grey concrete. Grey ash, grey fog. It was storming hard.

I moved outside into the rain. Each raindrop stung as it fell onto my red, burnt faced. I didn't mind. Astrid watched from the doorway as I walked into the courtyard, and took a long look around. The school was in one piece. We survived the fire.

I tilted my head to the sky, and laughed. My worry melted away. There was a lot that needed to be done now, but at least we were safe. I could work with that.

"Simon!" Astrid had her hands cupped over her mouth, trying to be heard over the rain. "Come back inside, you're going to get soaked."

I grinned. It was too late for that. I conceded to make my way over to the door. "Hey Astrid, there's going to be a lot to do, now that the fire's gone. When can I get started?"

"Those burns are going to hurt for a while, and the skins going to peel. Apart from that though, you don't have anything too threatening. Get a good night's sleep, and you can be back at it tomorrow."

----

I woke with purpose. The rain had slowed to a shower, and it was time to review the damage. I entered the courtyard, and sent the first person I saw to find Flynn, Andy, and Chuck. While I was waiting, I took a better look at the courtyard. The storm had given it a good wash, but there was still ash hiding in corners, and it all smelled of smoke.