#31

Seek and Hide

The sounds of heavy breathing and hurried footsteps leak into my ears, but are muffled by a loud, pounding heartbeat. One boot after another splashes into the creek, disturbing its once peaceful water. Now the heartbeat is completely dominated and overruled by roaring thunder. Only, it's not thunder, but the sound of missiles exploding, spreading death and fear over the many mountains and valleys that separate me from what once was Washington D.C.
I grip Danielle's hand tighter in mine, and pull her through the knee-deep water at a slightly faster pace. It was my idea to travel upstream, that way we'd leave no footprints behind. You never know what people are willing to do in times of grief. I let out a deep breath, leaving a cloud of steam trailing behind me that is only visible by the dim light given from an enormous, yellow moon that hangs in the night sky above us. Fifty feet tall Aspen trees surround us for miles, and silky grey flakes descend on us from their tops. At first glance, it would appear to be snow, but in reality it is only ash come upon us from the earlier nuclear warheads.
I pull strands of long, brown hair out from in front of my face and tuck them behind my ear. "Sam, are we almost there?" My sister's shaky voice inquires from behind. "Almost, it should be right up ahead," I respond, hoping to comfort her some. After a few more minutes of trudging through the ice-cold bed of water, we arrive at a small clearing, no more than thirty yards wide. I step out of the creek, water squishing in my boots as I walk. I turn to make sure she is keeping up, and catch her shaking the ash out of her hair. "Come on." I turn back around and begin to make my way across the meadow, which is now covered in half an inch of grey powder.
The sound of bombings has died down considerably, and a strange silence fills the woods. I spit out a raspy cough and cover my mouth to prevent any more from escaping. My eyes scan the ground and the surrounding trees, but nothing seems unusual. I spend another few minutes looking more carefully, and still see absolutely nothing. My eyebrows furrow and a frown spreads across my face. They said it would be here. They wouldn't lie about something like this, would they?
"Sam! Look, over there!" My eyes dart immediately to the end of her small finger and continue in a straight line from it, until a glisten on the other side of the stream catches my attention. My heart jumps and my feet take off from underneath me, until I find myself looking down at what seems to be the hatch of a submarine. Danielle hurriedly splashes through the stream to join me, and we stare for a moment in awe. We found it. The fallout shelter. Now we'll be safe.