The Sky Beneath Us (on hold)

SEVEN

Day 1. 17:21.

___________

Pam and the courier, Sid, did a floor by floor check for survivors. The second floor turned up nothing, the first contained a young man hanging dead by his throat. Chad had gone to the ground floor lobby to check for survivors and came across the armed security guard, Wesley. Avery knew him well but the encounter had been worrying nonetheless, as Wesley could have reacted badly to The Flip and become hostile. Thankfully, he proved to be more than sane. The guy was as steady as rock, the Marine Corps did that to people.

Avery and Mark had climbed to the top of the elevator shaft, leading them to the building's basement. They activated the emergency controls from inside the shaft, opening the heavy doors and granting them access to the gloomy underbelly of their building. They combed the entire room, finding it abandoned completely. Above them, they discovered an emergency tunnel, which would ultimately lead them to the vast sewer network. Mark had opened the entrance, and found himself covered in waste. He cursed profusely and refused to speak aloud since.

"Taking one for the team" Avery had heard him grumble under his breath as they joined the others.

Right now, the group were leaving the basement to find refuge in the sewers. As Avery fell in line behind Wesley and the balding man, Paul, he heard an unmistakable rumbling from below his feet.

***

Danny's ankle had slowly become worse over the few hours that he and Melissa had been in the office. It was red, purple and black - swollen to twice its usual size. His entire body and desk had crushed it during the fall. The pain was immense, and all he had was dribble of clear liquid in his water bottle. The office machine had burst open when they flipped. He longed for any sort of painkiller.

Nancy's body remained covered, dragged into the corner by a reluctant Melissa, who now sat across from him silently on her swivel chair. Would they starve to death in this place?

The electricity still worked, as the lights under them still shone - but the air-con was screwed. The room stank of stale vomit and sweat. Danny wiped droplets from his brow with his sleeve, just as he heard a large rumbling and multiple crashes. Close, too close, right above their heads.

A crack shot across the plaster wall, just before it began to tear itself apart. Melissa screamed his name and ran forward, but fell out of reach as the ground beneath her collapsed. Danny spent the next precious few seconds of life observing the building fall piece by piece around him before he too was sucked into the sky's powerful pull.

As he grew colder, and each breath grew thinner, he felt all pain subside and saw only darkness through his clouded eyes.

***

Day 1. 19:53.

___________

Avery still felt sick at the thought of Danny and Melissa's death. The entire top nine floors of the building had been ripped from the ground and pulled below. Avery was only grateful that the others had gotten out just in time - some good news at least.

Since then, the group had been wandering the sewer network, now used to the rotten smell. Every now and then, they'd peer through a manhole, hoping to get their bearings. Each peek offered a view of the sky and a feeling of vertigo - but no more information than the last. They were lost, although nobody wanted to admit it. Even worse, the sky had not darkened in hours - the sun, wherever it was, shone brighter than ever.

What was this?

"Avery, I think we all need a break", Becca called as they reached a large open area that branched off in multiple directions. Multiple tunnels to get stranded down. Great. Just great.