To Suffer Without Dying

Ch.2: Gas

November 22, 2014

Louis

I scrounged through the rubble of my house and looked for useful and still usable things. My father kept a gun safe and filled it with old swords and bows. I taught myself how to use a sword and a bow and arrow, so I was set defence wise; if I could find the gun safe of course. And I did...after a few hours. I knew the code because my dad always told me. 25-87-95. I got the bow. It was beautiful; It was mostly blue, with a black leather grip and green tips which was wickedly sharp, able to stab someone. I also grabbed a curved Arabian style knife. I found our emergency radio too. That horrible beeping came on once I got it tuned correctly. I heard the president speaking for a moment, then static. "Blast!" I yelled and slammed the radio rather forcefully on the ground. It skidded away and bounced off the blackened grass and into the road. A tall, black, military style truck promptly ran it over. "Oi!" I said out loud. The truck stopped and a man dressed in U.S army garb hopped out the back and walked towards me. He was bearded and as he got closer, he smelt like tobacco juice mixed with gasoline; I gagged when he breathed on me. "Miss? Come with me," he said as he grabbed my arm. "My name is Lt. Bragg with the National Guard. My squad and I are tasked with picking up any survivors we find. " He spoke with a southern accent. I was loaded to the back of the truck, which was covered in canvas. It probably was a troop carrier. The vehicle rumbled to life and we started moving. I made eye contact with the twenty something people riding with me. Most of them where children, mixed with a few adults. It seemed like hours until it began getting dark, but I checked my watch. It was only 6:12 P.M. It should still be light out. I overheard the driver saying that the ejecta was finally reaching North America and it start to get cold soon. The truck stopped for gas. I hopped out to get fresh air. "HEY! YOU THERE! STOP!" I heard Lt. Bragg's' southern accent yelling at someone. I peered slowly around the edge of the truck. A kid, who appeared to be in his early teen years, holding a burning piece of wood in the air. "No sir." He yelled back at the lieutenant. This kid had some balls. Before my eyes, he dropped the burning wood. The entire gas station erupted in a fireball, consuming the soldiers and launching the kid into the woods. I was pushed by the shock wave and rolled into a ditch on the side of the road. "What the!?!" I screamed as someone's hand landed next to me; blood was still squirting out. I crawled out of the dirty ditch and walked drunkenly towards the gas station. My ears where still ringing. I saw the Lieutenant on the ground, or what was left of him, near the crater that was the gas station. His face was brutally off. Just gone. Like burnt off. I gagged and threw up right there on the spot. I sat there for a while, just resting my head in my hands and crying. A few sticks and leaves crunched behind me. My instincts got the best of me. As I got to my feet, I whirled around, while pulling my knife out. The kid who blew up the gas station was there at the edge of the forest. He stopped for a moment as we made eye contact. I noticed that he had a badly burnt arm. Soon he tore off into the woods. Helicopters buzzed over head, and gunshots rang out. A fighter jet flew over, but was blown right out of the sky. I just stood in shock as people wearing gray sprinted out of the meadow on the other side of the gas station and began firing behind them. Several of the poor souls fell to the ground, dead. Other men in olive uniforms ran at them from all sides. One of them noticed me watching the slaughter in the meadow. He ran at me wielding a sword. Suddenly, I was pulled out of the way. The boy I saw just a few seconds ago, attacked the man with a brilliant blue sword. He quickly dispatched him. Grabbing me on the arm, he said "Come on! We have to go!" We ran into the woods as gunfire sounded behind us.