The City

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Damon looked over at the mother and child, and sensed there would be no help coming in any viable capacity for a while. The mother needed a hospital, and the daughter was inconsolable and crying at her mother's incapacitated condition.

Cars were starting to fill the streets, and people were running in fear for their lives. The animals were still around but were as panic striken as everyone else; some on fire, others jumping into the raging torrent that was once just a meandering creek trying to escape across to safety.

A man stumbled out of his home, walked a few metres then collapsed unconscious. In the distance a woman was looking around with her hand on her head and anguished tears flowing freely down her chalk white face. She was obviously looking for someone.

Aiden was still coughing up flem and black smoke on the lawn, and holding his crotch, groaning his discomfort.

On the otherside of the creek a small group of onlookers gasped in amazed fear at the sight, and it reminded him of scenes he saw as a younger man when 9/11 played over and over on TV. Maybe Aiden was right when he said terrorists. If so they did a big bloody job he thought. Power. Water. Raging river.

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, reminding him of the fact that it was unusually hot. And not just because of the fires.

Could terrorists change the weather?!?

A 4WD swerved out of the path of a teenage boy and young child running across the road without looking. It came onto the nature strip in an effort to get around and kicked up a spray of mud at Damon as it missed the paperbark tree, hit and rolled over a kangaroo, and continued on its frenetic way.

Mud thought Damon as he wiped splatters of it from his face. The ground was still soaking wet beneath his feet.

The fire shouldn't get too far at least he mused to himself.

"Can you help me? Please help me!" a voice pleaded, breaking him from his stupor. It was an old lady. Her face was burned and charred. "I can't see! Please help me!"

"Hold my shoulder and follow me!" Damon yelled to her as he made his way to Aiden nearby.

Aiden was still reeling from the smoke but was coming back to his senses, in a crouched position and slowly standing up. He saw a snake writhe between his legs and in an instant he was upright again.

"Aiden, we need to get these people across to the other side of the creek! Snap out of it, I need you now!"

Aiden looked at his mate with rage then saw the sticken old lady and his expression changed to worry. He looked around and saw the chaos everywhere then turned back to the aged and injured lady.

"Excuse me," Aiden queried to her. "Do you know how we can get across the creek to safety? We don't know where to go from here."

But the lady just muttered incomprehensible words and kept on asking for help.

"Aiden, you look after her and the woman and child over there. I'll ask around."

A large man who Damon thought was of Indian descent walked past him looking around in horror. "Hey mate! Hey you! Do you live around here?"

After asking again with a profanity laced splurge, the bloke replied. "Yes! Down the road...."

"Which way? I don't know the area! Which way to get across that creek!"

"There was a creek bridge down there but we can't cross it now, it's flooded!"

"No joke Einstein! I meant by road! Is there a road bridge somewhere!"

"But my wife! I need to call her! Does your phone work?!?"

"No bloody phones are working mate. Escape. We gotta bloody escape...."

"But my wife....."

"Your wife will be greiving over your charred corpse soon if you don't snap out of it!!! Escape godammit!!! Call her later!!!" But Damon could see from the man's wondering eyes he was in shock. "Ahhh stuff ya then!" he cursed and saw the teenage boy that dodged the car. He had what looked like his little sister in tow, frightened and in tears. "Hey kid!!! You live around here?!?"

Then there was another explosion nearby that swept him off his feet and sent debris falling like rain all around the place.

"GAS!!!" Damon heard from some male somewhere. "Gas lines are blowing up!!! MOVE MOVE MOVE!!!"

Aiden yelled out and caught his mates attention."There!!! Follow them over there!!!"

Most of the people seemed to be heading in one direction and so Damon rushed over and threw the young mothers arm around his neck and started dragging her across to the other side of the road away from immediate danger.

Together with Aiden, the old lady, the woman and little girl, the impromptu small group began following the growing throng of people along a road winding up a hill.

The teenage boy moved up next to him, crying, carrying a now unconscious young child. He seemed to be struggling. There was blood all over him and her. The little girls eyes were open but lifeless; her tongue lolled to and fro from the teenagers movements.

"Aiden stop!!"

Aiden looked back to see his mate had stopped a young boy carrying a child, and was checking the childs pulse. He then put his hand on the childs back and looked at something.

Damon saw a large peice of metal in the child's back. It must have been debris from the explosion.

"She is dead kid. She's gone."

The teenager looked at Damon with anguish written all over his face. "NOOOO!!!" He pulled away and just kept running.

A chinese man came up and placed his shoulder on Damon.

"Don't worry mate I got this. I'll look after the kid and his sister. I know them."

The man then ran after the teenage boy and talked to him. After they exchanged stares the boy handed over his sister to the man.

"Come on!" Aiden yelled as he continued on. Damon grunted as he felt a migraine come on and a sick feeling in his stomach that grew with each step.

When they reached the crest of the hill they saw the man stop and look in silence as he held the dead child in his arms.

Aiden was first to see it. For about two kilometres following the contours of the undulating landscape a distinct line of fires could be made out. On one side was suburbia. Then on the other side was nothing but bushland as far as the eye could see. Trees burned ferociously along the firefront, a towering inferno that billowed black smoke into the sky, but clearly something impossible had happened.

Suburbs seemed to have disappeared......