a/n: a little bit of language.
I was one of the lucky ones. I managed to get into a shelter in a skyscaper, one of the best in the city. It overlooked everything - the sea, the roads so far below, the clouds, the people. I absolutely adored it.
When I was young, sometimes I'd sneak up here and just watch everything going on. Kicking my legs out, tossing things off of whatever story i was on - fifty? Sixty? Just to see if it would hit the ground or if it would hit someone. You never know.
I once tipped a chair over the edge and giggled as it smashed right beside a car. Later, on the news, the reporter said that police were looking for the culprit. I'd almost killed someone! But they never found me.
I wasn't on the floor with the open windows anymore. I was lower down, on a floor with reinforced windows and doors. It was meant to be a shelter. Everything was bolted down, kept away. There were months-worth of food locked away in closets whose locks I could never pick, clothing stored away neatly with enough water to last the fifty or so people that could be kept in here alive for a few months. Beds folded out of the walls and blankets were rolled away in more compartments than I could imagine.
I was one of the first into the shelter. When the siren had gone off, I had been a few floors above, reading from the library that others seldom knew. I ran down to the shelter, my bags full of books I had yet to read - and ones I had before. I spent the first few minutes alone in the shelter, my face pressed against the glass as I watched people stream out from their homes and businesses to run to safety. Hell, I didn't even know what was going on. This shelter was just one of the ones that opened in case of a tsunami or something - not when there was an earthquake, despite the reinforced base and subsequent floors. At least, I thought so.
As I watched, a balloon floated up from the ground below. The pink orb rose into the sky, the cord broken. There was a knot on the end, broken in haste - it was probably tied to a little girl. Or had been, at least.
"How is someone here so soon?! The siren went off only minutes ago!"
I turned to see a red-faced, out-of-breath man carrying a suitcase in either hand. Behind him was a woman and a child - his wife and kid, maybe? I gave them a wave.
"I'm just lucky. Do you need any help?" I closed my bag, tightening the strap so the books wouldn't fall out. Walking over, my shoes squeaked on the too-clean floor.
"No! Just- God, do you know anything? What's happening?" The man slowly regained his breath and set down his luggage by the wall. His wife simply stood there, arms crossed, looking severe. The kid was quiet, just looking around. "We were just headed out for a flight, and.."
When he trailed off, I could only shrug. I looked down the hall where others would undoubtedly come, and, seeing no one, looked back to him. "I don't know anything. I was just a few floors upstairs."
"I hope we can leave soon," the young boy said, leaning against the wall. His elbow nudged a button and he jumped in surprise as a bed unfolded from the paneling. His mother sighed.
"I've told you not to touch things, Lewyn."
"It was an accident, Mom!"
"..Hello?"
All four of us turned back to the door - a girl with dark glasses had he hand against the door. "Is anyone else here?"
"Yeah. Do you need help?" I asked - the girl looked unsteady. Distantly, the sirens still rang, but the ones in the building were no longer going off.
She nodded and I walked over to her, expecting to see a bag or something that needed to be carried. When I approached, she held out her arm. It took me a minute before I realized she must not be able to see well.
I took her arm and led her over to a panel with a bed, flipping it open with another button. "Usually I don't tell people my name, but..I'm Nik. Niklas. How did you get up here?"
"I walked. I might not be able to see, but I can still get around fine." She sat down on the bed, straightening out her gloves. I couldn't see her eyes. "I'm Clarice. My mother shoved me in the elevator a few seconds before the alarm went off. She said she'd be here soon."
"Hi, Clarice." Lewyn had run over. He waved his hand in front of her face, and when she didn't react, he spoke. "Wow, you really can't see. Neat."
"Lewyn! Be kind!" His mother scolded from across the room. He grinned and ran back to her, leaving me and Clarice as alone as we could be in an open room like this.
"Well, I hope she comes." I walked to the window, looking down again. The streets were clear of people now. Only cars remained on the street, packed in like a traffic jam. The sirens had stopped blaring their tune and didn't even flash as they had before. "What's going on..?"
There was a sound at the door - another door had taken its place. No, not that - it had locked in front of the door, closest to us. Were we trapped?
"Mom, what's happening? Why are they locking us in?"
Lewyn tugged on his mother's sleeve. She only stared at the door, eyes blank. It took her a second to speak. "I..don't know. For our safety. I hope."
"Bah. They would have sent out an email if this were a drill. This is a real thing." The man from before had a cigar between his lips and the smoke rose to the ceiling from it. "Probably something with the weather. We were supposed to get a storm coming through, right? This is probably the precusor to that." He blew out more smoke, the O rising slowly through the air. "Call me Mr. Jack. I work with the transportation department, but there's never been anything like this." He gestured to his wife. "This is Alice. You already know Lewyn."
"Nice to meet you." I looked away from the window. "Nik. I don't work, I just go around. Anyway..why would they lock us in here?"
"That, maybe?" Lewyn pointed outside. I followed his finger and froze at what he had pointed out.
The windows had turned blood-red. Wait, no. It was flowing..downwards. Red liquid cascaded down the windows, turning the room darker with every passing second. The lights flickered and came on once it was dark enough, but it only made the liquid feel that much eerier.
"Christ! Is that blood?!" Alice flinched away from the window nearest to her, holding her hands over Lewyn's eyes. "Jack, what the hell is going on?!"
"I don't know! They don't tell us shit!" All at once, the lights shut off - I yelped in surprise, falling backwards as everything became oh-so-dark.
Somewhere around us, metal tore and glass broke. Sunlight streamed in at odd intervals as the liquid making is way down the building seeped inside - a window had broken not far from me. I scrambled to my feet, trying to get away. Something - no, someone - pulled me up and away from the glass.
"I don't know what the hell is going on, but I'm sure I don't like it!" Clarice had to yell over the sound of the wind whipping around outside. Red splattered my clothes from one such gust of wind, catching me in the eye. I wiped it away in time to feel the skyscraper shake and begin to lean, nearly sending Clarise and I sliding into the hole in the window.
Clarise had one arm around my waist. Her free hand clutched a bar from the bed that had come out of the wall, keeping us from sliding out or even close to the hole. "How is this even possible?! Isn't this place fortified against this?!"
"I thought so!" While her and I were lucky enough to hold on, Mr. Jack and his wife weren't so lucky. He tried to hold on, but his fingers slipped from around the bar and the two of them skidded towards the gap.
"Mom! Dad!" Lewyn cried, reaching for them. He was on the bed his parents had just slipped from, holding on dearly to it.
"No, Lewyn! Live!"
Alice's last words were almost drowned out by the wind and blood that whipped outside of the building as her and her husband fell outside of the shelter and away from their son. Lewyn's scream hurt my ears as Clarice pulled me and then herself onto the bed that offered safety, still holding onto me and the bar. The skyscraper shuddered before it abruptly stopped leaning - it didn't move, but was still at some sixty-five degree angle. If we weren't careful, we would slide right out as the two of them had.
"Hush up, Lewyn! We need to figure something out. Something's definitely going on and we need to get out of here! If this place goes anymore south, we're going to join them!" Clarice's voice wasn't demanding, but it had a note of finality. We'd just brushed with death, and we weren't sure if death had noticed that we were still alive.
Lewyn's sobbing died down somewhat, but he was still hiccupping. "Why did this happen? We're good people.."
"We don't have time to discuss that now! We gotta get out of here!" I hit the button for the bed next to us, closer to the door. When it unfolded, I maneuvered myself onto it, holding myself steady with the bar. "Okay. All I know is that this is probably the only entrance or exit.."
"It closed, right? How are we going to get it open?" Clarice made he way towards me, stepping carefully. She held onto my arm until she crouched next to me on the closer bed. There was one more panel until we got to the door - Lewyn was already closest on his side. He blew his nose on something - his sleeve? - before looking at us.
"What can we even do, Nik? We're locked in here, there's that blood, there's no food.." His knuckles turned white as he held onto the bar. "How are we even going to get out?!"
"I.." I couldn't get a good look at the door from where I was. I pressed the button to the next bed and moved onto it when it was down, Clarise close to me. "I really don't know."
a/n 2: i hope to keep writing this, but right now, i'm not sure how they'd escape. :^)
i've never really written a blind character before so forgive me if it's not accurate. clarise hates relying on people, so she claims she can do anything when it's hard for her to put the right shoe on the right foot, so yeah. i hope to continue this when i get motivation.
thank you for reading.
<3
I was one of the lucky ones. I managed to get into a shelter in a skyscaper, one of the best in the city. It overlooked everything - the sea, the roads so far below, the clouds, the people. I absolutely adored it.
When I was young, sometimes I'd sneak up here and just watch everything going on. Kicking my legs out, tossing things off of whatever story i was on - fifty? Sixty? Just to see if it would hit the ground or if it would hit someone. You never know.
I once tipped a chair over the edge and giggled as it smashed right beside a car. Later, on the news, the reporter said that police were looking for the culprit. I'd almost killed someone! But they never found me.
I wasn't on the floor with the open windows anymore. I was lower down, on a floor with reinforced windows and doors. It was meant to be a shelter. Everything was bolted down, kept away. There were months-worth of food locked away in closets whose locks I could never pick, clothing stored away neatly with enough water to last the fifty or so people that could be kept in here alive for a few months. Beds folded out of the walls and blankets were rolled away in more compartments than I could imagine.
I was one of the first into the shelter. When the siren had gone off, I had been a few floors above, reading from the library that others seldom knew. I ran down to the shelter, my bags full of books I had yet to read - and ones I had before. I spent the first few minutes alone in the shelter, my face pressed against the glass as I watched people stream out from their homes and businesses to run to safety. Hell, I didn't even know what was going on. This shelter was just one of the ones that opened in case of a tsunami or something - not when there was an earthquake, despite the reinforced base and subsequent floors. At least, I thought so.
As I watched, a balloon floated up from the ground below. The pink orb rose into the sky, the cord broken. There was a knot on the end, broken in haste - it was probably tied to a little girl. Or had been, at least.
"How is someone here so soon?! The siren went off only minutes ago!"
I turned to see a red-faced, out-of-breath man carrying a suitcase in either hand. Behind him was a woman and a child - his wife and kid, maybe? I gave them a wave.
"I'm just lucky. Do you need any help?" I closed my bag, tightening the strap so the books wouldn't fall out. Walking over, my shoes squeaked on the too-clean floor.
"No! Just- God, do you know anything? What's happening?" The man slowly regained his breath and set down his luggage by the wall. His wife simply stood there, arms crossed, looking severe. The kid was quiet, just looking around. "We were just headed out for a flight, and.."
When he trailed off, I could only shrug. I looked down the hall where others would undoubtedly come, and, seeing no one, looked back to him. "I don't know anything. I was just a few floors upstairs."
"I hope we can leave soon," the young boy said, leaning against the wall. His elbow nudged a button and he jumped in surprise as a bed unfolded from the paneling. His mother sighed.
"I've told you not to touch things, Lewyn."
"It was an accident, Mom!"
"..Hello?"
All four of us turned back to the door - a girl with dark glasses had he hand against the door. "Is anyone else here?"
"Yeah. Do you need help?" I asked - the girl looked unsteady. Distantly, the sirens still rang, but the ones in the building were no longer going off.
She nodded and I walked over to her, expecting to see a bag or something that needed to be carried. When I approached, she held out her arm. It took me a minute before I realized she must not be able to see well.
I took her arm and led her over to a panel with a bed, flipping it open with another button. "Usually I don't tell people my name, but..I'm Nik. Niklas. How did you get up here?"
"I walked. I might not be able to see, but I can still get around fine." She sat down on the bed, straightening out her gloves. I couldn't see her eyes. "I'm Clarice. My mother shoved me in the elevator a few seconds before the alarm went off. She said she'd be here soon."
"Hi, Clarice." Lewyn had run over. He waved his hand in front of her face, and when she didn't react, he spoke. "Wow, you really can't see. Neat."
"Lewyn! Be kind!" His mother scolded from across the room. He grinned and ran back to her, leaving me and Clarice as alone as we could be in an open room like this.
"Well, I hope she comes." I walked to the window, looking down again. The streets were clear of people now. Only cars remained on the street, packed in like a traffic jam. The sirens had stopped blaring their tune and didn't even flash as they had before. "What's going on..?"
There was a sound at the door - another door had taken its place. No, not that - it had locked in front of the door, closest to us. Were we trapped?
"Mom, what's happening? Why are they locking us in?"
Lewyn tugged on his mother's sleeve. She only stared at the door, eyes blank. It took her a second to speak. "I..don't know. For our safety. I hope."
"Bah. They would have sent out an email if this were a drill. This is a real thing." The man from before had a cigar between his lips and the smoke rose to the ceiling from it. "Probably something with the weather. We were supposed to get a storm coming through, right? This is probably the precusor to that." He blew out more smoke, the O rising slowly through the air. "Call me Mr. Jack. I work with the transportation department, but there's never been anything like this." He gestured to his wife. "This is Alice. You already know Lewyn."
"Nice to meet you." I looked away from the window. "Nik. I don't work, I just go around. Anyway..why would they lock us in here?"
"That, maybe?" Lewyn pointed outside. I followed his finger and froze at what he had pointed out.
The windows had turned blood-red. Wait, no. It was flowing..downwards. Red liquid cascaded down the windows, turning the room darker with every passing second. The lights flickered and came on once it was dark enough, but it only made the liquid feel that much eerier.
"Christ! Is that blood?!" Alice flinched away from the window nearest to her, holding her hands over Lewyn's eyes. "Jack, what the hell is going on?!"
"I don't know! They don't tell us shit!" All at once, the lights shut off - I yelped in surprise, falling backwards as everything became oh-so-dark.
Somewhere around us, metal tore and glass broke. Sunlight streamed in at odd intervals as the liquid making is way down the building seeped inside - a window had broken not far from me. I scrambled to my feet, trying to get away. Something - no, someone - pulled me up and away from the glass.
"I don't know what the hell is going on, but I'm sure I don't like it!" Clarice had to yell over the sound of the wind whipping around outside. Red splattered my clothes from one such gust of wind, catching me in the eye. I wiped it away in time to feel the skyscraper shake and begin to lean, nearly sending Clarise and I sliding into the hole in the window.
Clarise had one arm around my waist. Her free hand clutched a bar from the bed that had come out of the wall, keeping us from sliding out or even close to the hole. "How is this even possible?! Isn't this place fortified against this?!"
"I thought so!" While her and I were lucky enough to hold on, Mr. Jack and his wife weren't so lucky. He tried to hold on, but his fingers slipped from around the bar and the two of them skidded towards the gap.
"Mom! Dad!" Lewyn cried, reaching for them. He was on the bed his parents had just slipped from, holding on dearly to it.
"No, Lewyn! Live!"
Alice's last words were almost drowned out by the wind and blood that whipped outside of the building as her and her husband fell outside of the shelter and away from their son. Lewyn's scream hurt my ears as Clarice pulled me and then herself onto the bed that offered safety, still holding onto me and the bar. The skyscraper shuddered before it abruptly stopped leaning - it didn't move, but was still at some sixty-five degree angle. If we weren't careful, we would slide right out as the two of them had.
"Hush up, Lewyn! We need to figure something out. Something's definitely going on and we need to get out of here! If this place goes anymore south, we're going to join them!" Clarice's voice wasn't demanding, but it had a note of finality. We'd just brushed with death, and we weren't sure if death had noticed that we were still alive.
Lewyn's sobbing died down somewhat, but he was still hiccupping. "Why did this happen? We're good people.."
"We don't have time to discuss that now! We gotta get out of here!" I hit the button for the bed next to us, closer to the door. When it unfolded, I maneuvered myself onto it, holding myself steady with the bar. "Okay. All I know is that this is probably the only entrance or exit.."
"It closed, right? How are we going to get it open?" Clarice made he way towards me, stepping carefully. She held onto my arm until she crouched next to me on the closer bed. There was one more panel until we got to the door - Lewyn was already closest on his side. He blew his nose on something - his sleeve? - before looking at us.
"What can we even do, Nik? We're locked in here, there's that blood, there's no food.." His knuckles turned white as he held onto the bar. "How are we even going to get out?!"
"I.." I couldn't get a good look at the door from where I was. I pressed the button to the next bed and moved onto it when it was down, Clarise close to me. "I really don't know."
a/n 2: i hope to keep writing this, but right now, i'm not sure how they'd escape. :^)
i've never really written a blind character before so forgive me if it's not accurate. clarise hates relying on people, so she claims she can do anything when it's hard for her to put the right shoe on the right foot, so yeah. i hope to continue this when i get motivation.
thank you for reading.
<3
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