48 Days

Chapter 2- The Incident In Toronto

  " Let's go get some supplies from the retail store nearby," Phora says.  I nod, knowing which place she is talking about.  " So what exactly do you know about Safe Haven?" I ask her.  Phora stops for a moment, then continues walking.  I look back at her, waiting for a response.  " I won't talk about that dark place ever again,".  The sharpness in her voice surprises me.  I shrug, " Ok, but what's so bad about i-".
" I said I will not talk about it," Phora repeats again.  I grunt, then continue walking.
We stop at the retail store, " Weapons out, we're not sure what's in here," I say.  Phora talks out her gun, her face determined.  Wolf pouts in fear, the first time I had ever seen that happen.  " What?".  Phora turns around, " Over there!".  She points over to a sky.
A large cloud forms, a mushroom cloud.  " Shit!" I grab Phora and drag her into the store.   Just as a wave of force shakes the living crap out of the place.

" What was that?!" Phora asks.
" It was a nuclear attack," I rummage through my bag, looking for the radiation pills.
" On what?"
" There's another Safe Haven nearby, a New York one," There are multiple Safe Havens, some more heavily funded by the World Government, an organization formed by all of the governments remaining to insure the safety and survival of the Human Race.
" Why was there a nuclear attack on it?" Phora asks.
" Because the World Government is exterminating all non-essential Safe Havens, their limiting Safe Havens to only two in each country," Phora nods, horror then hits her.  She leans in, " Do you think that's what happened to Toronto?".  I look up, " Maybe, here, take this,". I hand her a radiation pill.  " What are these?" Phora asks.
" Radiation pills," I say, dropping one into my mouth. " I found them at a pharmacy nearby, there in case of a nuclear meltdown or attack, it's to protect us from radiation poisoning," Phora swallows hers.  She gags, " They taste like paper!".
" Well boo hoo, because without it, you would be dead," Phora stares at me, " Now, we will stay here for the night, then we go out, these pills last four days, then we have to take another one, ok?" Phora nods.

  The rest of the night was filled with the sound of jets flying by, helicopters landing checking for survivors.  At one point, we had to hide from a few soldiers who passed by unknowingly.  Luckily they didn't spot us at all, you'd think they'd have thermal detector devices in their arsenal when searching for people.

  I find an old article in a newspaper from five months ago talking about the Incident in Toronto, this was about a month after the initial forming of the World Government.  There was a Safe Haven in Toronto, that went bad due to low supplies.  All I know is something bad happened there, I don't know what.  I just knew  there were riots, that was the last report on Toronto.  Was that riots had begun and then everything went mute in Toronto.  There was no communication from them at all.  Everyone just knows that something bad happened and there were no survivors.  AT ALL.

  Another bomb hit this morning, we waited it out before we moved again.  It wasn't nuclear, it was ballistic.  The cloud by the Safe Haven is no longer there.  Just dark, greenish clouds.  No more jets or helicopters, we decide to check it out.

  " Oh my god," Phora mutters as we walk towards the devastated " Safe Haven".
" Everyone's gone!" I say.  Wolf gags as I give him his pill, " He has an extra day on us!".
Phora steps forward,  a crunch comes from below her.  She lifts her foot then gasps.  A small skull is below her.  A child, she screams.  She falls to the ash covered floor, she begins to sob.  I hold her, " It's ok, it's ok,".  We get up we walk up an incline, and to our horror, there are more corpses.  Burnt, half skeletal.  They lie in piles, they looked like they were trampling each other to try and get away.  " We need to leave this place, now!". Phora then gags, then bends over. She vomits for several minutes, she took her pill so she wouldn't be vomiting because of the radiation. It's the corpses. Wolf climbs up the incline, his ears dart to the left. He then dashes to the left, we follow.

" Help! Please! Help!" We run over to Wolf biting at a figures arm. We then realize it's a soldier. " Give me your gun!" I ask Phora. She hands it to me, " Wolf, away!" Wolf backs up, growling aggressively. The soldier pants, " Thank god, I-".
" YOU ASSHOLE!" I yowl. Phora jumps at my voice raising. The man's expression changes, " Please, don't shoot me, please!". I thrust the gun forward, " Shut up! You killed all these innocent people, do you think we would just leave you! No way! We need answers!".

We let the man get up, " Isn't it obvious? The World Government blew the hell out of this place!". Anger swells in me, all these children, dead because of a corrupt, crooked government! " There were children! CHILDREN!" Phora yells. I nod at her comment.
The man gives us an angry look, " Little girls, I've been through more shit than you ever will be in!".

" Really? Have you woken up to your family being chopped up and eaten, have you ever had to put your little sister and mother out of their misery because of a deadly disease, have you had to kill your father out of pure paranoia and fear! See we have lost much more than just our family, we have lost what's left of our humanity!" I shout the words by the end.  The man's eyes widen, I raise my eyebrow.  My lip twitches, " Surprised?  While you've been living in your perfect wonderland, we have been forced to actually start living!". 
The man stands there, he then pulls a gun.  I quickly fire at his head, a shriek comes from Phora and Wolf.  " You killed him!" Phora yells.

" Serves the bastard right, now, let's go, I can't stand this place anymore!" I snap.
We walk through the endless field of ashes, avoiding the scorched bodies.