Something to Sell

Veronica looked around the ransacked library and sighed. She had heard the library was in rough shape, but this was worse than she had imagined. Anything remotely valuable had been stolen-there were no computers or printers left, the vending machines had been tipped over and broken into, and most of the bookshelves and tables were either gone or destroyed. The only things left were the books, which were strewn all over the floor.

Veronica was there looking for medical textbooks. She figured the university owed her that much.

There were a few other people in the library. Some of them might have been looking for useful books, but most looked like they were hoping to find something valuable that had been overlooked. Veronica picked her way towards what had once been the research section. She hoped that most of the big, heavy books she was after had just been left where they fell. She found a clear spot of carpet amidst the heaps of books, sat down, and started sorting through the books around her. It was tedious, but she had all day.

She had stuffed a couple of textbooks into her backpack when she heard someone say the Johnson dorm was on fire.

She froze. That was her dorm. "Are you serious?" she called out.

"Yeah," another former student shouted from the other side of the library. "Some idiot thought it was too cold in the building and decided to start a fire in the common room to warm things up."

Veronica swore under her breath and sprinted out of the library. Since the economy had crashed, the university had turned into a place of anarchy. Her roommate had run off with her laptop a few weeks ago, and now Veronica kept her most valuable possessions with her at all times. Her money, cell phone, charger, and the few pieces of jewelry she hadn't sold yet were stowed in the innermost pocket of her backpack. The medical textbooks she had salvaged from the library were in there too, and she felt them thumping heavily against her back as she ran. But she couldn't carry all of her belongings around constantly, and everything else she owned was in a dorm that was on fire.

A thick, dark column of smoke billowed above the tree line. Veronica's heart sank, but she kept running toward her dorm. Crowds of students and drifters were all making their way toward the fire with varying degrees of urgency. Those with a personal stake in the fate of the building were the ones sprinting; everyone else was just looking for free entertainment, a chance to gawk at destruction and other people's misery.

There was plenty of both when Veronica got to the dorm. The entire building was engulfed in smoke and flames. Windowpanes were exploding from the heat and chunks of the roof were caving in. The fire was loud, roaring and groaning and crackling behind the screams and shouts of the people standing on the lawn around the building.

Veronica heard sirens in the distance, but anyone could see it was already too late to salvage the building. Her eyes burned, and she wanted to punch the idiot who had started the fire. Then she shuddered as she realized there was a chance he had died in the flames, that people she knew might not have made it out, that she might have been in there if her day had gone differently.

A fire truck pulled up to the building. Three firemen jumped out and started working to tame the flames. If they were lucky, they would be able to keep the fire from spreading to the surrounding trees and buildings.

An ambulance parked a few buildings down from the dorm. Its siren cut out and was replaced by a prerecorded message: "Anyone with first aid or medical knowledge who is willing and able to assist this team of EMTs, please approach the ambulance immediately. We will begin assisting everyone in need of medical attention shortly. For the health and safety of everyone, treatment order will be determined based on the severity of injury. Please remain calm, and we will be able to help everyone in an efficient and orderly fashion. Thank you for your patience and cooperation."