And It All Comes Crashing Down✔️

Times, They Are A-Changing

BOOM.

There was a crash, then fire, then darkness. Lots of crashes and lots of fire and lots of darkness. Followed by the sound of explosions, fire crackling and people screaming, which was then followed by more darkness. It sounded and felt like Hell on Earth. It was Hell on Earth. Everything was chaotic until...

Silence.

But still darkness.

And then, just in case I thought it couldn't get any darker than this, it did.

Next thing I knew, my eyes fluttered open to see a gloomy sky. I was laying on my back on the dirt. It was freezing cold. The air smelled like smoke. There was no breeze. There was no sun. Just emptiness.

It took me a while, but I finally found the strength to sit up. What happened? I wondered. Where's my family? Are they dead?

I looked around. All I could see was sky and the ground. There was complete and utter emptiness. No sound. No trees. No anything. It was heartbreaking, scary, and concerning all at once.

I finally made myself stand up. I wanted to run, far, far, from here, in hopes that I would find civilization, or at least another human being. I settled for aimlessly walking because my feet wanted to move. The same thoughts kept replaying over and over: Where am I? What happened? Where's my family? Where am I? What happened? Where's my family?

I walked for what seemed like hours. All I saw was the same thing: smoke-filled air, dirt for miles and miles, cloudy skies. It felt like I was walking on a treadmill, making no actual progress but having the incessant need to walk and walk and walk and walk.

I was scared. There was no actual threat, but it was almost as if my own loneliness was out to get me. Like the knowledge that there was probably not a single person alive for miles and miles was being used against me. It was terrifying.

Then more thoughts came flooding in: Where am I going to find food? Where am I going to find heat? How much longer do I have to walk for? How much longer can I live for? Do I even want to live?

I had been walking for a long time, and after what seemed like a few more hours, a little spark of hope ignited in my heart.

I saw a building on the horizon.

And the lights were on.

I wasn't the only one alive.