INFERNO (Submissions for Write to Rank)

Round 7 - Old Friend

I dig the knife deeper into the wall and drag it sideways. The blade screeches as it makes a mark into the cement.

With a sigh, I step back from the wall and tuck the knife into my belt. The x I had just carved looks insignificant next to the 729 others that consumed the entire surface of the four walls that surround me.

"Two years," I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

Bess steps forward, appearing in my peripheral vision. "We'll find my brother. And if we don't," she shakes her head. "I'll die trying."

"Been there, done that," I grunt. "Not very fun. Do not recommend." One minute I'm choking on my own blood and the next I wake up in a bed, in perfect health. The span between the two events was only ten hours. The sharp claws of a Crawler punctured my lungs. It's beyond a miracle that I'm even alive right now.

"Speaking of, have you had any flashbacks recently?" She asks me.

I finally look over at her. Her black hair is styled into two Dutch braids on top of her head. Her fair skin is clean except for a spot of dirt between her jaw and neck. Even when the world is falling apart at our feet, she still manages to look effortlessly almost-perfect. Her blue eyes watch me expectantly.

"No." I frown. The last time I had a flashback was about a year ago. Trying to figure out what happened to me two years ago, is like trying to find a star in the sky. They've both only occurred once in my life.

The last flashback I had only showed me one thing, Ben carrying me out of the Empire State Building. I would go back there to see if it triggers anything else, but it doesn't exist now. The entire city is gone.

The Superiors declared New York as unsafe, so they bombed it. Hopefully, they killed the last of the Crawlers. Crawlers were creatures that resembled a cross between a Demo-Dog from Stranger Things and a Velociraptor, the dinosaur. Needless to say, they're not cute, and certainly not friendly.

Bess nods and purses her lips together. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring anything up, Aria."

I shrug and offer her a small smile. "It's okay, Bessie. I'm just tired and-" A loud boom and the building shaking cuts me off.

On reflex, I immediately squat and get close to the floor. My hand flies up to grab the table behind me, to keep me steady.

Just as the shaking stops, another blast goes off outside and the corner of the roof farthest from us begins to crumble.

Rocks and pieces of cement fall from the ceiling.

"Bess! Where's the walkie!" I yell while sifting through items that litter the only table in the room.

She looks up from her hands that were shielding her head and face. "My bag!" Her eyes move behind me and I follow her line of sight.

I jump up and grab her black messenger bag while dodging debris. Bess gets up and runs over to the table and crawls under it. I run over to her and slide under the table.

I fish the device out of her bag and turn it on.

"Garret! Garret, do you copy?" I say into the walkie. The plastic, black communication device shakes in my hand. Another boom sounds outside of the building and more of the ceiling begins to fall in.

A big chunk of cement hits the table with a loud crack and causes it to split down the middle.

Bess screams and scoots back. I stick my head in between my knees and use my free hand to shield my head. A small chunk of the cement hits my wrist causing a hiss to escape my mouth.