"Damn he's fast." My photographer to my left marvelled as his shutter clicked, following the movements of Christiano Ronaldo as he ran up field.
The fans roared in the stands behind me when Ronaldo made a few moves, easily slicing past a midfielder.
I lifted my state of the art camera up to my eyes, capturing Ronaldo's swift movements along with the photographer next to me.
I could hear the shutters of the other cameras squished in beside me, it was music to my ears. But I couldn't help but frown when the ball sunk into the net.
Roars of the crowd drowned out whatever the photographer next to me said. I swore under my breath; I wasn't a fan of Real Madrid.
A few minutes later, the halftime whistle blew and I let my camera fall over my chest. I wasn't in the mood to take halftime photos today.
"Henry!" A voice called to me.
I turned around to see my partner, Jace, wave at me as he ran to where I was standing.
"I got some good shots." He said when he reached me.
I just shrugged in response, and sighed.
"I didn't know my first day was going to be this easy." I said to him slightly bored.
"Easy?" Jace winced. "Trust me, this ain't as easy as pointing and shooting."
The breeze ruffled my jacket and ran through my brown hair. I immediately reached up and ran my fingers through it.
Jace looked at me skeptically.
"Let's grab something to eat before the second half starts." Jace smiled. "Lemme take a look at your photos, I want to see if your as good as they say you are."
I had always wanted to be a sports photographer. I loved football, a little too much as my mom had said. Once I had made peace with not becoming a footballer, I still wanted part of the action. Sure, it wasn't glamorous but it payed the bills, and I loved doing it. So far at least.
I had worked previously for ESPN in the states, moving around occasionally and covering the MLS games. It wasn't hard work, in fact it was kind of easy.
So I moved. La Liga was my home now. Madrid was a fascinating city. It was breathtaking and the atmosphere was too. Some parts were a bit grungy and sketchy but what city isn't?
Here I met Jace. The handsome Spaniard that took me under his wing in a way. He was older then me and more experienced, and he chose me to be his partner.
This was our first week shooting together, as partners. He was more thrilled then I was, (I'm sure you can tell) but I was grateful for him being by my side. It was comforting in a way.
"Hey, these aren't bad, American." Jace commented going through some of my photos.
"Hmm, thanks." I said.
"Boy, you've had your head in the clouds all morning." Jace exclaimed. "What the hell is on your mind?"
I took my camera from Jace's hands.
"Nothing Jace." I replied.
"Ain't seen nothing bothering someone so much." Jace said.
"It's not your business." I grumbled.
"Never said it was." Jace looked at me for a hard long few seconds.
"Let's just go." I said, walking out to the edge of the field where I was before.
I knew that Jace wasn't prying, he was just concerned about me, but I was stubborn as always.
"Let's switch places kid." Jace suggested. "You take better photos then me anyways." He patted me on the back as we parted ways.
I walked down, closer to where the teams were coming out and got my camera ready.
The two teams walked out, and I got some close ups of Christiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez. I followed them with my camera again, convincing myself to work hard for the next forty-five minutes.
The teams resumed their places on the opposite side of pitch just as the referees began to walk out.
Then, out of the blue, the ground began to...tremble. Almost, like and earthquake, but it felt like thunder. I looked up, along with the other photographers who had felt the same thing.
"What was that?" Someone asked. Those were his last words.
Off in the distance, a large pillar of smoke began to rise and build up in the sky. The players on the field looked around confused too. A few cries rang out but most people stayed put.
Then disaster struck.
I heard a large boom to my right, it was like a gunshot. The ground trembled again, but this time you could see fire illuminating parts of the stadium. People screamed and fled the stadium, flooding out onto the pitch and running in every direction. It was absolute chaos. I stood in awe and in terror as the photographers around me grabbed their cameras and scrambled away. I was pushed and shoved to the ground not too much later. The ground shook as at least two other explosions went off.
"Henry!" I heard my name being called, I knew it was Jace.
After bring kicked about, I managed to get up. I whipped my head around and spotted Jace who was calling out for me in every direction. I fought my way through the mass and grabbed Jace on his shoulder.
"Let's go!" I shouted to him.
"No no no, not that way!" Jace cried. Blood pooled off the side of his head.
"We don't have time for this!" I got a hold of Jace's arm and began to haul him along with the swarm of people. Soon enough, the entrance was beginning to get clogged and overwhelmed with people pushing and shoving.
"Get the other exit." Jace was starting to sway on his feet. "I'm gonna pass out soon."
I draped one of his arm around my shoulder and half carried him away from the backed up entrance. I was determined to get out of this.
We followed some others who were also running to the other exit that Jace was talking about. It wasn't long before another explosion rang out, this time it was 200 feet away. The ground lurched as the people who were in front of us were blown to pieces. Jace and I were luckily thrown to the ground. Blood and tissue stained the front of my shirt, and my collar too.
"Close your eyes Jace." My voice wavered as I shielded my eyes from the bodies on the field.
"I ain't doin' nothing." Jace's breathing was getting heavy and slow.
I picked him up again and began to jog across the field. There were bodies everywhere, more dead than alive. Blood stained the nearest goalpost, seeping onto the turf. A few survivors screamed out in pain, holding their limbs. The stadium was still full of screams.
I threw up in my mouth a little but I was determined to get out of here In one piece.
I slowed down when I noticed a Real Madrid player laying motionless on the ground. A giant chunk of his midsection was missing, and his ribs were exposed.
"What are you doing boy?!" Jace rasped, stirring on my shoulder.
I adjusted Jace so I was pretty much carrying him on my back. It was better not to know what player that was.
We were standing on the opposite sidelines when I collapsed, falling to the ground. It continued to rumble underneath me.
"What in God's name are you doing son?" Jace muttered at me. "Don't stop now."
I mustered all my strength and lifted my partner up again. My arms burned and screamed to relax.
"C'mon Jace." I exclaimed. "We're getting the hell outta he-"
Then it was darkness.
When I opened my eyes, my ears rung like crazy. I reached up and touched my ears, looking back at my hands to see them full of blood. I was sprawled out on the field, several feet away from where I thought I was.
Must've gotten hit by the explosion I thought.
My stomach rolled back and forth and my head spun. I vomited on the ground next to me, reeling back when I realized the pain I was in. I looked down and screamed. Or at least, I think I did, because I couldn't hear a thing. My right thigh was paved in blood and the rest of my leg was gone, torn off my body. I could see my bone and flakes of skin, that was the only sign that I had a thigh left.
I screamed some more, whipping my head around in utter pain. Jace was no longer next to me.
It dawned on me that maybe if I yell loud enough, someone will come help me. I needed to stay alive long enough until help came. If help came.
I coughed blood a few times, spat, and screamed in agony.
I think they stopped. I thought. I hope they stopped.
To my dismay, the ground still trembled as I gripped it.
There was just enough time to think: Just hold out Henry. I hoped that my parents weren't watching this game on their television. I glanced up and looked to the sky. I had just enough time to remember that my parents were probably still sleeping, that they didn't have any idea that their son was dying.
Then, my time ran out.
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This little short story will be something that I can enjoy writing now and then when I have time. Don't expect too many updates on a regular basis if you do happen to like my writing sis. Dm me with any questions or concerns. Feedback is always welcome.