The Bombing

The big white flakes of snow are coming down so fast that there is no way I can sleep out in the alley tonight, I would have to find some shelter. Unfortunately so will all the homeless, and some are not quite friendly. It had been snowing for about thirty minutes and the snow was already halfway up my shin, this storm was going to be a bad one. I trudged through the heavy wet snow leaving my little makeshift home behind not realizing that this would be the last time I would see it.
        I was stumbling down the street, from the growing snow and the slick ice underneath. The old-fashioned, tall, black light posts were lighting the now deserted street with a familiar yellow glow. It was an odd sight; the main road was usually buzzing with life, with people driving up and down the streets, the homeless keeping each other company in alleyways. Suddenly I get the feeling of being watched, as I turned around there was a shadow of movement to my right and a girl with white blond hair popped up out of the ally I had just passed.  As if timed, the town alarm screeched throughout the air, not just any alarm, but the one for if the city was under attack. It took me a moment to realize this was not a drill before running in the direction of the church.
        I had a flicker of fear as I realized my brother may not be able to find me, we were supposed to be going to meet under the highway if there was a storm.  He was going to finally be coming home to get me after 3 months of trying to find us a new home, in a new town. There was no chance of me finding my brother in time, although knowing he has the same train of thought as me put me to ease.
        I looked over at the blond girl who seemed to be as stunned as I, without a thought of who this girl was I ran towards her.  Confusion crossed her face but before her flight or fight instances kicked in I had already grabbed her frail wrist and headed for the bunker underneath the church.  Her screams were cut short by the sounds of the wailing sirens, she struggled and dragged her feet. I understood why she was so worried, even during the drills it was easy for someone to be killed or kidnapped now with a real alarm who knows what could happen.
        I turned around and tried to shout over the sirens "We have to get out of here, I’m sorry if I scared you but we have to go to the bunker on Second street.” but it was too loud. Although the girl seem to understand and realized I was of no harm to her. I let go of her wrist and sprinted, now being able to cover more ground not dragging her behind me. 
        My legs ached and my lungs burned as I finally caught sight of the church, I willed myself to go faster, it was just a little further. I crashed through the front doors of the church and made it down to the bunker with the young girl right on my heels, it was not long after did we hear the first explosion hit the ground. There were at least twenty of us in the small cement room, all tightly packed together.  I glanced at the blond girl from earlier, she was rubbing her knee.
        “Are you going to be ok?” I asked her genuinely concerned.
        “Yeah I should be fine; just my knee acting up, I’m Annabelle by the way.” She spoke in such a soft tone that I had to stain to hear her.
        “I’m Lucy” I smiled at the girl now realizing she wasn't as young as I thought but in fact my age. I started up a conversation with the girl trying to get both of our minds off the ongoing war.
        "I have a brother named William you know" I said softly "I was going to meet him when I ran into you. We are very close William and I , after we lost our dad William became more of a father to me than a brother, I was still very young at the time, I was four or maybe five. Not that it was much of a change from when our Dad was there. After our mother died giving birth to me, Dad was never the same or at least that's what William said. Our Dad was never quite there you know? He would look at the window for hours, without moving a muscle, no amount of shaking from William and I could get him to snap out of it. If it wasn't that he was talking to her, but i assume it was like he was reliving the memories of her before they had children because we were never there with them, in his mind i mean. I didn't mind though, not like William did, he knew the other Dad and I didn’t.” I looked over at Annabelle with a guilty smile on my face, i was talking to much again. I mean she looked trustworthy, but still you never know. “ I'm sorry, I must be boring you aren't I?” I heard myself asking with a slight chuckle.
        “No and besides you're helping me keep my mind off of what's going on. I actually have two  younger brothers" Annabelle replies with a small smile on her face. “I was looking for shelter and had left them with my best friend, Hannah. I just hope they are safe, oh god I would give anything for them to be safe" She tries to put on a brave face but couldn't hold it and broke into tears before me. I awkwardly tried to pull her into a hug, and whispered "It will be ok, it will all be ok" She seemed to be as uncomfortable as I was, as if she never really told anyone how she felt.
        “Please just talk about your brother some more, I don't want to worry about all this.” She had a blank expression, but you could see the sadness and worry in her eyes. Her eyes a chocolate brown, look old and tired, as if she has seen a lot of pain and suffering through her life, but continued to put up a brave face and move on. Honestly? I don't doubt that it is what she has done and will continue to do.
        I shook my head, pushing the thought away and directing my thoughts back to William. “Well, he has the darkest brown hair, that always is messy, partly because he never takes the time to brush it” A smile coming to my lips remembering how he would rush out the door to go to school. “Back when we still lived in a home, he used to make the best turkey sandwiches. Although I think they were my favorite more or less because he made it for me rather than what is inside the sandwich. He also would come in a comfort me when i had a bad dream or because i thought the monsters would come out at night at eat me in my sleep. It’s silly but he’s kind of my hero.” I spoke softly but was happily remembering the memories. 
         I had then realized the bombs had stopped, as did the other people because the tension in the air was fading away and people were talking and walking around the room. the thought that we might be able to go home soon was exhilarating, I have never wanted to go home so badly in my entire life. I was starting to get excited at the thought and looking around other people seemed to be as well. 
        That was until we heard a loud banging sound from above, causing silence to cloak the room.  Footsteps banged down the stairs and a dark haired man wearing a Russian uniform opened the door with a wicked grin on his face.
        “Down here boys!” he hollered up to the other soldiers, it was only then did I realize that he was holding a glittering knife in his hand. Already stained red with blood, presumably from the guards and other innocent victims.
        William was one of the first to come down the stairs; his eyes searched the room until he found me. At first i was shocked, then I realized he was here to come get me; I was so relieved to see my brother once again. The relief was soon washed away when the towns people closest to the door, were being slaughtered. Horror crept into my bones as I realized all these people were soon going to die.
        I pushed my way to the front towards William, the civilians moved out of my way gladly, when I reached him, he grabbed me harshly.
        “Ouch William that hurts” I wined.
        “Good” he mumbled William quickly pushed me against the wall and took his knife out and placed it at my throat.
        “Lillian it was your f*****g fault my Mother died , you caused so much pain and suffering to my family. After my Mom passed away, my Dad couldn't stand to look at you. You drove him insane you looked and acted just like her, so he shut us out because of you. You broke my family, it is for them that I do this to you.” He took the knife from my throat and plunged it into my abdomen.
        Annabelle realized a moment too late what had happened and screamed at the sight of me sliding down the wall. Isn't it ironic how the person who was supposed to care for you didn't and ultimately caused your demise, while someone you barely knew was horrified at the thought. 
        The pain was unbearable, but it was not the pain that caused the single tear to slide down my cheek, it was the feeling of betrayal that William had caused.
        I didn’t want those thoughts to be my last, so I thought about the mother I never knew; all I had left of her was her locket. I still had it hidden beneath my shirt; at least William did not take it with him.  I still had it with me that’s all that mattered. I still had my family, and in a way William did me a favor because I would be reunited with them wherever that maybe. I smiled at the thought as I succumbed to the painless darkness.

Author's Note

I wanted to thank anyone who took the time to read my short story. Also feel free to comment, especially if there is something that doesn't make sense, or if I misspelled a word or had incorrect grammar. I got my picture from Google. Thanks again and I would love to hear from my readers!
- Sami :)

Reviews

[pdavinci]

Overall I thought it was a rather ok story. The first 4/5 of the story seemed natural and went well. The last 1/5 though...that was just escalated quickly out of control. So while I think the overall story was good as well as the type of ending you were going for worked, the transition just was so sudden and I was disappointed. Nice job overall though.