[Gallagher]

Again

The first light that I saw in far, far too long was the sun's reflection, shining brilliantly off of the building I was told I would be calling home. It was gorgeous. Taller than I'd ever seen, I had to crane my neck to try and see the top. It did no good; its windows shone so perfectly, it was like trying to look straight into heaven.

I shook my head, ridding myself of the passing thought.

Up the stairs and to the door, I could hardly wait to see inside. That was when I saw it. Stuck to an alabaster column, just out of reach of the outside, the timer stared me down. I froze. This had to be some joke, didn't it? Yet the simple, hastily attached box remained, mocking the perfection of everything around it. The numbers died off, one by one, and I ran. I had to find that man. He would know what to do. He could find help, before I, before anyone, could get hurt.

We were ushered into another building. I didn't even know there were so many people. I'd hardly seen a soul when I was out there, there in front of the building I had admired. I looked on, along with the others I did not know, peering through the glass between us and the outside. It was a boy that we watched near the building. Though he was covered in all the gear expected to keep him safe, it was too obvious that he was little more than a child himself. It didn't feel right to watch, and yet that was exactly what I did.

He hardly had the chance to open the doors before I was gripped by fear. She stood beside me, one that I didn't remember, but knew that I loved. I grabbed her and yanked her to the ground with me just as the explosion broke the utter silence around us. The windows shattered as our shelter shook, countless slivers of glass torn free from their confines and straight into the bodies of those around us. The only scream I heard came from the woman I held, but when I looked down at her face, she was already gone, replaced by a corpse that might have reminded me of her, had I not seen her just moments before.

It was that man that pulled me away from it all. As others ran, he led me to a small room, in which a single trunk sat. He pushed it aside and opened a door right in the floor, reassuring me all the while. I followed him down familiar stairs and into the dark.

God, please, let this be the last time.