Writing is an evolving business. What's hot one day might not be the next so it is always a good idea to expand your repertoire and dabble with different genres, something I am learning as I go along.
So I scoured the internet, found the picture below and began to write.
Nobody had been expecting the attack, it came
completely without warning. People that were out and about hadn’t stood a
chance, the scorching heat tearing the flesh from their bones where they had
been standing, all kinds of vehicles tossed around like they were nothing more
than toys being thrown by an angry child, buildings had crumbled in the heat,
glass and brickwork had showered the streets below. Those that had been fortunate
enough to avoid being killed by the blast had since been warned not to leave
the safety of their homes, for a minimum of seventy-two hours, so that the air
could be tested for radiation.
As I stared out of my apartment window, as one of
the lucky few, the only people visible on the streets were heavily uniformed
soldiers making their way through the wreckage, and piles of corpses, looking
for any survivors. I watched as the soldiers opened doors, looked under cars
and carefully made their way slowly along, the guns they were carrying primed
and ready for any unexpected surprises.
With nothing else to do, and being virtually a
prisoner in the four walls I called home, all I could do was watch, and wait.
TV signals were hit and miss, one or two stations seemingly unaffected, the
radio just the same but I had both on listening for updates, and the go ahead
to venture out. Not that there seemed much point in doing so, there didn’t look
like there was anything worth going out for, yet I had already been in the flat
for just over a day and was already going stir-crazy.
Suddenly a rapid burst of gunfire drew my
attention towards the street again, and I stared as three soldiers emptied the
clips of their assault rifles into one of the wrecks littering the streets. Whatever
had been in the wreck they wanted to make sure it was dead, and that no-one seeing
just what it was, one of the soldiers waved towards a lone refuse truck that
had been slowly following them along the street.
As two of the soldiers struggled to drag whatever
it was from the car the other kept looking around nervously, keeping his body
between the car and any prying eyes, but the three of them eventually managed
to get the thing in the back of the truck. Once it was in the lead soldier
banged on the side, and the three of them continued with their macabre journey
along the street, slowly followed by the truck.
As they moved further down the street the TV
behind me crackled back into life and I turned to look at the screen. As
someone in the background spoke images of destruction and devastation filled
the screen. Smoke billowed from buildings, loud crashing emanated from the
speakers as buildings continued to crumble to the ground and even more
soldiers, armed to the teeth, swept through the streets.
Turning back to the scene of chaos outside I
listened as the faceless voice spoke.
“It has been noted that a few people are not
heeding the warnings to stay inside until the all clear has been given. Any
person that is found to be in violation of the curfew will be arrested and
taken to a secure facility until such time as the all clear is given.”
As if to show that whoever was making the
decisions meant it the TV cameras swung around to show a convoy of coaches,
being driven by heavily armed soldiers, leaving bus and coach depots up and
down the country.
“Once again anyone found in violation will be
arrested,” the voice reiterated. “Stay indoors and stay safe.”
Turning back to the screen, as the images started
to crackle and break up, I noticed something that didn’t seem quite right. Even
though people had been instructed to stay indoors until further notice,
allegedly so the atmosphere could be gauged, some of the soldiers were happily
removing their helmets and masks and laughing and joking amongst themselves as
they did.
Surely though if the air had been toxic the
soldiers wouldn’t have been stupid enough to remove their protection and I
slowly reached towards the latch on the window, paused once the cold metal was
firmly in my grip and took a deep breath.
JSMorbius 2012
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