The Fire Above 1.3

Sadie sat up and pushed her heels into the ground, sliding backwards until her back found a wall. She could feel her pupils desperately trying to adjust to the sudden darkness and a small headache began to form. She knew it wasn’t only her eyes that was causing the pain. Her adrenalin was beginning to drop and soon she would feel the full extent of her injuries.

She whipped out her cellphone and used the dim light from the screen in a vain attempt to illuminate the darkness. Before any of the vaguely discernible shapes began to resemble anything recognisable, she was hit by the stench. A hot, putrid smell seeped into her nostrils and mouth with every breath she took. It felt thick going down her airways and just thinking of its origins added to her nausea. She realised the floor beneath her was wet and the walls were moist and dripping, and quickly pushed herself up. Standing unsteadily on the uneven floor she tried to look around.

Her eyes couldn’t open any wider as she peered into the darkness, looking for something to give her direction, or somewhere to go. Mostly she was looking for hope, for a reason not to sink back into the filthy sludge and rot away with it all. She shook herself in an attempt to dismiss such negativity. You’re just in the sewer Dee, no need for drama. There are manholes and gutters at regular intervals, just start walking and you’ll find one soon enough. Her little internal pep talk gave her the motivation she needed, but she couldn’t set off yet.

She tried to start walking but the sludge sucked her feet into the ground. As much as it pained her to think about it, she was going to have to get rid of her heels. She slipped them off one at a time and returned her bare feet to the cold, wet floor. As her first toe touched floor she let out a little squeal and pulled back. After a regrettable deep breath she planted her foot firmly beneath her and the other followed.

Her progress was slow but constant as she headed in the direction opposite to the origin of the destructive clouds. With her right hand on the wall to guide her she felt out every step with her toes as she went along. In her injured left hand she clutched her phone and held it out in front of her for some light; it produced an impotent whitish blue glow which only illuminated the 10cm immediately in front of it.

As she moved along, her nose began to throb and her bruised ribs made breathing increasingly more difficult. Although her injuries didn’t feel serious she still wanted to assess the damage and clean her wounds. She increase her pace slightly and continued to trudge through the sewer.

In the dark, there is no way to track your progress, and Sadie began to feel frustrated. Her mind wandered and she thought of Josh. How could he have left me? I was right there, almost within reach! Why didn’t he hear me? As this continued she picked up her pace walking blindly into the darkness until she was stopped in her tracks, quite literally.

Rushing through the darkness, scorning Josh in her mind, she walked into a wall with full force. The blow didn’t hurt her and she felt more embarrassed than anything else, not that there was anyone who could’ve seen her. She had a reached a turn in the tunnel, and after righting herself she turned left to head off in the new branch.

After moving only two steps she let out a small scream, she could see light! Not too far from her, several beams had broken through the surface and shone defiantly in the musty sewer. Elated, she broke into a careful jog. She stumbled on her way but managed to stay on her feet and reached the source of the light, panting softly.

There was one fairly large hole surrounded by 3 or 4 smaller ones. They were just above her head where the wall met the roof. Although she could easily reach them, she could tell that she wouldn’t be able to fit through the largest one as it was. But if she could break out the patches of rubble between the other holes she could squeeze through. With determined vigour she plunged her hands into the filth beneath her, searching for anything she could use to crack open the holes. She ventured a bit further down the tunnel and after a short while her hand found something round and solid. Sadie took hold and pulled back hard, and freed a piece of steal piping. She rushed back to the opening.
Sadie wedged the tip of the pipe into one of the smaller holes and forced it back and forth wildly. Soon the concrete began to crumble and she worked harder. One by one she bored open the smaller holes until only one large one remained. She threw down the pipe and reached up to grab the edges of the hole.

The Fire Above 1.2

Sadie watched him as he ran to the window. Although she loved him for his inquisitive nature, at times like this it drove her mad. Completely unintentionally, and unconsciously, he could be the most selfish person she knew.

He looked back at her over his shoulder, flashing a quick, unconvincing smile. What had he seen, what was he hiding from her.

She looked away for a moment and when her eyes returned to the window were he had been she couldn’t see him. The commotion outside, whatever it was, was beginning to affect the people in the hall and soon the mood had changed from light hearted and pretentious to panicked and aggressive. People where rushing for the exits as the sound of explosions and screams grew louder from outside the windows.

Before she could make up her mind if she should stay put or head for the door, an explosion to the back of the hall made the choice for her. She looked back and saw that the roof was engulfed in flames. Large, burning chunks of the ceiling were crashing down to the floor setting everything around them ablaze. Through the commotion she saw a startled colleague encircled by flames trying to find a way out. Sadie called to him but no sooner had the words left her lips than he was crushed by a flaming roof beam. She had to get out, now.

She fought through the crowd, pushing hard to reach the door. The people around her, people she knew had become animals. Everyone was screaming, pushing and kicking, trying to carve their own path to the exit. Next to her a brute of man was forcing his way through the crowd. Just as he passed her she grabbed onto his belt and clung on for dear life. Even with a baby in her belly she wasn’t a big woman, and he didn’t seem to mind, or notice, her. When they reached the door she let go of her grip and peeled off to the left, against the grain of the rushing horde in the street.

Tears were welling up behind her eyes but she wouldn’t let them spill. If she could find Josh he would get them to safety. She tried to make her way to an opening but the surge of the crowd carried her down the street. She managed to get both her feet on the ground and dodged through the pedestrians until she reached the lip of the sidewalk. Once there, she scrambled onto the bonnet of a parked car and desperately began scanning the crowd. A wave of relief washed over her as she picked him out amongst the chaos and a smile spread across her face. Her voice trembled as she called to him, watching him fight through the flood of people. But he couldn’t hear her over the madness. Her gaze remained on him as she tried to make her way to him.

He was temporarily obscured from her view as people rushed passed her, but when her window on him opened again she froze. He was on his bike, and although she couldn’t hear it she could see the engine vibrating beneath him. She tried to call out to him, but when she opened her mouth nothing came out. He was going to leave her.

Sadie stood in road, unable to more. She wished her eyes would scorn him, that her voice would curse him, but she was in utter shock and her face showed only sadness. As strangers forced themselves past her, bashing and bruising her, tears rolled downed her cheeks. A plume of smoke rose from the rear tire as he let go of the clutch. Her eyes were stuck to him as he sped off.

She would’ve stayed like that, there in the street, with her unborn child in her belly and been incinerated by the heavenly inferno, if it were not for the stampeding horde. A burly man, who smelt of sweat and fear, knocked her clean off her feet onto her back and trampled her left arm as he continued on his course.

The pain of her wrist being crushed under his weight brought her violently back to reality. She quickly pushed herself up to stand up but a knee came crashing down the bridge of her nose, instantly breaking it and sending tears streaming down her face. She rolled over onto her stomach, careful not to let her belly be crushed, and tried to seek out an escape route. Between the chaos of the fleeing crowd she saw a hole which had been blown open under a gutter. The concrete lip of the gutter hung over the opening, protecting from the onslaught from above. It was not far and she began to move.

The soft skin of her knees and elbows was ripped off by the tar almost instantly but she crawled along, doing her best not to be crushed. She was within reach of the scraggily mouth of the gutter when she heard the grumbling, cracking groan of the clouds. On all fours as she was, she jumped for the gap but her ribs met with a swift boot as someone tripped over her. At that moment a boil began to split open, its molten substance dripping down from above. It was milliseconds from exploding.

Her body was numb to the pain of her crushed wrist and her broken nose and ribs, and she threw herself at the gap again, miraculously slipping through without getting caught on its jagged edges. She landed on her crushed wrist with an audible thump and let out a wild howl. But no one heard her, for the boil had burst with beastly force and a feral, unnatural scream.

As the thick, lava-like liquid spilled from the sky it set everything it touched up in flames, and what would not burn, melted. The flaming, molten mess flowed arrogantly down the street; nothing could stop it. As it flowed over the scraggily lip of the gutter, too thick to drip between the narrow openings, it cut off the daylight and entombed Sadie in the sewers.

The Fire Above 1.1

Josh arrived at the theatre characteristically late, but still on time for the band's launch. Walking into the crowded room he made his way through the horde of journalists, reporters, groupies, band-aids, and whoever else, looking for her. She was never late. 

"Sadie," he called as he laid eyes on her, "Sadie."

She was talking to a group of men when she looked back to meet his eyes. He saw her excuse herself from the conversation and head in his direction. 

As she reached him they shared a brief kiss, which felt longer to him than it was.

"They haven't started yet, have they?" he said. 

"Without you? Never"

"Very funny Dee," he looked at the various foods she had carefully balanced on the napkin in her hand, "hungry much?"

"You know it's not just me," she said as she gently cupped the small, growing bulge of her belly.

"Any of it go-," before he could finish he was cut off by a loud explosion followed closely by panicked screams, "Stay here!" he said and turned to run for the nearest window.

Looking out he could see smoke rising behind a flood of fleeing people. He glanced back to check on Sadie, she was exactly where he had left her, smiling nervously. He flashed a quick smile to reassure her and made for the door. 

Outside, he tried to push through the stream of rushing pedestrians but couldn't even make it to the edge of the sidewalk. Soon he discovered that he didn't have to. 

He looked back in the direction where the people were running from and his followed the black, sooty stream of smoke rising behind them to meet the clouds in the sky. Instantly his eyes widened, he stared at the sky struggling and refusing to believe what he saw. 

The clouds seemed to have take on a life of their own, swirling slowly, brooding horror. Bright, festering boils were growing out of the grey mass, cracking open at places like dry clay, exposing their fiery innards. At once a boil burst and a molten bolt of some bright red lava-like substance exploded from the resulting hole, obliterating anything it came into contact with. He stood frozen in horror as some devilish force drove the clouds with hellish speed directly towards him. Another boil exploded so close to him that he could feel the inferno of the hot devastation. 

He was instantly ripped back to reality and jumped out of the way. The force of the explosion blew him across the road and once he stood up he quickly began surveying the situation; half of the hall had already been consumed in flames and a steady stream of some molten liquid was flowing down the street, swallowing up anything it came into contact with. The destructive force was advancing with increasing speed, liquefying or incinerating anything it came into contact with. He looked back at the hall, the entire roof was ablaze. Sadie!

He tried to find a way through the maddening crowd to reach the door. I have to get to her. He began fighting through the panicked rush of people and he could see others peeling out of the hall. If they are still alive, so is she. He fought harder, getting closer with every step. As he looked up towards the door he saw nothing but flames. "No!" he screamed, "Sadie!...Sadie!" His eyes frantically darted from face to face, searching for hers. He began to feel sick, and felt tears on his face. She can't be...

He continued to fight towards the hall, ripping people out of the way, and twisting others around to see their faces. "Sadie" he called again and again. Blazing bodies poured out of the flaming doorway. The hall was completely engulfed in flame, and so was everything in its vicinity. The destruction was gaining and he had to get out of the area soon if he wanted to live, even if it would be alone. "I love you" he whispered.

While searching he hadn't registered how quickly the devastating force was advancing. He ran for his bike and  as soon as he reached it he shoved the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life. He whipped his head around in a final hope that she was still out there, but he was encircled by flames. He could feel fire reaching out, trying to scorch his flesh. He twisted the throttle back all the way and felt the powerful engine growl beneath him. Sadie. He released the clutch and the back wheel spun for a moment, letting loose a wicked howl before gaining traction and ripping into the tar.