Thursday, November 11, 2010

Survivors

Day 4

At first, it was just another day after the earthquake. We were quickly running out of rations as the day went on. By afternoon, however, we felt another tremor in the grounds. It seemed like déjà vu with the panic arising from all of the people stuck in the sewers with us. This second tremor brought instant flashbacks of the earthquake that had collapsed our office building, and the floor below, sinking everything down into the sewage system. There was still no word of whether there was a search for us, or whether we were already pronounced dead. We didn't see any leftover signs of movement from the remains of our crumbled building, making it seem like the five us were the sole survivors.

Just as we ran out of food, the tremor came back. This time it was stronger than before, and started shaking the floor under us. I was alone, inspecting the remains of our building for any further signs of life when it happened. The entire ground beneath the remains tore apart from the tremor, and threw me, along with the wreckage, into depths below the sewage system. I don’t remember what happened next, I think I had been knocked out.

The next thing I remembered was waking up to a man I had not recognized. He was carrying me away from the building, and I was in too much stress and pain to dispute it. He was not talking at first, but once he noticed I was awake, he started mumbling something. I couldn't quite catch what he had said, but it seemed to have a reassuring tone. After about twenty minutes, I began to regain control of my senses.

Once I could once again see clearly, I observed my environment. I seemed to be approaching what looked like an everyday house, except one built of metal. The house drew closer as I was carried by the man. Once inside, we were met by a group of people just like the man there. They began to talk to me, and from what I gathered, they had all been put through situations like me: Sole survivors in difficult environments that led them to this unknown place, forgotten by the society above.

This news of similar stories brought about both reassurance and depression. It would mean that I was safe, down in the depths with what seemed like a very friendly environment filled with hospitality, but would also lead me to being considered completely missing and thought to have disappeared or died in the eyes of the society that I was once a part of. All I could hope for was another chance to return to my original home, to the life I had lost, in the days to come.

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