Genre: Disaster Thriller
The wind hammered against the car windows, roaring its demand to be let in. Noah had become so accustomed to the ceaseless howl that he jumped at a small whimper. It rattled straight through his bones. He looked over to Vella - confirming that no it wasn’t the human ball of silence to his left. How could she sleep so soundly? The noise must have come from him. He didn’t know he was capable of such a noise, but one thing he learnt in the last couple hours, there were some things he didn’t know he was capable of.
This morning, his biggest problem had been rushing through Seattle streets to make his pick up. He was working for a haughty chauffeur service and if he was late one more time he was fired. With twisting shortcuts and screeching tires, Noah perfectly parallel parked in a coveted spot in airport arrivals. He gulped down the rest of his lukewarm coffee from his new travel mug, and smiled at the clock. Ten minutes early. Noah was never really into rock music, but he found himself drumming on the steering wheel as he turned the radio louder. It mixed well with the overpowering hum of the planes.
It was a bright, sunny day that only got better when he picked up twins. They looked about his age, maybe a little younger but more noteworthy, the girl was gorgeous. Pretty girl plus funny brother equalled a delightful car ride.
In any other circumstance, having the pretty girl end up in his passenger seat within a few hours of meeting her, would have been a big win. Now he glanced at Vella and sighed; the irony wasn’t lost on him.
The twins had had a couple hours to spare before Noah was to take them to the port. They were going on a cruise and wanted to explore the city a little before they left, so Noah took them to the Chihuly Garden. His hunch was right - Vella loved it. She wanted to stay longer but her brother Sib was oh so hungry, it was imperative that he receive sustenance before he outright collapsed. Noah jumped at the chance to introduce them to his true love, the “Seattle dog”. It was there laughing on a bench wiping cream cheese off their faces that the world had tilted sideways.
Sib was like a figment of Noah’s imagination because one minute he was there and the next he wasn’t. Like many others, Sib had slipped into the open arms of crumbling earth. Noah could hear the gears in his head creek and sputter as they struggled to comprehend the last few seconds, and then the downpour started. The world wouldn’t wait on him to figure it out.
Noah worked on pure instinct for the following moments, working through the list of what he had to do now. Stop Vella from crawling into the earth behind her brother. Get as far away from the open crevice, praying another one doesn’t appear in front of you. Find the car and get out of this sodden icy hell - The now grey skies were angry, and they wanted everyone to know.
The distance to the car had become the most gruelling marathon of Noah’s life. People pushed and screamed as cold bullets pelted from the sky. Noah stumbled blindly through the chaos. Vella was on his back, he couldn’t get her to move on her own so it was this or leave her. The solid pulse of her heart through her sweater was the only thing that alerted Noah that she was alive. She didn’t make a sound, no crying, no screaming. He already couldn’t take the incessant cries of the wounded as they all blended into a high-pitched whistle that caused his ears to ring. So he was thankful for Vella’s silence, and he focused on his feet slapping the wet road to the quick even thrum of her heart.
Every time the thunder clapped and rumbled, Noah froze holding his breath waiting for the ground to give out, dashing forward again when it didn’t. They fell once, tripping over a half-dead body who’d managed to drag herself up from the unmerciful claws of the earth, but wrathful mother earth had already made her mark. Noah almost screamed then; blood rushing through his head, eyes popping in fear, hands peeling cold desperate fingers off his face and still, Vella made no sound, so Noah held his scream.
Then he spotted it, the haven amid chaos. Whole and untouched the silver gleam of the car stood as a beacon propelling him onward. Noah swore as he fell. And now he was choking. Vella was choking him.
Again, Noah’s mind scraped and shuffled to put the pieces together. Someone else had been choking too. Someone who had pushed them, trying to reach the car first. In the split second it took Noah to realise they were pushed, Vella had used that same time to grab the man's shirt and all three of them went tumbling down hitting the earth in an unholy mess of tangled limbs. Vella still on Noah’s back was undoubtedly being crushed, but her arms were wound so tightly around his neck to choke the man in front of them – that Noah was a close to becoming collateral. Again he worked on instinct, there was only one way out of this, so he too wrapped his hands around the man’s neck until he stopped hearing and feeling any inhale of breath.
Now Noah sat in the car with a strange mixture of triumph and overwhelming shock. Vella somehow slept soundly next to him and the wind hammered against the car windows, roaring its demand to be let in.
Song Inspiration: If the World was Ending JP Saxe ft. Julia Michaels
@gohavok.com Short Story Competition: Under 1000 words
#gohavok Theme Challenge: Hearing
Eco Product Shout Out: All in one water bottle & travel cup @ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hitch-your-bottle-and-cup-belong-together#/
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