Chapter 1
Higher. That’s all I could think as I climbed. Higher. The one word that pushed me forward, continually climbing the ladder, barely holding on, as I barely kept myself above the turbulent waters. My arms burned as kept climbed the ladder. Barely able to keep my foothold I kept climbing, higher and higher, I was so close to top of it now, I could see it. Slowly getting closer as I climbed. I was so close. I grabbed it,I grabbed the ledge and slowly heaved myself over the top of the building. I just laid there gasping for breath before I slowly closed my eyes.
Suddenly I was at home sitting in my apartment, playing GTA 6 when wham, the ground started shaking. It was like being drunk except that I wasn’t drunk and everything around me was falling. I was barely able to escape my apartment complex before the hole thing fell down, I stood there in shock as my brain processed what just happened. Then my body kicked into action as I fought the urge to run away from the rubble and just keep running. I won the battle between me and myself and I ran straight into the rubble to help as many of the people as I could.I just kept digging through the rubble for what felt like hours. I wasn’t alone in my searching, others who escaped the apartment complex were helping but we were couldn't find anyone in the rubble after the earthquake, as our time was cut short from the sound of a water fall.
And I don’t mean any waterfall I mean like the sound Niagara Falls makes. We stopped and just stood there listening and wondering what was making the sound until we someone shouted “TSUNAMI!” We stood there processing the word just shouted, then it was like a switch was clicked all at once we all started running.
How can there be a tsunami hear? were in the east of California? So many questions rang in my mind. But I knew I just had to find solid stable ground. My legs started hurting and I risked looking back and I saw a wall of water coming toward me. I knew it was now or never so I started climbing the ladder of the nearest standing building, as fast as I could. My legs already burned from the run and my arms were like lead weights as I tried to pull them up the ladder. Then suddenly WHOOSH I felt a gust of wind and then the rush of millions of gallons of water, pouring in from the road.
I finally mustered up the energy to get myself to stand up and was greeted by the greatest horror I had ever witnessed. The city, my city, the city I grew up in. In pieces, completely and utterly destroyed to the point where the buildings were rubble and the roads, rivers of pollution and cars . No one could have seen this coming. The earthquake was massive, it hit us before we even had time to react. I suddenly start laughing, laughing so hard. I was so happy to be alive, so happy. I just kept laughing, it was so hard to stop, I must be going mad. But then it hit me, the sudden realization that I have lost many of my friends and family. I stood there standing, for 5 hours just looking into the distance watching the sun slowly sink beneath the horizon.
My eyes opened suddenly. I stood up, immediately, all of the previous days events came rushing back to me. I crumpled to my knees and watched my surroundings. The area was covered in a depressing fog that was almost impenetrable for my eyes see through. I yelled into the dense fog, hoping someone would answer me, someone still alive to talk to. I felt so alone, Like I was trapped in a small cave unable to get out. Darkness surrounding me, penetrating my eyes and shutting everything but the fog out. I screamed for help as the fog started suffocating and strangling me as I yelled out for help. "Hello!?!?" someone finally replied. It was like the spell had been lifted, I could breathe again as I sighed a deep breath of air. I finally knew that I was not alone in this desolate waist land. That I was not the only one who survived the disaster. I was so happy, I was almost hysterical, I started laughing, it was so hard to stop. I just knelt there, laughing and laughing so hard.
I finally got myself under control. I tried calling out to the person who responded, but to no avail. I didn't care, now I knew that I wasn't alone. That was what my problem was originally. That I was alone. But now I knew I wasn't, and if one person was still alive, there's bound to be others also trapped in my same situation, probably wondering if they were the only ones left, if possibly they were alone in this world of rubble. I wanted to be like that man, the man who responded to me in my time of trial. I wanted to reach out to the people feeling alone and helpless, to let them know the're not alone in this world. I resolved to just wait for anyone to call out for help, for me to respond and help them the way the other guy helped me.
Seconds, passed then minutes, than hours, still no one called out, no one asks for help, I call out to see if anyone is still there. No answer. I'm beginning to think I imagined the voice I heard, the voice that helped me out of the foggy abyss. Maybe I am alone in this city of rubble. Maybe the voice didn't exist, maybe my mind made it up as a way to cope with the white cage of fog. as I lay down to sleep more, the question lingered in my mind. Am I going crazy?
