An explosion wakes me from sleep, followed by another, then another.
I turn over and look at my clock, which is sitting on my bedside table.
It's 2 o'clock in the morning.
What could possibly be happening outside at this hour?
I get up out of bed, and turn to the window.
There's a fire outside, which is consuming a whole bunch of buildings.
Another explosion rocks the city.
Oh, no. It's happening. It's the apocalypse!
Okay, I know I am probably being overdramatic. But come on, it seems as if the city is being attacked, and it is.
BOOM!
An explosion in front of my building blows out the windows, and throws me backward, onto my bed.
I am showered in shards of glass.
When I get back up, I am covered in cuts, from head to toe, all not serious.
I'm staring at the now gaping hole in the window and part of the wall.
So much for the "safety" building standards. The building is barely holding up from the explosion.
There's another explosion, in the same place as last time.
The building starts shaking. My lamp next to my bed falls over, and part of the ceiling crashes down.
I've got to get out of here!
I run for my door, but not before I grab my shoes, jacket, and glasses.
A few minutes later, I exit the apartment building, along with a few others.
We all stop in front of the complex.
I look up.
All the windows are gone, shattered, and parts of the walls are missing. Half of the building is on fire. The building is crumbling.
There's another explosion, this time far away.
The side of the building begins to collapse.
I scan the crowd.
Oh no, where's Jesse?!
The shock hits me hard. Jesse, my best friend, is not in the crowd outside.
He's still in there! I have to find him!
I rush back towards the front steps.
"Buddy, what are you doing? You can't go back in there!" exclaims someone from the crowd, probably Jillian, my next-door neighbour.
I go inside the door.
"Jesse? Jesse?! Where are you?!" I yell.
I don't hear him. So, I start heading for his apartment, which is on the second story, which has taken the brunt of the explosions.
I run up the stairs, and end up in the hallway, which most of it is on fire.
"Jesse! I know you're here somewhere! Just answer me!" I yell at the top of my lungs, which are now starting to fill up with the carbon monoxide from the smoke of the fires.
His room is just a few yards away, but there's a wall of flames separating me from it, go figure.
I have to rush through the fire as fast as I can. I back up a little.
Okay, on three. One... Two...
The wall of flames looks menacing, and that drains my confidence, a little. Not too much.
...Three!
I run at the fire at full speed, not bothering to slow down.
I get through the flames, and suffer from only minor burns. I cough.
I'm at Jesse's door. I try the handle, but I should have guessed that it would be burning hot.
"Ow! Son of a..." I say, not going to finish the sentence.
Okay, second approach: kicking the door down...
I back up, my back to the flames. My tail is right above the fire, but that doesn't matter right now.
I get ready to barge in.
I raise my foot, and kick the door once, twice, three times, four, before the door lock breaks, and the door is thrust open.
I run through the door, into the living room. The couch is on fire, likewise, as well as parts of the carpeting.
"Jesse? Are you here?" I scream, but that doesn't compare to the voices of the flames.
I turn to check the bedroom, which is through the door on the left, and there he lies, on the floor, next to his bed, probably unconscious.
I run to him, and check him.
He's not breathing.
Oh no!
I scoop him up and exit through the bedroom door, and I am greeted with a chunk of ceiling in my way. How the hell did that get there?
I will have to jump over it, like I have over the fire.
The building is still shaking.
I back up, getting ready to jump. Again.
Again, on three. One… Two…
Three!
I run, and jump over the burning rubble, and once I do, I don't stop.
I go through the front door (still holding onto Jesse), turn to the left, jump over the flames I encountered before, and keep going through the hallway, down the stairs, and before I reach the door, I run into another problem.
The violent shaking of the building has caused even more rubble to fall, and this time, in front of the door.
I check my surroundings, for open windows, other doors, ANYTHING, and then I remember the back door.
Still holding Jesse, I turn 180, and head for the back of the building.
I get to the back, and run into the same problem. There is debris blocking the way out.
How am I going to get both of us out of here now? There's no windows, or…
Suddenly I get an idea. Remember how I said that my window and part of my wall were blown out? I can get out through there.
The only problem with that one is, and it's a whopper, is that my apartment is on the second story, which can mean I will more than likely break my legs if I jump, and Jesse could get even more injured if I do jump.
This is almost a lose-lose situation. But then again, do I have a choice?
I run up the stairs in the back of the building and head to my apartment. Sure enough, the window is still broken, although I don't know why I would think it would change.
I don't want to count to three, because that won't help in this situation, although I would bet some would beg to differ.
No matter how I land, I will get injured. But it would be much better than dying in the fire, in agony. I think dying in a fire is one of the worst ways of dying.
But there's another problem. I happen to be one of those people who are afraid of heights.
Okay, enough of the complaining! I need to get out of here before it becomes too late.
I back up (without counting) and then at full speed, run through the open window.
