Innocent

The darkening sunset spread luxurious bloodied rays over the waters below the Golden Gate Bridge. Traffic was busy, as expected, for it was the four-day weekend of May and many were travelling to visit relatives or go on holiday. The Hudson family were one of these, a simple family of four, on their way to Arizona to see grandparents. Joanne watched the traffic pass by her side of their BMW four-wheel drive. She glanced over to her husband, smiling simply because they had no worries. Their long journey was going surprisingly well – probably because their children were occupied on their games console. Joanne turned back to her window, her eyes rising upwards to stare at the magnificent bridge they drove across. In the back seat, herchildren continuedto play on their in-car games console, blissfully uninterested in the spectacular construction they were in the presence of.

"What the hell?" came the surprised tone of her husband, and she quickly looked round to see cars in front of them suddenly turning out of their lanes and screeching to a halt as they collided. It was happening all around them, cars slammed into either side of their vehicle, the passengers within each looking startled and scared. Joanne pulled back from her door with a gasp, her husband doing the same on his side. The entire bridge released a tired groan, the wires stretching upwards beginning to tremble. People were getting out of their cars to witness the oddity. But the noises were becoming louder, and the bridge was beginning to shake violently.

From the backseat, Joanne heard her son's voice speak up nervously, "Dad, what's going on?"

"Earthquake," their daughter concluded as she stared into the car besides them.

Everyone around them was beginning to run, anxious cries filling the evening air. Joanne furiously tried her door, but the obvious blockage of the crashed car kept her door firmly shut. The rest of her family tried all their doors, desperate grunts sounding from her husband as he tried to force his door against the empty car besides him. Joanne's fingers slipped off her door handle as she stared upwards at the top of the bridge. The metalwork was rumbling angrily, bolts and construction work screwing unloose and toppling from their great height. They clattered onto the bridge, summoning panicked cries, and those who hadn't been running began desperate sprints to safety.

Screams sounded as people hurried past their car, and Joanne turned her head to see the vehicles in front of her be pushed aside without any apparent force. But the parting cars then revealed what was really causing the terror in the fleeing crowd. A large group of people were advancing across the now deserted bridge, the man leading them being the one pushing aside the cars. Joanne recognised him. He was the mutant terrorist who had been on the news earlier that week!

Magneto.

He stopped in front of their car, his expression impassive as he stared right at her. He then turned around, outstretching a hand. The entire bridge began to shake, even more violent than before. Joanne's eyes widened, her hands automatically gripping tightly onto the dashboard. She couldn't see far ahead because of the large crowd, which surrounded them, but she heard the ripping of metal as the front of the bridge was torn away from its structure. The entire bridge swooped out to one side, it's construction lost completely and it began flying across the water towards the Alcatraz facility. Her children were screaming, their terrified sobs filling the car.

"It's ok," she tried to say. "We'll be fine."

"Dad!"

"Don't worry," her husband said softly, though as she glanced across to him she could see the fear in his face.

The bridge continued forward, moving swiftly towards the island. Joanne stared at their destination, "Alcatraz?" she questioned to nobody in particular. "The place with the cure?" No one replied, for the bridge had stopped moving and hovered there with a gentle sway. She saw Magneto abruptly turn his hands, and the bridge plummeted down towards the ground. Terrorising crashes exploded the air as the heavy bridge crumbled the buildings below its weight. Everything fell still, and Joanne sat staring ahead, out of breath as though she had been running miles. Magneto turned around to address his following, but his eyes caught their car once more. Anxiously, Joanne moved her trembling fingers towards her car door. It was an act of desperation as she sought the lock and pressed it down. She shot a challenging look at Magneto, her behaviour reckless and out of panic. However, he merely gave her a small smirk before he turned and walked to the edge of the bridge.

The air around them was getting darker, and Joanne could see little of the battle that began ensuing before her. Everyone in the car was silent, even her children. She looked round at one point to see them both sat with their eyes closed, holding hands. Tears came to her eyes as she reached across to her husband. Her hand found his and she grasped it tightly as she watched him. He tore his eyes off the scene in front of them, returning her gaze. "We're safer in here," he whispered.

Joanne nodded her head slowly, blinking back her burning tears. "I know," she replied softly, her words trembling. Explosions and shouts punctured the furious noises of the fight in front of them. Dense cloud filled the sky above them, for lightening was crackling and striking the ground of Alcatraz. Joanne gave a startled cry as a lonely car in front of them was picked up from the ground and hovered over the top of the fight. Fire came out of nowhere and set the vehicle alight. The ball of flames was thrown ahead as a missile, exploding as it crashed into the fighting crowd. Her eyes widened. Would that be their fate? The stormy weather continued and a howl of wind bellowed past their car, ever so slightly shifting the vehicle that trapped her passenger door shut. With a gasp she released her husband's hand, unlocking the door as she pushed it open in the small gap. It slammed open and hit the car besides them with a resounding clang. She tried once more, but the gap given was the most she could do.

She unbuckled her seatbelt, pulling herself upright and out of her seat. With determined grunts she pushed herself into the narrow gap, fighting to ignore the pain as the unmoving metal dug into her skin. She felt her flesh tear as she continued to drag herself out, her gasps for breath pained. "Come on!" she cried to her children, her hand reaching to take her daughter's. Her husband grabbed their son by the waist and climbed over onto the passenger seat. Joanne continued to force herself through the gap, gritting her teeth as the cutting metal dug in harder.

There was a groan of metal, and the car blocking her husband's door was abruptly lifted into the air. Joanne gasped as she threw her head round to stare at the hovering vehicle. Their own car emitted the same noises, and she let out a horrified scream as their vehicle was wrenched upwards. She slipped downwards as the car flew across the air, her body handing into nothingness. She released her daughter's hand as she fought to get a better grip on the car door, which now swung open easily.

"Joanne!" she heard her husband's cries. Her children were screaming for their mother. She felt a hand grabbed her wrist, and she looked upwards to see her husband pulling her into the car, she began to be lifted. His hands shifted, gripping her clothes desperately by any means to get her back into the car and not to plummet to her death.

She let out fresh sobs as she felt herself returned to the seat, surrounded by her family, all crammed in the front of the car. She felt arms surrounding her in embraces, all three pairs. Then she heard the rush of fire, and she looked round through the open door to see a young blond haired man set forth the flames. Her family chorused her screams as the entire car was thrown forward towards the battle ahead.

The fire caught up, her last memories the scent of fierce flames, the blinding light as their car was engulfed. Blackness crept into her vision, screams fading.

Her pain disappeared.

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