Amaris

Bombs rain down around me, and the building shakes as families huddle together, knowing that at any moment, they could be violently torn apart. People's screams, children's cries, all is magnified as the sound reverberated against the metal enclosing us, but even that was drowned out by the bombs. One hit. One. That was all it would take, and everyone would be dead.

My sister Lili nestles against me. She is all I have left; our parents are surely gone. We ran from them, so we will never know. Lili must be thinking something similar, I can see the sadness in her eyes. Guilt, even. We didn't save our parents, our own family.

It's too much. She is too young for this, only 10 years old, but time and tragedy have forced her to grow up too fast. Silently, I start to cry. I don't know how long I remain like this, but through that time I stay still, crying into my hands until a soft touch brings me back to the real world.

"Amy, it's stopped," a little voice whispers into my ear. I raise my head. Everyone is still, silent, listening. There are no bombs to be heard. Gradually, a soft muttering begins, starting as a few voices, but getting louder and louder more people try to get a word in edgeways. They want to know if it's safe to leave. In here, we are safer. A direct hit would kill us all, and we are only sheltered from debris. But we've been here too long and many of us are hungry, myself included. I have food, a little, but it's not much and it needs to last.

I keep it in my first aid kit, along with a few knives. In hindsight, I have no idea why I brought the knives, only I wanted to feel like I could protect myself. They'll be no good to me.

The debate has become an argument, with everyone yelling to be heard. I can't stand it anymore. Whatever has happened outside, I need to see it. This place is making me claustrophobic, and if I don't get out, I know I'll freak out. And who knows what will happen then. Everyone will know.

I pick up the first aid kit, and slowly edge towards the door, telling Lili to stay safe in here.

Nothing could've prepared me for what I see now. Once great buildings now reduced to a pile of ash and rubble. There's an eerie silence, a gentle breeze is all I can hear. Oh God, this is worse than the bombs. I wander around the remains, going farther from the shelter than I intended to. I realise I have been gone too long: Lili will be worrying. And that's when I hear it. Another plane, another bomb.

I run.

I keep running. I don't know where I'm going, what I'm trying to do. There is nothing I can think of but my instinct to survive.

Only when the plane sounds quieter, far away enough that I am safe, I stop to rest, and thoughts flood back to my head. Lili! How could I forget her? What was I thinking? Evidently, I wasn't, because I would never leave her on purpose. I had been preoccupied with saving myself.

I see the plane hovering above the shelter, lower than the others were. It's aiming for the shelter, of course, and without a miracle, it will get a hit its target. I am frozen, too shocked, too terrified to move. Time slows almost to a stop as I watch the bomb fall, knowing what will happen. A direct hit.

My thoughts blur. Lili was in there. Lili is dead.

Fire lights up what remains of the shelter. It is only now I see the sun start to set in the distance, and I realise night will come soon. The fire looks brighter against a darker sky, and it terrifies me. I hate fire. Every instinct I have screams at me to run and, even though I want to run back to my sister, instinct wins.

I don't know where I'm going. I had a plan, a way for me to stay out of this, to use my natural advantages to survive. Maybe I can stick with that. It won't be forever. Wars don't last forever.

I can see two people in the distance, but I doubt they can see me. Few people can see in the dark as well as I can, and it really is dark now. I don't understand why they aren't running? The bombers will come back, I'm sure of it. They're not safe staying here.

I slow to a light jog, trying to see more detail. When I'm closer to them, I see that one of them is nearly lying down, blood spilling from his leg. His head is supported by the second person, crouching down beside him.

They hear my footsteps, and look at me. I know these people. I have seen them before, an eternity ago. It has only been two months, but memories of watching YouTube seem like another world. Seeing people from that time, in the war-torn place I know now, is bizarre, but I would recognise them anywhere.

Dan and Phil.