10:30 AM
Benny was frantic. Ducking behind a car and pulling his shirt up over his nose had protected him from the worst of the debris and dust that had poured out from the collapsed tower. But he had lost Collins. A calm, reasonable voice in the back of his head informed him that his former friend had entered the building that was now solely rubble. The rest of his mind utterly rejected that fact.
The dust was much thicker now. Benny could hardly see. He had no idea which direction he was headed in, but due to the heat, he was pretty sure that he was getting closer to the smoldering remains of the collapsed tower. Collins was there somewhere. He had to be.
A firefighter found Benny there, stumbling blindly through the suffocating air. he said loudly. Sir, you're going in the wrong direction. You can't go back there. Sir! Come with me, you've got to get out of here!
The argument sounded vaguely familiar to Benny, but he shook it off. They'd kill him if he went back without Collins.
The fireman grabbed Benny by the shoulders. Sir, you are coming with me, we're gonna get you out of here, are you seriously injured in any way?
Benny mumbled. No, I'm fine. It's just my friend...
Where's your friend? Urgent.
He's in the building.... Benny trailed off helplessly.
Which building? Can you tell me which building?
It's not there any more.
The firefighter sighed. A lot of people were in there, he said quietly. A heckuva lot of people. Let's get you out of here, fast.
Benny didn't resist further. Finding a grain of common sense, he clung to it, and let the other man half drag him away.
That's when he heard the rumbling sound again. He broke into a run.
The second tower followed the example set by its twin. But this time, the cloud of dust and debris was much larger, faster, and more violent. And Benny quickly realized that it would overtake him long before he reached the next block.
* * * * *
Joanne and her friends were still plastered in front of the TV, hungrily devouring every scrap of information as it came. This was surreal.
A cell phone chirped. Everyone in the room grabbed for their phone, but Joanne emerged triumphant. she cried into it.
Um, no, Joanne, it's Mimi, the slightly accented voice on the other end corrected. I'm glad the phone is working. Roger and I have been watching from the roof. You know what's happening?
Mimi, I've been glued to the television set. Have you heard from Maureen?
Mimi sighed. I haven't heard a thing from anyone. Can you believe this? I actually watched the tower collapse, Joanne! Right in front of my eyes! It's amazing.
It's unreal.
That, too. Mimi paused for a moment, then spoke again. Now her voice was wavering. Joanne...do they know how many people have died?
It's not over yet, Joanne replied wearily. A lot, I think.
I think so, too, Mimi agreed softly. I can't believe this is happening....
Joanne almost dropped the phone at the latest update. Holy mother of God, she breathed.
What? What's happening? Mimi asked sharply. I'm in the loft, we have no radio, I can't see...!
The second tower, Joanne said quietly, awed. It's gone, too.
The World Trade Center is gone? Mimi repeated, numbly. Completely gone?
Joanne nodded, as though Mimi could see her. There is no more World Trade Center.
* * * * *
Mark didn't like this. Back roads were not supposed to have traffic jams. It went against all sorts of laws of nature. Back roads were especially not supposed to have traffic jams on ridiculously warm September days when the car has no air conditioning.
Then Mark noticed something interesting. People were getting out of their cars, and walking ahead on the road, where it curved. Lots of people. And they were talking amongst themselves, complete strangers discussing something. He could faintly hear a bunch of car radios playing.
This was definitely interesting. Why oh why had he left the camera at the loft for once?
Well, when in Rome....
So he turned off the motor, got out of the car, and jogged lightly down the road. He was thrilled just to be moving again, after sitting in that damn Toyota for what seemed like hours. Also, he had a pretty good idea of what was beyond the curve of the road.
He was right. The road proceeded to overlook the Manhattan skyline. It also brought something resembling a breeze from the Hudson River.
Mark did a double take.
There was something wrong with the skyline. It took him a moment to place it, even with the obvious clue of billowing smoke down at the southern tip of the island. At first he just thought it was a fire.
Then he realized that something was missing. A very tall something. Two very tall somethings, to be exact.
No doubt about it, he thought, as his mouth dropped open. The skyline has changed.
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