TWO

As Prue and Piper walked across the campus they noticed that things seemed a bit tense. More than a few people appeared to be crying. And they noticed several heated discussions going on between small groups of students.

"I don't remember it like this," Prue said. "This seems more like a reform school than a college campus."

"I know what you mean," Piper said, glancing into the student union. "Can you feel the tension in the air? I wonder what's going on?"

"I don't know," Prue said. "Phoebe's never mentioned anything like this before. I wonder if she notices it or if she just thinks it's normal."

"I don't know," Piper said, looking at the television playing in the union. "They must be watching some kind of war movie or something in there. It must be good. Everyone seems really engrossed in it."

The student union was a cafeteria-like area for the students attending the university. It had a small snack bar and tables where the students could sit and relax between classes. To one side of the union were the mailboxes where the students received their mail. At the moment, several dozen students sat in the union intensely watching the television that showed a large building burning.

"That looks like the World Trade Center," said Prue, looking at the television. I know I don't watch that many movies but I don't recall a movie where they blew up the World Trade Center. Maybe it's a new movie."

"Prue," Piper said uncomfortably, "that doesn't look like a movie. That reporter in the foreground? He's one of the reporters on the nightly news. What would he be doing in a movie?"

"Let's check this out," Prue said. "I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this."

The two walked into the student union and were virtually unnoticed by the students in the room. Each one of them sat staring at the television, not even glancing at them as they walked in.

"The towers are both burning heavily now," said the reporter on the television. "Dozens of people have already been evacuated but there are still hundreds more inside, many trapped on the upper floors. All streets for several blocks in all directions have been closed off as fire and police officials rush in to help get as many out of the building as possible. The mayor has ordered the evacuation of all building within a six block radius of the Trade Center towers."

"Boy, that's realistic," said Prue to Piper. "Amazing what they can do with special effects these days."

"Those aren't special effects," said an older gentlemen walking up to them. "I'm Marshall Thomas, one of the professors here. You mean you haven't heard what's happened?"

"Heard what?" asked Piper. "We just got here. We came to visit our sister."

"The World Trade Center has been attacked," said a young man sitting near them. There was undisguised anger in his voice. "Two planes crashed into the towers. This is live."

"What?" Prue asked, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Are you serious? Who would do something like that?"

"We don't really know much yet," said Professor Thomas. "Some reports say it was terrorists, but that hasn't been confirmed yet."

"It's the goddamned Arabs," said another angry young man, sitting at another table. "One of those fanatical groups that hates Americans. They're the ones who did this."

"That's only speculation at this point," said Professor Thomas. "Let's not jump to conclusions. Let's wait and see what happens."

"This is horrible," said Piper. "No wonder that girl was crying in the parking lot. She said her father was in New York. She must be frantic."

"Oh my God," screamed one of the girls in the union.

Everyone turned and watched as first one and the then second towers suddenly collapsed, falling to the street below. Many of the women in the union began to cry openly. No one could say a word. They simply stared at the gigantic dust cloud that formed from the collapsing buildings and the sight of hundreds of people rushing to get away from it.

"They said there were still people in those towers," said a stunned Thomas. "Hundreds may have just died."

No one else spoke. They could only sit and stare at the horrible destruction the television cameras were showing to the entire world.