As the girl walked towards the shimmering Great Ring its small significance in her mind, as a piece of stone that sat there doing nothing, was shattered, much like her world, all around her. Looking up she saw the golden cloudless sunrise had transformed into a blackened fiery sky, and injured people on the plain screamed for mercy. She was one of the lucky ones she thought, one of the few to be rescued, to be taken away. Swarms of birds blotted the sun, trying to escape, from the terror that captured them all, trying to leave it all behind; in their flight they were cruelly shot down, much like her people.
The path to the great ring was crowded; shuffling along like a great snail; bombs dropped close by, some hit. Children screamed with hunger, and weakened parents shook with horror, clutching onto loved ones, or indeed anyone standing close. At the gate; which was now visible stood their saviours, dressed in strange materials, firmly holding weapons, they surveyed the bustle of people, letting just a few through at a time. The girl's first glimpse of her rescuer was not how she expected, hardened warriors their eyes panned over the devastated landscape.
A crackled voice from somewhere on their belts caused their eyes to meet for a split second, a small nod from both told the girl something was wrong. Guns pointed at chests they startedto back into the ring. Already the people were surging forward, trying to get there first, the girl leapt past children, the savage instinct of survival taking over; she had to be there, she had to get through. Bashing past the vast mass of people, she finally dove headfirst into the cool suffocating water of the ring.