Carlie seemed to be really invested in the conflict in Gulmira, so much so that all she wanted to do was sit at home and watch T.V. or movies while periodically checking on the news. Which to me was boring. I wanted to go the movies, go to a restaurant, or even just go for a walk in the park. I guess you got to take the annoying with the good. It wasn't until I saw that red and gold man in Gulmira that I actually got invested in what was happening. Once I started to pay attention I felt a little guilty for not caring before.
One particular night towards the end of November, I ended up falling asleep next to Carlie on the couch, and I had the most vivid dream of my life. I was standing in front of the Stark Industries factory building, which I recognized from a second grade field trip. The odd thing was every thing in the dream was black and white, with only the reds and golds visible. I felt a pull, a need to move forward towards the main building. My breathing picked up, and I felt anxious, threatened by what lay withing, like what was in the building would uproot my life forever.
I stood paralyzed in fear, the only noise permeating around the courtyard was my shallow breathing. Until I heard their voices. A deep gravelly voice, booming around the courtyard as if from a megaphone, and another lighter voice talking about peppers. I was confused enough as it was, but then the building started to glow blue. It exploded out in brilliant waves of sapphire, cobalt and pastel blues.
And then I woke up, sweating, panting, and staring into the face of Carlie's father. He mouthed two words to me, 'Get out'. I nodded and hurriedly gathered my things, almost leaning down to peck Carlie's sleeping cheek when I remembered who was in the room. Giving Greg one more sheepish smile before I headed out the door. I was halfway down their path when I remembered that Carlie was my ride.
Rather than go back and annoy Carlie's father even further, I decided to walk to the nearest bus stop. When I got to the small bench and tiny shelter, I read the bus map to find the fastest way to my house. Normally, I can get to my house from Carlie's in about 20 minutes, driving around the outskirts of downtown. My moms two bedroom apartment was in a...less than desirable part of town, despite her job in the FBI, or whoever she worked for. But of I wanted to take the bus, I'd have to go through downtown, and a part of the industrial district, adding another 30 minutes to my ride home.
I knew I couldn't fall asleep again, I needed to get my English paper done tonight so that I could focus on my other tests for the next two weeks, so I buckled down on the bus. I thought of a pretty good opening for my essay on the merits of Winston Smith and his struggles in the society of "1984". I was two paragraphs into the body of my essay, and with only a few highlighted areas of choppy sentences, I was feeling pretty good about it so far. I decided to pause for a second and review the sentences I wasn't happy with. I was almost done fixing the last choppy phrase, when I heard the first bang.
A huge metal exoskeleton came flying onto the freeway in front of the bus. My eyes went wide, shocked at the sheer size of the metal man. The bus lurched to a stop, and I hurriedly moved for the door, grabbing my backpack from the floor by my feet. I shoved my laptop inside and slung it over my shoulder. As I reached the door, the bus driver finally unfroze, reaching for the door lever and rushing out himself. As I stepped out of the bus, I noticed the second metal man. This guy was red, with gold highlights. I had to pause in my run to appreciate the amazing and sleek design. 'Wow, this guy is awesome. Such a better design than "Full Metal Jacket" over there,' I thought to myself. I continued my run when the big guy picked up a car and said "I love this suit!"
I almost got run over by another car driving away in a panic, but stopped short before I ran for the giant hole in the freeway wall. The last thing I heard as I rushed through was the red guy saying "Put them down!", with the bigger guy following up with "Collateral damage Tony!"
As I ducked through the giant hole I said a silent prayer for that family. I felt the ground shake and heard the car horn blare, then the sounds of metal on concrete. My breathing was rushed as I stopped to catch my breath. Once my breathing had slowed again, I took a look around where I ended up. It was dark, the only light was blue and dim. Sparks flew from exposed wires and steam shot out of broken pipes. I saw the big Stark Industries logo on the wall in big black lettering. Next to it was a large 17-A in blocky military writing. My breathing sped up again as I remembered my dream from earlier in the night.
I glanced around again, panicked, looking for a way out. I saw some metal stairs leading to a door blasted off its hinges. I tightened my back pack strap and ran for the opening. It took me a minute or two to navigate the labyrinth of generators and pipes of the facility. I finally reached the door and ran into a large open room. There was this weird looking cylinder thing in the middle, with arcs of lightning inside it. My eyebrow arced up on instinct, my curious mind lighting up with wonder. I walked around the back of what I assumed was a massive generator, analyzing the design and noticing a few flaws with the alternator and regulator.
My thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud on the ceiling, followed by more in quick succession. I flinched and ducked down when dust fell from the rafters. I backed up against the wall, my earthquake training from grade school telling me it was the safest place if the roof fell. I took my backpack off and started to look through it for my phone. I had placed it in there earlier so I wouldn't be distracted by any notifications while I was working on my essay.
"Where is it, where is it?" I asked myself, opening all the pockets. I couldn't see it. During my search I heard someone else walk into the room. They started pulling some levers, I could hear them as they slammed down. I didn't think anything of it, they were probably trying to turn the reactor off to mitigate the damage that would happen if it exploded in the chaos. I kept looking through my bag for my phone, my mind racing as I ran through all the possible reasons for what was happening outside and above me.
I looked up from my bag when I heard the alarm start to blast out. I heard a woman call out, and my eyes widened when I realized what she was saying.
"It's ready Tony! Get off the roof."
I stopped pulling my things out in search of my phone and started to put them back in one by one. My notebook, my math textbook, then my laptop. Why did I pack so much? I jumped when I heard bullets hitting metal and glass. I could hear the woman scream and I started to rush faster to put my pens and other items back in. I got sloppy and dropped some, not noticing them roll away until I had to grab them. I crawled over to grab the stray ones, and I heard explosions on the roof. The room shook and I ducked and dodged out of fear.
As I packed away my last few items, I heard the woman yell, "You told me not too!" and "You'll die!" With only my PSP controller left out of my bag, I grabbed it in my right hand and slung my backpack over my left shoulder. I made a run for it as I heard the generator buzz louder, lightning flashing all around. I lifted my hand to shield my eyes from the bright flashes, when everything slowed down. I saw an arc branch out heading for me, and I braced myself. I moved my hand closer to my face, when the lighting bolt hit my PSP, knocking me back as the current traveled up my arm and neck, my controller hitting my forehead as I was knocked back. I felt searing hot pain in the back of my head, and then sharp stabs in my temple and forehead.
The last thing I saw was a man falling into the large generator as it shot out a large pulse of energy. Then I blacked out, either from the pain or the concussive blast that followed the pulse, I'm not sure. All I could see was darkness as my mind drifted away.
