Hello everyone,
I'm starting whumptober 2024, I hope to keep up.
I would like to remind you that :
- the characters don't belong to me.
- there will be love affairs between men.
- there will be scenes of violence and crude language.
- this story was written in French and then translated; I don't have an English proofreader.

1- Race against the clock (search party / panic attack / if only we could hold on)

TK was running without knowing where he was going, holding back the tears in his eyes. He knew he had to find shelter, a place where he'd be safe, but the chaos around him was disorienting.

He couldn't understand the situation; he and Carlos were vacationing in New York so he could share some time with his half-brother when, in the middle of the night, they were awakened by a huge explosion, followed seconds later by more. The two men got up and dressed in a panic before leaving their building.

Horror greeted them on the street. One after another, the towers of New York caught fire as bombs fell on them. Armed groups wearing animal masks put civilians in military trucks or opened fire on those who resisted.

Despite the risk, Carlos had seized his husband's hand and led him on a mad dash through the ruins, the streets of New York and the panicking crowds.

Memories of his life as a junkie had guided TK, who knew the city much better than the Texan, and he had followed his instincts. Eventually, he'd found a hidden entrance to the city's dry sewers, the ones the junkies used to sell, buy and consume the substances they couldn't live without. The horror of the situation kept the rescuer's memories and demons out of his head; all that mattered was to get as far as possible, if they could, out of the city and hope that their nightmare was contained there.

Tension had built up inside him as they raced through the underground, which had begun to echo with other noises. Sounds of running, of panting breaths, but above all of gunshots, of bodies falling, of voices screaming, of others complaining. His instincts pushed him into one tunnel rather than another until they emerged facing the Hudson River.

The other side of the riverbank didn't seem to be in the grip of terrorists, no explosions were visible and the gunshots were all coming from behind them.

"The bridge," Carlos had whispered. "Run as fast as you can, if you need to dive, and whatever happens, don't look back."

TK had looked at her husband, horrified at these words.

"No, I won't leave you behind."

The Texan had grasped the rescuer's face between his hands and kissed him tenderly.

"I love you. If they capture you, I won't be able to refuse them anything. Promise me you'll do everything to escape them."

TK had promised him, tears running down his cheeks, before kissing Carlos again.

The sound of armed groups had come closer to them. They'd let go and run as fast as they could. There had been gunshots, Carlos yelling at him to run and the other side of the bridge. TK had continued to run in this area he knew so little about.

Running without knowing where he was going, he held back the tears in his eyes. He knew he had to find shelter, a place where he would be safe, but the chaos around him disorientated him. He'd thought this side of the river had been spared, but he'd been wrong. The streets were littered with corpses and ruins. Everything smelled of death. The terrorists must have carried out their attack around New York before attacking the megalopolis.

The young man was afraid to stop and let them catch up with him, afraid of finding no shelter, afraid for himself and for Carlos, so he ran at random.

He ran for hours, the sun having long since broken over the buildings to illuminate the red-tinted streets.

The star had crossed the sky and was setting behind the buildings, leaving behind a bloody sky as TK could no longer move forward. His strength was gone, he was hungry and tired, and he knew he had to find shelter.

Terrorized, but aware that there was nothing else he could do, he slipped into a large glass-walled building whose roof had exploded. He collapsed in the first nook he could find and let silent tears roll down his cheeks.