The Unnaturals Prequel - Cataclysm
With one last long look out at the wavering heat, you decide it simply isn't worth it.
You turn and head back through the foyer, nodding at the doorman once more.
"don't blame ya.." he manages to croak out.
You continue until you reach the elevators once more. Dread fills you as you imagine being reheated inside this makeshift oven but the idea of climbing so many flights of stairs is somehow worse. The doors slide open with a soft ring and you step inside. Immediately, sweat begins pouring off of you once more as you hold your breath against the warm air of the enclosed space.
It finally slides open on your floor and you make your way to your apartment. The few degrees difference in heat within your apartment isn't much, but it feels much better than the elevator. You reach into your pocket, pull out your phone and dial the office to let them know you're not coming.
It rings and rings for several minutes until the answering machine lets you know that noone is available at this time. For such a large company, it's strange that they let the call go unanswered but perhaps everybody else took the day off as well.
You shrug and place yourself onto your small loveseat, directly in front of the A.C. It's so ridiculously hot that there isn't much else you can do but try to stay cool. Eventually the heat and the soft white noise of the fan lull you back to sleep.
You awake with a jerk, survival instincts screaming that something is terribly wrong. Over the sound of your fan, a terrible howling is echoing through the streets, pratically shaking your apartment. You stumble to your feet and wipe the sleep from your eyes as you move toward the window.
For a moment, you can see nothing beyond the building across the street. The howling is getting louder. As you press against the glass to peer down the street, the super heated material burns your cheek. You jump back and try to see whats happening without touching it. Just then, in what almost appears as slow motion, the buildings down the street crumble and fall. In their place, you see certain death.
A massive, swirling tornado of fire. A blazing storm surge the likes of which has only ever been imagined in religious depictions of Hell. It looks as though it is encompassing dozens of miles and arching several more miles into the sky. The fire is burning incredibly bright, making everything else seem darkened in comparison. The rolling waves of embers are convulsing around in circles, almost as though it were breathing. It is melting and destroying everything it touches.
Your heart stops beating for a moment and you can do nothing but stare. This cannot be real. A force this great and terrible has never been seen on earth.
It is moving too fast. Within seconds it will engulf your building. Your heart drops with a sickening thud as you realize you will not make it out of your apartment, let alone the building, in time.
You barely take three steps from the window before it explodes inward, knocking you to the ground and cutting your skin as the shards of glass fly all around you. The pain barely registers as you feel yourself being pulled towards the new opening. You turn just in time to see nothing but flames outside. Flames that are drawing you in, that are trying to consume you. You are powerless to resist.
As you fly feet first out of the roaring, gaping maw of your building, you desperately grab onto the window sill, gripping with all of your might despite the shattered remnants of the window lacerating your palms. You manage to hold yourself there for a moment before you realize that the fire is devouring your bottom half that is dangling out of the window. In shock, you glance back only to realize that your legs are gone.
Your mind begins to darken as you finally release your hold, flying up and away into the fire storm. Fortunately, the searing pain doesn't last long. Your last thoughts are wondering if perhaps you should have gone to work.
You turn and head back through the foyer, nodding at the doorman once more.
"don't blame ya.." he manages to croak out.
You continue until you reach the elevators once more. Dread fills you as you imagine being reheated inside this makeshift oven but the idea of climbing so many flights of stairs is somehow worse. The doors slide open with a soft ring and you step inside. Immediately, sweat begins pouring off of you once more as you hold your breath against the warm air of the enclosed space.
It finally slides open on your floor and you make your way to your apartment. The few degrees difference in heat within your apartment isn't much, but it feels much better than the elevator. You reach into your pocket, pull out your phone and dial the office to let them know you're not coming.
It rings and rings for several minutes until the answering machine lets you know that noone is available at this time. For such a large company, it's strange that they let the call go unanswered but perhaps everybody else took the day off as well.
You shrug and place yourself onto your small loveseat, directly in front of the A.C. It's so ridiculously hot that there isn't much else you can do but try to stay cool. Eventually the heat and the soft white noise of the fan lull you back to sleep.
You awake with a jerk, survival instincts screaming that something is terribly wrong. Over the sound of your fan, a terrible howling is echoing through the streets, pratically shaking your apartment. You stumble to your feet and wipe the sleep from your eyes as you move toward the window.
For a moment, you can see nothing beyond the building across the street. The howling is getting louder. As you press against the glass to peer down the street, the super heated material burns your cheek. You jump back and try to see whats happening without touching it. Just then, in what almost appears as slow motion, the buildings down the street crumble and fall. In their place, you see certain death.
A massive, swirling tornado of fire. A blazing storm surge the likes of which has only ever been imagined in religious depictions of Hell. It looks as though it is encompassing dozens of miles and arching several more miles into the sky. The fire is burning incredibly bright, making everything else seem darkened in comparison. The rolling waves of embers are convulsing around in circles, almost as though it were breathing. It is melting and destroying everything it touches.
Your heart stops beating for a moment and you can do nothing but stare. This cannot be real. A force this great and terrible has never been seen on earth.
It is moving too fast. Within seconds it will engulf your building. Your heart drops with a sickening thud as you realize you will not make it out of your apartment, let alone the building, in time.
You barely take three steps from the window before it explodes inward, knocking you to the ground and cutting your skin as the shards of glass fly all around you. The pain barely registers as you feel yourself being pulled towards the new opening. You turn just in time to see nothing but flames outside. Flames that are drawing you in, that are trying to consume you. You are powerless to resist.
As you fly feet first out of the roaring, gaping maw of your building, you desperately grab onto the window sill, gripping with all of your might despite the shattered remnants of the window lacerating your palms. You manage to hold yourself there for a moment before you realize that the fire is devouring your bottom half that is dangling out of the window. In shock, you glance back only to realize that your legs are gone.
Your mind begins to darken as you finally release your hold, flying up and away into the fire storm. Fortunately, the searing pain doesn't last long. Your last thoughts are wondering if perhaps you should have gone to work.
