“What's going on?” Paz shouts over the commotion.
“The nuclear missile. The Ragnarok. It's here.” Shrutika heads further down the dungeon, and screams for everyone to take cover. Everyone listens and finds spots against the walls. As gentle as this woman comes off, she is unquestionably the one in charge down here.
“I'm scared.” Pocket shivers as she sits against the wall.
Paz takes a seat next to her and grabs Pocket's hand. “I'm scared too.”
Before I take a seat, I grab a blanket from the corner of the cell. I drape it over both of them and then take a seat on the other side of Pocket.
“Are you scared, 80?” Pocket looks at me. The fear she feels reflects as pure innocence and vulnerability in her eyes. Her youth makes her oblivious to the world around her and what is happening. This is why humans needed a second chance, for her and others like her. They could have been taught to do better. The generations before them destroyed the Earth and humanity. Her generation could have saved it, if given an opportunity.
“Yes, Pocket, I'm scared.” I put my arm around her. She and I never got a chance to live. I don't want her to die. I don't want to die.
The deep rumbling sound comes first. Some scientists scream, but the long, low thunder dominates my ears. Next, the ground starts to shake, followed by the walls, ceiling, and everything else in this dungeon. The shaking is so hard that my head smacks against the wall behind me a few times. Parts of the ceiling and walls form cracks, and some small pieces fall to the ground. I look up to the area of the ceiling between our side and the one across from us. A large crack races back toward the elevator. It reminds me of the crack I saw on the ceiling of the building that fell on KJ and her sisters. My heart bleeds with pain as the image of KJ's lifeless body flashes in my head.
I try hard to replace that image with a better one. We are standing a few hundred feet from her house. I just handed KJ a sleeping Pocket. I love you, she says. This time I say it back. I love you, KJ.
Back in this musty dungeon, I hold the only thing left of KJ's life in my arms. A few small pieces of the wall fall on us. I cover Pocket's head, but I keep a lookout in the event that I need to move us fast. The shaking does not want to stop. I look back toward the center to see a crack splinter off the larger one and into our cell. This causes a chunk of the ceiling to peel off and fall. Then everything goes black.
