AFTER THE BLAST

BY SÉBASTIEN SACRÉ

She took a step forward and stared at the smoking wasteland of twisted metal and bodies that lay on both sides of the tunnel. In the red-tinged darkness of ash and smoke, humans and machines melted into each other, nearly indistinguishable. "

Jasmine patted herself and her son in the total darkness of the workman's shed. She was looking for flames but found none, no wounds or burns either. Her body still pumping adrenaline and her head spinning, she couldn’t understand how they were still alive and physically unharmed after the saucer’s attack.

It made little sense.

Even their old Labrador, Boomer, had made it safely to the shed. Jumping from car to car, they reached the safety of the alcove inside the tunnel, while the world was melting behind them.

She took deep, ragged breaths to calm her nerves, but her heart was pumping too hard, thumping loud in her ears, and her legs felt like rubber. She sighed deeply, almost choking on the acrid smell of burning plastic and carbonized meat, swallowed a sob and let herself slide against the tiled wall, her son Dylan still in her arms. As the energy she felt while running dissipated completely, his physical presence against her became the only tangible thing in her life. The only thing that still felt real.

After a few minutes of complete silence, with nothing remaining of the catastrophe but a ghostly ringing in her ears and the safety of the shed’s darkness, it almost felt as if the honking of cars, the terrified screams along with the deafening roar coming from the wall of fire that engulfed everything had not actually happened. But Jasmine knew she would never forget what she just witnessed. Every unwanted flashback was now burned indelibly into her, playing again and again in her mind.

She felt her son move against her, trying to get comfortable, and felt a sick lurch in her stomach when she realized, even though she had asked him to close his eyes, he may have seen the alien attack. The blast that destroyed the city as she ran, obliterating people and buildings alike.

Did he understand what he saw? She wondered, would it traumatize him forever?

She felt burning tears squeeze through her eyelids as she squinted and hugged her son even harder.

She knew she must get out of this place and find help, but all she wanted to do was fall asleep and let the world continue on without her. It seemed a better option than going out and facing whatever carnage awaited them on the other side of the shed’s door. A better option than looking up to see that hovering, city-wide spaceship in the sky.

Another flash of unwanted memory came through the darkness into her mind. The image of a little girl she had seen while they were running towards the tunnel. The horror made her squeeze Dylan so hard he cried out. It had been a tiny girl with a unicorn headband, almost a baby, alone, sitting in a car. She waved at them with a smile, her features brightly lit by the red fire of destruction coming towards them from behind, unseen.

‘I could’ve stopped for her. I could’ve saved her,’ she thought. ‘If I just opened the car door and-’

There was a loud metallic clang on the other side of the shed’s door and Jasmine yelped, feeling suddenly disoriented and nauseous by the total darkness of the room. She could hear Boomer panting, his breath warm against her leg, and her son’s body stirring, anxiously. There was another clang on the door and Jasmine was about to touch it when she realized it was radiating heat.

Boomer panted faster. The medal on his collar ticked rhythmically. His hair rose on his back. A low growl rumbled from his belly.

"Mom?" came a sleepy voice.

"Shhh, it’s okay," she said, hoping Dylan would fall back asleep, giving her more time to think.

But as time passed, unseen and unknown, and as her body finally relaxed, she realized they couldn’t survive in that shed without food or water. For her son’s sake and her own, she had to get out and face whatever was out there. Or at least avoid it, while she searched. She had to find her way back to Steven.

She clenched her jaws, her mind suddenly clear, cuddling her son and whispering in his ear, "Honey, wake up."

"Hum... what?"

"Get up. We have to get out of this shed. We have to find your dad."

She felt her son’s body detach from hers and, for a second, was afraid to lose him in the dark.

"Are we going to fight the aliens?" he asked.

She fumbled in the dark to find his head, leaned forward and kissed it. It was warm, prickly and smelling of burned plastic, but comfortingly familiar. She realized he had lost his favorite cap but had not yet complained about it.

"No... We’re just going to be together. As a family," she said.

She took a deep breath, got on her knees and, hoping she sounded more confident than she actually felt, said, "Now I’m just going to open the door and take a peek, okay, honey?"

"No, don’t! What if they’re out there?"

"It’s going to be all right. Just stand behind me."

"I’m scared."

"Me too, but... I think it’s going to be okay."

"You promise?"

"I promise. Take Boomer by the collar and stay behind me. I don’t want him to run when I open the door."

"Okay."

Keeping Dylan behind her with her left arm, Jasmine touched the handle with the tip of her finger, but it was still too hot to grasp, so she took her jacket off, rolled it around her hand and tried again. The handle moved, but the door itself, still radiated heat. It seemed to have swollen, and was stuck.

"Stand back a little further," she cautioned. "I need leverage."

She heard her son shuffle back, knocking something down from a shelf. She then put her left foot against the wall, grasped the handle with both hands and leaned backwards, pulling with all her might. The heavy metal door groaned, unwilling to move. Suddenly, it slammed open with a loud metallic groan.

Jasmine fell backwards in the dark, her elbows hitting the floor painfully. A wave of heat struck them, Boomer cowered, whining, and Dylan gasped. Jasmine saw a shadow fall through the opening, bathed in the tunnel’s red light, and felt something burning. Whatever it was twisted and fell on her leg in a faint cloud of ash and smoke.

"Mom! An alien!" Dylan screamed.

"Close your eyes!"

She reached for the thing, ready to throw it off, but all her fingers grabbed was a hot, branch-like object, greasy and slippery.

Since there was not enough light to see, she felt around and realized that it was attached to a larger part that reeked of barbecue, twisted, and charred. Then she touched something that felt like a head. Her fingers probed a lip-less mouth with broken teeth.

‘Oh my God,’ she gasped, realizing she was touching human remains. Repressing a scream, she sat up, pushing the body through the door, using her feet to push it away. Frantically, she wiped her hands on her jeans.

"Mom?"

"Dylan, whatever you do.... don’t look."

"But I can’t see anything! Was it an alien?"

"No, it was... nothing. Just debris. Now I’m going to make sure it’s safe for us to go out there, okay?"

"Don’t leave me alone!"

"I won’t. Just taking a peek."

Carefully, she exited the shed into the tunnel and looked at the body lying by the door. Under the faint emergency lights, trapped in their half melted cages, she could make out the form. It didn’t look human anymore. Curled up on itself, most of its limbs bent, hands like claws with a skeletal grin. It looked almost alien.

"God, I hope that’s not what they look like," she mumbled.

"Mom?"

"I’m here."

"Do you see anything?"

"No, nothing. Just lots of junk and cooked cars. From the blast." She said.

"Do you see anyone?"

She took a step forward and stared at the smoking wasteland of twisted metal and bodies that lay on both sides of the tunnel.

In the red-tinged darkness of ash and smoke, humans and machines melted into each other, nearly indistinguishable. Charred beyond recognition in a sinister procession of death, heading in both directions.

"No..."

"Is everybody dead?"

"I don’t know, honey. Probably..." She thought about the attack and how the blast wave seemed to have gone in all directions, fired from the underside of the saucer. Jasmine realized what she was seeing probably happened all over the world. The thought of having to walk her son through a devastated city to find her way back to Steven chilled her to the bone. Finding him alive would be a miracle, one she prayed for.

Jasmine knew there would be injured people out there, survivors needing medical help. She remembered watching an ambulance from the mouth of the tunnel race by, then overturn. She hoped she might find some salvageable supplies inside. If not, maybe someone still alive in there needing rescue.

Then she heard a desperate scream, somewhere in the distance. She felt an urge to run towards them and help. But she had no training, and she had her own son and dog to look after.

‘Being a stripper doesn’t matter anymore,’ she told herself. ‘I’m a survivor and I’m not wounded, which means I can help, should help. Maybe I can make a difference.’

She took a deep breath again and realized the thought calmed her, helped her focus. Now she knew exactly what she had to do.

She went back to the shed, took her son by the hand, and led him out. Boomer trotted beside them, head on a swivel, sniffing at all the strange smells.

"Keep your eyes closed, Dylan. We’re getting out," she said. "Come on, let’s go. Let’s find your Dad."