Sinking

The Fall

    Harper called out to me, “Lucy! I think I found something!”

    “Coming!” I made my way around the corner of the ruin to see Harper crouching next to a decent-sized hole in the partially collapsed wall.

    “This side doesn’t seem as precarious. I think we can get in and look for a pantry,” he said.

    I peered inside dubiously. I didn’t like going into buildings that are too intact, as Harper well knew. Any disturbance could cause what was left of the ceiling to cave in. I much preferred sifting through rubble. Better to have the ground give out from under you and break your leg than have the sky fall and break all of you.

    Like Emma.

    The familiar sadness washed over me, but I shook it off.

    “This doesn’t look like a kitchen,” I said. “Are you sure it’s worth it?”

    “Supplies are low,” he reminded me. “I think we should take any chance we can get.”

    I reluctantly agreed. We hadn’t had much luck with crops this year, so we were burning through our preserved food stores. At that rate, we wouldn’t survive the first frost.

    Harper led the way through the hole, probably once a window. The floor glittered where sunlight hit it, remnants of glass.

    “Besides,” Harper said, “if we die, that’s two fewer mouths to feed back at camp!” He grinned.

    I replied, “That’s not funny.”

    “Colleen would have loved it,” he said.

    I didn’t answer. The beams holding up the ceiling creaked. A spider worked, adjusting its web. I scanned the room, taking in the remains of a sofa and coffee table. The sofa had been torn apart by animals, probably for nesting material. The table stood on two legs with the top sloping down to rest on the floor.

    Harper and I picked our way across the living room. I tested each step before putting my weight on it. I stepped over an overturned, wooden chair. It was surprisingly intact, except for the frayed stitches on the seat cushion.

    Suddenly, the floor shifted under me. A low rumble broke the silence. 

    "Quake!" Harper shouted.

    I lost my balance, hitting the ground with a dull thud. Dust swirled into the air around me like angry spirits. Coughing,  I crawled back the way we came, fast as I could over the debris-covered floor. Shakily, I pulled myself up on the wall. I hauled myself out the window. I landed on the weed-covered earth just as the wall behind me crumbled. A lock of my hair escaped its tie and hung over my face.

    I rolled onto my back and stared in horror at the shifting mass of wood and plaster. “Harper!” I cried. My legs and arms moved on their own, pushing me backwards, away from the ruined house.

    The trees above me swayed as the earth continued to tremble. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a crack appear in the ground. Adrenaline pushed me to my feet and I tried to run. I stumbled, but somehow managed to stay upright. Desperately, I pushed forward. It was no use. The ground dropped out from under me, and I was falling. Time slowed. I could no longer control my body. I could only watch as I fell. I could only watch as loose dirt began to fill the hole in around me. The earth swallowed me, and everything went black.

    And then I wake up.