All I see running in the deadly darkness are human corpses lying in the streets, flooded with blood as if a storm had just passed. All I hear people screaming, children crying, gunshots. I feel only panic, I don't know where I am running to or where I can hide. I don't know if I will survive or end up lying like all the corpses I run past.
It didn't take long before I collapsed to my knees from exhaustion. I have no strength left to run and no hope of surviving. Tears continue to flow out of fear. I want to scream for help, but I know that no one will hear my plea.
"Help!"
I know no one will come to my aid, but out of desperation, I gave myself one more chance to survive. After calling for help, I knelt with my head bowed, waiting either for a new hope to survive or for death, the same fate met by all the people whose bodies lay around me.
I closed my eyes and waited for my fate.
...
Suddenly, it seemed like the whole world stopped. All I could hear was silence.
I slowly opened my eyes, and the first thing I noticed was that I was in a small room. My breathing deepened, my thoughts raced, trying to piece together what had happened in those few seconds I had closed my eyes. I start feeling the beginning of a panic attack, unsure of where I was and what awaited me.
Unexpectedly, I felt something pressing on my hand, which was resting on the floor. Startled, I quickly pulled my hand back and saw that I wasn't alone in the room. Eight people were there with me. The girl who had touched my hand looked at me anxiously.
"Shh, try to stay calm," she said.
It took me more than 10 minutes to calm down. During that time, I scanned the room and the people I was locked in with. The room was dark, but not so much that it was impossible to see. It was empty, with no windows. The walls were lined with metal panels, and from between those panels, a dim light illuminated the room.
I noticed that two men were lying asleep on the floor, while the rest simply stared at the ground as if they had lost the will to live. The girl who sat next to me and helped me calm down was hugging a boy who appeared to be around 8-10 years old. She suddenly noticed my gaze and smiled, likely trying to avoid increasing my panic, but I was sure she felt the same fear and anxiety I did.
"Where are we? And how did we end up here?" I asked her.
"I don't know, I only remember fainting when the panic started outside, and the next thing I woke up in this room," she replied.
"Strange, because I don't remember fainting. I closed my eyes, ready for death, but suddenly all I heard was silence, and when I opened my eyes, I was in this room."
She gave a sweet smile. "You were definitely asleep for more than a few seconds. What's your name?" she asked.
"Daniel. What's yours?"
"Emily," she replied, smiling.
Emily appeared young, likely around 20 years old, with dark hair and a unique appearance. If we had gone to the same school, she would have been my crush, but my attention was drawn to the boy who sat hugging Emily.
"Is he your younger brother?" I asked.
"No, no, when I woke up, I noticed him trembling and crying in the corner of the room out of fear. I've been helping him to calm down," she replied.
Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn to a noise near the door. Someone is unlocking it, door swung open and never seen silhouette entered room.