scream
registered in her ears that she realized someone had fallen, a
woman. Several men fell past as well, screaming as they plunged
over a hundred floors to their death. Above her, the sound of metal
twisting and breaking cut through the panic around her. A dark
shadow blotted out the emergency lights above before crashing into
the staircase ahead of her, crushing the railing and showering her
with fragments of rock and dust. The huge concrete slab rebounded,
colliding with the wall opposite her before catching the edge of
the lower landing as it hurtled through the heart of the silo. The
landing crumpled and swung perilously out into the Great Fall with
two men clinging onto the crushed, sloping metal frame. Susan
blinked and then there was one: a young teenager hanging onto
life.
Everything happened so
fast, Susan didn't know what to think. She froze, clinging to the
railing as someone else tumbled past on the stairs, calling out for
help.
The disintegrating concrete
slab continued to wreak havoc hundreds of feet below her, crashing
into the stairs and landings as it broke up. In that moment, she
realized what had fallen. Part of the dome over the Great Fall had
come away.
Water cascaded down from
above, pouring into the stairs surrounding the void and turning the
shaft into a waterfall. Streams of water ran down the stairs,
undulating over her boots while falling onto her from
above.
People were screaming, so
much so Susan couldn't tell from where. Someone scrambled past her
on all fours, rushing up the stairs against the flow of
water.
“ Silo's
dead, ” he cried. “ We're all
dead. ”
Within seconds, he was
gone, up around the bend in the stairs. Water continued to pour
down from above, soaking her coveralls. Susan sunk to her knees,
with her arms wrapped around the railing, still holding on for dear
life even though the shaking had stopped. She wasn't sure how long
she sat there in the rain, with water streaming down past her but
she was in shock. She couldn't move.
“ Help! ” came a cry from below her. For a
second, she thought she recognized the voice. It was Charlie! Her
body spasmed as she realized it was some other boy Charlie's age
holding on to the ruined remains of the landing leading to
hydroponics. His feet dangled over the Great Fall. Blood dripped
from his arm, washed away by the torrent of water cascading down
from the sewage treatment plant above.
“ Got to do
something, ” she told herself. “ Can't leave him. ”
At the time,
Susan didn ’ t understand why she spoke in such clipped
terms, but subconsciously she was struggling with the realization
that she had to act or the boy would die. Deep down she wanted
someone else to do something to help the boy, anyone but her. So
many conflicting emotions ran through her mind: fear for her own
life, shock at what had happened, anguish at seeing people falling
to their death, horror at the speed with which the silo had spun
out of control, and an overwhelming sense of helplessness. She had
to help that boy. She couldn ’ t stand the idea of
watching someone else die needlessly, not when it was within her
power to help.
Susan got to her trembling
feet. Her hands refused to let go of the railing. She had to force
herself to move down the stairs, swapping hands as she went.
Whereas once the stairs had seemed so resolute, now they felt
frail, almost flimsy beneath her boots. She gripped the rail as
though her life depended on the strength of her fingers. She was
safe. The concrete slab had struck above her with a glancing blow,
leaving her section of the stairs intact, but mentally she couldn't
bring herself to let go. Fear coursed through her veins.
“ Please, help
me, ” the boy cried out. He was holding onto the crushed
landing with one arm. His other arm hung limp by his side as he lay
on the twisted metal floor sloping into the Great Fall. Susan
wasn't good with estimating angles, but she figured the wreckage
looked as though it were on
registered in her ears that she realized someone had fallen, a
woman. Several men fell past as well, screaming as they plunged
over a hundred floors to their death. Above her, the sound of metal
twisting and breaking cut through the panic around her. A dark
shadow blotted out the emergency lights above before crashing into
the staircase ahead of her, crushing the railing and showering her
with fragments of rock and dust. The huge concrete slab rebounded,
colliding with the wall opposite her before catching the edge of
the lower landing as it hurtled through the heart of the silo. The
landing crumpled and swung perilously out into the Great Fall with
two men clinging onto the crushed, sloping metal frame. Susan
blinked and then there was one: a young teenager hanging onto
life.
Everything happened so
fast, Susan didn't know what to think. She froze, clinging to the
railing as someone else tumbled past on the stairs, calling out for
help.
The disintegrating concrete
slab continued to wreak havoc hundreds of feet below her, crashing
into the stairs and landings as it broke up. In that moment, she
realized what had fallen. Part of the dome over the Great Fall had
come away.
Water cascaded down from
above, pouring into the stairs surrounding the void and turning the
shaft into a waterfall. Streams of water ran down the stairs,
undulating over her boots while falling onto her from
above.
People were screaming, so
much so Susan couldn't tell from where. Someone scrambled past her
on all fours, rushing up the stairs against the flow of
water.
“ Silo's
dead, ” he cried. “ We're all
dead. ”
Within seconds, he was
gone, up around the bend in the stairs. Water continued to pour
down from above, soaking her coveralls. Susan sunk to her knees,
with her arms wrapped around the railing, still holding on for dear
life even though the shaking had stopped. She wasn't sure how long
she sat there in the rain, with water streaming down past her but
she was in shock. She couldn't move.
“ Help! ” came a cry from below her. For a
second, she thought she recognized the voice. It was Charlie! Her
body spasmed as she realized it was some other boy Charlie's age
holding on to the ruined remains of the landing leading to
hydroponics. His feet dangled over the Great Fall. Blood dripped
from his arm, washed away by the torrent of water cascading down
from the sewage treatment plant above.
“ Got to do
something, ” she told herself. “ Can't leave him. ”
At the time,
Susan didn ’ t understand why she spoke in such clipped
terms, but subconsciously she was struggling with the realization
that she had to act or the boy would die. Deep down she wanted
someone else to do something to help the boy, anyone but her. So
many conflicting emotions ran through her mind: fear for her own
life, shock at what had happened, anguish at seeing people falling
to their death, horror at the speed with which the silo had spun
out of control, and an overwhelming sense of helplessness. She had
to help that boy. She couldn ’ t stand the idea of
watching someone else die needlessly, not when it was within her
power to help.
Susan got to her trembling
feet. Her hands refused to let go of the railing. She had to force
herself to move down the stairs, swapping hands as she went.
Whereas once the stairs had seemed so resolute, now they felt
frail, almost flimsy beneath her boots. She gripped the rail as
though her life depended on the strength of her fingers. She was
safe. The concrete slab had struck above her with a glancing blow,
leaving her section of the stairs intact, but mentally she couldn't
bring herself to let go. Fear coursed through her veins.
“ Please, help
me, ” the boy cried out. He was holding onto the crushed
landing with one arm. His other arm hung limp by his side as he lay
on the twisted metal floor sloping into the Great Fall. Susan
wasn't good with estimating angles, but she figured the wreckage
looked as though it were on
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