was the worse sound that could possibly be heard. It was dreaded by everyone and it hadn’t been heard by any living soul for over a millennium. It meant that all the civilians had to flee to the Bunker, which was an underground city of sorts, large enough to house the entire population of NNYC.
‘ Klarkson,’ his father called out to him, looking like a maddened bull and marching towards us with my father and his wife in toe, ‘you are going with Mr. Eskman, Denise and your mother to the Bunker. As for me, I am needed here.’
‘As you wish, Dad.’
‘My condolences on the passing of your mother, dear,’ Mrs. Oakland said, looking as genuine as ever. She was a plump, kind woman who always wore her dark hair in a tight bun. ‘We will all miss her dearly.’
‘Yes, may her soul rest in peace,’ the man of the family added, lookin g a tad uncomfortable. He was always a little weird around me, what with me being his friend’s daughter and his son’s girlfriend at the same time.
‘Thank you. Thank you, both.’
‘Now, Richard,’ he told my father, ‘ take these three to the Bunker and stay by their side until I can join you.’
‘I honestly think I’ll be of more use here once I get them to safety, Elliot.’
‘Don’t argue with me, Corporal Eskman. That’s an order.’
‘Yes, sergeant,’ my father replied reluctantly, before asking everyone to follow him.
We boarded one of the levitators and, as we climbed higher into the smoke-filled air, the scene that developed before my eyes had me at a loss. The western side of the Wall was all but gone and the eastern one seemed to be up in flames. There were large swarms of the wildlings everywhere I looked and, what with seeing them for the first time in my life, I found it extremely hard not to stare at them with some close to awe. They were completely grey from head to toe and wore black rags that appeared to be a size too small for their bulky, muscular physique. And, as far as I could tell, there was some kind of rank and order between them.
‘Look away, babe,’ Klarkson said, doing so himself, ‘you don’t need to see all that violence.’
‘No,’ I replied, yelling so as to be heard over the n oisy blasts of the chilly air currents, ‘I want to see the world for what it is, K, not live inside a bubble of make-belief.’
And so I watched on, not without tears i n my eyes and a terrified heart to boot.
Not before long, we landed near a gigantic stairwell and alighted from the levitator at a quick pace. Using my father’s service badge, we passed the security checkpoint in a matter of seconds and joined the bevies of parents, teenagers, children and infants descending the spiraling staircase with terror-stricken expressions and an occasional wound or two.
Once we were inside, Dad led us to some special wing assigned to the families of the Controllers and asked his inferior to take us to our quarters. The room we were given wasn’t much, but there was enough space to fit a small table, two chairs and an equal amount of beds. There was also a tiny kitchen and bathroom in the rear.
‘ All right, guys,’ he said, hunkering down, ‘I have to go run some errands, so I’m going to have to leave you for a little while. Once the doors to the Bunker are sealed shut, I will come back. Klarkson?’
‘Yes, sir?’
‘I know you’ve only just begun the Controller training, but you’re a smart kid and I’m going to entrust you with my daughter just the same. Don’t disappoint me, son.’
‘You can count on me, sir. I’ll sooner die than let something happen to Denise or my mother.’
‘That’s the spirit . All right, then, see you all later.’
‘ Hey, D,’ Klarkson spoke up the moment his mom stepped outside to take a look at what was taking place inside the control center, which was visible through the huge glass panels present all over the place,’ you okay?’
‘No, I’m pretty f reaking far from okay right now!’
‘I hate
‘ Klarkson,’ his father called out to him, looking like a maddened bull and marching towards us with my father and his wife in toe, ‘you are going with Mr. Eskman, Denise and your mother to the Bunker. As for me, I am needed here.’
‘As you wish, Dad.’
‘My condolences on the passing of your mother, dear,’ Mrs. Oakland said, looking as genuine as ever. She was a plump, kind woman who always wore her dark hair in a tight bun. ‘We will all miss her dearly.’
‘Yes, may her soul rest in peace,’ the man of the family added, lookin g a tad uncomfortable. He was always a little weird around me, what with me being his friend’s daughter and his son’s girlfriend at the same time.
‘Thank you. Thank you, both.’
‘Now, Richard,’ he told my father, ‘ take these three to the Bunker and stay by their side until I can join you.’
‘I honestly think I’ll be of more use here once I get them to safety, Elliot.’
‘Don’t argue with me, Corporal Eskman. That’s an order.’
‘Yes, sergeant,’ my father replied reluctantly, before asking everyone to follow him.
We boarded one of the levitators and, as we climbed higher into the smoke-filled air, the scene that developed before my eyes had me at a loss. The western side of the Wall was all but gone and the eastern one seemed to be up in flames. There were large swarms of the wildlings everywhere I looked and, what with seeing them for the first time in my life, I found it extremely hard not to stare at them with some close to awe. They were completely grey from head to toe and wore black rags that appeared to be a size too small for their bulky, muscular physique. And, as far as I could tell, there was some kind of rank and order between them.
‘Look away, babe,’ Klarkson said, doing so himself, ‘you don’t need to see all that violence.’
‘No,’ I replied, yelling so as to be heard over the n oisy blasts of the chilly air currents, ‘I want to see the world for what it is, K, not live inside a bubble of make-belief.’
And so I watched on, not without tears i n my eyes and a terrified heart to boot.
Not before long, we landed near a gigantic stairwell and alighted from the levitator at a quick pace. Using my father’s service badge, we passed the security checkpoint in a matter of seconds and joined the bevies of parents, teenagers, children and infants descending the spiraling staircase with terror-stricken expressions and an occasional wound or two.
Once we were inside, Dad led us to some special wing assigned to the families of the Controllers and asked his inferior to take us to our quarters. The room we were given wasn’t much, but there was enough space to fit a small table, two chairs and an equal amount of beds. There was also a tiny kitchen and bathroom in the rear.
‘ All right, guys,’ he said, hunkering down, ‘I have to go run some errands, so I’m going to have to leave you for a little while. Once the doors to the Bunker are sealed shut, I will come back. Klarkson?’
‘Yes, sir?’
‘I know you’ve only just begun the Controller training, but you’re a smart kid and I’m going to entrust you with my daughter just the same. Don’t disappoint me, son.’
‘You can count on me, sir. I’ll sooner die than let something happen to Denise or my mother.’
‘That’s the spirit . All right, then, see you all later.’
‘ Hey, D,’ Klarkson spoke up the moment his mom stepped outside to take a look at what was taking place inside the control center, which was visible through the huge glass panels present all over the place,’ you okay?’
‘No, I’m pretty f reaking far from okay right now!’
‘I hate
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