Snippet #2384790

The tremors grew worse by the second sending led and earth crumbling towards the rails below. The once grand staircases of the Metro station broke and fell taking many dozens of human beings with them into to the obscurity history.
Pipe lines burst; electrical cables short circuited and darkened the Metro tunnels adding to the confusion of the many occupants of this rapidly developing catacomb. The crowds reacted in different ways:

Some rushed into the last train on the platform hoping to escape this melody of death but where destined to be crushed to death when a section of the roof collapsed and flattened the train below. Others attempted to rush the station guards and escape the station; some guards let them pass into the dark abyss of the Metro tunnels while others fired in panic slaying many as the concentrated automatic fire found its targets easily in the tight confines of the station.

Many others did what Uncle Sam had told them they should do for more than a century; "Duck and Cover" While some remained in place too shocked to think of their safety.
Many died as the debris fell, some even managed to be drowned as the huge now defunct water system of the tunnels filled them entirely and in some areas even reaching four feet of height.

Charles saw the coming body of water and climbed to safety using one of the service tunnels. As the chaos below began to subside Charles knew that to stay in the station for too long would mean certain death however in what manner should he take his leave?
Now was the time to make friends and in times like these there were no better friends then the armed ones. Charles looked for his opportunity and found it when he saw an overpowered guard trapped under some rubble.

There were many others in a similar situation and Charles would have saved any person in such a situation in peace time however now Charles was forced to become selective.
Charles made his way to the trapped guard and saw that his legs where covered by a mixture of concrete and other materials mashed together into an unrecognizable mass. Charles tried to shift the materials but could not do so alone.

Charles turned and looked for anybody who could aid him. He saw that since those vile seconds of the attack things had miraculously managed to calm down thanks in large to one soldier who kept his head. Those few guards who had turned to weapons fire ceased their madness and order began to form in the chaos.

Charles soon got the help of another guard and the two began to shift the rubble together. Charles gazed at the guard's eyes and saw that just like him this guard beyond the will to do good wanted mostly to be useful.
Charles understood this very well; anything was better than to think of these events.

The United States of America was under attack, three hundred years of history had been blasted into ruin. Charles did not fail to see the irony as he and the guard managed to dislodge a steel bar among the rubble; As a patriotic Canadian he had never ceased to consider himself a Canadian and despite the annexation Charles never considered himself an American citizen.

Now for the first time in his life Charles could not deny it; he was an American. And despite the sins of the nation towards the land of his birth Charles was sad to see the death of the land of dreams and opportunity.