Circles in the Dust Read Free Page B

His head turned up and he saw explosions dotting the building, which was now pockmarked with holes like a bit of the smelly cheese his dad liked.
                  His dad.
                  His father still sat in his armchair up there somewhere, probably enjoying the spectacle now that it was in 3-D surround sound. He scanned the front wall, looking for the window that marked their apartment but couldn’t pick it out. He backed up slowly into the street for a better look. A massive crack and a screeching groan broke through his impaired hearing, waking him up from his dream. He blinked and shook his head, still backing up toward the far side of the street. He could hear the screams now, coming from every direction. The loudest and most unsettling came from the building in front of him. A woman screeched something about a baby, a man shouted David’s name. David heard this and his gaze snapped back to his brother, lying bloody and bruised in the ruined foyer of the apartment building. He was telling David to do something, stabbing the air with his finger, pointing away from the building. Why wasn’t he getting up?
    David took a step toward the building. Mark’s face contorted into a knot of anger and his screaming doubled, now waving for David to stop. The opening through which he could see Mark began to shrink, closing like a garage door, smaller with every second. David trotted backward, his arms raised as he realized the building was coming down. Shingles and glass poured down around him. A piece of siding bounced off the sidewalk and knocked him off his feet. He raised himself up on his elbows and watched his family swallowed up by the beast he had called home. The tower collapsed sideways, taking David’s entire world down with it.
    The next thing David knew he was running, dashing through the streets, Armageddon all around him. A gunshot popped every now and then, glass spilled out into the street, babies cried, men shouted at each other. Thrashing bodies clogged the streets, fleeing from the wanton destruction all around. A woman bolted from a building and collided with David, sending him skidding across the pavement. She didn’t look back but kept on running, blending into the mob like a salty drop in a stormy sea.
    He got up and wiped his bloody hands on his pants, resuming his exodus from the city. He ran down a street that he knew, the wide road that led from his apartment to the strip of stores his family frequented. He sprinted down the sidewalk, his backpack flailing around on his back as if it wanted nothing more than to be free of him. He ignored it as he ran. He heard the screech of tires as a car lunged out of a garage up ahead. The headlights lit up the night; lit up the face of a man running across the street. David watched with wide eyes as the man threw his arms up in the air, leaned back as he tried to slow his feet or turn away, but the car was going too fast. David saw the terror in his face in the moment before the car struck him, sending the limp figure tumbling over the hood and off to the side.
    David had his eyes trained on the man as he ran by. There was no movement from the pile of bloody clothes in the street. Another vehicle came barreling down the road and hit the man, dead now if he was not already. There was a sickening crunch and a jarring bump as the minivan hopped over his lifeless form. David moved into the grass next to the sidewalk and ran faster.
    He knew only that he had to keep going toward the trees in the distance. He had no one to lead him, guide him, protect him. Explosions shattered buildings to either side of him, digging craters in the street, sending cars careening into the air only to come crashing upside-down before the already terrified boy. Pandemonium reigned in the streets of the once sleepy city. It couldn’t be much farther to the edge of town; it felt like he had been running for hours. Just when his legs began to flag and he thought