Dark Inside Read Free Page B

man from underneath an unconscious woman. The man’s ankle was broken and beginning to swell but he still managed to crawl toward the front. She continued to look for Sara, but she wasn’t there.
    “Why don’t we check outside?” the guy said. She nodded and allowed him to put his arm around her. It seemed like the right thing to do. His body was warm, and the muscles beneath his jacket pressed against her, drawing her in, comforting her.
    Maybe Sara had already managed to get out?
    An overly pregnant woman struggled to stand from between two crushed seats. “Please, help me,” she said.
    The stranger let go of Aries and they both put their arms around the stunned woman. Blood trickled down her forehead from where she’d smashed her face into the window. The three of them stumbled through the front window and onto the broken street. There were benches at the bus stop,and they helped the woman over and sat her down. Another woman came over to lend a hand. Blood seeped from a gash in her forehead, but she crouched down beside the expectant mother and began talking to her calmly.
    The first thing that struck Aries was the lack of noise. There were so many people standing around, many of them covered in blood and injured. But they were quiet. They moved about, some helping one another, barely uttering a single word.
    The street was destroyed. Most of the concrete was torn apart; it lay in piles, strewn across the ground. There was broken glass everywhere. It crunched beneath her feet. The sun was beginning to set; the sky was filled with pinks and purples. Long shadows spread out across the ground. Normally by now the street lamps would start to switch on, but with the power out, there would be no city glow. Soon everything would be pitch-black. Aries shuddered. The thought of being on the streets once the sun went down was enough to make her feel like she was five years old and terrified of closet monsters or things that hid under the bed.
    The building on the corner had imploded. It used to be a grocery store. Now it was nothing but a pile of debris. Shopping carts lay on their sides where the parking lot used to be. Some of the wheels were still spinning. How many people were trapped inside? There were dozens of cars in the lot, many of them rolled over on their sides. The smell of gasoline was strong.
    Walking the length of the bus, she studied the faces of everyone around her. She moved between the groups, bending down to check people lying on the ground. There were a lot of dazed and pained expressions, but none of them were familiar. None of them were Sara.
    One of the drivers had a first aid kit in his trunk. Heopened it and began handing out supplies. The stranger from the bus came over holding a sterile white bandage. “You’re bleeding.” He brought the gauze up to Aries’s forehead and pressed gently against her skin. “Hold this. Are you all right?”
    She put her hand up, fingers touching against his as she took control of the bandage. She pressed carefully against her own skin but there was no pain. When she pulled the cloth away there was dark blood. “I don’t think it’s mine,” she said. “I’m not hurt.”
    “Good. Did you find your friend?”
    She shook her head.
    “Well, let’s try the bus again. We’ll keep looking for her.” The guy turned back toward the wreckage, and she followed. She liked his calmness, the way he carried his body when he walked. It made her feel safe. Stronger. She saw Colin standing in the road and thought about calling out to him but then changed her mind. He’d ignored her before; she doubted he’d be much help now.
    “What happened?” she asked as they climbed back on the bus.
    “Earthquake,” the guy said. His eyes flickered in the dying sunlight. “It’s like the ground just opened up and swallowed us whole.”
    Brace yourself. It’s about to open.
    The crazy man had said that just before he started his countdown.
    But how was that possible? No one