3 Panic Station
And then, the rain stopped. And then, everything just went crazy. People, mostly.
It started with the weather. Heat waves, storms, blizzards, tornadoes. Then wildfire, floods, drought. Then earthquakes, landslides. Then hurricanes, tsunami. You just never knew, what's next. People were grilled alive, frozen solid, drown, crushed. Some starved or died of dehydration, of course. Firearms did the trick with most of those who were left. The world was finally full of surprises.
I remember walking the streets in the heat, people collapsing around me. The pavement was so hot, it burned my feet. The fires spread quickly, the smoke smothering everyone, covering everything with a thick black coat. Scorched corpses, reaching. Mummified bodies, everywhere.
I remember the water, flushing everything away, leaving just wrecks and an awful stench. I remember walking knee deep in mud, in fields of neverending sludge. There were cries in the distance. And every once in a while, something moved underneath the mud. I never saw a corpse, only scattered bones, torn clothes, leftovers.
I remember the storms, so wild I could not see my fingers in front of my face. I remember it was so cold my hands were blue and stiff and I could barely walk. And around me, statues, frozen in the middle of their path. The clouds had strange colours, a bit green, a bit brown. Etched remains were pressed desperately under roofs, bridges, cars. The lightnings were so strong and intense, the mere sound was strong enough to break windows.
Humanity went nuts. They turned on each other like savages. I remember all the screams. The shootings. And then, the silence. Some tried to save those that were already doomed, some killed those that could have been saved. It was chaos. Madness.
The army went to high alert sometime during the rain. Most survivors believe they knew what was actually going on. I met some soldiers and I know for sure they still have no idea. The officers knew the local situation, if they were lucky, but noone had a clue what was going on in the rest of the world. Can't blame them, there was no time for that. They weren't prepared. Nobody was.
And I guess it got much worse after they nuked half of the planet, they say that was day 9, I think. It doesn't matter.
* * *
Earth's doomsday is close, dancing on the ashes of the world, I behold the stars.
Dirge for the Planet, Firelake, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, 2007
1, 2, 3, 4, fire's in your eyes
and this chaos, it defies imagination
5, 6, 7, 8 minus 9 lives
you've arrived at panic station
and I know you will fight for the duration
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