[the start of something…]
He was seated in a café’, telling the waiter that the cappuccino needed more milk when the bomb went off.
The explosion rent a concussive bubble into the air, which quickly sped outward. Things behind the front of force were knocked sideways at it sped past. It was gone almost before it happened, leaving him to doubt that it truly had taken place.
The next thing he saw was the sky. It was quite peaceful. He watched as ten centimeters worth of cloud passed over the face of the sun. His mind was absorbed in the beauty of it all. He found himself in possession of a defining clarity.
He began to wonder why he was looking upward. A realization came that he had lost track of place. He couldn’t remember the last thing he had done. He couldn’t really remember anything.
He glanced over his right shoulder. Expecting to see a grassy field (why else would he be lying on his back, staring at the clouds?) he was surprised to see the jumbled mess of the café’s tables and chairs piled against a balustrade. Potted plants and parts of the railing that had encircled the café’s sidewalk seating were twisted and mashed amongst the mess.
The silence of the scene scared him. His heart leaped, becoming the only thing his ears would acknowledge as it rushed a hefty dose of adrenaline through his system.
Then he noticed the bodies.
Half of the waiter was lying on the ground to his right. He could just make out what appeared to be a pile of intestines if he craned his neck a bit. The man’s mouth was wide open, and blood trailed still from his ears and nose. He couldn’t see the man’s lower half.
Hoping to clear his eyes of whatever madness was causing this he blinked rapidly.
Jumping to his feet, he tried to look everywhere at once. His glance passed from one horrible image to another, as he frantically scanned his own body, trying to reassure himself that he was still whole and unharmed.
He noticed a woman stagger to her feet nearby. She was saying something to him, screaming it actually, but he couldn’t hear a thing outside this thrumming heartbeat.
…..