Celest woke to pain she had never known, pain that seemed to have no source as she rocked back and forth in complete confusion her world reduced to the immediate needs of her body.
Looking around she found herself half buried in some partition walls and equipment and it was a few moments of struggling before she was able to pull herself free. She hurt everywhere and her designer outfit which she had spent entirely too much on was ruined. She was mostly unharmed no broken bones at least and the cuts and bruises she was covered in did not appear serious.
Her ears were still ringing, and she was not able to hear much but the smell of smoke was in the air and it was enough to pull her back together and make her focus on what was happening around her.
Over towards the ten-foot-tall tempered glass windows that made up the outer wall of the building there was a massive portion of the building missing and fires were now raging around the area. It looked like an explosion but after squinting she was able to make out some pieces of a downtown air bus mixed amongst the flames.
Stumbling to her feet Celest started to head away from the burning wreckage. The fire was spreading fast as the fire suppression systems were clearly not working. She could only vaguely remember which way she needed to head to get to the fire exit stairs. Her possible concussion was not helping her as her thoughts were slow and muddled.
A middle-aged man was exiting his own terminal in front of her and she quickly headed towards him for help.
"PLEASE CAN YOU HELP ME I DON'T KNOW WHERE THE STAIRS ARE" Celest shouted at the man still only able to hear a soft version of what she said over the ringing in her ears.
The man looked shocked at her for a moment then after looking her up and down realizing just that even with her disheveled appearance the young girl before him was gorgeous. Like most men in this sort of situation he suddenly found himself to be a strong and helpful protector...
The man was talking to her, but her hearing had not cleared enough for her to make out what he was saying.
"I Can't hear the explosion was too loud" She answered him "Just please can you help me to the stairs we have to get out of here the fire is spreading and soon we will all suffocate from the smoke we need to leave now." Her voice was loud as she unconsciously overcompensated for her lack of hearing. So, her words had more effect than she was intending as many of the people around them started to realize the same thing after hearing her and made a rush for the elevators.
It was like she had released the flood gates and suddenly there was screaming and shoving as people panicked and rushed towards the narrow entry way for their floor. She was shoved from the left as a woman ran past not caring who she had to push through to escape.
"We are ALL GOING TO DIE!" the woman was screaming at the top of her lungs over and over again. Celest was shocked by the sudden onset of panic. It was not right, and something seemed different about the people as they ran and fought to get to the entrance. Even the middle-aged man who's name she never heard was acting completely different as he forgot all about her and joined the rush.
"What's going on?" Celest whispered in fear.