Ding!
My phone got another alert. It was a picture of the garden shed...
Grabbing Yuri's arm, I ran to the vegetable plot. The shed was dilapidated and housed broken garden equipment wearing gowns of spider silk. I flung open the door and rushed inside.
Yuri opened her mouth to protest, but I shoved my phone at her face for the explanation. Yuri's eyes lit up in recognition. 'Your phone was right about the school, so I guess we will be safe here... But what about the others? They all made their way to the bus garage.'
Yuri bit her lip and tiptoed to squint through the dirty window; I couldn't help but laugh- she was so short.
'Why are you laughing?! I don't think you're a sadist, so you can't be laughing at their situation.. oh it's my height again isn't it.' Yuri glared at me. I would have teased her more, but another notification cut me off.
'What is it?! What's happening, let me see!' Yuri implored, jumping to grab my phone, which I held out of her reach. I couldn't show this to Yuri; she'd go running off again, trying to be a hero.
'Nothing... it was from my mum.'
Yuri pouted, 'I know you're lying to me, I've been trying to contact the others, but there's no signal.' There really was no fooling her. I handed my phone over to her and quickly stood in front of the door to block the way out.
Yuri gasped. It was a picture of what remained of the bus garage; it had been crushed by a meteor and debris was everywhere. There were no humans in the image, apart from a severed hand a few feet away from the edge of the crater.
Her hands trembled, and she looked on the verge of collapsing. Good, I thought, that way she'll be safe. I relaxed a bit; which turned out to be a huge mistake. Her fists suddenly curled up, and she kicked one of the wooden walls, and it fell easily for it was old and unkempt. Gosh dammit, Yuri.
She sprinted out, waving her arms, trying to catch the people's attention. Was it selfish of me to want to keep us safe? I would never understand people like her. I found myself hoping the garage would be crushed before she reached it... gosh was I really a sadist? No, I was just a selfish prick, and I was fine with that.
I ran off and easily caught up with her. I scooped her up and took long strides back into the shed. Yuri screamed and kicked and spewed profanities. I wondered what that would have looked like from a bystander's perspective...
Just then, a meteor slammed into the bus garage, and there were shrieks and wails, but they only lasted for a second. Yuri was stunned into silence.
Once the dust settled, we saw fragments of wood sprayed across the football field and a vast crater dead bang in the centre of what would have been the garage. It was almost as if it had been aimed.
Strangely, after the garage was crushed, the meteor shower abruptly stopped, as if it had achieved its purpose. I let Yuri down, and we made our way to the remains of the bus garage. I snapped pictures of the burning school, gardening shed (being careful not to include the kicked-down wall) and lastly the crater. I saw the severed hand and felt like throwing up; it was much different in person than through a screen.
Yuri was searching for survivors, but no one in the perimeter could have possibly survived. I searched her face for any signs of resentment towards me, but there was only grief.
Just then, there was a chilling chuckle and a voice, which sounded like a nail scratching a chalkboard, boasted, 'My my, 263 drips! That's quite a haul. I'll definitely be able to pay rent for the next month!''