The blast was so strong, that it sent waves of energy all over the room.
And it was one of such waves that flipped the bed on top of Tisane and Melvina which provided them with a form of protection against the explosion.
But so powerful was the explosion that the bed was mostly burnt to cinders.
And because of that, Tisane and Melvina were not totally protected from the fire as part of their arms were blackened and partially roasted.
Tisane tried his best to endure the searing pain as he checked if Melvina was okay.
Only to see her burnt arm as his heart bled.
~Sob~
Melvina was shaking and crying in pain as they both stood in the midst of a burnt up roof and shattered walls.
Even the floor was so blackened and cracked that it began to show signs of breaking apart.
His home was destroyed.
Tisane heard cries of agony, shock and fear all around the house.
He tried to move while holding Melvina's hand and guiding her through the debris.
~Crack~
Two steps towards the door, a cracking sound was heard.
Tisane initially thought that it was because they stepped on a burnt object among the debris.
But then he heard the sound again.
And this time, it was louder and continuous.
Tisane's eyes widened as he stared at the floor which showed snakelike cracks moving along the floor.
Tisane immediately knew what was about to happen as he quickly hugged Melvina closely.
~Bam!!~
The floor instantly gave way as both he and Melvina fell through.
~Ahh!!!~
Tisane could barely hear Melvina's screams through the crashing of falling stones and debris as they both fell to the dining room.
Tisane was covered in dust as he coughed violently.
He heard screams and urgent shouts as a couple of hands pulled him up out of the debris.
As his body was dusted and roughly cleaned, he heard some surprised gasp as he opened his eyes to see some people staring at him for a moment.
Though the surprise on their faces was quickly replaced with urgent looks as some of them began searching various places for survivors.
The atmosphere of orderliness was only made possible through the efforts of Tisane's father, Mr James.
"Everyone please get the children and the elderly out!"
Mr James was followed by some men whom instantly gave assistance with lifting heavy debris or carrying people who had passed out.
Tisane saw his father walking towards him with a straight face.
But hidden in his eyes was great sadness and pain.
Tisane quickly scanned his father with his eyes and noticed that he also incurred some injuries.
First of all, both his arms were heavily bandaged and the bandage on his right leg was deep red.
Tisane also noticed his father walking with a limp.
But in all this, his father maintained his commanding presence as the chief of police.
"Tisane are you alright?" His father immediately asked when he got close enough to examine Tisane.
"Y--yes dad am fine" Tisane replied uneasily.
He knew he was naked but he was not sure if the inquiring look in his father's eyes was to know if he suffered any injuries or why he was naked.
But Mr James was not one to fuss over such trivialities as he called for some clothes to be brought.
Then again, his eyes quickly moved over to Melvina whom was also given clothes to wear as a glint of understanding flashed in his eyes.
Tisane quickly took the clothes that was given to him as he put them on.
Though he knew that now was not the time to be ashamed or embarrassed as he glanced around the house.
Tisane felt weak as his body trembled when he saw the damage and destruction that took place in the house.
And most painful of all, he actually saw dead bodies!
Dead bodies of his friends and close relatives.
As he kept examining the tragic scene with shocked and sorrowful eyes, he noticed that someone was standing beside him.
As he turned to see who it was, he gave a shocked gasp.
It was Ibrahim, one of his childhood friends.
But seeing the state that Ibrahim was in, made Tisane's body shake.
"Ib--ibrahim are you okay?" Tisane asked with wide open eyes.
"No am not Tisane" Ibrahim shook his head in pain as he replied.
"I got caught up by the blast. My face sustained most of the damage"
Ibrahim's body was lacerated all over which gave him a pitiful and tragic appearance.
But the most noticable was his face, which was mostly covered in a piece of clothing that was initially white but was now turning red in color.
"Everyone listen up, we are moving out now" Mr James declared.
"Please assist those who have difficulty in walking"
"Chief, we still some bodies hidden under the debris" someone said.
"We will come back to dig them up but for now, it's important to transport those who need medical attention"
Mr James exuded great calmness and confidence that everyone was willing to follow what he says.
Tisane saw Melvina whom was being assisted by Mrs Victoria as they walked out of the building.
He wanted to go and meet her but immediately decided that now was not the right time and moreover, they were all going to the hospital so he'll meet her there.
As he stepped outside, he saw an unbelievable scene.
A huge crater so large that it could fit in two houses was seen in front of the house.
And inside this horrifying crater, a large stone around the size of a truck was resting in it while smoke billowed from it.
Tisane's eyes were wide open as he gazed at this spectacle.
But that was not all.
Tisane's attention was then pulled away from the crater and stone as he heard cries of fear and shock all over the place.
As he raised up his head, he was taken aback as he witnessed the view before him.
More craters and stones were practically everywhere.
As far as his eyes could see, Tisane saw that the entire town was already destroyed beyond recognition.
"Oh my God" Mr Victor muttered in shock as his face paled.
"What in God's name is this?" Someone asked.
"It's the end of the world. I tell you . It's the end of the world!!" Someone began to scream hysterically.
"How can this be?!"
"We are doomed!"
People from here and there began to wail and weep as the atmosphere was about to become chaotic.
"That's enough!!" A heavy voice boomed which sent waves of silence across the area.
Everyone looked for the source of the voice only to see Mr James standing on top of a broken pillar stump in order for everyone to see him.
"This is not the time to make vain speculations!"
"And this is certainly not the time to fall into hopelessness!"
"We have injured men, women and children!"
"And our job is to take them to the hospital where they would be treated and made well!"
He paused as he scanned the faces that were looking at him.
He saw their obvious fear and pain.
He also had his own fears and pains too.
His eyes darted towards his wife and children.
What if they had been among those that were killed?
Would he have been able to be as calm as he is right now?
He sighed as he lifted his eyes to the sky.
Hopefully the worst has past.
This could just be included as one of those natural disasters which everyone can scale through eventually.
"We lost friends and families today!"
"Let's not add more to the tally!"
As he said this, he came down with his final words.
"The ambulances are on their way. All we have to do is to gather the injured and get them ready for transportation!"
At this point, everyone present was swayed by his words and his voice as they all began to act accordingly.
Tisane stared at his father whom was surrounded by some men and women as they were told what to do.
Tisane felt a prickling sensation of awe towards his father.
_''He has always been like this"_ Tisane thought.
_''A man you can depend on''_
As everything started to become orderly, a sudden cracking sound echoed around the vicinity.
~Crack~
Tisane heard it as he turned his head to locate the source.
And he was not the only one.
People began to look for the source of the strange noise, until someone shouted;
"Over there in the crater!"
The shout drew many people's attention towards the crater in front of Tisane's house.
They saw as the huge stone in the middle of the crater began to shake suddenly.
At first, the shaking was slow and light.
But after some seconds, the shaking became fast and heavy causing vibrations to spread across the ground.
Then cracks began to appear on the stone.
At first it was single cracks.
Then the cracks became multiple as pieces of the stone began to fall away.
And then it happened....
~Bang!~
The stone exploded in a cloud of smoke causing many people to take multiple steps back.
Amidst the smoke, a figure could be seen moving.
Few seconds later, a lizard like creature emerged.
Everyone gaped.
"What in God's name is that?!" Someone asked?
"It looks like a huge lizard!"
As everyone was dumbfounded as to why such a creature would come out of a stone, Tisane was receiving warning signals in his mind.
_''Something is not right''_ he thought urgently.
The huge lizard began to climb out of the crater as everyone backed away instantly.
"What kind of creature is this?"
"It's a lizard"
"Have you ever seen a lizard of this size before?!"
Everyone began talking about the creature before them, when something suddenly happened.
The huge lizard dashed forward without warning as it grabbed an unsuspecting male with it's large jaws and began biting down horribly.
At first it happened so suddenly that everyone froze.
Until the screams of agony of the victim brought everyone back to their senses as blood and flesh scattered across the area.