Alex came to in a world of lights and sounds, all piercing his skull. He tried to open his eyes but they resisted, aching with the effort. Wake up, Alex, wake up! His eyes opened but it didn’t really help. Where am I?
He sucked in deep, ragged breaths as he lay prone on the hard ground, then shivered. The last thing he remembered was looking up from an empty backstreet at the Academy aircraft just half a block away from him as he’d made his way to the cafe to meet Sam and Lora. Alex had seen Sebastian pull the jet away and then turn into a sharp banking manoeuvre as—
As a missile streaked through the air, followed by an explosion, the super-hot heat of it … then what?
Air rushing, pushing on him so he couldn’t breathe, and then he’d blacked out. Was I blown clear by the force of the explosion? I was practically underneath, so close, and survived. Could Sebastian be OK?
No. No way anyone made it out of that wreck alive.
What about me? Is this a dream or am I dead?
He focused on the sounds around him … sirens, bells? He struggled to sit up and then stand. There was muddy water up to his ankles, coating him all over. How much has it rained? No wonder I was cold.
He tried to call out for help, but with the ringing in his ears he couldn’t tell if he was making a sound or not. His throat was dry and sore. His clothes were singed and torn in places. Heavy rain fell upon his face.
He turned to look around—
KLANG!
He bumped straight into something hard.
Next to him on the road, just a few centimetres from where he stood, was a car, thrown over on its side from the explosion.
He reached out a muddy hand and grabbed hold of the car to steady himself. It was a new VW Beetle, practically a convertible now.
‘So much for indestructible German engineering …’
All about him on the street he could see police and fire department cordons around the block. Cars were ablaze and the entire scene was littered with debris. A war zone. The aircraft wreckage was smouldering, firefighters were dousing it with white foam.
No way anyone survived that …
In the side mirror of the wrecked car he saw himself—covered with a layer of dirt and mud, just the whites of his eyes showing … in that moment, his world seemed to spin and went dark.