The Bristol Blitz

     My slumber in a bed of ash ended when the ground shook beneath me. Groaning and testing my joints, I tried to inhale, but my lungs were assaulted by smoke and black soot. Coughs barreled out of me in fits as my chest constricted, but I had to figure out what was going on. The last thing I remembered was an unbearable heat scorching my skin. With a shake of my head, I got to my feet as quickly as possible, then began to take in my surroundings. 

     I was in the corpse of a once tall building, now consumed like a feeble pyre. All that remained were charred supports and parts of unidentifiable furniture. My thoughts came to a halt when the ground shook again, and this time it was accompanied by the sound of terrifying thunder and screams all around.  

     A low buzzing drew my attention to the sky, and my heart leaped from my chest. Dozens of birds made of metal flew above my head, but they were too large for ordinary animals. They looked rigid and dead and moved in such a pattern that only seemed militaristic. Then their bellies erupted in flames that came crashing down to earth and dropped what looked like iron barrels plummeting to the ground followed swiftly by what could only be described as deafening. 

      I soon realized the booms and claps of sound were coming from those barrels, along with blazing columns. People ran in terror, while others sprinted towards the infernos in an attempt to battle them. I began to walk out into the street, my mouth gaping wide as I looked all around me at the unimaginable scenery. From the columns of fire emerged a silhouette of a person, screams of agony and death escaping their lips, and that confirmed which direction I would be heading at that moment.

     I stumbled in the same direction others moved, but all around me, there were things I had never seen before. Chariots of steel and glass littered the street, but no horses were harnessed up to them. Looking closer at the buildings I noticed strange lights in them, glass spheres with no flicker of flame yet still bright like the sun. How is that possible? 

     Another whistling sound followed by a flash of light and an obnoxious boom hastened my pace, the ground littered with rubble and smoldering wood. Ahead of me was a tunnel leading into the ground, and a serious looking man ushering people into it. We locked eyes and he watched me as I approached quickly. 

     I cleared my throat with a small cough before ranting off my questions. "What's going on, sir?" My voice came out hoarse and rough, it felt like I hadn't used it in ages.

     "The German's are bombing us kid, so get your arse in the bunker before you lose your bloody life!" His shouts were barely audible among all the sounds, but the rise seemed appropriate given the circumstances.

     My head was flooded with even more questions, but only a few were important in the obviously limited time I had with this man. "Where am I?" This time I shouted back at him to show I understood the danger we were in.

     "We're in Bristol," a look of concern crossed his face and he gripped my shoulder tightly. "Young man, do you remember who you are?"

     "Of course," the question seemed out of place at that very moment, but in all honesty, I was the thing out of place. "I'm Adam Bellamy."