#c;murphy

@murph-omalley

          ‘Earthquake of historical proportions’ The newsreader’s words still echoed in Elizabeth’s head as she opened her eyes this morning. She turned to the side, grabbing her mobile phone from the night table next to her bed. The small digits on the display showed 4.07 a.m. No calls. No messages. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Only six hours ago she was sitting in the conference room, alongside other sergeants and higher ranked military people who are stationed in Arizona. The crisis meeting was convened shortly after the catastrophe was spread in the news. After five hours of back and forth, it was finally decided which groups were sent to the disaster area. Elizabeth and her squad were told to stay here in case of any uprisings.           Ten hours. Ten hours passed since the earthquake struck and still no message from her mother and her sister in Florida. They could be alive. They could be alive and just forgot to call her. Elizabeth wasn’t on good terms with them and barely had contact to them, but it was her family, for god’s sake. They would have called her if they were okay. She had tried calling them multiple times herself, but only their mailboxes responded. The woman rolled out of her bed and put on her training clothes. She had to do something, or else the uncertainty would drive her crazy.            The streets were dark and empty as she left her apartment. All shutters were closed, the shock from what happened yesterday was still in the air. The whole town seemed to mourn, even the birds were quieter than usual. Elizabeth put on her earphones and started running, as the sound of Woodkid’s ‘Run Boy Run’ reached her ears. Without even thinking about it, she headed to the forest, increasing her pace every half a mile. Unlike usual, she didn’t pay attention to her surroundings, admiring the beautiful nature. All she did was looking straight ahead, concentrating on her respiration and heart rate, trying to get her mind clear.        Suddenly, an arrow coming out of nowhere pierced into something only inches away from her feet. Being a Marine, she immediately hunkered down and searched her surroundings. As she saw a man with a crossbow walking towards her, she stood up, eyeing the man carefully.