9/11 Short Stories

Obtrusively,the thunder bellowed outside and the roaring sound filled the small room like rock music to a broken soul.Amongst the thunder, raindrops could be seen ebbing down the windowsill forming undecipherable miniscule shapes and later sinking down in the wall to gather at the edge.

The wind twirled around the columns, engulfing the girl standing in the center. Her hands raised as she looked to the open ceiling. She swayed with the wind, letting it push her and guide her.

Red light, bright as the midday sun, flared into existence. It began to flicker and waver. Small tongues of flame spread their reach, jumping from the floor onto the nearby curtains. It began to pick up the pace as it consumed more and more like a starving creature. In seconds, it had spread to all the curtains that spanned across the room-length window. Smoke filled the air, giving the walls a fine layer of ash and soot. In the bed opposite the window, a girl rested her head. Her eyes flashed open as she breathed in the heavy tang.

Now far enough away from the night club opening, Jessie could hear the distinct sound of a woman screaming. The heart wrenching sound made her stop mid step. Cold terror washed over her as she neared the corner of the alley and peered around it. There were distinct shapes - someone on the ground writhing in pain, one cowering against the wall, and three that approached her. She heard the poor woman crying out for help and saw one of the advancing shadows reach a hand up to strike her across the face. Nausea broiled in the put of her stomach and Jessie took a cautious step in. For a moment she weighed her options - trying to decide what to do. Did she fight or did she fly? Whatever - or rather whoever she thought she saw obviously wasn't real. There was no Superman. But this woman still needed help. Jessie clung to her phone as though it was a bludgeoning weapon and dialed 911. She took a step forward - about to call out to the attackers - when another shadow landed in front of her.

I look over at Caleb and see that he is unconscious, with blood rolling down his forehead from a shard of glass that hit him when the back windows exploded. Suddenly I hear a loud scream. Sirens, making a noise so blood curdling, like a symphony of women screaming at the top of their lungs. It reminds me of that day when I was eight, except this time it’s my brother who I am hoping is okay, not Tina, who I knew wasn’t going to make it.

“What is wrong with you?” Ellie exclaims out loud. She doesn’t care when the few people she passes turn to stare at her. “He is just a man, granted, a remarkably hot, good looking one. However, that is no excuse for you behaving like a love struck teenager.” Sighing Ellie scans the street for the restaurant Becky recommended. There, just down the street, Sarah’s Cozy Café, she starts walking quickly towards it.

Miss McBride was silent for a moment, the room so deadened by fabrics and paper that I thought I could hear the beating of our hearts. “But enough about us. I’m sure by now you’re bored to death and probably hungry.” She rose and led us into the kitchen.

She strutted along the Broadwalk, as her charming hazel, hair glistened in the cool wind. She was putting her sunglasses over her chocolate brown eyes when she spotted Chris Mustard, her jerk husband, out of the corner of her eye. A feeling of fury bolted through her. This was the wicked man that left her in debt. This was the wicked man that left her to take care of their child on her own. Then, she saw something she wasn’t expecting, another woman. That

Katy hadn’t expected that reply, so it took her a moment to react. Blinking slowly, she asked, “Your dad cooks too?”

Jerry encouraged Mark not to make fun of his sister’s cooking as the three of them went to the dining room. He sat at the head of the table and Mark sat at his usual place while Ashley was a little slower to sit in her chair. Jerry took a slice of bread before passing the plate to Mark, he looked at it and then looked at his dad, before he placed it on his plate.

There was no response from the man. Brittany closed the door and locked it. She made her way around the house, locking all of the doors and windows she could see. She went back to the front door and the man was no longer there. He had either left or it was just an imagination of Brittany’s. She left from the door and went into the kitchen where she ate with Jessica, and afterwards, took a nap. It was only about an hour until Brittany heard a noise upstairs, but Jessica was sound asleep. Brittany found a

Jason had recently been curious to know what had become of his childhood home. He hadn’t seen it since he got kicked out when he was fifteen. After getting kicked out, he made a good life for himself. He moved in with a relative the next state over and seldom returned to his hometown. If he did, it was for his sister only, and the visits were very brief. That Thursday morning, however, he got a call from his younger sister saying that their mother had died, and she asked him to come back for the funeral. This was his chance to act on his recent curiosity.

Once dinner was over, Margaret cleaned the kitchen and went to the family room to watch TV with Andrew. Picking up the phone, Andrew said, “Bill left a message at work, I’m going to call him to see what he wanted.”

She watched her mother walk up to that chair he sat in and get on her knees. “Richard, baby, come back to me,” she sobbed.

“Sylvia, we’ll be back,” he said, going out the door and stopped in front of the store. Pointing down the street, Andrew said, “Sarah’s Diner is two blocks that way. Is that okay?