Skyfall [Writer's contest 2]

When the first asteroid hit the building, Albert was still under. The second hit however, rocked the building and the bed spat Albert to the ground.

He was disoriented but the light showing beyond his window this time was more convincing. He drew the curtains aside and what he saw scared 40 pounds out of his body and 5 years off his age.

He grabbed his laptop and switched to full survival mode. The building was rocked one more time and he didn’t need to be a structural engineer to know that the building wouldn’t survive another hit.

He knew better than to go for the elevators so he drew his pajamas round himself tighter, sucked in air and made for the stairs. He skipped past hordes of screaming, faceless people, his big belly acting as an energy reserve.

He ran past a girl in an Adult Education departmental shirt calling her boyfriend to come pick her up. He knew her from volleyball club but there was no time for chitchat.

He ran for more than ten minutes but he didn’t know that. His adrenaline was on overdrive and in a flash; he was out the door of the hostel and made straight for the gate, jumping over newly formed craters and mangled bodies.

Then his body started protesting. He paused to catch his breath and turned around just in time to see another ball slam into the building. The last flaming ball seemed to do the trick and the building, with an inhuman screech, started to fall apart.

Then the balls stopped falling.

His breath was coming out in gasps now and he assumed he must be sounding like a worn speaker to any of the running shapes. He smiled at himself in the darkness and slowed to a jog.

Here he was, at three in the morning running out of his hall without shoes and in pajamas.

He farted loudly but nobody even bothered to reproach the fat guy destroying the ozone layer.

He looked at the burning ruins to his right and could barely make out the board welcoming visitors to the ‘Faculty of Education’ at the front.

NAME: Olayiwola Ola