Re: Character Exercise: Part of me
The world was toppling over, sky scrapers collapsing, the crying of woman and children sounding ever few seconds. Screams swarmed Clara's ears, as she watched, horrified as the Earth split open, devouring cars and debris from shattered pavement. Dust swarmed skyward, blanketing everything in it's wake, filling her lungs and coating her throat. She coughed. Ran. She had to get away. It was fight, or flight, and her mind turned off. There was no justice left in the world, no thoughts. It was pure survival.
In the few weeks that the world went to hell, earthquakes rocking the whole country, tsunamis and mudslides, it was only a matter of time before disaster sought revenge on her city. She had no where to escape to. No where was safe. She coughed some more. Her muscles propelled herself forward, weaving in and out of vehicles that had been toppled or trapped. The sound of sirens echoed with the laments of the dying, numbing her mind even as fearful tears rolled down her cheeks.
She wiped them away furiously, blinking desperately in an attempt to somehow pick out a familiar face among the others who were frantic to find stability. Didn't they know the world was ending? A harsh shove smacked her from the side, dazing her and causing her to fall to the ground. A male ran past, wearing a black hoodie covered in a coating of tan dust. Blood was trailing from the side of his cheek and mouth, but in his hand he gripped a backpack with water bottles and other items. He turned, seeing that he had rammed her into the ground and hesitated. Was he going to help her?
He opened his mouth to say something, but the begging of a nearby woman holding her unconscious toddler cut him off. She was yelling for help. From anyone. Time seemed to slow. The male looked back at her, a conflict of emotions playing on his face. Fear? Sadness? Guilt?
"Sorry."
Clara could not hear his apology, only watch his lips move before he ran off, disappearing in a nearby alley. Clara pushed herself off the ground, wincing at her scrapped knee and disappointment. She wiped away more tears and kept wobbling onward as fast as she could, needing to be away from this chaos. All around her, glass shattered, and blood pooled from the victims of the accident. Still... She couldn't give up.
Not yet.
[[This may be a little far fetched, but I'm going to say Clara's perseverance, and both her and the male's selfishness in not helping the woman or each other. A positive, and a negative. Hope it works.]]
