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Where I Was

By Fusanoshin

"Yo Nick, are you making copies? Do me a fave and make some copies of these?"

I stop in my tracks to take a look to my left. Lonny's big grin greets me, his dark round eyes somehow sparkling in attempt to look as friendly as possible. In his left hand was a manila folder, held out in front of me as if expecting me to accept it.

I softly sigh through my nose as I stare disapprovingly at the free loading Terrier. This was the third time in two weeks he's wanted to put his workload on mine.

"Again?" I say, using just one word to express my annoyance.

"Come on, man, I'm swamped here," he waved his right hand over his computer. I roll my eyes. He knows I can't tell what he's working on from here. He could be stuck in a game of Solitaire or any one of the other confusing computer games available. "It won't take any time at all."

I sigh again, this time out of my mouth. "Fine, give it here." I hold up my left hand and gesture with my fingers for the file.

Lonny's goofy grin comes out again. He stands up and sticks the folder into my hand, which I grab away. I point a finger at him, "You're buying at least two rounds tonight."

He shrugs back while spinning his chair, the long way, back to computer.

I turn as well and take a few steps before Lonny's voice interrupts me again.

"Oh, you got to deliver the copies to Miller's box, too!"

I curse under my breath. I should have known there was something else he was hiding from this "favor". I hold up three fingers in the air and continue walking, knowing the sly English bastard could see what I was indicating.

I walk through the copy room's open door to a symphony of whirring machinery. One of the company's two copiers is already in use. I step up to the unoccupied machine, smiling to the rabbit next to me.

Katie makes no acknowledgment of my existence. Her eyes stare down at the copier's display, watching as the number of pages left to print dwindles with each passing moment.

Setting my pages into the document feeder, I change the settings on the machine and click the start button. As the several thousand dollar piece of technology stirs to life, I set Lonny's file on the corner of the machine.

"I'm sure that number will reach zero eventually," I say catching Katie by surprise.

The white rabbit blinks and looks up, and upon seeing my face, she giggles nervously. "Oh, hi Nick," she scratches her ear, "sorry, just a lot of thoughts."

"Ah don't worry about it," I wave off, "I've had days like that, too. What's eating you?"

"Well, uh," Katie starts. She looks off to my left. I could see her rub her thumb and forefinger together as she hesitates to continue.

I hold up my hands. "Hey, you don't have to tell me, I was just being a little curious. You know how we foxes get."

Just as I finish my sentence, I feel a minor tremor ripple up my feet. I bend down to scratch my calf, where the vibrations tickle some of my fur.

"It's nothing serious," she says reassuringly, "It's my husband's birthday next week and I haven't found a gift for him yet." She flashes her pearly white teeth to form an innocent smile. "We've been together 7 years now, but I guess I was never good at that kind of stuff..."

Katie continues speaking normally without showing any indication of having felt the same tremor as I did. I just attribute the source of the vibration to the pounding copiers, dueting a two-note symphony.

"Hmm, have you tried golf clubs?" I suggest. My copier whirs to stand by and so I grab my finished copies. "It's a gentleman's sport, for a reason, ri-"

I was caught off guard when another tremor hit, stronger than before. I looked around before turning back to Katie.

"You...you felt that right?" I asked cautiously, unsure if this was normal or not.

Katie nodded, "Did someone drop something?" She walks a few steps toward the door to peek outside. "I don't see any-"

The floor rumbles, and I shake side to side like gelatin. Gasps replace the keyboard clacks and hushed phone calls. Katie nearly falls but grabs the nearby doorframe to steady herself. I hold both copiers and wait for my balance to return.

When the building stops shaking, panicked chatter fills the floor. Some talk with each other, wondering if there's a fault line going berserk. Others make a beeline towards the exit.

Katie turns to me and says, "Nick, are you alright? What should we do?"

The tremors seem to be getting stronger, and I think that staying here would only endanger us more. "Let's go," I propose. I gently push her out of the copy room. When I lead her toward the stairs, she pushes against me and turns around.

"Wait I left my purse!"

I look back and then feel myself falling as the floor quakes with even greater intensity. Caught by surprise, my legs fall under me. I hear a thump and turning back to Katie I see she also fell. Glass shatters, presumably from desk lamps, lights, photo frames, and coffee machines.

Anyone who stuck around the previous rumble all start to rush for the door, creating a small bottleneck that made it difficult to leave.

"Katie," I say, getting her attention back, "I'll get your purse, you go down first."

"But-"

"Just go," I interrupt, pulling out my keys from my pocket. "Go to my car. I parked on the second level. Leave if it gets too dangerous."

I push the keys into her hands and motion for her to go. She nods, getting up off her knees and heading to the crowd of co-workers squeezing their way out.

Brushing the dust off my knees, I stand up and rush for her desk. I find her white and blue purse and grab its strap. I start to jog over to the exit until something catches my eye. I slow down to get a better look.

Hiding, tucked into a little ball, is Lonny, his white fur sticking out under the shadow of his desk.

"Lonny?" I ask the trembling English Terrier, "What are you doing?"

"What do you think?" he responds as though I'm teasing him. "I'm taking precautions against the earthquakes." He keeps his arms over his head, becoming an imitation of a turtle.

I'm about to argue with him that these earthquakes are unusual, and getting out of the tall skyscraper would be a better idea since these tremors haven't caused any significant damage. But when I open my mouth, the ground shakes again. I have to hold on to the desk and Lonny whimpers in fear.

Once I get my bearings, I notice the light has grown dimmer. When I turn towards the windows to see what caused this change, my mind becomes paralyzed with confusion.

Through the windows, I see a grey object. It is massive, clearly taller than what the window frame could show. Wait, is that fur? I don't want to believe it but I think that's a person outside.

"Nick, what is it?" Lonny whispers, having seen me gaping.

No word forms in my head and my mouth just opens up and down soundlessly. Something to the side of the object moves and what comes into view makes me gasp audibly.

It was a hand.

Pink, with claws at end of each finger, there was no mistake that what was outside was a living, breathing being. Behind him, a thin pink tail flicks up. I recognize these body parts. This giant is a mouse! How did a mouse get so big?

I'm so in shock that I don't process that the hand closes into a fist and pulls back.

Finally my instincts kick in and I drop down on the ground in front of a confused Lonny as what sounds like an explosion goes off from the direction of the window.

Then everything goes black.

---

I'm not sure how long I sit in my car, gaping at the giant mouse as he walks into the middle of the city. He appeared so suddenly, like a cheetah pouncing from tall grass. When the ground shook before his arrival, I never imagined the cause would come from such a monstrous being. He came in like everything was normal, as if he didn't expect anyone to notice that he was fifty stories tall.

But people did notice, and they did react. In a city, full of thousands of people who work, travel, eat, and study, there is a flow. From dawn to dusk, the city is always working, like a clock. Some come in early, others come in late. Some get off at lunch and others at midnight. But when the giant entered the city, the clock stopped moving, and chaos erupted.

Every person in the city dropped what they were doing and focused on one thing: escape. The city sidewalks weren't meant to hold hundreds of people so instead they pour onto the streets. Traffic, which is already slow and busy, becomes impossible as no one wants to run over anyone. The ones wise enough to leave already left and the others, either stuck too far in the city, waiting for a chance to drive through an open gap in the mob of panicked citizens, or, like me, too transfixed from the giant, are left stuck.

I count people in business suits, casual summer clothing, fast-food joint uniforms, backpacks, or scrubs who run past my car. A raccoon with torn jeans and a skateboard under his arm jumps on the car's hood and then steps over the roof in order to escape quicker.

A collection of screams draws my attention back to the giant mouse. My skin turns cold when the massive intruder pulls back his arms and slams a fist against the side of a building. Glass and debris fly everywhere from the tremendous force of impact, like an explosion from an action movie without the fire. Chunks of concrete and wood from the building smash into parked cars, breaking windshields and setting off alarms.

He pulls his fist out and looks at it. He uncurls and then curls his fingers, inspecting them to see if there's any damage to them. A blood-chilling smile forms on his face, a sinister grin that could compete with the worst movie villains. It does not surprise me when he turns around and punches another corporate office building. Then he steps back and drives his foot deep. The tower says as he destroys part of the framework that keeps it up.

At this point, most of the occupants sitting in their cars give up trying to wait out the fleeing crowd and get out of their vehicles. They realize quickly that trying to save their cars isn't worth risking their lives.

But I'm one of them, too. I gather up my necessary belongings, my phone and my wallet and stick them into my pocket. I grab my keys, too, though I have no idea if I will have a car to come back to after this. I pull on the handle of my door and slowly push it out so that no one accidentally runs into it. Once I have enough space I slip out and close the door. I lock the car, more out of habit than for security. I start running with the crowd away from the mouse when I hear a loud crash behind.

Taking a look over my shoulder, I see smashed metal parts and an upturned vehicle. I make a guess that the mouse kicked it or threw it. I also notice a rabbit down on her knees, struggling to get up. She's trying to stand but collapses on the ground. I fight all my instincts to run and instead turn around to wade through the horde of fleeing citizens to get to the rabbit.

People curse and yell at me as I make my way, bumping and even knocking some to the ground. Once I find a clear gap I sprint to the rabbit. I kneel down and hold her shoulders.

"Miss, are you okay?" I ask, though she's clearly not.

She shakes her head. "My leg," she points at her left thigh. There was no wet spot on her dark pantsuit so I assume she hasn't been cut. I gently touch and she winces and sniffs, trying to hold in the pain.

"It may be fractured, possibly broken." I think aloud. "I'll carry you out, is that okay?"

She shuts her eyes closed but she nods. So I hold her back and the underside of her knees and hoist her as gently as possible, though she still groans with pain. I start walking forward briskly, shielding her from the other pedestrians. She has a hand on my shoulder which she squeezes now and then, as a way to cope with the pain.

"What's your name?" I ask, hoping to distract with a conversation.

The rabbit opens her eyes. "It's..." She stops speaking, her eyes going wide and her mouth open in horror. She's looking at something behind me. I slow down and turn, twisting my whole body to get a look. What greets me is a rat's paw, hovering above. Its sheer size covers the sun, putting me in shadow.

Then the paw gets bigger, taking up my entire view as it comes down.

---

"C'mon man, how you could you miss him? He was standing right in front of you!"

"Damn! It's these close encounters. I can never kill anyone like this."

I fall back on the couch, the leather covering squeaking from my weight. I drop the controller on my lap, stretching my arms up and then crossing them behind my head. I scowl as the TV prints "DEFEAT" across the screen.

"Man, just one shot, and we would've won," I tell the otter through my headset. "Could have been a hero, Billy."

"Alright, alright, you can shut up now," Billy's voice crackles through.

"Tommy! Dinner!" I hear my mom's voice call from the kitchen.

I groan. I want to play another game to make up for this narrow defeat. But I know I'll get in trouble if I don't eat. "Okay."

"Tommy!"

"I said okay!" I yell, loud enough that my voice could probably be heard from the other side of the house. I grab the TV remote. "I gotta go, let's continue this at seven," I tell Billy.

"I got something at seven, let's do nine."

"Fine, see ya." I shut off the TV but leave my console on, ready to go after dinner ends. I walk out of the living room, to the dining room. Mom is there setting the red chili stew on a potholder in the middle of the table. I scan the rest of the side dishes. A kale salad, toasted bread, and mashed potatoes.

"Where's Marie?" I point at the empty space in front of her chair. "She's not back from tutoring, yet?

"Oh she's at Erika's tonight," Mom replies, sitting down in her chair, "And you know your dad works late on Thursdays."

After grace, we start eating our meal. Neither of us say anything, letting the sound of silverware do the talking. Usually I would talk to Erika, and occasionally our parents would sneak into our conversation. But with my sister gone and without my dad to occupy my mom, our dinner is silent.

Eventually, Mom tires of all the silence. She points behind me. "Tommy, can you turn go turn on the news?"

I nod and push back my chair to get up. I walk to the living room and turn on the TV and set the channel to reach the Channel 4 news. I turn the volume up so that Mom can hear it.

"...still no idea where this giant mouse came from. The city has mostly been evacuated but he is still going around destroying the city."

"Huh?" I stop midstep out the doorway. Turning back to the TV I walk in front of the screen. I see a mouse in the middle of the city, and he's just over half as big as the tallest skyscrapers. Did I turn to a comedy sketch show? I turn to channel 11 and there's the mouse again.

"Mom!" I call, wondering if she could make sense of this. "Come here!"

I hear footsteps down the hall until my mom enters.

"What is it?" she asks, looking between me and the TV.

I point at the screen. "Look at that."

Mom looks at the TV, a puzzled look on her face. I see her eyes move around as though they were thoroughly scanning every inch of the screen.

"Oh my god," she whispers, putting her hands over her mouth, "Is this real?"

"It was on the other channel, too."

Mom sits down on the couch. She stares intensely at the screen while pinching her lips between her forefingers.

"How could this happen? What did they say about this?"

I shrug helplessly. "I don't know, Mom. I just turned this on now."

Mom looks down and to the side, as though she can't see this anymore. "This is terrible," she whispers shaking her head.

I look away from Mom to check the screen again. The image cuts back to the reporter.

"It's unknown what the death toll is right now, but police have estimated at least twenty so far..."

Mom gasps and then I sense her jog behind me. When I turn around I catch her tail leaving the room. I drop the remote on the couch and follow her back to the kitchen. When I walk in, Mom is on her cell phone, pacing back and forth.

She groans a little, quickly peeking back at her phone. Then she groans again before dropping the phone from her ear.

"Mom?"

She crosses her arms, her head down in thought. "I couldn't get a hold of your father."

I couldn't believe I didn't realize it before. The giant rat was terrorizing the city Dad works in. He could still be in there.

Mom dials another number into her phone and holds it up to her ear. "Marie? It's me. You've heard about...no he hasn't called. I don't know where he is..."

Mom's voice drifts away as I walk back to the living room. The news program continues coverage of the giant terrorist. The camera zooms in on the face of this destructive giant. I feel a sinking feeling inside, as I stare at the monster that is wrecking so many lives.

And possibly Dad's.

I rub my eyes, feeling my tears cling to my fingers. I grab the remote and shut off the TV. I stare at the blank screen, looking at my reflection.

I sit, and I stare, and I wait.

---

It's dark. Why is it dark? I can't see anything. I wave my arms around but I don't see them. Is it night time?

Where's Mommy? "Mo-" Dust gets into my mouth and I cough several times. Once my breath returns, I try to feel around me. My hand touches rocks and some jars. I don't know where I am. I try moving around but stop because my knees sting.

I slowly get to my feet. My arms are outstretched in front of me so that I don't hit anything. I take slow steps, shuffling my shoes against the floor. I can feel the ground vibrating, like a step on an escalator. A memory flashes. I remember something about the floor moving. No, it shook, hard. I remember seeing the cans of soup and boxes of cereal falling onto the floor. Mommy was nearby but I don't know where she is now.

"Mommy!" I call out to the darkness. I hold very still. And silent. So silent, even a tiger wouldn't be able to find me. I listen. I can hear a car alarm going off but it seems so distant, so far away. I can hear the items on the floor move and hit each other whenever the ground trembles. But I don't hear Mommy.

"Where's Mommy?" I whisper to myself. I continue taking small steps, waving my arms in front so I don't hit anything. My feet hit a lot of things. I can tell some of them are glass, boxes, and plastic. I push them away with my feet so I don't accidentally trip on them. Sometimes I step in something wet that smells oranges or grapes.

As I keep exploring this area, several times I run into a wall. The material is different each time though. I feel smooth glass, cool metal, or rough stone. I walk along it for a little bit and then find another wall or move away into emptiness.

I don't know how long I'm walking around for. Then I hit something soft with my foot. It's thick and heavy. I crouch to touch this new object. I can feel the rough surface of something smooth and wrinkled It's clothes!

"Mom? Mommy?" I ask, shaking the person lying down. The fabric feels stiff. But I remember Mommy's thin, free-flowing dress. It was so soft. "Please help me! I don't know where Mommy is!" I push against this person, but I get nothing as a response. So I stand up and walk away, letting the person sleep.

My stomach starts to hurt because I'm getting hungry. The air is also chilly so I keep my arms folded to stay warm. I want to find the exit, but it's too hard without light. Then ground begins to shake. I fall onto my knees and the pain sends hot tears to my eyes. Then the sounds of glass shattering echo the area, so sharp that my ears sting and I have to cover them with my hands. I start crying. Tears flow down my face. I try to keep it in but I'm just too terrified.

I hear a booming and a screeching sound. Dust and small rocks fall down from above. As I cry, I notice small thin lines. Light! I make my way to them. I almost trip from my excitement. Light penetrates through the wall. I peer through the holes but I can't see much. I can make out a car but no one's inside.

"Hello!" I choke out, slight sobs interfering with my speech. "I want to get out!" I try to push the wall but they're too heavy. I claw at the holes, managing to make some of them wider but only enough to get my hand through. "Help!"

Eventually I get too tired and sit down. I hold my knees to my chest, wondering if I can ever get out. I lower my head and close my eyes, wishing to see my Mommy again.

"...one there?"

Wait, did I just hear something? I look up.

"Hello?"

It is! It is someone! I jump up. "I'm here! I'm here!" I exclaim. I look through one of the larger holes and see the face of a lion.

"Oh thank goodness, I wasn't sure if I heard someone here or not," he sighs. "Are you hurt?"

I shake my head, "No."

"Is anyone else inside the store?"

"No, I was with Mommy but I can't find her. Please, I want to get out."

The lion gives a reassuring nod. "Okay, stand back a bit."

I take a few steps back. I see his hands grab the side of the hole and I hear him grunt. More light floods in as he pulls away a large rock that I couldn't move. He keeps pulling off whatever he can, his breathing getting heavier. Finally he makes a hole big enough for me.

I can see most of his body now. He's wearing a dark blue buttoned down shirt with a red and blue striped tie. He beckons me with his hands. "Come on, now."

I squeeze through the hole and he kneels down to examine me. Noticing no extreme wounds he pats the dust off my shirt. "Okay, you're all right now."

I point toward the darkness I escaped from "But I need to find Mommy. She's in there."

A loud, sharp explosion rings my ear. I cover them and close my eyes. I feel myself lifted up and when I open my eyes, I see the lion had picked me up and is starting to run.

"I'm sorry, but we have to go now. It's not safe," he says.

"No, no!" I yell, kicking and screaming. I can't leave Mommy. I have to find her. But we get further and further away from the store. And despite my cries, eventually it ends up out of sight.

---

Crunch.

Smash.

Crash.

Shatter.

Screams.

Screams. The screams are the best. I didn't think I could hear anybody from up hear but all their tiny voices echo up the buildings. I take my time to enjoy the sounds of my achievements. It's like a football game, where the crowd goes wild over a brilliant touchdown. Every move I make, the screams follow.

I crouch, the ground getting closer to my view. These cars aren't even as big as my feet. They're toy cars to me now. I grab two of them, one a sedan, the other a pick up truck. I must be holding 5 pound weights because they're so light. I toss the sedan up in the air and catch it, all the glass shatters, shards falling a hundred feet and raining down all over the empty street. That simple toss cost thousands of dollars.

I look over the truck in my other hand. It looks new, or at least cleaned, because the sun reflects off its red surface cleanly. I take a single step back and hurl the vehicle as far as I can. It's not a clean throw, literally, as liquid, more glass, and metal parts fall out the car. Meanwhile, the truck spirals, arcing its way across the city. When it finally lands, I can see it bounce off the ground and hit the side of a building, destroying that too.

I chuckle, a grin painted on my lips. People are running around the impact area, afraid another projectile might be coming next. And then I'm laughing. I laugh so hard I have to close my eyes. I let go of the sedan, and in a few seconds I hear it crash land on the street. I feel a cool surface on my back, and I realize I unconsciously leaned back against the building. I stay there, gasping and wheezing, trying to find my breath again. Once my body calms down, I lift myself up to my two feet again.

Just yesterday nobody knew my name or knew my face. I was just another pedestrian, a guy you notice for two seconds. Now look at me, I'm so big I can be seen from miles away. I can destroy buildings in just a matter of minutes. I can walk an entire block in one step.

I look up and notice helicopters are buzzing around. I didn't see them before but I guess they kept a distance away from me. Now they're bolder and want to get a closer shot.

I bend my knees slightly and then jump up, swatting my hand toward the little hornets. I miss, not like I was in range to hit them anyway, and land back on the ground with a resounding boom. The air space immediately clears to avoid the threatening situation.

I look around, the ground's completely empty. Seems like everyone's gone, at least, everyone who had the wits to escape already. There's no movement inside the city. It's like an open house, where the house is completely still, ready for people to come in and look around. The light's turning red. Night is coming.

The glow, it's stunning. I'm transfixed by the setting sun, especially with a view from up here. Always being on the ground, I had forgotten how beautifully the day could end.

Soon, it'll be a new day. A different day, for everyone.