Thank you for reading my story. I love to receive comments via email, but please don't use a fake email, that is just cowardly. Please enjoy, love Mica xx
I heard the police sirens as I came out of the pub, I looked around but couldn't really see anything that warranted them. I was about to turn when there was an explosion from up the street, as I turned to face it I was blown off my feet and felt a massive compression.
My head had banged on the cobbles as I fell, and I crawled into the alleyway that lead down to the river, keeping low, trying not to be a target. A woman stumbled in and fell beside me.
"Are you okay?" I asked. She looked at me uncomprehending, blood on her face, in her hair.
She fell forward, there was a bit of a mess where the back of her head should be.
A policeman appeared.
"Are you hurt?" He asked.
"I don't think so," I answered, "she is though, in the head," pointing at the woman.
"What's your name?"
"Jane Smith,"
"Get further back in the alley Jane, in a doorway, then don't move. Someone will come for you when it is safe."
"Thank you" I called after him as he left, talking into his radio.
I scrambled on my knees and hands down the alleyway and sat in a doorway, as little of myself visible as possible. I could hear more sirens and sounds, but no more explosions. I sat unmoving, too frightened to venture out. I had only come out to watch the football in a pub with a little more atmosphere than in my own front room. I had nearly died. I was shaking.
"Jane Smith," I heard my name called. I had sat unmoving for about twenty minutes, trying to drown out the sounds and shouts coming from the street.
"Yes," I answered unmoving.
"Police. You can come out now." It was the voice of the policeman from before. I used the jam of the door to help me stand, I felt unsteady, my dress was torn and it had blood on it.
He walked towards me and helped me out of the dim alleyway into the bright lights of the main street. "Are you hit, are you hurt?"
I didn't know, I didn't think so. I padded my hands over my body, everything seemed okay.
"Er, I think I am okay, I think the blood must belong to that woman."
"Okay Jane, now I can get you checked over by a medic, but there is a bit of a queue for ambulances. We are using patrol cars to ferry the walking wounded. As you can guess, it is a bit busy."
"What has happened, I could hear shouting and then a bang and I was knocked to the ground, and then that man, I don't know."
"We are still working out exactly what has happened. There was an explosion at the Arena. We think gas. There was a small of gas and we were trying to evacuate people when it went off. A lot of people hurt. If you are okay we will get you home and then someone will come by tomorrow and take a statement. Is that okay, or do you feel you need to go to hospital?"
"Er, no, thank you. I meant to say thank you, earlier, sorry."
"Let's get you checked by a medic then get you into a taxi and get you home. Have you got your bag, keys etc?"
I hadn't, I hadn't even thought about it. I looked around and saw my clutch, I pointed it out to him. "There."
He picked up my bag and looked inside. He looked at my debit card and smiled. He would have seen that it had my name on it.
"Here you are Jane." He passed me my bag. "Right let's get you to a medic and then into a taxi."
The medics were just down the street, away from the scene of the explosion, and were operating inside a couple of screened pop up tents. A woman ushered me in.
The policeman said "This is Jane Smith. She can go home by taxi if you think that she is clear to do so."
He turned to me, "I just need your address please Jane."
I gave him my details and then he left, leaving me with the medical woman. She was wearing white scrubs and crocks. There were smears of blood on her scrubs, I supposed she had been busy.
When the taxi driver dropped me off, he refused to take any money.
"You've been through enough love. Now I am just going to stay here in my cab until your front door is open and you are inside, and then I am going to drive away. Now, you go and get a good cup of tea inside you."
I went inside, shut the door, dropped the latch, put the bolt on and the chain. I couldn't face a cup of tea so I just poured myself a glass of water. I went upstairs to take my ruined clothes off, I couldn't face a shower, and then I caught sight of myself in the mirror. That was definitely blood, and I nearly threw up, that looked like brains in my hair.
I quickly put the shower on and got in, sitting down, I just let the water sluice me, I couldn't even bear to touch my hair until the water was running clear. I squirted gel into my hands and rubbed it into my hair, letting the water run until it was clear, again I did it, and again, and again.
I stood and turned the water off and got out of the shower. I stood in front of the mirror, afraid to look. I half opened an eye, I looked and shut my eye again. I hadn't seen anything, I looked again. All seemed ok. The shower floor was clear, but I squirted bleach everywhere anyway, I grabbed a towel and almost ran from the bathroom. I lay on the bed, I took a deep breath, and then I cried, I couldn't stop, I had nearly died.
I awoke later, the sun was making an effort to rise. I was shivering, I had fallen asleep on top of the bed, and my shivering now was a combination of being cold and what had happened the day before. I didn't turn on the TV, I didn't want the details. People had died, it was awful, worse than I could ever imagine. I picked up my phone.
"Dad." I didn't know who else to call. I was afraid that if I called a friend that they could not answer because they had been in town too, and hadn't been so lucky.
"Hello baby, how are you sweetheart, it's six in the morning."
"I was in town last night dad," I couldn't say anymore, I just cried.
"I'm on my way baby," the phone went dead. I sat at the foot of the stairs in just a towel, waiting for my dad. It seemed an age, but then I heard dad's car pull up. I started undoing the chains and the bolts and un-deadlocked the door, I opened the door for dad, and then shut it, redoing the bolts and chains and deadlock, I turned to dad and I fell into his arms sobbing.
Dad held me and it seemed to ease my sobs, and I pulled him so tight to me and squeezed him hard. I needed him. Eventually I had the strength to pull away, and as I did so, my towel feel to the floor.
