back to their rooms. Samantha ran into her room and tried her cell phone again. There was no answer from Paul or any responses text messages.
"Mother fucker!" Samantha shouted, tossing the phone on the bed.
She went for the remote and turned on the television. As the screen lit up, she retrieved her phone and scrolled its contacts. First she tried Paul again. There was no answer. She tried Julie's phone. No answer. She tried her parents who lived in Vermont. No answer. She tried Paul's father who lived in Florida. There was no answer. Samantha dropped her cell phone as the hotel receiver slid from her grip. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
She squinted her eyes shut and wiped the tear away. The frustration was borderline overwhelming. The television volume was all the way down, but the images were unmistakable. The screen glowed with the red fires of an inferno. Samantha took notice and tried to keep up with the banner moving rapidly on the bottom of the screen.
There was a title above the news banner that read: War World III?
Samantha stood up and walked closer to the television while holding the remote in one hand. She flipped to the next station and saw the exact same image. An entire city on fire. She flipped to the next channel and was greeted with several aerial images of a charred landscape. Her thumb pressed hard onto the volume button as a reporter's voice grew louder, narrating the images with torn emotion.
The news caption read: Nuclear Attack Devastates East Coast.
It seemed like footage from movie. It had to be a movie. Who had ever heard of such a thing? The reporter's words differed:
"Tremendous shock and awe as history takes a cataclysmic turn following the presumed deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Americans. Reports are scattered and unverifiable at the moment, but what we know so far is that several key targets were attacked with nuclear devices. Several states within a close proximity of each other have reported to have been hit, including Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Maine."
Pennsylvania was all the only word Samantha needed to hear.
"Oh God, no!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
The reporter's voice continued over images of smoke clouds, craters, and massive destruction on a global scale.
"No one is sure who is behind the attacks. There has been no word from the President or any government officials concerning the attacks that occurred in succession with each other shortly after Five P.M. Eastern Time."
His voice became choked up as he attempted to continue. Samantha's face poured with tears the minute her state was named.
"There are literally no words to describe the...literally no words to describe what has happened. Rumors of an attack in Washington D.C. have surfaced as well. All of this after a bombing inside the New York Stock Exchange around 3:30 P.M. Eastern Time. A great shock horror has been inflicted on our nation that we're only beginning to truly understand."
Samantha looked at the clock in the hotel room. It was shortly after three. She ran back to the landline phone dialed Paul and Julie again. She picked up her cell phone and sent Paul another text, her longest one yet:
Been trying to reach you guys for hours. I'm so scared. Please God, I hope you're okay. Attacks everywhere. Call me back. I love you both.
She stuck the phone in her pocket and wiped her eyes again. Her smartphone was a pointless endeavor. She had been cut off. How many others were facing the same fate? Tears flowed like rain water, turning her mascara into sopping rings around her bloodshot eyes.
"Residents on the West Coast are urged to seek cover immediately as no identifiable targets have been hit anywhere from California to Ohio. Every state, every landmark, every place imaginable could very well be the next target. The President was addressing reporters in the White House Rose Garden shortly before the attacks. His current location or status
"Mother fucker!" Samantha shouted, tossing the phone on the bed.
She went for the remote and turned on the television. As the screen lit up, she retrieved her phone and scrolled its contacts. First she tried Paul again. There was no answer. She tried Julie's phone. No answer. She tried her parents who lived in Vermont. No answer. She tried Paul's father who lived in Florida. There was no answer. Samantha dropped her cell phone as the hotel receiver slid from her grip. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
She squinted her eyes shut and wiped the tear away. The frustration was borderline overwhelming. The television volume was all the way down, but the images were unmistakable. The screen glowed with the red fires of an inferno. Samantha took notice and tried to keep up with the banner moving rapidly on the bottom of the screen.
There was a title above the news banner that read: War World III?
Samantha stood up and walked closer to the television while holding the remote in one hand. She flipped to the next station and saw the exact same image. An entire city on fire. She flipped to the next channel and was greeted with several aerial images of a charred landscape. Her thumb pressed hard onto the volume button as a reporter's voice grew louder, narrating the images with torn emotion.
The news caption read: Nuclear Attack Devastates East Coast.
It seemed like footage from movie. It had to be a movie. Who had ever heard of such a thing? The reporter's words differed:
"Tremendous shock and awe as history takes a cataclysmic turn following the presumed deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent Americans. Reports are scattered and unverifiable at the moment, but what we know so far is that several key targets were attacked with nuclear devices. Several states within a close proximity of each other have reported to have been hit, including Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Maine."
Pennsylvania was all the only word Samantha needed to hear.
"Oh God, no!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.
The reporter's voice continued over images of smoke clouds, craters, and massive destruction on a global scale.
"No one is sure who is behind the attacks. There has been no word from the President or any government officials concerning the attacks that occurred in succession with each other shortly after Five P.M. Eastern Time."
His voice became choked up as he attempted to continue. Samantha's face poured with tears the minute her state was named.
"There are literally no words to describe the...literally no words to describe what has happened. Rumors of an attack in Washington D.C. have surfaced as well. All of this after a bombing inside the New York Stock Exchange around 3:30 P.M. Eastern Time. A great shock horror has been inflicted on our nation that we're only beginning to truly understand."
Samantha looked at the clock in the hotel room. It was shortly after three. She ran back to the landline phone dialed Paul and Julie again. She picked up her cell phone and sent Paul another text, her longest one yet:
Been trying to reach you guys for hours. I'm so scared. Please God, I hope you're okay. Attacks everywhere. Call me back. I love you both.
She stuck the phone in her pocket and wiped her eyes again. Her smartphone was a pointless endeavor. She had been cut off. How many others were facing the same fate? Tears flowed like rain water, turning her mascara into sopping rings around her bloodshot eyes.
"Residents on the West Coast are urged to seek cover immediately as no identifiable targets have been hit anywhere from California to Ohio. Every state, every landmark, every place imaginable could very well be the next target. The President was addressing reporters in the White House Rose Garden shortly before the attacks. His current location or status
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