10 more minutes had passed in the bus, and Sutton?s throat was beginning to turn dry from the constant whistling of
Bohemian Rhapsody. It seemed that every red light in Davos was doing its utmost to slow the bus down, but after the dull journey, it arrived at the foot of the grand conference building. Matthew sighed, and stretched his arms as he stood up. He gave a quick glance at the television, before briskly walking towards the door of the bus.
He hopped out onto the pavement, and nodded at the grand building; a product of the peak of brutalist architecture, it was a huge assembly of angles and cubes. Sutton sighed, spotting the lack of anybody outside.
Perfect, I'm late... Mitchell?s going to have my arse now.
Sutton glanced over at all the over passengers disembarking the bus, the American MILREP got out first, and was followed by the Cyclops, who in turn was followed by the Barbie doll, then the African, and then the European. Sutton heard the Japanese jabbering as they got out.
The bus driver made a small grunt, and the bus roared as the doors slammed, and it began to drive away. Sutton made another deep sigh as he began to walk up the pavement, towards the conference centre. He heard some other footsteps, and the persistent murmuring of the Japanese close behind; all the while, his mind was at full speed.
I'm gonna get in trouble... Godamn it, I shouldn't have drank that vodka... I shouldn't have ate that pizza... I shouldn't have brooded over Mitchell. I shouldn't have thought about Cath...-
Sutton never got around to finishing his train of thought.
There was a wave of heat, and a blinding light. And then he felt himself fall onto the pavement. And then he heard the roar.
The roar that would haunt him forever.
Matthew opened his eyes.
He was staring at what must have been the sky; but it was unlike the sky he?d seen mere seconds ago- it was turning black. A sheet of darkness was smothering out the blue that had been present.
Smoke.
The first thing he noticed was the immense wave of heat that was on top of him- every pore on his skin was churning out sweat, he felt his shirt become damp, along with his face, pants, every piece of clothing was rapidly turning damp, and sticking to his skin.
Heat. Fire.
Then he realised that he couldn?t hear anything. He heard buzzes, and a few squeaks- but he didn?t even know if he could hear those, or if they were merely figments of his imagination.
Deafened.
Sutton lay there for several seconds, and intended to lie there for several more. He felt a pain on his backside, and the back of his skull. He groaned as he rubbed his head, still not moving his body, still staring at the sky.
...I fell.
He groaned, and he felt his hearing come back. The sounds that greeted him were those of pandemonium. He heard the Japanese screaming, and wildly panicking, he heard the sound of crackling, and roaring; he heard the sound of an inferno.
Then he heard something else- an American, gruff, old, and worn in tone, with a hint of impatience, and a heavy dosage of panic.
?C?mon... Get up... You lazy sack of shit...?
Sutton felt strong hands grab his arms and pull him up. He didn?t make a sound as he stood. He merely gawped at the old NATO officer, and clutched his sides as he stared at the ground, panting. He felt the American move away, probably to help the people behind him.
Then he looked up.
The sky above and around him, was now close to being completely black- it served to highlight the horror Sutton?s eyes met.
The conference hall was ablaze- every single area of it was on fire, the doors had been blown off, every window had been shattered, the walls were rapidly collapsing. The blaze was phenomenal; the flames extending high into the sky- Mountains of fire, extending from what was once the World Economic Forum. There was no chance that anyone could escape that.
There was no chance anyone could have survived.
Matthew clutched his forehead in his hand, and turned around. He never made a sound- despite the fact that his heart was burning, his eyes were stinging, and he was violently shaking.
And he hadn?t even grasped the implications.
[HEADING=2]Davos, Switzerland
26th January 2011
11:46 AM
38 seconds after the incident[/HEADING]