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Gale Barks: A Short Story

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“Get up, Undersee!” Gale barks, not giving her a moment to recover from her fall. “Those bombs could fall any fucking second!”

Her collision with the ground has cleared her head some, and she realizes that she still doesn’t know why Gale risked his life to come into town to save her of all people. But she barely has enough breath to run, let alone speak, so she swallows down her questions like they’re bile, her vision growing spotty from her depleting oxygen levels.

“I can’t,” Madge wheezes painfully, trying to gulp in as much air as she can. “I can’t run anymore.”

Before Gale has the chance to respond, the ripping noise hovercrafts make when they fly at high speeds tear through the sky, followed by the lonesome crescendo of a singular warhead falling.

For one moment, all Gale and …show more content…
The sudden movement makes Madge’s skull feel as if it’s cracking in two, but Gale ignores her, tossing her over his shoulder like how he used to with his game bag, and then they’re running once more.

Even though it makes her feel as if her head is about to fall off, Madge keeps her head up to watch the only home she’s ever known, reduced to ashes and death. Two more bombs fall, this time further away from them, so all they feel is the Earth shuddering in pain beneath them. All around her, the once familiar landscape has been so quickly turned into an image that can only be described as hell. Madge knows without doubt her parents are dead.

It’s only when she hears Gale’s panting does she realize her sense of hearing has returned, at least to a point where she can hear something other than buzzing.

“Gale,” Madge croaks. “Gale, you can put me down now.”

He does so immediately, which confirms her suspicion that he’s tired too. Her vision is not as blurry, but if she tries to focus too hard, like she tried to do on Gale’s face, her eyes almost roll back into her skull in

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