Fire. That's all I could see. Every house, tree and car was ablaze. The streets were chaotic. Cars lined and filled the entire road, with no gaps in between. Families looking for loved ones and families running towards the edge of town. But me, I was going the opposite direction heading towards the heart of the city. Curiosity always overcame my fear. I had to know for sure.
"Deep breaths," I told myself. Every breath seemed to be a challenge, stabbing at my lungs like murderer with a dagger. The smoke was so thick and black that you couldn't even see the sky above nor five feet in front of you, for that matter.
As I walked down Sunset Cliffs Blvd. the damage seemed to get worse: more shops and houses seemed to be in shambles, so many more families were trying to escape the horrible devastation. Fighter jets screamed over my head. Two, four, six, and then eight, more jets at once than I had probably ever seen before.
My bleach-blonde hair was tinged gray with soot as it swept in front of my face. My eyes seemed to burn from all the smoke filling the air.
"I need to get out of here," I thought, but honestly I have nowhere to go. "Just calm down Chloe. You need to know for sure," I said out loud to myself, trying to boost my self-confidence. I continued down Sunset Cliffs Blvd. until I reached Point Loma Ave. then turned on it and continued to the heart of the destruction.
Looters had finally started to set in. Tons of people were breaking into some of the most expensive stores in the whole city. Alarms rang throughout the streets and the sounds of shattering glass was sickening.
"How can people stoop so low especially at a time like this?" I thought once more. The looting was getting worse the further I went down Point Loma Ave. I did my best to avoid all the looters because I didn't want to cause any trouble.
When I came to the next intersection of streets, I turned on Catalina Blvd. determined to prove what happened. I walked only a little ways before I made my final turn down Chatsworth Blvd. and that would be my final turn before the unexpected happened.
I couldn't help but stifle a laugh at the gang of looters trying to break into one of the most secure stores in town.
"What idiots!" I thought. I continued to walk past the store but one of them noticed me and pointed me out to all his buddies.
"Oh uh," this time I said it out loud, not intending to. I began sprinting down the street with three of them right behind me. There was no way I was going to out run these punks! My breathing was getting heavier, my legs going slower.
"I really wish I had done more exercise," I thought as sweat poured down my head in buckets.
Just when I thought I had lost them one came up behind me. I tried to run again but he was lightning fast, or I was just super tired, and he grabbed onto my bag that was slung over my shoulder.
"Get off!" I screamed trying to kick my way out, but it was no use.
I let him slip my bag off my shoulder but immediately I realized that was a big mistake. The momentum from the tension plus the unstable ground below the torn up concrete sent me hurtling towards the ground. My hands flew out to try to brace my fall, but that was no use either. I'm also pretty sure a squeal escaped from my mouth right before I hit the ground, but without fail my head smacked a piece of torn up concrete and I was out for the count.
So my dream started out like this; well, it was actually more of a flashback.
I was in my house that morning checking my calendar for important events that day. July 20, 2058: as usual, nothing of significance was scheduled. So I decided to stroll along Ocean Beach on the coast of San Diego, California. It was the farthest beach from my house and it was also my favorite. I don't know what is about that beach but something about it just draws me in, especially today.
So I took the long trek down to Ocean Beach. People were on the streets shopping and having a great time like any other normal Saturday afternoon. A few lone fisherman were out on the docks fishing for their catches of the day. Numerous couples were on afternoon walks and the families were all enjoying the summer sun. I kicked off my flip flops and removed my swimsuit cover. I jogged out to the brilliant blue ocean and dived in. The ocean water as usual seemed bitter cold to me! There wasn't a day when it was even semi warm but I always felt rejuvenated after doing a couple of laps out to the buoys and back.
After completing four laps I grabbed my flip flops and wrapped my towel around my body. Exiting the beach, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Turning around, what I saw at first was confusing. I thought it was a bird, but then I realized there was more than one. By my count there were actually five. I had never seen a flock that small so I continued to watch. A low whistling sound seemed to be emanating from the flock and I noticed that I wasn't the only person looking at them.
The "birds" actually weren't birds. With my cell phone camera on video, I recorded the things getting closer to the beach. I realized that they were actually drones. Then another thing caught my attention: one, they were in some sort of attack formation; two, they were headed right for the city. I continued to film them as they flew over my head directly into the heart of San Diego, where each fired missiles at five different major locations. I watched in awe as the missiles blew up important parts of my beloved hometown. Shortly after firing their missiles the drones accelerated quickly to velocities I never thought possible for an aircraft. I shut my phone off, running towards my destroyed city.
"I have to know for sure," I kept repeating over and over to myself as I ran towards the destruction. The dream faded into nothing as my head began to spin and ache.
I woke up to a loud T.V playing in a shop across the street from where I lay on the ground. I could feel blood dripping from my head and I didn't dare move. I made my eyes focus on the T.V. It was blaring a news report of the tragedy that had hit my home.
   The news lady was saying, "The disaster that has struck San Diego is horrific but there is no need to worry. Investigators have determined that it was a blown gas line running from the University to the Naval Base of San Diego. Military officials have been implemented into the city to prevent further contamination and injury of citizens. They will also be leading people to safety. If you need medical assistance please seek it. Please make your way out of the city helping as many others as possible. The president will be live in a few hours to discuss this matter in further detail. Avoid the disaster sights. Do not try and seek them out, for we do not want any others to be injured or killed. Good luck San Diego!"
I couldn’t believe this! The media and the government were talking it up. It wasn’t a burst gas line! Unless I was hallucinating, it was clearly five drones that bombed San Diego. My head was still swimming and my eyes were having a hard time focusing. I could hear someone talking somewhere near me but I figured I was just out of it from hitting my head. I didn’t dare move and risk injuring myself further.
“Am I going to die here and never get the truth out?” my head swam with questions. I was just about to give up all hope when the talking got so close that it was literally touching me. I mean he was literally touching me. Standing right above my head was the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen.
This beautiful guy who was built like a football player was tapping my shoulder. His dark chocolate brown hair glimmered in the little bit of sun shining through the smoke. His ocean blue eyes gleamed like my favorite beach did. He kept tapping my shoulder, asking me something. Focusing on his words, I understood what he was asking me.
“Are you okay? Your head is bleeding so I guess you’re not okay,” said the gorgeous man. He tore off his shirt and wrapped it around my head. He was completely ripped!
“Umm… umm… who are you?” Those were the first words that had to come out of my mouth! Just great!
He chuckled, “I’m Matthew, but most of my friends call me Matt. How did you hit your head?”
“Umm… some looters got ahold of me and I fell trying to escape them. Can you look and see if my phone is still in my bag?”
“Sure. Just let me finish wrapping your head."
"Did you see what happened?" I questioned, looking into his eyes as he finished bandaging my head. He walked over to my bag, pulled out my phone and handed it to me.
"Yeah I did. I can't believe that we got bombed!" he shouted as he finished his last sentence.
"Thank you! Now at least I know that I'm not hallucinating and it wasn't a dream."
"What do you mean?" he asked, giving me a confused look.
"You haven't seen the news report?"
"Nope, haven't been around a T.V since after the bombing."
"The news is playing it up saying that it was a gas pipe that burst under the five buildings."
"That's bull! I can't believe that. No, correction. I can believe that. It's our idiotic government."
"What! No, our government is a little angel!" I emphasized that "little angel" part to add to my sarcasm. Matt broke down laughing but stopped quickly when he noticed all the reporters a few blocks away.
"Hey, are you able to walk?... you never told me your name," Matt said with a tone of concern and accusation.
"Chloe."
"Well Chloe can you stand?" Matt said lending me a hand.
"Yeah," I said taking his hand. "Let's go see if any of those reporters can helps us spread the truth about what happened."
"Wait! You want to tell everyone what really happened?" Matt said stopping me.
"Why not? The people need to know what is really going on and not some made up fairytale."
"You are insane, but I'm going to help you out anyway."
"Thank you!" I said flashing my famous Californian smile.
We walked over to the reporters and as we got closer we noticed that there were military officials giving them play by plays of how things should be said. The words were shown on a small T.V screen just behind the camera man.
"I didn't think that the government would actually go this far," I exclaimed.
"Really? Because this is pretty typical."
"Maybe we can find a reporter who can help us."
"I highly doubt that."
I scanned the crowd over and over looking for anyone who might not be under the influence of military officials. Just when I was about to give up I spotted a reporter at the very far edge of the crowd shaking her head.
"There!" I said to Matt as I lightly slapped his shoulder and pointed in the direction of the reporter.
"What about her?" Matt asked.
"Duh! She's not reporting but instead she's shaking her head, so obviously she doesn't agree with this. Come on, keep up Matt!"
"Alright then let's go ask the random reporter for help."
"Why not, you helped me out and I was a total stranger."
"Okay you got me there."
We weaved our way in and out through the massive crowd of reporters. When we finally reached the far side where the reporter was sitting it was late afternoon; the sun was beginning to set. The reporter looked seriously disgusted... and bored.
"Hi!" I said approaching the reporter as Matt squeamishly followed behind. "I'm Chloe and this is Matt."
"Hi I'm Sadie, and this is my camera man Chris. How can we help you?" Sadie announced with a surprised look on her face.
"Well, we were wondering what you thought about the events that happened today?" I questioned. Matt still hung behind me, too shy to talk. How can a guy who will just walk over and help an unknown girl, wrap his shirt around her injured head not talk to an unknown reporter? Boys!
“Are you with the government? Because I haven’t done anything wrong!” declared Sadie, suddenly getting defensive.
“No, I promise. I was just curious because the actual government is playing it up, making it seem like it’s a burst pipe line. And we were actually hoping that you would help us get the truth out to people about the drones.”
“Well I wish I could guys but I’m under strict orders not to. Plus, I’m a small time business and no one would believe what I say. I really wish I could,” Sadie finished. She genuinely looked hurt and upset.
“I can help,” Matt said, chiming in finally.
“How?” I asked, puzzled.
“Well, believe it or not I can actually hack computers really well. We would have to go to a news center where I could access their information and codes; but otherwise it should be easy.”
“And why didn’t you bring this up earlier?” I asked and I know at that point my face was beet red. So not just hot but smart too! This couldn’t get any better.
“Because.”
“That’s all you’re going to say?” I asked.
“Yep. There should be a large news station on the other side of town. It will take some work to get over there.”
“Chris and I can help pave some of the way. I have some reporter rights so if we get stopped I can just pull out my credentials and we should be clear to go,” Sadie piped in.
“Thank you!” I said and flashed her my smile. Not my Californian smile, but my real smile. The one I save for guys only is my Californian smile.
“No problem, but we better get moving if we want to make it there before the president makes his speech in two hours.”
“That’s in two hours?!” Matt shouted. I was a little shocked about his reaction and it probably showed on my face but I wasn’t about to say anything. The truth is I was going to say the same thing.
“Yep so if we want to beat him we better get going.”
We hustled towards the other side of town. When we got too close to some of the bombing sites, military barriers were surrounding those areas with soldiers guarding them. We tried to avoid them as much as possible but since the bombings were in the heart of the city that was a little difficult. When we were within a block of the news station it was pitch black outside. We had to use the flashlights on our phones. I was shocked at how well you could actually see the stars when all the city's power was off. There were so many! They filled the night sky and that isn’t something that  anyone would typically see in the city. I would always see a few stars here and there but never like this. When we finally got to the news station the doors were locked shut. 
"What now?" I asked.
"Don't worry. Stand back, girls, I got this," Matt exclaimed, jumping up and down. He backed away from the door.
"Matt what are you doing?" I challenged.
"I'm going to break down the door."
"Matt, I don't think..." Sadie started but Matt interrupted.
"Don't worry... just stand back. It will be fine."
"Matt!" Sadie kept trying.
Matt charged the door.
"Matt!" Sadie repeated one last time but it was futile. Matt had already hit the door and bounced back, right on his butt.
"That didn't work," he said in a daze.
"I tried to tell you I have a key!" Sadie announced as she walked past Matt, who was just starting to get up. She unlocked the door.
"Why didn't you say so!?" Matt demanded.
"I tried! Three times. Now are we going, or what?" Sadie stated as she stood with arms open in front of the door.
"I'm coming!" I exclaimed, running past her into the building. I turned and saw Matt and Chris the camera man walk into the building followed by Sadie who shut and locked the door. Sadie led us to the main recording studio.
"Wow this is like a hacker's dream!" Matt blurted out.
"Well, so now that you're living it get going, genius," I stated.
Matt sat in the closest computer seat, his fingers flying across the keyboard. It took Matt all of five minutes to get us hooked up. All the while we were setting up camera equipment.
"Done!" Matt shouted as he spun his seat around to face us. "You're now hooked up to every network and news channel in the world. All you have to do is turn on that camera and you're live."
"Thanks Matt," I said.
Suddenly there was a fizzle and a pop; the T.V was live with the broadcast of the president's speech.
"We're too late!" I exclaimed.
"No we're not. All we have to do is turn the camera on which will interrupt the president's lame speech," Matt said calmly from his seat.
"No, I want to see this! You do have your phone with the video, right? Chloe?" Sadie said.
"Yeah I do," I said as I trained my eyes on the T.V, handing my phone to Matt.
"Dear ladies and gentlemen. I'm here before you today with a great crisis on our hands. Earlier today we had a gas line blow beneath five major buildings in San Diego: the San Diego Airport, the San Diego Naval Base, the University of San Diego, most of downtown San Diego, and the hospital on Midway Dr. The explosion has killed thousands, and there are thousands more injured and missing. Please for your safety and for others make your way out of the city. Assist all those who need it. There will be military escorts as well as military blockades for your safety."
"Let's shut him down," I said. Chris turned on the camera and we were live. The president's broadcast was cut short and Sadie came on.
"Excuse me for the interruption but I have some ground breaking news to share with you all. I'm here in the heart of San Diego and what we have witnessed was not a blown gas line, but in fact a bombing by drones. Take a look at this video." Matt switched the screens to play the video and Sadie continued, "As you can see here we have five drones in attack formation approaching the city and as they get in range they fire their missiles at strategic targets which were planned for maximum destruction." The screen switched back to Sadie, "Please don't believe what the government tells you. As the video proves, the government has been lying to you. As I speak, we are being tracked. Military personnel have already been dispatched. Let not this destruction have been in vain. Take action now! Thank you."
We shut everything off, grabbed our equipment and headed for the door. At the main entrance, the military was rushing  the building.
"Back door!" Sadie shouted, sprinting for it.
Matt, Chris and I followed close behind, as wanted fugitives.
All for just telling the truth.