Now only one security camera stayed on, the one that was aimed at the front entrance of the safe room itself, and all that could be seen by it, for the moment, was dust and debris.
BLAM! BAM! BAM!
Cathy sneezed. There was so much plaster dust in the air of the safe room now. She went to wipe her nose, and she couldn't find any tissue anywhere.
"Here," Alison said. She had some in her purse. She threw a couple in Cathy's direction.
"Thanks."
BAM! BLAM! ZIZZZ!
The visual monitor they watched died so many explosives hit it at once. One particularly powerful one seemed to land a solid hit on the safe room itself, like
BOOM!
The lights went off.
The five inside now found themselves in total darkness.
"Damn!" This from Skip. "Mom?"
"We've lost our power, Dad," Abby said into her com. "How close are you to..."
"Can you see anything?"
"Not a thing."
"There should be some helmets with lanterns on them in the utility trunk. Can you get to the trunk from where you're at?"
Abby started towards where she knew the utility trunk was bolted to the floor. She got two steps when
BLAM! BAM!
A volley of blasts slammed into the cement cube that was the safe room and all that was left of Gramps and Abby's home.
The impact knocked her off her feet.
"Ow!"
"Abby?" Gramps asked, concerned.
"I'm fine. How's your progress, Father?"
"I think I'll be able to free myself in a second. Are you at the utility trunk, yet?"
"I'm here."
"Feel along the edge of it. There should be a flashlight attached there."
"Boy, you think of...yep, there it is." She flicked the flashlight on. She aimed it at the four teens. The beam made Brian look even more ghastly pale than he already was. Cathy blinked in irritation. "Mom!"
"Sorry."
BAM!
Alison emitted a bit of a mouse-like squeak. More plaster dust.
Abby carried the helmets over to the table, and everyone put them on.
"You can't see anything at all?" Gramps asked.
"Nothing."
"Okay, well, to start with, the house is now nothing more than..."
"We're talking about a two-story house. How bad are we buried?"
"Not at all, really. That's what my missiles and lasers have been doing, fighting to keep us clear. It was touch and go for a couple of minutes, there."
"Oh Daddy."
"We're surrounded by mountains of debris. There's no driving out for me, now."
"And the replacers?"
"They're having a hard time getting to us for the moment, but that won't last."
"Is there any possible way for us to get out of this damned room to..."
"No, not through the front door. I'm not sure you'd even be able to get it open there's so much debris."
"Okay, so..."
"You didn't know our van had anti-grav units attached to the bottom, did you?"
"Daddy, you're not..."
"Yeah, what I'm planning to do is fly up over the safe room to land on top of it. I'll bore a hole in the ceiling, and you'll be able to get in the van that way."
"And how..."
"I think it's the only chance we've got, sweetheart."
"Uh...okay."
Abby sat with the others at the table. They held hands, Abby to Cathy to Brian to Alison to Skip to Abby. Alison's lantern-helmet went right into Cathy's eyes.
"Hey!" Cathy snapped. "You want to turn your head a little?"
"Sorry. Wasn't thinking."
WHUMP!
That was the sound of the van landing on top of the safe room. That WHUMP! was followed by a very loud
SNAP!
"Christ, what was that?" Abby asked.
They all turned to train their helmets in the direction of where that SNAP! came from.
There was now a crack in the wall from the ceiling to the floor.
It was a huge crack, too. Brian felt he could stick his whole arm into the it if he wanted to, it was so wide.
"That can't be good," Abby said.
BAM! POW! WHAM!
CONTINUE
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