I throw the car door open, immediately hit with an amplified thunderous screech. If my ear drums were in pain before, they’re almost numb now. Stepping out of the drivers side I look up. Long gone are the fireworks that lit up the sky only a few hours before. Smoke hovers, imitating clouds above. I had only been nervous about living in DC once, right after Trump took office. I figured someone would get pissed off and blow us all up just for living a few miles from him. I took my chances with that - at least it would have been explainable.

A child screams from a car a few rows down from us. It’s quickly quieted by a dad softly claiming everything is fine and closing the door before looking up, too. At least I don’t have a kid.

“Is traffic moving at all?” My roommate asks from the passenger seat. She’s nervously hugging her knees, trying to make herself smaller.

“No, just a bunch of brake lights.” I respond, then duck back into the car. “I’m not sure what to do. We can’t turn back, and I’m scared to walk past the bridge.”

She looks around at the packed maze of cars, as if the solution could be hiding behind one. “I wonder what’s holding us up..” she responds quietly. Neither of us want to let our minds run. There has to be a logical explanation.

Another roar ripples through the air, shaking our car this time. Someone honks ahead, and a different car honks back. Are they dumb? Why would they draw attention to us?

Suddenly someone runs past our car, then another follows. Handfuls of people are now highlighted by our headlights, sprinting through the maze of cars. A few are so distracted that they ram into bumpers and side mirrors without slowing down.

My roommate and I take the hint and throw open our doors. I accidentally trip a guy running as he yells “fuck!” falling face first into the pavement before immediately pushing himself up. “I’m so sorry!” I yell after him. Who knew I could still be nice when the world is ending.

My roommate’s at the back bumper now, waving me to her. We start running. We don’t know what we’re running from, nor what we’re running to. A loud bang erupts from behind us, and what sounds like rocks start crumbling to the pavement. We’re all covering our ears, coughing through smoke, trying to run. My eyes burn with dust, but I don’t want to move my hands from my ears. The ground shakes and I, along with everyone in the 5 foot radius I can see, fall to the ground. Someone kicks me in the mouth. I try to catch my breath, but breathe in so much dust in that I wheeze.

I turn on my back. The sky is glowing. The smoke is outlined in a deep red. I close my eyes because they burn so bad. Another roar. Another boom. This is it.