Head in the Clouds Part 3
The gravel crunched under Brett’s feet as he hurried down the road. All the shops were abandoned, except for one with a broken neon sign flashing the word “Di–er” at him. It was an ominous sign. Gingerly, he pressed the door open and walked inside.
Old tunes emanated from the jukebox in the corner. Four chairs were clustered around each vacant table. A few people sat on bar stools, swivelling around listlessly. A teenage girl stood behind the counter, flipping through a crossword puzzle book. She looked up at Brett. “Can I help you?”
“Yes,” he said, leaning against the counter desperately. “A blimp just crashed outside the city. A lot of people are hurt. We need as much help as we can get.” She looked up at him curiously.
“No one here cares, to be honest,” she replied, scribbling something in her puzzle book. “All of us ended up here, from planes crashes to skydiving. In this cloud city.” She gestured to the smog outside.
“But we need to get somewhere with doctors, like a hospital. Are there any places here?” Brett waited for an answer. She filled out another blank in the puzzle and answered, “Yes, but all the buildings have been abandoned for a long time. Even if you did find a clinic, there would be no one there.”
Brett turned back toward the door. “Maybe I can bring some of them here. They need help.” He ran back through the city and to the clearing where the blimp was.
It was gone.
The shock of the crash was now coupled with the loss of the blimp. Where had everyone gone? He returned to the diner, gasping for breath. “It’s….gone,” he said, breathing heavily. The girl at the counter looked up at him, thoroughly interested. “Gone?” she repeated. He nodded and slumped down in one of the chairs.
“Where was it?” she inquired, stepping out from behind the counter. Brett sat up and peered out the window. “That way,” he said, pointing to the left. “But you can’t tell anyway.”
“Incredible,” the girl said. “That might be our way out.”
A way out.
