Millions Feared Dead In London!

It's was extremely cold...
Enough to leave one frostbitten, it seemed.

He'd just left his office...
Where he'd been filling in the time between accounting, to doodle what he thought of as merely bored musings.
Poetry, at a push...
If he was to be so bold & self confident as to critique his own work.

The snow fell thick and fast...
The wind was ice-like.
Not a single car on the road...
Not a passerby in sight.

It was a strange feeling.

But it was 4am.

Not yet light, but not dark either...
Apart from the thickset snowflakes blocking the sky as they fell.
Building up on the street, at least a couple of inches in the 25 minutes it had been dropping.

"Fast growth" He thought, rubbing his hands together for warmth.

He trudged through the amassing snow at his feet...
Soldiering on, steadfastly trying not to focus on the biting temperature.
Which had dropped significantly in the last couple of minutes.

The blizzard lashed his cheeks...
Wiping his nose every 30 seconds or so, droplets of mucus were almost instantly freezing on his top lip...

"Shouldn't have shaved this morning"...He pondered with a cheeky grin...
"Hindsight eh".

All of a sudden, there was a flash in the distance...
Believing it to be a mild hallucination from slight hypothermia, he took a few more wading steps through the snowfall.

Another brilliant flash ahead, this time followed by a rumble...
"I didn't imagine that" He stammered.

He took a turn down Crescent Street...
A sinuous, but trusty shortcut back to his maisonette.
Now eager to check out his favourite online forum.
"We're always first with the news..." He smiled to himself.

The gentlemen was now shivering in the snowy tempest...
But only a street away...
Looking up he saw the sign...
"Moonlight Road SW13" It read.

"Finally!" He exclaimed.

After fumbling with his keys for what seemed an eternity in the raging wind...
Fingers almost completely numb...
He managed his way into the lobby of the building.

Exiting the lift and entering his front door, the first thing he did was whack the thermostat up to the 30s mark, and stuck the kettle on...

"A cuppa will sort me out" He panted.
He turned on the TV and immediately looked for a weather update...

It was a startling announcement, a Cyclone was brewing just to the South East of London.
Bitter winds and snowfall expected for a couple of days.

This was unexpected for more than one reason...
But also had him flashback to the dazzling light-show & the bellowing rumble he encountered on his journey home...
& then further reminiscing led him to remember his earlier poem.

He whipped out his mobile, & opened his notebook app to read it again...
"Punishing The IPhone Generation...
Struggling For Time, No Preparation...
Stuck In Different Time Zones, Forever Waiting...
London Hit With Cyclone Devastation..."

"Surely I'm mistaking coincidence for manifestation" He thought anxiously...
Glancing upwards he noticed his phone and the time said 4am.

"Still?" He questioned...
So taking a look at his watch, he froze when he saw it had stopped on 4am...

He went back to his television, but the fear that had been creeping into his tired mind began to resonate throughout his body, shaking...
The weather update was looping...

He tried to dial out with his mobile, no longer consumed with his usual thoughts not to disturb his kin with early morning calls...
"The number you've dialled cannot be connected to at this time, please try again later"...

Tears were filling his eyes, but he dialled once more, same again from the emotionless female auto response.

He went to his laptop...
Shaking almost uncontrollably now...
"Please don't let the server be down, please" He whispered.

Minor relief set in when the page loaded...
"We're always first with the news..."
He anticipated a Breaking Alternative News Headline that could put him at ease...

One caught his attention...
"Millions feared dead in, London"...

Dread filled, he clicked the link...

I liked that. Very Twilight Zone-ish

F%#* i was built right up for that abrupt ending!!

I can picture this being a great episodic show! Good Job

Thanks guys.

It was my first attempt at something like this, I appreciate any feedback.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Very well written, i'm not usually a one for shorts, just scanning thee boards and thought i'll give it a read, glad i did. The atmosphere you set resonated with me, i always judge how good a book or short, in this case, is by how much my imagination can imagine the described situation and it was very good. I agree with the above poster, it would be great as an episodic read, food for thought perhaps. Keep it up

a reply to: TheMadTitan

Much appreciated critique, Titan.

I'll be honest, I wrote this in an hour, it was not rushed per se, but I did spend most of my time trying to set the scene rather than creating a very relatable character... and am also contemplating a series of these if I can burst into the creative mindset that hit me last night.


Thanks again, buddy.

a reply to: CharlieSpeirs

Well, you did the first great thing that most good authors do by choosing an attention grabbing title! It certainly made me click, even though I never read any of the short stories. In fact, I've been a member for nearly two years, and this is the first one I've ever clicked on.

I liked it. It's one of those stories you can put yourself in their shoes and imagine the real scenario. I need another chapter! I want to know what happens next!

Well done.

a reply to: MissBeck

The title came to me right at the very end lol.

I pretty much improvised the whole thing word after word...
But it came together better than I initially expected, thankfully.


I have a couple of ideas for additions to the series, maybe another's POV...
Or a follow up...
But I kinda wanted the readers imagination to decide for themselves.


Thanks MissBeck, much appreciated.