The Crashing Monstrosity
Anneliese Fuscaldo

            The repugnant odor of raw sewage is sweeping through the atmosphere. There’s a roaring monstrosity racing through the eerily silent suburban town. Everyone is standing still on the street waiting. Each person shares the expression of terror as they patiently await their doom. My eyes widen and my heart sinks into my chest. The deafening clamor grows thunderous and trembles the earth. As the smell of death comes closer, people begin to panic. Families quickly scatter in all different directions attempting to outrun their fate.  The shrilling screams of my neighbors puncture my ears. I feel as if the cement has swallowed my feet and my body is left stiff and powerless. All I can do is watch. My bleeding heart begins to pump faster and faster until it finally stops for just a moment.

           It’s here. The beast has arrived to viciously sweep away all of God’s creation. It stands 200 feet high and is growing at a rapid speed. It towers over me like a predator ready to pounce on its prey. Slowly the monster keels over creating a colossal shadow blocking out all the rays of the sun. Our heads look up in fright to catch a final glimpse of the merciless wave that is about to obliterate life as we know it. Families clutch onto their loved ones and I remain glued to the ground. We all take one final breath and within seconds, the massive tsunami crashes down. It slams into the quaint suburbanite town; first taking out the gas stations and drug stores, and then continuing on the destructive path of washing away my neighborhood street by street. I hear the rumbling of the “mom and pop” stores crashing against eighteenth century colonial houses, the glass shattering, power lines bursting and people wailing.                      

           The unforgiving tidal wave sweeps me off of my feet, as if a rug has been pulled out from under me. I hurl into the air and fall through what used to be the Emerson family’s garage. I lose consciousness. My eyes open and all I can see are fuzzy outlines of people attempting to swim to the surface. I inadvertently take a breath. Water begins to fill my lungs and I can feel my body being carried away. I try to swim upwards but I am losing my strength. My body now feels numb and my brain feels frozen. My lifeless shell floats among the sea of the dead. My essence transcends and perches over me as I watch my dead body swoop away with the tide.

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