Courage, Faith
Chapter 1: Premise
When the first atomic bomb dropped on the city of Busan, the once peaceful fishing city was reduced to nothing but ash and dust. The once vibrant markets were now barren landscapes, adorned with charred remains of buildings, homes and people. The foul stench of decay and burning plastic permeated the air for days, an acrid smell that drove survivors in hordes to the city of Seoul where help was promised.
Days after the first bomb was dropped, people all over Korea were still reeling in shock. The government scrambled for answers, and people clambered over each other at press conferences demanding explanations for the rising death toll and unprovoked attacks. Radiation sickness was rampant in hard-hit Busan, and many didn’t survive after being pulled from rubble.
In other cities, paranoid citizens looked urgently to their leaders for guidance, and were met with a stifling silence. Many resorted to poorly made shelters, and within weeks, stores were cleared of essential goods like canned food and medicine. Everyday life seemed to go on per normal, but the looming fear of a second attack kept citizens on the edge constantly. Government leaders tried to urge citizens not to panic, with leaflets on how to stay safe and watch for danger being handed out at every corner.
Every day, news of Busan’s ravaged cityscape was blasted on television screens nationwide. Ghastly images of those suffering from radiation poisoning would soon become a norm in Korea, with people watching on in horror as their fellow countryman suffered and died agonisingly.
This would go on for two more months before the rioting began. It started with a rumour - a poorly formulated theory on the origin of the attacks that soon spread like a wildfire, poisoning the minds of the people with lies and deceit. As resolves crumbled, superstitions grew. People turned to prayer, hoping for salvation in the hands of a higher being. This, of course, was not to be true. Claims of an independence day began to circulate viciously, with people living their every moment in fear. Government efforts to urge people to stay calm and refrain from engaging in misinformation fell on deaf ears, and in a moment of panic, people started to hoard supplies in preparation for a second bomb.
Days went by, and the once serene streets of Seoul were now littered with debris, shattered glass and other paraphernalia from the endless rioting. During the day, it was quiet - riot police stood guard on every pathway, ready for confrontation. By night, roads were filled with angry protesters, demanding explanations for the attack, fighting the police with anything they could weaponise. The resulting weeks would be remembered as some of the bloodiest in history.
For a while, this was what life had become. People were lulled into a false sense of security, and for a fleeting moment, it almost seemed as if a second attack was nothing but an irrational fear.
So when the second bomb plummeted into the capital of Korea, people were caught off guard. In the final moments before the bomb made contact with the ground, people stampeded in an effort to put as much distance between themselves and Ground Zero. Bloodcurdling screams filled the air, and for a short 10 seconds, all that could be heard was a shrill ringing before a blinding light bloomed and sent an enormous shockwave across the city. The shockwave levelled buildings, scorching everything in its path and destroying anything within a 10 kilometre radius. Screams were replaced with the unbearable sound of wind ripping past your ears and the clatter of debris raining down onto the ground. And then, silence.
I had been in school when the second bomb was dropped, laughing along to something my friend Hyunjin had said. I recall turning to the window on my left, resting my cheek in my palm as I took in the calm midday scene outside the classroom. I had plans to visit the arcade before returning home later, as a means to work off the pre-examination jitters before finals week.
I remember seeing a bright flash of light in the distance, followed by guttural rumbling reminiscent of a large earthquake. The last thing I saw was a large, grey mass filled with debris and dust before I was slammed off my chair.
---
Chapter 2
