Chapter 1

A stabbing pain brought Doug Austin back to reality with a jolt. He groaned under the weight of the dead body lying on top of him. He peered into the smoke-filled carriage and coughed. Fumes filled his lungs, and a dull ringing filled his ears.

               Doug reached out blindly, and his hand touched a metal pole. He gripped it, pulled, and tried to free himself. He flinched in agony, gritted his teeth, and pulled again. The body on top of him slumped to one side. Doug tried to call out, but his throat felt tight and scorched.

               In the distance, a shaft of flickering light appeared. Doug gazed as shadows came and went. Someone was coming towards him. The ringing in his ears lessened, and he could hear groaning. He pushed himself into a sitting position, and something grabbed his ankle. He quickly kicked it away. It grunted and let go.

               The beam of light came closer, slicing through the black smoke. It stopped moving and shone directly onto his face. He held up his hand, shielding his eyes from its glare. A masked figure knelt beside him. It gripped his shoulder and shook him.

               Doug winced and glared at the shadowy stranger. A visor covered their features, but there was a face staring back at him. It belonged to a middle-aged man with pale grey skin. His dark, lifeless eyes gazed blankly back at him. It was his reflection. Doug passed out.

Doug felt the cold ground beneath him and the hard wall against his back. He slowly opened his dry, crusty eyes. The masked figure, who found him in the carriage, knelt in front of him. It was a fireman, and he had dragged Doug from the wreckage onto the platform.

               Still hidden behind his visor, he leaned forward and peered into Doug's eyes. Doug stared back as the firefighter shook his head and patted him on the shoulder. He then quickly stood up to join his colleagues. Doug gasped, now able to see the devastating scene before him.

               The train he had been travelling on was barely recognisable. Its carriages, blackened with soot, lay twisted and strewn across the track. Smoke billowed from their burnt-out shells, filling the tunnel with its toxic, bitter vapour. Twisted metal and smashed tiles lay scattered throughout the station. Lumps of masonry and bricks covered the platform. Sparks rained down from the darkness above. The emergency lighting glowed in the haze as ghostly figures appeared from the gloom. The blood drained from Doug's face. His head thumped and his heart pounded as the white figures shuffled amongst the rubble. With their clothes covered in ash and blood, they mumbled and groaned in pain.

               Doug looked away, but noticed more of the phantoms crushed beneath the debris. Their screams echoed throughout the subway as they lay dying. On seeing their limbs ripped from their bodies, Doug choked and vomited.

               Shouts came from the firefighters, blackened with soot. They dragged hoses down the platform. Medics began appearing and crouched beside the injured and the dying. Everyone was calling for help. Alarm bells were ringing. Armed police officers were roaring out commands, trying to bring order to the chaos.

               Doug shuddered as he tried to take it all in. He had seen the recent wave of bombings on the news often enough. However, the reports didn't come close to showing the actual reality of it all. The smell of burnt skin. The blood, open wounds, and exposed bones. Sharp, twisted metal and smashed glass. The thick, choking smoke and the tortured cries from the injured. Doug knew these images would never leave him. They would haunt him for the rest of his life.