The newscaster said we'd be ok if we were covered in black. I looked out of the window...a row of caravans had lined the far edge of the road and as I watched a second and then a third lined across the front of my home.

 

Turning to my grandaughter I said "All the family must be together, we must get Mummy and Grandaddy" and I took her hand and went outside. There was no end to these lines of caravans, so we rolled under all three deep and came out at the other side of the road, but...it was not the green which faced us but some strange horizon I did not recognise. There were sounds in the air, sounds of pain and hurting, I knew my daughter was closer and I screamed out her name...but nothing came back to me. My grandaughter started to cry and I realised I must get her covered in black soon.

 

We rolled back under the caravans and ran up our drive and into the front bedroom where I rushed to the window. A white light, a brilliance, was moving in towards the house, so I emptied our linen chest and put my grandaughter into it, opening my wardrobe door. I grabbed all black clothing from their hangers and draped everything over my grandaughter. I warned her not to move so every part of her remained covered in black and told her I would get Mummy, but she had to stay there, just as I leave her...completely covered from head to toe.

 

Running to the kitchen, I grabbed a bread knife and cut my hand off, then I ran to the front door, I called out to my daughter saying that she must take my hand and hold on to it and I would lead her to her daughter. Everywhere was becoming so dark now...it was difficult to even see the caravans outside and as I stood there, I could here my daughter call me as I threw my hand into the air as hard as I could.

 

"Take my hand, I will lead you home" I shouted, louder than I had ever shouted before. Then I went back to the phone to call my husband, but, he had already left his office and was somewhere out there.

 

I heard my daughter scream as she came through the door holding only my hand, she stared in disbelief at me and shook my hand free...."What are you doing, you will bleed to death" she yelled. "No...it's alright" I assured her, "Just get into the linen hamper so I can seal it and the room, I have to stop the air getting into your lungs, go now" I told her "I must find Daddy....if he is in the car then he won't have breathed in much air yet" but I knew the sky was changing so fast, that he wouldn't be able to see the house now and I pushed her into the hamper and covered them both so they would not let any light or air in.

I don't know what I used to seal the windows and the door with, but I did, and then I

went outside and shouted my husband's name a hundred times, until I heard his voice in the distance....he couldn't see anything, not the green nor the house, he didn't know where he had arrived, but it wasn't to far away, just someplace he did not recognise.

 

Immediately I heard his voice, I ran to the road and rolled under the caravans again, he was there....on some strange hillside just outside my house, but he couldn't see me, so I ran to him.  We stood looking at each other as the dust fell on us both and we knew it was too late to go back to our home, we had to let the others live, but it was too late for us, we had breathed in the air.

 

As we stood looking at each other, tears rolled down our faces and words were no longer needed, so we stood and watdhed in silence as we each began to line and shrivel until we fell to the ground....and at that point...I woke up.

 

(The edges of this dream/story are missing, I know there is much more, but this is all I can remember)