Short Story #2 Step 2

The Red Bandana

6:15 am

It was a warm, early morning as I boarded the A train from Brooklyn, just like every other weekday. The city was already buzzing, despite the sun only just beginning to rise. I watched as people hurried through the station, heads down, briefcases in hand, everyone with somewhere to be. I leaned against the window as the train sped towards Manhattan, the familiar hum of the city waking up around me. 

7:00 am

My stop at Fulton Street came soon enough, and I joined the crowd, climbing the stairs to the street level, where the crisp September air met me. I stopped by my regular coffee shop, Pete’s Brew’s, just a block away from the offices. “Morning, Kelly,” greeted Javier, the barista, with a grin. “The usual?”

“Morning! Yeah, medium black, two sugars, no cream,” I replied, sliding a few bills across the counter. Javier was already halfway through making it before I even finished my sentence. I took a sip of the hot coffee, letting the warmth settle in my chest as I made my way down the Manhattan street. I rode up the elevators with a few of my coworkers just like I did every day. We chatted about the usual—weekend plans and the latest office gossip as we ascended to the 78th floor. I worked in a financial office—my cubicle was near the window with a stunning view of the city skyline, something I never took for granted. The office was an open floor plan, dotted with cubicles and a few private offices for the higher-ups. It was quiet that morning as everyone settled into their routines. Then everything changed. 

8:45 am

In an instant, the normalcy of my morning evaporated. A loud crash reverberated through the building, followed by frantic screams from down the hall. We rushed to the windows, and there it was—smoke billowing out of the North Tower, the sky filling with debris. Someone said a plane flew into the tower. I couldn’t make sense of it. What had happened? Why had a plane been this low? 

Within minutes phones began ringing off the hooks. People shouted instructions to evacuate, but it was chaos. We were told to gather by the elevators, so we crowded around, but there were hundreds of people on every floor, this could take hours. Some people started down the stairway, which would also be packed with people by now. Everyone was in shock, and a lot of people called their families to tell them they were okay. The minutes ticking by felt like years. Everyone was anxious to get out of this building and figure out what was going on. 

9:03

The entire building shook violently, people hit the ground, and my coffee cup slipped from my hand, spilling across the floor like black ink spreading across a blank page. At first, I thought it was an earthquake or maybe a freak accident in the building. But the moment stretched too long. The air felt thick, acrid, and the sound of alarms blared through the confusion. My heart raced as i stood up, the world spinning out of control. It wasn’t an earthquake. It was something far worse. The South Tower had been hit.