The silence was deafening. Sure there were noises; my mates playing cards in the next room to pass the time, the occasional gun shot off in the distance from others like us, protecting their own ‘fortresses of solitude.’

Nonetheless, everything seemed to be drowned out by the utter lack of the things I used to take for granted. The wind was still and the air felt stagnant because of it. The sky was an empty void of dull gray. The birds, sensing the danger, left for unknown places days before it happened. I suppose we should have taken a hint from our avian friends. The normal everyday hustle and bustle was of course gone. Anyone left was separated from each other by a sea of empty buildings and streets. No one dared risking leaving their makeshift strongholds. We knew what was down there, in the silence.