"Boom!" A new explosion rang out from afar. Two women with nowhere to go stood helplessly at the street corner, feeling a sense of despair. The air raid siren kept echoing, and from unseen places came a series of anti-aircraft gunshots retaliating.
"Do you know where the nearest bomb shelter is?" Curley looked at her neighbor, called Flan. The young Flan tried to identify it and then uncertainly pointed in a direction.
Curley had no time to worry about much else. She grabbed Flan and headed in that direction. It was only after turning a street corner that she saw the pillar of black smoke rising in the distance.
The smoke pillar was indeed far away from them, but because it was so thick and high, it was still clearly visible even past several buildings.
"Boom!" Another explosion followed. Curley and Flan could distinctly feel the ground beneath them tremble even before the sound of the explosion reached them.
