Chapter Text

 Atlas was on summer break; his family had decided to go on a trip to Seattle. That’s why he is now standing in front of the Seattle Great Wheel. Somehow his parents got it into their head that going on a giant Ferris wheel was a fun activity; despite knowing he has a fear of heights. As they waited in the ticket line he squinted at the slowly rotating death trap. After staring at it for a bit he turned and looked at his parents and dejectedly asked why they were going onto the wheel.

His mother looked back at him and replied, "Because why not? It looks fun, and we will be able to get a good view of the city."

Atlas closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, "Mom, you know I'm scared of heights." He bit out.

Shaking her head, she sighed "Atlas, you need to get over that fear. It will hold you back from experiencing amazing things."

Atlas' father shifted his attention from his little brother who was bouncing excitedly while talking.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Atlas was just reminding me of his fear of heights." She told him.

"Ah. You know Atlas, the best way to get over that fear is to face it head-on. Once you're in the gondola you'll realize there is nothing to be scared of." His father remarked.

Atlas repressed the urge to roll his eyes. Huffing out a sigh, he turned back around to stare at the wheel again. He closed his eyes and tried to pretend he was somewhere else.

As the line moved forward, Atlas started to envision scenarios where the ride ended in catastrophe. He wasn't normally so pessimistic, but when it came to heights, he couldn't help but assume the worst. He tried to convince his parents once more that he did not need to go onto the Ferris wheel.

"Mom? I really don't want to go on the wheel. So don't worry about buying me a ticket." He stated.

She looked over at him and sighed. "Atlas, you really need to get over this fear. This is nonnegotiable, you are going on this ride and that is final."

"Do you understand?" She then added in a softer voice.

"Mom. No, please I can't —" He pleaded

She cut him off. "Atlas," Her face settled into a serious frown as she crossed her arms. "think of this as exposure therapy, you can't remain scared of heights forever." She continued. Her words were final, leaving no room for argument.

In all the years he has known of money and its existence, Atlas has never seen a person turn down the chance to save money. Atlas hung his head in defeat; he had tried and failed. He heaved out a sigh, heavier than the last. Atlas glared at his shoes, scuffing them against the pavement. They managed to make it to the ticket booth.

"Tickets for three adults and one youth please." His dad cheerfully asked the ticket clerk in the booth.

The ticket clerk looked like they would rather be anywhere but here selling tickets.

"That will be ninety-three dollars." They replied in a bored voice after adding up the tickets.

His dad handed his credit card over to the ticket clerk. They swiped the card and handed it back to him.

"The wait time will probably be from fifteen to twenty minutes, have fun." They uttered.

Atlas shot a look at his father. 93 dollars? His father looked back at him and shrugged. He sighed in exasperation as he raked his hand through his hair. As his family made their way to the back of the line waiting to get onto the wheel, Atlas could feel his body start to tense. He started to fidget more the closer they got to the front.

Without warning, the ground began to violently shake. People screamed as they tried to get away from the wheel as it began to sway. Atlas could feel himself being grabbed as he tried to run. He looked at who grabbed him and saw the back of his mother's head as she ran. He looked around and couldn't see his father or his little brother. The ground was still shaking, making running difficult.

Atlas called out to his mother, "MOM! WHERE IS DAD AND JASON?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" She yelled.

Atlas could hear the terror in her voice. He had never heard her sound as terrified as she is now.

As they continued to run, a person barreled into Atlas. The impact broke his mother's grip on his arm separating them, Atlas fell to the ground. People tried to run around him, some tripping over him as he attempted to stand up. Atlas managed to rise, he looked around him searching for his mother. He tried to move forward despite the ground quaking; he moved along the waterfront searching for any one of his parents. He tried screaming out their names hoping to hear them call out his name. Atlas couldn't hear anything but the screams of the people trying to get away from collapsing structures. Suddenly, the ground ceased its shaking.

He stopped moving and looked behind him, in the distance he could see that the wheel had fallen. Anyone who didn't get away in time and the people on the wheel would now be crushed. Atlas' eyes widened, he could feel his breaths coming up short. He started to look around at his surroundings. Some buildings had collapsed and there were people attempting to extract themselves from the debris.

Atlas began to get a feeling that he should no longer be on the waterfront. He started running up a street, he needed to get to higher ground. Atlas then took a hard left into an alley. He then started to realize that he was in Post Alley. Recognizing where he was Atlas put on a sudden burst of energy, He went past the Gum Wall and up though Pike Place Market. Atlas was relieved that he didn't encounter any red crosswalk signs. So, he continued to run.

Damn, these hills are not easy… Atlas thought when he approached another hill.

He continued to run, the hills did not stop. Atlas was beginning to tire. He crested one more hill before he stopped to try and catch his breath. He leaned over and put his hands on his knees. Atlas gasped for air, his chest heaving. After a couple of minutes of breathing heavily, he straightened and turned around. From his vantage point he could see the destruction from the earthquake; Atlas observed his surroundings. None of the buildings around him looked harmed, the windows were intact, the cars were still where people parked them, it didn't look like an earthquake just hit.

Atlas looked back towards the water. That is when he saw a huge tentacle slowly rise out of the bay and slam back down into the water sending a massive burst of water into the air. The impact sent enormous waves in all directions. He could see one of the waves rush into the waterfront, seemingly growing in size before crashing down. Atlas cringed when the wave smashed into the piers. To his dismay he saw the water rush back out, getting ready for the next wave to come crashing down.

Atlas could not take his eyes off the water, watching every wave that hit the waterfront. Every time the water receded, he could see the damage it inflicted, it seemed like more and more of the waterfront disappeared, washed out into the bay. Atlas hoped his family wasn't still on the pier, he hoped they got away from the destruction, he hoped that they were okay.

Watching the waterfront practically disappear in front of him, Atlas sank to his knees, eyes still glued to the bay. The water began to calm. He could feel the tears start to slowly roll down his cheeks.

Oh, I’m crying. He thought faintly.