Kalina weaved around other people who were slower, wishing she could do anything else but run away in fear. She felt horror at what was happening to her city, and felt like a liability to others trying to get out. Determined to get out alive, she kept pushing herself, her bare feet starting to blister and bleed from the ground below her. She could feel blood pricking the skin from small cuts, but the adrenaline buried any pain she felt. The only feeling coursing through her veins was fear and an inherent desire to live.

She kept her eyes on the ground, careful to avoid anything sharp that could have cut her feet more. Rounding the corner of the block, she was met with a hard thud from running into another, which sent her back. Strong hands grabbed her shoulders in comfort and steadiness, but she needed to get away.

"I'm sorry-" she felt squeak out of her throat. Without looking to the body, she moved out of their way and rushed toward her original path, in pursuit of safety. She felt a rush of air whisk by her face as one of the iron men flew briskly overhead.

The city looming behind her was now high in the sky, and cries of the citizens trapped on the massive rock echoed on the mountains around the part of Novi Grad that remained in tact. A large aircraft roared overhead into her vision, appearing to position itself to the edge of the rock. Kalina couldn't stop her tears, the pessimism starting to settle in as she dodged building debris that crashed to the ground around her.

I am going to die here, she thought to herself, her vision blurred by dust. I will die here, and I will die alone.

She screeched, avoiding a metal being that dipped to the ground in front of her, threatening to shoot its laser arms at her. Quickly turning into an alleyway, she ran away from the figure along with several other citizens. The dark block between buildings was narrow, slowing the movement of those that were racing between the walls. Sounds of the rubble moving off the top of the structure caused Kalina to look up. She saw the debris begin to tumble into the alley, threatening to block their exit, and she quickly deliberated her two choices: run and get crushed or slow down and become blocked in.

Choosing to run, she picked up the pace, trying to weave between small pieces that hit the ground first. The exit of the alley was in near sight, and if she could just reach the end, she could move farther out of the city. Some of the others that chose to run along side her called out in terror. Feet from the alley opening, she heard debris crash behind her and the screams of a few unlucky Sokovians who became trapped in the fall.

Choosing not to look back, Kalina broke out into a sprint again down the street. She could see the shadow of the airborne Novi Grad beginning to cover parts of the city below. Loud crashes coming from above in the center of the city, as well as around her, no longer startled the woman as she continued to rush away from the crater.

A sudden cry of a woman's voice resonated in the air nearly deafening her. Kalina couldn't see where the sound emitted, but felt the pain behind the sound: something horrible had happened. The aircraft in the sky began to roar away behind her, and she could feel the rumble of the propulsion in the ground below her, only the ship wasn't causing these new tremors.

Cries from the fellow Sokovians around her began to roar louder, and she caught a glimpse of a few pointing to the sky. Coming to a jog, she turned her head to follow the fingers of the others. A flaming ball of fire appeared in the sky above the clouds, lighting the atmosphere like a meteor. A supersonic sound shook the mountains and echoed into the valley.

No sooner than Kalina saw the city of Novi Grad begin to fall to the ground, it exploded midair, sending large chunks of land hurtling down. The objective was no longer to run away, but to run for cover. Civilians scattered around her, desperately seeking to get into buildings to avoid the impact of the city crashing around them.

Moving toward an old apartment complex that had already seen destruction, Kalina ducked her head as fragments of the city started to hit the ground around her. She reached the door of the building and rushed in with several others, seeking shelter in an open apartment. Rushing to the bathroom, hoping to shield herself from the danger, the building walls shuttered with the impact of a piece of the falling city.

An ominous rumble precluded the sound of the apartment as is began to cave in. Kalina hid in the bathroom with four other Sokovians, crying and holding each other close. The walls shook with immense force as any light from the outside sun disappeared into darkness.

This is the end, Kalina cried to herself, clutching to a man in the darkness. I am free.

Siren cries rang heavy in the air, as what once was Novi Grad sat a desolated memory in the valley of Sokovia. The darkness of the night was making any rescue and recovery efforts nearly impossible. Screams and howls of loved ones lost hung in the sky, and shouts from civilians looking for their families reverberated around the city.

The city was unrecognizable, a large crater had been established in the center and the remainder of the ground was covered in litter and debris from the explosion. The iron men that once threatened to harm the Sokovians now lay defeated in the rubble, no longer able to terrorize the city. An overwhelming sense of desperation lingered over the city, to find family and friends, to be free of the wreckage, to find a home that no longer existed.

Kalina's body lay on the ground, covered in dust and blood. She lay face up to the sky on top of a pile of bricks, still holding onto a man's jacket. As she opened her eyes to the screeches of the police and rescue teams, she looked up to the stars in a completely clear, cold spring sky. Lights from the city were near to non-existent, as it had seemed most of the power grid had been blown out. It made the stars much clearer and easier to see.

She blinked the dirt from her eyes, her tear stained face was now grimy and her matted hair splayed around her in the building material that remained of the apartment complex. Flashlights flickered every so often across the bodies, and Kalina could see temporary lighting had been placed in the area, illuminating what they could of the destruction in the streets.

The night was eerily quiet aside from the helpless cries from the people. There was no fighting, there were no metal androids flying around disturbing the peace, and there were no Avengers.

Kalina struggled to pull herself up from where she lay awkwardly, but could not sit up, her body sore with muscle failure. The man whose jacket she held was no longer in her sight as he was before the building tumbled down. She could see what appeared to be arms sticking out from the rubble nearby, and choked back tears.

Pushing heavy bricks off her body, she attempted to dislodge a stuck foot from the wreckage, held in place by the building wall that was crushing her ankle. She had managed to finally sit upright against another piece of debris, and croaked out a shout, her voice lost in the cries of others. Managing to lift her arms shakily, she waved them around in the air attempting to acquire help. It was futile, there were so many others needing to be tended to, and so few able bodied people to help.

She cried, mustering all her might, as she placed her free bare foot against the sheet of concrete and brick covering her other, and began to push, pulling her foot out at the same time. The pain was excruciating and hot tears flooded her eyes as she bit her lip. Letting out a desperate scream, she managed to release her foot from its prison. It was crushed, and she was certain it had been broken somehow.

Looking around her, Kalina looked for anyone else nearby that showed signs of life. The ground was still, a graveyard of her Sokovian family lay in the wreckage of Novi Grad. Her heart rose in her throat as a lump that she struggled to choke down. As she pulled herself up to standing, she tested the weight of her body on her foot. It burned a white hot pain in several places, but she could manage to fight through the discomfort, afraid to lay among the deceased for long.

As she hobbled out of the destruction, a police officer, just as disheveled as she, ran to her side to help her into the street. She willingly accepted his help and steadied herself on the flat ground as another woman came into their sight, blood pouring from a gash in her forehead. Kalina pushed the police officer toward the woman, declaring hers a much more serious injury. As the man rushed away, she attempted to walk on her own, unsure of what she should do.

There were no ambulances nearby, no cars could drive through the streets she found herself in in their current state anyway. The sirens were distant, but rang so close in the silent night. The injured and survivors would have to figure out their own next steps to recover themselves and reach the emergency stations. She looked out into the dark street at the despair and demolition of her city. People clutched their deceased loved ones, and families attempted to find life.

Kalina's heart now sank into her stomach as she cautiously walked down the street. The city lay in ruin before her eyes. How many people had succumb to the destruction of Novi Grad? Where were the Avengers, so hasty to come into the city to fight but just as quick to leave once the damage was done? Who was there to help the Sokovians now?

Her home was destroyed, Novi Grad was everything to Sokovia: its political capital, the source of its major businesses and banks, its very essence of history and tradition. Now it had been completely obliterated and its citizens were in despair.

Kalina cried silently to herself, no longer able to put weight on her feet. She leaned over and sat down on the ground, curling her knees to her chest and placing her face into her hands. She sobbed, feeling guilty for surviving as well as utterly helpless.

Everything she once knew and loved was now lost in a memory.