7:33 PM — Leila's Scream
"STOP! Don't cut it! Don't—!"
Leila knocked over a stand of souvenir shells as she rushed the stage. The mayor flinched. Security moved fast. She screamed louder.
"You're all going to die! The pier—it's going to collapse! Cables snap, glass shatters! You'll burn, drown, get torn apart—please—!"
Omar, already uneasy, stepped between her and the crowd.
"Get her off the platform."
But then a metal pin dropped from the light rig above, hitting the wood with a sharp plink.
Trey noticed it. Luke too.
"Wait…" Luke whispered.
That sound wasn't right.
7:35 PM — The Collapse That Never Happened
The mayor hesitated.
And in that two-second delay, the pier trembled.
Something unseen shifted beneath.
A thick groan rumbled through the wood.
Then—SNAP!
A nearby support beam buckled, collapsing a portion of the pier not far from the gathering.
Screams rang out.
Water surged through the hole like a mouth opening wide.
Not the stage. Not the ten.
But everyone else.
Who Died
MAYOR RUSSELL
As he turned to run, a shard of glass fell from a shattered display case above, slicing into his skull. He dropped mid-sentence, blood spilling across his podium notes.
NORA DREW, the event singer
Crushed by a collapsing speaker tower, her microphone still clutched in her hand, the last note frozen on her face in a silent scream.
GABRIEL – child visitor
Fell through a crack in the glass walk and into the ocean below—his shoelace caught in a jutting spike. Rescuers reached for him, but the floor above gave way, crushing him beneath debris.
RANDY and JANELLE, food truck couple
A leaking propane tank ignited under their truck. The explosion sent them flying into the bay, flaming debris raining around them like a firestorm.
JONATHAN, drone pilot
His drone caught fire from a burst cable arc and dropped onto him. As he looked up, blades spinning, it carved into his face, the footage still live-streaming to his viewers.
LAILA MENDOZA, elderly tourist
Was trampled as people panicked and rushed the only remaining staircase. Her white hat floated down slowly after the crowd cleared.
DANICA, Cody's manager
Fled too fast—slipped on blood near the souvenir kiosk and slammed her head into a decorative anchor. The sound echoed like a bell.
7:40 PM — The Survivors
Leila.
Kai.
Brooke.
Trey.
Nia.
Omar.
Isabel.
Luke.
Valeria.
Cody.
All ten of them, separated now from the chaos, stood in eerie silence just outside the pier's epicenter.
The glass beneath them hadn't shattered.
The cables above them hadn't snapped.
They had been spared.
But they knew.
They weren't safe.
Trey looked at Leila.
"You saw it happen. Didn't you?"
Leila nodded slowly.
"I saw it all."
End of Chapter 16