I have a few characters who are Gifters (people with superpowers) and they're gathering at one of their houses when an argument breaks out. One of the characters, Kevin, gets really worked up and ends up causing a massive explosion which destroys a large part of the surrounding area. However, my problem is that I want some people in the area to survive but I'm not sure how some people die and some people survive. The people in the house survive because one of the other characters, Damien, puts up a forcefield and protects them. I'm really stuck and I was wondering if anyone had any tips?
With some explosions, if you are standing in the very center of it, you might be spared the worst of the shockwave. If it is a fireball, flattening yourself against the ground can save you because the heat and flames can pass above without with minimal harm. In the army, if a grenade or similar explosive lands near you, you will be told to hit the deck. When the grenade explodes it tends to throw most of the shrapnel into the air. Realistically, there are simply too many factors to list. It's like asking how a tornado can completely destroy a town, yet pick up a carton of eggs and place it safely on the ground miles away without cracking a single egg. Fortunately, this is a story so you can explain it however you want. A couch could land on top of someone and shield them from the worst of the shockwave. A person could trip, and the shockwave harmlessly passes over them. Another person could be thrown into the air and land safely in the neighbor's pool. Really, you can use any excuse as long as it is feasible to the reader.
Easy. If it's an explosion of the fiery kind, anyone who has even partial cover has a massive chance of survival. So if they're in a massive bunch around Kevin, really only the people who have direct line of sight to Kevin will get the brunt of it. All the people who have cover? They'll probably get hit by flying bodies, but they won't die automatically. Also, depending on the radius of the explosion (the above also depends on that), it might be possible that people standing nearby would be fine. Mostly, though, the main factor is cover; even something slight could save a person's life. Also, fun fact: being drunk makes you invincible. When you're sober and you get into an accident of any kind, you usually tense up, which is natural. This is bad, though, because if you hit your head or neck, you're rigid and you'll probably snap your spinal cord. When you're drunk, you're free-flowing and loose. You're therefore less likely to get spinal injuries because your body just naturally kind of goes with it. ... I just figured that related to the thread title.
Apologies if I seem rude, it's not my intention, but that sounds pretty remarkably like a scene of the recent tv series 'Heroes', perhaps throw in a unique way in which he 'lets loose', so to speak? Have one of the other characters aggravate his powers somehow or something like that perhaps? Just thought i'd throw my two cents in there.
Thanks for the ideas everyone, I'll try them out and see what works best. And Alex, I've never seen Heroes, haha.
Perhaps have a stronger, unknown power protecting them? as they needed to serve a greater purpose and couldn't be killed at this point. "The heroes that remained did not know why or how they had survived the blast, all they knew is that they should not have. The creepy realization that perhaps someone was watching over them crossed their mind, but who was he, and was he a friend or foe?" I'd say the idea here would be to make sure you don't leave the readers going " o for god sake? they survived the blast because they were behind a table?? how lame" etc lol Build it into the plot. Kind Regards
