A/N: This is my short story for my English class. It's abstract, and I'll have an explanation in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy, and remember I had a page limit on it! I hope you love it!

Maggie Stewart was dreaming about fishing when it started. It was a deep growl from low inside your body, building into a crescendo to create a sound like thunder. Getting shriller and shriller, until it was a dying child's scream. Bolting upright, icelike terror was running through her veins from the blaring sound; taking control of her inner being. Not knowing what to do, she did what she'd always done when she was frightened; she screamed Anth at the top of her lungs.

In a matter of seconds, a chorus of footsteps clambered up the stairs. She smiled at the sight of Anth and his disheveled appearance, but it turned into a grimace when she realized who else had followed.

"Maggie! What'd I tell you 'bout screamin' when ma and pa aren't home? I thought you were bleeding to death or somethin'!" he scolded her, shaking his head.

"What are they doin' here? I distinctly remember shoutin' Anth, not those hoodlums," Maggie muttered, narrowing her eyes into little slits.

"Here we go again," Anth muttered, throwing his hands in the air, but he couldn't help but find amusement in his sister's priorities.

"It's not our fault you was cryin' like a little baby," Howie teased, nudging Jamie as they shared a chuckle. The two boys would've been mistaken for brothers if it wasn't for the fact the one had striking blue eyes.

"I was not cryin' like a baby!" Maggie shouted, crossing her arms, her lip slightly sticking out in an angry pout as she stomped her foot.

"You was too," Jamie laughed, his brown eyes lit up in amusement.

"Anth! I wasn't cryin' like a baby! You tell 'em," she demanded stubbornly, her mangled, mahogany braids swinging as she whipped her head towards her brother expectantly.

"It don't matter. What I'm wonderin' is why you was screamin' in the first place?" Anth asked, bending down to his sister's height. His grass green eyes were filled with concern.

Before she could tell him about the loud sound, a door slammed open.

"What was that?" Maggie asked, her eyes going wide.

"Did you two close the door?" Anth asked, standing up with his hands on his hips.

"Yes, the door was closed." Felix answered before they'd start arguing. "What'd I miss?"

"Great, what's four eyes doin' here?" Jamie asked, gesturing to the blonde haired boy with wire rimmed glasses.

"He can be here if he wants!" Maggie interjected.

"Of course he can, he's your boyfriend," Howie teased, blue eyes sparkling like water.

"He is not my boyfriend!" Maggie bellowed, narrowing her eyes.

"Is it snowing?" Anth interrupted, looking at the gray flakes mixed in Felix's blonde hair.
"Oh," Felix smiled in embarrassment as he shook the flakes out, "I didn't notice."

"I want to see the snow!" Maggie demanded.
"I don't know, it's kind of late," Anth said looking outside. A hint of a smile was forming on his face as he anticipated his younger sister's reaction.

"Come on Anth, please? It hardly ever snows. And it's not like ma and pa will be home anytime soon, please?" Maggie pleaded softly, looking up at her brother with big blue eyes.

"Well, I guess it's not too late," Anth trailed off, eyeing his sister with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

"Last one there is a rotten egg!" Maggie hollered, running out of the room, braids swishing.

The group of kids ran down the cobblestone street, interrupting the quiet. The farther they ran in the opposite direction, the Stewart's house started crumpling away until you couldn't see it anymore. Soon the children were in front of an ashy gray cement bunker, appearing like a cache containing the world's most precious secrets.

"Who's goin' in first?" Maggie whispered, her eyes wide.

"You were the one who wanted to go outside," Howie pointed out, nudging her forward.

"Unless you're too scared," Jamie added, giving her a pointed look.

"I ain't scared," she insisted, before running into the building. Now inside she smiled to herself, it wasn't so bad.

Contrary to the safety she felt before, her body started convulsing. Maggie lowered herself to the ground, feeling a sudden weakness in her knees like her body was made out of lead. She felt colder and colder, as though she was freezing from the inside out. Mind screaming at her to yell for help, she opened her lips only to find she couldn't speak. It was as if someone had wrapped their fist around her throat, squeezing it like a lemon.

"She's been there a long time," Anth mumbled to himself, furrowing his brows in worry.

"She's fine!" Howie assured Anth, dismissing the idea with a wave of his hand.

Feeling uneasy, Anth entered the bunker with a sense of urgency while the others trickled in after him.

"Told you she'd just be hidin'," Jamie's voice trailed off to a whisper. His face paled when realization settled in; the whole bunker was empty of any signs of life, or Maggie.

"She's probably outside," Anth muttered, running out of the room.

"Guess we should split up," Felix said while the boys watched Anth's retreating figure. The boys split up in order to cover more of the forest in their search for Maggie.

"Maggie!" Howie shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to rack his brain on where she could've gone. Seeing movement out of the corner of his eye, Howie whipped around.

"Maggie?" he whispered as he turned around, nearing the bush. He jumped when a deer leaped over the green shrubbery.

Placing a hand against his chest he tried to slow his heartbeat when something seemed to grab hold of him. His body started jerking and his knees buckled, collapsing to the ground like a ton of bricks. He let out a screech in a final attempt to get help, which Jamie had heard.

"Maggie! Guys, I hear Maggie!" Jamie shouted, sprinting through the clearing and into the forest. Scanning the area for the little girl, he saw a slumped figure.

"Maggie," he whispered, relieved. But the closer he got, he found that it was just a wounded deer.

"Maggie? Did you find Maggie?" Felix asked, Anth trailing behind him.

"I heard a screech, thought it was Maggie, and found the dead deer," Jamie muttered.

"Where's Howie?" Felix asked them, filling the silence. Jamie bolted upon hearing the news, the fear of not ever seeing Howie again drove him to run faster.

"Wait up!" Anth shouted, running after Jamie. But he was already long gone; gone to the bitter frigid cold.

Jamie stumbled along through the clearing. He felt like he was drowning in ice water. Collapsing to the ground in a futile attempt to keep warm, he looked up at the sky. The more he looked up at the stars and the flaky gray snow cascading down, the more the searing pain in his frozen bones faded; it was like it was never there in the first place, like it was all in his head.

Anth and Felix trudged back to the bunker solemnly.

"I don't understand! He was right in front of us! And Maggie, this is all my fault. If we hadn't left" Anth trailed off, roaring in frustration, turned around to face Felix. Only to find himself alone.

"Felix!" Anth called out, but his only reply was his own echo. Overwhelmed with the realization of what had happened, he collapsed to the ground with body-wrenching sobs. As the night went on, he eventually fell asleep to darkness with tear stained cheeks.

~*~*~*

"ANTH!" a young girl's voice screeched.

The brown haired boy ran up the stairs, at the sound of his sister's worried voice. Who knew what was up there with her.

"Maggie! What did I tell you about screamin' when ma and pa aren't home?" he demanded, trying to calm his racing heart.

~*~*~*

The children were all tucked in their beds; a soundless slumber. However, they didn't wake up when the sun's rays casted a blinding light over their eyes. They didn't rustle under their covers when a peculiar stench arose. They didn't flinch at the sounds of the sirens. When their parents let out inhuman screeches, they didn't move. They didn't feel the pain of the bombs plunging to the soil. They just stayed there, long gone, in an undisturbed slumber.