When I arrived at the school, well across from the school, I hid in a bush. I pushed my hands through to cause an opening. A boy was sitting on a small blue plastic chair. He had obviously grabbed it from the kindergarden building. It looked like it would break under his weight at any moment. This would have been a funny site except for the 30 06 laying across his lap. I almost jumped out of my skin when it caught my eye. He looked around. I pulled my hands to my mouth. I must have screamed or something. No, I know I didn't. He didn't look in my direction. I exhaled. I noticed movement in the building. A lot of it. Did kids seriously come to school? Eric is the smartest little thing. I smiled at the thought. So here I am, across the street. Do I stand and show myself?

A few moments passed. I could not just sit here and wait for something to happen.

I decided to show myself. The boy on the tiny blue chair saw me and pulled up his gun. "Put your gun on the ground girl," he said as he stood.

I hadn't even realized that I had it off my shoulder. I stared at him as I placed it on the ground. I kicked it under the bush to make sure if I had to leave it here no one else would find it. He watched me carefully.

"Now cross the street slowly."

He lowered his gun and laid it on the small chair. I noticed who he was but I couldn't remember his name. He had already graduated. I was almost sure he graduated with Daytona. Why was he here then? Maybe he had the same idea as Eric. As did the rest of the kids inside. I guess I'm the only one that didn't just get up and think Oh hey, lets just go to the school. It just didn't seem like a smart idea to me. A bunch of kids in one spot that survived. Didn't they wonder what would happen if the soldiers came back. They would surely all die. I guess I would too, now that I'm here. But I can't because Eric is at my home now and he is waiting for me.

The boy snapped his fingers in face. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?"

"Of course not. Typical girl. I'm surprised you aren't dead," he smirked.

"What the fuck dude. I'm not dumb." I crossed my arms. "Can I go inside?"

"As I was saying," he said matter of factly. "Yes. You can go inside but don't be too loud."

I was in the door before he could say anything else. I had to see if I knew anyone. A girl I didn't recognize looked up at me from across the hall. Her mascara had stained her cheeks black. Her dark black hair was an absolute mess. She had a bloody lip and I'd say she had a black eye but that may have just been the makeup. She stood slowly and walked over to me. I tried to remember if I had seen her at all before.

"Claire... Is your sister alive," she asked.

She knew my name. She looked scared. "They got her. I'm the only one."

Her blue eyes filled with new tears. "I went to my Aunt's house hoping to find little Eric. He wasn't there.." She sobbed then started again. "...But neither was his body. I just thought.. maybe.. if she lived that she would have gotten him." She shook her head.

I looked at her features. She did looked like Eric a little. Even though her hair was dark. They had the same light eyes. Must run in their family. "I have him," I said.

She stared at me for a moment before speaking. "Where?"

"He is at my house. I told him to wait there while I checked out the shool. He is fine."

She smiled a little. "Please take me there. I need to see my cousin. He is all I have now." She began crying again. She looked awful. I wonder how her face got like that.

Did you fight a soldier? It was right there on my tongue but I didn't ask. "Yeah.. uhm.." And that was all I got before I was tackled to the ground.

Grey eyes met my bright hazel glare. Those eyes belonged to my best friend. Sarah, "I told him you'd make it," she exclaimed.

"What," I asked pushing her off of me.

"He said you wouldn't make it, but I said you would." She smiled.

How could she seriously be smiling right now? I shrugged. "Who?"

"Me," said the voice of a male. Christopher stood tall as he walked over to his sister. "I didn't think you had it in ya C. I thought you were as good as gone. I imagined you fighting a soldier as little Ella here did. You see? And he beat her in the face. Still, I don't know how she survived either."

The sobbing girl shot him a look full of rage. "I told you. I killed him. I had no choice." Her hands began to shake. 

I laid my hand on one of her shoulders. "It's alright. Okay. You did what you had to do. Eric's going to need you so you had to survive. You did nothing wrong."

She slid down the wall and put her face in her knees. Her body was shaking violently. Sarah sat down beside her and tried to comfort her. I looked up at Christopher. 

"Even in a time like this you have to be an asshole."

He shrugged. "So just you?"

"Yes, just me. How about you and Sarah.. Just the two of you?"

"Yeah. Parents are still out of town so they're probably safe. Lucky them."

He seriously seemed angry at them. I really just wanted to punch him right in the jaw. He looked down where Ella and Sarah sat on the floor. He looked away quickly and scanned the faces around the room. I followed his eyes. No one I knew. I mean I recognized a few from classes and from passing them in the halls everyday but none I actually knew. I sighed. Christopher jumped at the sound.

"Jumpy much," I shot at him. Still mad at his asshole remark.

He shrugged but didn't say anything. I looked down at Ella. She looked so scared. I held my hand out to her and pulled her up. Then started walking to the doors to leave. Sarah stood too quickly and had the hold on to the wall for a moment.

"C. Wait. Where are you going?," she asked, shocked.

"Home." I kept walking.

"What? Are you nuts? They are going to come back you know?"

"I know. And that is exactly why I'm not staying here. This place is a time bomb. So I'll see you around, okay? Unless you are coming with," I said. My hand on the door.

Christopher shot me a look. I couldn't make out its meaning. His green eyes had a lost look in them. As if he were staring at something he had never seen before. Sarah stared at me with her deep grey eyes. Her mouth hanging open. She didn't know how to answer. Was she scared to walk the streets or was she taking in what I had just said? I could not just stand here and wait for their reply. Eric was waiting and he is probably starting to get scared being there alone again.

"Alright then. Ella is coming with me because I have her cousin. If you two were smart you'd come along. I'm not telling you what to do or anything, I'm just saying. The guy outside has a gun but what is one guy with a gun really going to do? It doesn't seem very smart to stay here. You can come to my house at any point, even if it's not now. Just don't get caught. That would be awful," I sighed.

Sarah began to follow me. Christopher followed closely behind. I'm glad they saw it my way. Not because I thought it was safer at my house, but because if the were there it would make me feel less alone. Less empty.

                                                                *                          *                        *

 When our group of four arrived at the back door of my house I turned to them. "Be quiet because Eric is upstairs and I don't want to scare him," I said.

They nodded in unison.

I opened the door slowly and walked through the house. My two friends and Ella followed only inches behind. As I climbed the stairs I heard Eric singing.

The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout

Down came the rain, washed the spider

Out came the sun

Dried up all the rain

The itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.

My heart warmed and a smile played on my lips. When I reached my bedroom door Eric was still singing. It was more quiet this time. Then he paused.

"C," he whispered.

I opened the door. He was sitting in a pile of toys I had grabbed while at his house. A small spider was in his left hand. He dropped it and ran over to me. His bright blue eyes traveled behind me. "Ella?"

She stooped down and wrapped him in a hug. "Hey Eric," she smiled.

"Ella, you made it. I knew you would." He sounded older when he spoke to her. "You'll be okay. You be safe now. Don't cry Ella. C says we strong. We have to be strong now."

I looked over at Sarah. She was crying. It was a quiet cry but I still saw the tears before she could wipe them away. "He's a cute kid." She shrugged as if trying to explain why she was crying.

I smiled. "Yeah. He is pretty cute I guess. He found me yesterday. He is the one that told me to look at the school." He looked up at me from around Ella. "He's a little genius." He smiled and continued hugging Ella.

Christopher. Where had he gone? I looked down the hall. He was standing in front of Daytona's bedroom door. I thought maybe he was reading the stickers that she had all over it but I saw that that was impossible because the door had been opened. I ran over to him. His light green eyes were blank as he stared at Daytona's body. I hadn't gotten up the courage to go in there yet so I hadn't moved her. She was lying there. Lifeless on her light pink floor. There was a splash of dried blood on her white wall. She hit the soldier. That was proof. I smiled at the thought, but only momentarily. A tear slid down my face. Her dirt blond hair was in a long braid. She had her nightgown still on. Her blood was smeared out behind her. The path started from under her huge bed. They must have dragged her out. Why? I frowned. My poor sister. A wierd sound rose up through my throat. I felt like I was choking. The noise caused Christopher to jump. Tears began to slide down my face.

He lifted his hand and wiped my tears from my cheeks. "I'm sorry C." His green eyes locked on mine. "She's safe."

At his words I suddenly began to shake and I could feel my heart rate speading up. The room was spinning. Safe. No. I wanted her back. Or I wanted to be safe with her. I felt Christopher's arm slip around my waist. Then nothing.

I woke up in my parents bed. It was dark and quiet. I couldn't see a thing. I heard the door slide open. I pulled my parents heavy blanket over my head.

"Hey C. You alright," Sarah's question made me jump. "You passed out. Chris carried you in here. Eric and Ella are in your room. Chris cleaned up Daytona's. He is in there. I'm going to stay in here with you. I wanted to leave you alone for awhile though. You looked so pale. Chris said you'd be fine. You've been out for like 5 hours." She sighed. I felt her weight at the end of the bed. "Are you hungry?"

Chris. Why did he clean up Daytona's room? My head began to spin again. My eyes were adjusting to the dark and I could see a blurry Sarah figure in front of me. I wanted to answer her but I couldn't find my voice. I stood from the bed on shaking legs. She stood and walked over to help me. We walked down the hall, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. I could smell food. Who had cooked? Did they turn on the light? I sat at the table and put my head on my arms. Sarah poked my shoulder. I looked back up. She was holding out a plate. Potatoes and chicken. It seemed impossible that they had cooked this. I nodded and she sat it in front of me. Then walked away. When she came back she handed me a glass of water and silverware. "Thanks," I mumbled. She walked out of the kitchen without a word. I ate there alone, in the dark.

Two days ago if you would have sat me in a room, alone, in the dark. I would have screamed. Cried. Maybe even died a little. But right now the darkness around me seemed comforting. If I couldn't see them, well then they probably couldn't see me. That was fine. It made me feel safer. Until I heard foot steps. I almost peed myself at the sound.

"Hey, C." Christopher said after a moment.

I laughed at the thought of almost peeing my pants. That would have been imbarassing. 

"What's so funny," he asked, confused.

Oh, that's right. He isn't a mind reader. That's a good thing. If he knew what I was thinking my face would be ruby red. I laughed again. "Nothing. I don't know."

"You scared me earlier. Now you are laughing. Can you get any weirder C?"

His question made me feel angry. I don't know why. "No Christopher. I can not get any weirder. I'm already just way too weird. It's too bad I walked into that school and made you come with me. So you can have to deal with me being too weird for you."

He tensed. "Claire, I'm just joking. You aren't weird. We are all just scared."

"I'm not scared." I glared at him through the darkness.

"Okay. I'm sorry. I'm glad your eating. You did honestly scare me." He walked away.

                                                                        *                  *                 *

Sarah's arm landed across my face. "What the heck Sarah," I mumbled.

She didn't move. I threw her arm off my face and got up. Still she didn't move. She slept like a log. It was morning now and the sun was peeking through my parent's bedroom windows. Today was going to be a nice day. Well the weather was going to be nice atleast. I walked out into the hall where I found Ella and Eric. She had him dressed in new clothes and it looked like they were getting ready to leave. My backpack was around her shoulder. 

"Ella, where are you going," I asked.

"We are going back to the school," she explained. She dropped her eyes to Eric. Their pretty blue eyes met. "If someone is still out there. They are probably there looking for the two of us."

My jaw almost hit the floor. "You think someone you know is going to be there?"

"Maybe. I don't know. But I can't let go of hope. We need that hope to get us through this. I'm hoping someone is there. If not, I hope they will be soon. And if soon takes a little too long, well I hope that I'll find them."

I stared at her for a moment. Was she really taking Eric and leaving? Should I let her do that? I couldn't take care of him, I know. I just don't think running back to the school was a good idea for the two of them. Against all good judgement I nodded and off they went. I watched them walk down the stairs.  a few moments later I heard the back door close behind them. All i could think was just let them get there safely. Let someone be there waiting for them. That was hope. She was right. We needed it. I turned to walk into my room. My bed was made and everything was cleaned from the floor. I walked to the window that over looked the street. What I say made my heart fall to my pretty white carpet. Adults and kids were walking around. I watched as a couple broke a house window and climbed inside. Shit. A boy with strawberry hair was walking toward my front door. I ran to the hallway and grabbed my gun. No way in hell was this boy getting in to my house without a fight.

I posted myself next to the door and waited. The boy twisted the handle a few times before he gave up. Or I thought that he did. Then glass sprayed across the floor and a huge rock made a loud sound as it hit a wall. My heart stopped. Only for a second. Before I knew what was happening my gun had met the boys forehead. He had only made it half way through the now broken window.

"Get out," I screamed.

He froze. His forest green eyes met mine. He closed them and breathed in slowly. When he exhaled his body shook. "I... I'm.. Don't kill me."

He was taller than me. He had a muscular build. He had to have known that I wasn't going to shoot him. I lowered my gun. "Please get out."

He sighed. "I'm only looking for food. Kids at the school up and took it all. I didn't know anyone was still in here. If I had known I would have stayed away. I'm sorry. My sister is hungry. I was just trying to feed here. That's all."

I seemed to be counting the freckles on his face. I hadn't even noticed a small girl enter through the window behind him. Her hair was blond but she had those same green eyes. She frowned at my hands. I looked down at my gun. I placed it on the floor in front of the door. She smiled a little but it faded quickly. Her brother glanced toward the kitchen where Christopher was now standing in the door way. He smiled at me.  Then he looked to the boy.

"Hey Lucas. Come on in. Oh, wait. You already did," Christopher laughed. "I'm just making some pancakes."

I couldn't tell if he was being a smartass or trying to be friendly to an old friend.

Lucas looked like he was in shock. "Chris? I didn't see you at the school."

"I was there. For a short while. C came by and picked us up. I don't think you were there yet. Anyway, doesn't matter. Have a seat. You'll be fixing that window later. After that you'll have to find somewhere else to stay. We have enough people here." He shrugged.

"Us," Lucas asked.

Sarah walked down the stairs. Her eyes grew wide at the site on the broken window. Then she met Lucas's stare. "Hey Sarah," he said in a soft, gentle voice. He almost sounded afraid to talk to her.

"Luke," she nodded. "Emily!" She ran to the small girl and picked her up off her feet. "Oh dear, are you okay," she examined the child.

I thought she was talking to Emily but Lucas answered, "We're both fine." He slowlyu walked over to Sarah. She smiled at him and looked back to the small girl. She had to be around 8 years old. He long hair was pulled up in a tight bun. Lucas frowned at Sarah and turned to Chris. 

"Looks to me like my baby sister still doesn't care that you exist Luke." Chris had a smug look on his face.

Luke and Sarah? No way. He was defiantly not Sarah's type. I watched Sarah climb the steps with Emily. Then I looked back to Luke. He was sitting on the couch now, staring at the broken window.

"You know, don't even worry about the window."

He jumped at the sound of my voice. He was sure cute. Scaring him made me feel bad. I walked over and sat down beside him.

"The broken window will make our house look just like the rest. So no one will look at it twice later. We'll just leave it like that. Seems easier to do that anyway," I explained.

He smiled. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

Chris walked in and sat on the other side of Luke. "Back off," he whispered.

What? Was that jealousy? No. He had to still be talking about his sister.