I shifted a little as I tried to go back to sleep and curled closer toward the warmth that was against me. When I realized there wasn’t any way I was going to fall back to sleep, I kept my eyes closed and stretched to take the time to at least unwind. I extended my arms and legs as I yawned, but then changed my mind and went back to sleep anyway... or tried.
“Awake?”
I opened my eyes slowly to adjust to the light around us, but it wasn’t as sunny today as I peeked over to see Aaron. He was partially awake as well and peering down at me. Okay we were a little too close for comfort and shouldn’t be acting like this with this the little kids around. I know we were just lying next to each other, but our gestures seemed so natural together.
“We should probably get a move on,” I said in order to get us up so we could put some space between us.
I started to wake everyone up, and then we were on our way. Sean was on my back. He leaned his head into the back of my neck while Paige did the same to Aaron to get some extra sleep. They needed sleep more than we did. While Tony and Kyle were running in every direction, their brother RJ just watched them while sticking with Cole, who didn’t look pleased to have a follower.
“So this place we’re going to is an actual house?” asked RJ.
“Yes it is.”
“If you guys were in an actual house, why did you leave?”
“Safety reasons mostly,” Aaron answered. “Didn’t we already go through this?”
“Is it just me or has it gotten a hell of a lot darker out here all of the sudden?” asked Cole.
I stopped and stared up, noticing the change of weather too. The haze that was about when we woke up had disappeared to be taken over by very dark sky. Hues of green and red stretched as far as the eye could see.
“Maybe it is going to rain?” suggested Mandy nervously, her voice shaking.
Sudden, intense heat swarmed around us as the earth began to shake slowly at first, but started to increase. My body started to tremble as déjà vu hit. Aaron and I turned our heads so our eyes locked as realization and panic kicked in.
“Run!” We both yelled after we found our voices. Then we took off.
We all started to run as rocks the size of cars, were hurled from the sky toward us. We tried to stick together, while running as a cluster. This way no one would get left behind as it seemed the rocks were following us with each step we took. Rocks landed to our right and in front of us as we scrambled and screamed. We hoped we would live through this. The earth below my feet gave way with to the violent pulse of the ground and asteroids.
A screech escaped my lips as I fell and Sean rolled forward with the others. A huge hole formed in the ground, tearing the world in two, as I struggled to find something to grab on to. I spotted some pathetic roots, and grabbed on. I knew the plant wouldn’t hold, but I needed to try to get back up and out of the hole. I heard more shrieks and I glanced down to see who had caused the noise, to see who else had fallen. Glimpsing down I could see little Mandy who was slipping farther down. Her big brown eyes were filled with utter alarm as her little hands tried to grab onto something, but there wasn’t anything.
“Mandy!”
There wasn’t anything she could grasp onto as she continued to fall down into the darkness. Her cries became faint through the sounds of the world that tried to finish us off. Tears streamed down my face as I wondered when I would join her. I could feel the roots that I had a grasp on unthreading from the earth because of my weight. I didn’t think I could handle watching the world above me disappear.
The second the roots were about to let go, something took hold of my wrist. I looked up to see Aaron hanging over the edge, trying to pull me up. Just like when he had done when he helped us out of my basement all those months ago.
“Lauren, give me both of your hands!” Aaron shouted with something in his eyes. Terror?
I stared into a blood-red sky that was speckled with black asteroids. I grabbed both of his hands and hoped to get out of this mess soon. Aaron started to strain as he tried to pull me up, but he lacked good enough support to bring both of us back up.
“Please, Aaron!”
I knew I couldn’t hold the tears back. I knew if I died Sean would be alone. I couldn’t leave them. Yet I watched Aaron try to get back up and I knew there was little hope for him to be able to save both of us and I tried to speak, but nothing came out. I tried again in an attempt to sound tough.
“Let go!” I yelled so that Aaron could hear me over the chaos around us.
Aaron’s blue eyes widened in pure shock as his irises locked onto mine.
“Are you nuts? I’m not going to let go of you! I can get us back up!” he shouted over the commotion; he was stubborn.
I watched Aaron struggle as he tried even harder to pull us up. His body tightened with all his strength as the terrain below him began to shudder. Tears gushed down my face. I stared into Aaron’s eyes as they showed determination at getting both of us out. I remembered a time those very same eyes never even glanced my way and now all they seemed to do was watch me. I seemed to be all his eyes could hold onto, which made my heart skip a beat.
“This has to be done…”
I began to loosen my grip on his hands as I tried to seize back the swelling in my throat to show that I knew what I was doing.
“Lauren, no!” Aaron begged.
My skin began to slip out of his hands and just when I thought I’d be falling to my death Aaron grabbed onto my wrists so tight that it was excruciating. Gradually, Aaron pulled me up ‘til we were both standing on the unstable ground. I nearly fell into his arms as an asteroid landed besides us. Aaron and I grabbed Sean and Paige before we made our way toward the others. The ground kept rumbling as I scrutinized my footing and took off.
The trees around us fell as a bolt of lightning struck them and limbs burst into flames. Jill and Cole were holding onto Tony and Kyle as we tried to run in another direction. RJ stumbled and, as I turned around to help him, a tree fell onto his back. I was frozen just like poor little RJ. His body was bent badly under the log.
Cole grabbed me by my arm and pulled me in the direction of the others. We kept running, hoping that we would find some relief, but things kept getting worse with the weather. The sky was dark crimson; veins of light reflected off of the asteroids raining down.
We finally came upon an old house that was dishevelled with a storm cellar on the side. I could see Aaron a little ahead of us, trying to open the thing. Finally, he grabbed a rock and smashed the lock open.
I grabbed Paige and Sean as I rushed down the cellar with the others, my heart racing. I heard the metal doors being slammed shut as Aaron raced down with us. Together, we curled up in a corner to wait for all of this to end. The four little ones curled up close to me as I hid my face on the top of one of their heads, wishing it could all end. Tears kept pouring down my face not knowing whether I should even be happy to be alive during all of this or should be wishing I was dead.
“How are we going to live through this?” I whispered in Aaron’s ear.
“We’re going to live through this the same way we’ve made it this long.”
“Dumb luck?” I asked, my voice shaking.
He gave a light laugh in my ear.
“No, it’s because we stick together even if there’s an argument.”
The house above us trembled like my heart. I couldn’t help but think of the two missing faces we would never see again. I wondered, if we lived through this, how we would get by. The twins watched their older brother, their only remaining family member, get taken away from them—die in front of them.
Then there was the little, sweet Mandy whose face I could still see falling into the darkness as I hung there in the red light. I remembered babysitting her every first weekend of the month as her parents helped out at church. She and I would play board games or dress up as she did my hair. She was the nice youngster, an only child, and wanted to play with all the neighborhood c
hildren because she was nice to everyone. Now she was dead and I was alive and I wished it were the other way around.
More tears ran down my face as the earth shook less and the loud crashes decreased. The house was still shaking as the storm calmed down and I hoped the place wouldn’t come crashing in on us. I held the younger ones tighter as we were enveloped in an eerie silence.
Aaron slowly stood up as the rest of us trembled in the corner. I really wished I could just seize his hand to stop him from walking away from us. Instead, I sat there watching his broad shoulders and lean muscular back as he headed toward the cellar’s doors just to open them a crack. He closed the heavy doors once more as he tried to make sure the metal wouldn’t slam down hard.
“We’ll stay here for a bit,” he said, his usually strong, deep voice wavering.
Aaron curled up with us as we tried to calm down and forget all that had happened. My nerves got the best of me as I fell asleep, the entire night nightmares caused me to be restless.