Flares - Book 1

1.2 - First Night

Before driving off, Mason grabbed Tom's phone number, the two entering a call before driving off, if anything went wrong they'd be able to communicate quickly. Tom watched behind him as he maneuvered through the streets, making sure the truck was behind him all the way through the back roads. The ground shook as parts of the town collapsed behind them, but that only encouraged Tom to keep driving faster, he had Klara and as long as Mason drove behind him he didn't care what else happened, so long as his family was safe he had no reason to turn around and look back.
The church was only five minutes outside of town, and once they cleared the dirt road Mason yelled excitedly. "Don't slow, Tom! "He hollered excitedly. "That's my dad up there!"
Mason put his hand on the horn three times, whooping as he watched the lights of the blue van parked dead center in the lot turn on. He sent an excited wave as he looked at his dad, the man only sending a thumbs up as he followed him down the highway.
Tom listened to Mason, he didn't slow, or stop, he only sped down the streets, cracks peaked through the bush and slept down the road as they drove by, but Tom didn't worry about any of it. Their camp was only 15 minutes past the church, along the way homes were collapsed and on fire, cars swerved and hit the snow on the sides, and people lay scattered on the road, bloody and motionless. The phone call got silent as they passed the smaller townships littered with bodies, how the earthquakes even affected the area was a mystery to the boys, but their minds eased as Tom slowed, turning onto the dirt road that led to their cottage.
There was a house right off the highway, the road turning beside it with another house on the other side of the path. Down the strip were two large field, a left turn that looped around scattered cottages and met directly beside the right turn, down the hill were more cottages and right along a wide turn was where Tom pulled over, driving into the thing nowbanks, Mason and his dad following suite. The road continued from there, going down to a private property and turning right, at the end of the road were a few secluded cottages, but right before was a large trail that lead through the bush and came out by the second house.
The cottage on the left of the wide turn was where the Beckett's stayed, their large field littered with gym equipment left out for the seasons, their cottage made of birch wood with a large front porch and one story, it was one of the bigger cottages, the one behind them, was smaller and blue, their field connecting the Cannon's and the Beckett's together. Tom was the first one out, leaving the jeep running to keep Klara warm while she slept.
"I didn't see anyone coming in." Mason spoke as he stepped out of his truck before turning to his father. The boy hugged the man tightly, not bothering to hide his smile. "I'm glad you made it."
"Me too," His dad smiled at him. He pulled away, his eyes connecting with Tom's. "This must be your camp, I'm Isaac, thank you for offering to keep us."
Issac lacked the Australian accent Mason held, his height however overcoming both the boys as he walked to them, his smile was wide, dimples exposed on his cheeks with his grin, his eyes a deep brown, and his skin to match.
"It's my pleasure, my family didn't make it but I know my mom and dad would have done the same." Tom smiled. "So I have keys for this cottage and the one behind, it belonged to my friends. It's going to be really cold but they run on oil stoves which we have stored in the shed. I think the best thing for us is to rest tonight and take tomorrow as a new day."
"I couldn't have said it better myself." Isaac nodded. "I was able to help out two boys, hope that's alright."
"Of course." Tom nodded, looking behind the man as a soft smile fell on his lips. He ran forward, hugging onto the boys frames tightly. "Son of a bitch, how strange for us to all end up here?" He laughed as they hugged back.
"Looks like we owe our thanks to you as well." Ethan laughed as he and Rayn pulled away, "Who else do you have with you?"
"Klara is sleeping in the car-"
"Sleeping? In this environment, I'll go wake her!" Ryan's excitement when Tom's hand gripped his coat, pulling him back.
"Alex didn't make it, neither did Brody or Evan or her parents." He spoke softly. Ryan and Ethan frowned.
"Shit Tom I-"
"Don't worry about it, but we need to let her sleep, she almost died today and it's been too much, so we're gonna go in and warm up the cottage so I can lay her down in her bed." Tom exchanged looks with the boys, them nodding in agreement as Ethan's eyes locked on Tom's hand.
"The hell happened to you?"
"Oh I-"
"He hurt it trying to help me." Ivy spoke softly, walking up behind them. Tom smiled softly, placing his hand on her head.
"Aren't you adorable? I didn't know Tom had a sister." Ethan smiled excitedly.
"Well, now you do," Tom shrugged, "Let's get inside, and warm up."
Tom led them inside, unlocking the door and instinctively moving to the stove, luckily Bruce had taught him how to use it the year prior, and they'd left oil in it when they closed up for the season, and after a few minutes Tom had the stove lit. Ethan and Ryan unloaded the Jeep and ruck, making sure they were quiet so as to not wake Klara, who curled in a ball. When they walked in there were greeted to the living room, a tv in the far right corner, a pull out futon to the left and a twin sized bed on the same wall tucked behind the door. Next to the living room was the kitchen, a square table sat in the sender, a sink on the same side as the door with a window on top, the fridge to the left and cupboards along the right wall. Next to the cupboards was a doorway leading straight into Sandra and Bruce's bedroom, a double sized bed along the back wall, and a small doorway that held Klara's room with a tall dresser beside the doorway, a tv across and a twin sized bed along the side wall.
Luckily they still had power, so they stored the fridge with all their drinks, Mason sat with his dad and the twins around the kitchen table, Ivy sat on the futon and Tom slowly carried Klara into the cottage once it had warmed up. He laid her in her bed, covering her up with a few layers of blankets before giving her a chaste kiss on her forehead and walking out of the room.
"So, I think we should start talking about survival, in case help doesn't come right away." Isaac offered as Tom sat with them.
"I think that's a good idea." Tom nodded, clearing his throat. "So I can get access to the two sheds we have, so we're stocked for at least two weeks for oil in the two cottages, if we don't see held by then though, we should abandon hope of getting helped."
"Jeez, when did you become so dark and twisty?" Ryan looked at him while he only shrugged.
"No, that would be about proper time to give up on someone helping, but we won't cross that bridge yet. " Isaac spoke. "How are we on food and water?"
"For the amount of people we have? If we ration it we can do maybe a month, if we get desperate we could probably stretch it to a month and a half." Tom answered. "The snow won't clear for another few weeks, and after that it will start to get warmer. But maybe until that time we should all bunk in this cottage? Saves on oil while we're at it."
"Spoke with true survival instincts." Isaac smiled.
"Thanks, my dad taught me." Tom nodded.
"I thought your dad left?" Ryan's head cocked in confusion.
"Yeah, he did. I mean Bruce Beckett. The Beckett's have been taking care of me since I was 9 and so they're my parents." Tom shrugged.
"Well I think he was an excellent man." Isaac nodded.
"Wait," Ethan leaned to Tom's shoulder. "So does that mean you were getting with Klara? Like the rumours said?"
"No, Ethan, they were only rumours." Tom sighed, slightly annoyed as they got off track.
"I thought I recognized that voice." Klara whispered from the door frame. Her hair was pinned in a high ponytail, her hands in her sweater pocket as she walked over to the twins, wrapping an arm around them each tightly. "I'm glad you both are here."
" Me too." They smiled in unison as she pulled away, not even standing all the way before Ivy hand wrapped her hands tightly around her waist.
"I'm so glad you're okay." She cheered, looking up at her. Klara allowed a soft chuckle to escape her as she brushed through Ivy's dark brown locks.
"Same, I was so worried." She whispered before looking over to Tom. The boy was standing, having rose to his feet the moment he heard her voice. "You gave me a big scare Tommy, I thought I lost you."
"Never." He shook his head as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She smiled as she hugged his neck. When she had woken up, knowing she was in her cottage, she knew all the events that passed we're a dream, she'd lost her whole family with the Exception of Tom. Lucky for her thought, because when she remembered she had Tom, she knew she was okay, and once she heard Ethan's voice, she knew time would keep moving, and like Alex told her, her time for mourning was over, she wouldn't lose herself losing him.
She placed a quick kiss on Tom's cheek before turning to those she hadn't met before. "And you helped Tom get me out of the hole." She stuck her hand out, shaking his once it made contact.
"The name is Mason, and I'm just glad we made it there in time." Mason smiled before sitting, "This is my dad, Isaac."
"It's a pleasure
." Isaac nodded as he shook her hand. She stood next to Tom, her arm wrapped around Ivy's shoulder as she looked around the group. So this was all who was left, out of everyone she knew and grew up with, these are the only people that she was able to bring with her. She frowned slightly, she'd only hoped for more, but she was grateful for those she had.
"I don't think anyone is coming to save us." She frowned, "I don't know wat it is, or how to explain it, but I just have a gut feeling no one is even looking for people."
The group frowned at her words, but, no one was able to deny the feeling she had, them all having the same one. That night they planned their sleeping arrangements, Ivy slept in Klara's bed, Ethan and Ryan took the futon and Issac on Tom's bed behind the door. Mason offered for the floor, claiming it was good for his back, and while it wasn't long enough his dad deserved a bed to sleep on. Klara was given her parents bed, no one had the heart to sleep there after the event of the day, and after she'd pulled him aside, Tom had announced he'd sleep with her.
The oil stove kept them warm, Ethan and Ryan laid sprawled out, their bodies crossing over each other as they both slept diagonally, Ivy slept with extra layers of Klara's old clothing, Isaac buried his bottom half in a sleeping bag so his feet that hung over the edge didn't get cold, and Mason was not lying when he said he' prefer the floor, sleeping contently wrapped in a sleeping bag.
Tom laid on his back, his arms at his side and his eyes wide open, he tried to sleep, but he couldn't, he couldn't help his mind from thinking of how he could have saved his family, of how if he'd been better they'd all be alive and Klara wouldn't be eft so hurt and broken, so sad and terrified. Klara was curled in the fetal position, her back turned to him. She rolled over, exposing how she was wide awake as she looked at him. "Tommy?" She whispered, he rolled to his side, facing her.
"Yeah?"
"I know you're blaming yourself, right now you think you should have been better, right?" Tom knew better than to lie, she was already in his head so there was no point now, so he nodded.
"I crashed the truck, and I couldn't find another car to drive so we had to walk, if I was a better driver and I still had it maybe I could have saved you all-"
"See, there it is. This isn't your pain too bare, Tommy. I don't blame you and neither would they. I'm sad, of course I am, I'm in pain and I can't get any of it out of my head, it's like my brain is playing it on a loop to remind me that they died and I'm alive. But neither of us could have helped them, all we can do now is; live, and do good by them. So please don't beat yourself up over this, okay?"
Tom listened to her words, taking them all to heart with a simple nod. She moved closer to him, burying her head in the crook of his neck, something she hadn't done since they were in elementary school. "Goodnight, Klara."
"Night, Tommy." She sighed, finally able to close her eyes to sleep, "I love you."
"I love you too."