Ignite

Chapter Two

The explosions were so loud, and they seemed to go on and on.
People ran. They hid behind anything they could find. But they were dead before noon. Fortunately, not many people dwelled in the surface world, as everything - houses, stores, entertainment - was underground.
Amber didn't survive. No one could even find her body, there was nothing left.
Kendall and the children were not aware of this yet.
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Reye was awakened by Lilian's snoring, and she was on the kitchen table. Which was weird. She opened her eyes and looked at her two sisters, sleeping peacefully. Lilian was curled up in Ken's lap, snoring loudly. Sabine was on the couch, wrapped in a blanket. She had probably moved over there to get away from Lilian's snoring. Smart move, Reye thought, envious she was able to sleep longer then her.
But Reye was awake, so time to get the day/night/whatever started. With no windows, Reye could never really tell what time of day it was. Of course she could just look at the clock, but it just wasn't the same. She remembered once she had gotten ready for school, and realized she had slept through it. Amber was so mad at her for that one.
Reye got up, and stretched her arms out and yawned. She went back to the room she shared with Lilian and Sabine and pulled out some clothes - a black T-shirt and some jeans. She probably wasn't going anywhere today, so Reye decided she wasn't going to wear her stiff, ugly, uniform. The States of FW made all their citizens dress in black pants with knees pads, a blank tank top, and whatever shoes fit the person's activity for that day. Reye put on some cyan converse and started to lace them up when she heard a scream.
Forgetting all about the shoes, Reye dashed back to the kitchen where Kendall was staring at the T3. It was a black box, with a polished screen about 30 inches wide. On the screen was a picture that both Kendall and Reye knew by heart.
Amber's citizen's ID picture was plastered on the screen, along with over 20 others. Her hazel eyes were happy, crinkled at the ends from her smiling at the camera. Her unruly, short reddish-brown hair was sticking up in random places. Her bangs were pushed to the side. The blue background made her already pretty pale skin stick out more, even though it was dotted with freckles. Each one of the pictures popped up on the screen, one by one, and when it got to Amber's picture, it read:

AMBER LINDA KELLY
MISSING OR DEAD
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION, CALL THE NUMBER BELOW. FAMILY OF MS. KELLY PLEASE GO TO THE OFFICE TODAY AT 7:00PM.

That was it. Reye turned away after that, as she couldn't bear the thought of seeing other dead people's faces. How? Why? When? Millions of questions zoomed through her mind, and she looked at Kendall.
Kendall had known Amber since they were little. When they both got to marriage age, they had a joint wedding. When both their husbands left to go oversees, they stayed together. When they received calls saying their husbands would not be returning as they had been asked to go on a mission in outer space, they moved in together permanently, taking all three of the children with them. When the States of Flors-Wols were under attack by the rebels, the whole country moved underground. They kept the factories above ground though, which is where Amber worked as a guard. When Amber got a promotion that meant they would get to move into a nicer house but be at work more often, Kendall quit her job at the Café to help out around the house.
Kendall's body was shaking with sobs. She fell to her knees, her face in her hands
"No.... Not Amber...." She choked out between sobs. She cried harder and harder, but Reye was too astonished to help her. Her eyes were glued to the screen as it showed a terrifying video feed. It showed the surface world, and these explosions, enormous they were, exploding everything in sight. It just kept going and going, these huge ash clouds moving over the land, demolishing everything in its path.
Reye's mouth fell to the floor. The T3 showed the after math. There was nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was gone. Everything.
Kendall stopped crying and watched it too. A reporter appeared on screen, and Reye absentmindedly reached for the remote to turn up the volume.
"...standing just under the surface world, and you can tell how big the explosions were," she motions to the cracks in the ceiling. "Do not leave your homes. We have had too many casualties. If you have lost a family member, report the Office at 7:00pm tonight. Further instructions will be given," the white blonde haired girl nodded then continued. "Stay safe, people of FW States."
The T3 shut off.
There was a stunned silence between Kendall and Reye. Lilian and Sabine still hadn't awakened, which was lucky. But that means Reye was going to have to explain what was going on. She stood up straight, and helped Kendall up. Kendall wiped her tears, then took a deep breathe. "Thank you," she spoke calmly and steadily, which was just like what Amber would have done - stayed calm in a time of panic. Reye couldn't speak. She just nodded. And with that, the both went to wake up Lilian and Sabine.