Alive in the Snow

9. Away At Last

Arriving home at 7:02, the first thing that caught Yuvan's eye was the front door. It was detached and split in two. Upon entering the house, his movement was careful and precise with his hand held against the wall; in an attempt to balance himself whilst taking moderate steps over the fallen debris. He lifted the coat hanger from the ground and peeped his head around the door to observe the damage in the living room.

The filthy carpet was stained with black footprints and the surface appeared rough as if a dog had chewed it for a long time. In the distance was his box-shaped TV on the ground, tipped on its side with the screen shattered. Walking towards the TV, Yuvan examined it as he flipped it upright on its base.

"The glass is everywhere and the room is such as mess..." - Yuvan spoke in a low tone as he drew his eyes around the room slowly.

The couch's remaining pillows were scattered and torn, revealing the stuffing inside.

"I got no time for this. I need to find the girls!" - Yuvan reminded himself, gripping onto his rucksack tightly as he leapt over the collapsed door frame. Stumbling up the stairs, he realised that footprints continued into his room. "Shit! Girls, Are you there?!"

Skimming the dilapidated bedroom, he shot his head upwards, facing the ceiling and noticed the attic hatch unopened. Taking a moment, letting out a sigh of relief, he concluded that the girls were unharmed during the attack.

"Luna, Velorra, I am here. It's your father! I am gonna get you guys down now so hang on." - Yuvan informed whilst lifting the ladder and extending the side before climbing it swiftly. Opening the hatch, a pile of dust fell onto his face. Yuvan brushed it off and looked around the attic, pausing when he saw the girls.

"Hey father. Finally, you're back!" - Luna exclaimed excitedly, dashing toward him.

"Quickly, come." - Yuvan instructed as he climbed back down, jumping off at the last 4 steps.

Velorra nodded to Luna and began climbing down slowly.

"Hey Luna! Get down here!" - Velorra yelled. "I have the torch by the way."

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Let me say goodbye to our little friends." - Luna replied.

Yuvan and Velorra heard Luna sprinting away from the attic's opening, saying her goodbyes before returning. Climbing down to join the rest, Luna attempted to jump off the ladder, just like Yuvan did at the last steps. Unlike Yuvan, she jumped from the 7th step.

"Luna!" - Yuvan screamed, reacting quickly and catching her before she hurt herself. "Don't do that ever again!"

"I'm sorry father..." - Luna responded, lowering her head cowardly and turning her direction away from him. Yuvan knelt down gently and patted her shoulder to grab her attention back. Once Luna turned, he picked a bag of sweets from his pockets and handed them to her openly.

"Hey uh...can I have some too Luna?" - Velorra requested politely but Luna declined, scoffing all the sweets, from the bag, into her mouth. "Oh I understand, didn't know you were this hungry."

Seeing how disappointed Velorra was, Yuvan chimed in, "I'll buy some for you another day. Right now, we are heading to Skeylen by train. I believe the train will be leaving at 7:30 so hurry up. Just don't speak to anyone along the way. Understood?"

The girls nodded their heads and followed Yuvan out of the room. They headed down the stairs, trying to avoid any parts that would trip them. They also kept their heads down to avoid seeing the wreckage.

"Shoot, the luggage!" - Yuvan sprinted up the stairs and pulled the luggage from under the bed. Lifting it, he trailed back down to join the girls.

"Are you guys missing anything?" - Yuvan questioned, jumping over the broken parts before dragging the luggage along.