Light and Dark

Chapter 16

After a well deserved snack, we go through the house once more. Each with a bag of some sort, collecting food and supply's that will come in handy if we need them. I am in charge of collecting food, Lenny is collecting things like duct tape and nails, Milly is gathering warm clothes and Abby is getting raincoats and beanies.

Half an hour later

"Anyone have a map?" Abby asks.

"Yes, I'll get one." I say. "We can use it to plan a route around the neighbourhood."

"That's what I was thinking. Great minds think alike!" Abby exclaims smiling a little.

I go to the lounge room and pull open the wooden cupboard doors. There, rolled up is the map of the small area we live in. I grab it out and unroll the elastic band.
I take it out to the kitchen and we all sit down at the kitchen table, well what used to be the table and lay the mat out. Milly gets a grey lead pencil and we plan out which houses to go to. Lenny's farm and house is four km away so that will be the first place we visit. Then, we will go to the petrol station which is seven km from Lenny's place.

"How about we go to the bus stop, we can see if the bus comes and then ask the bus driver what has happened." Milly puts in her opinion. We all agree it is a really good idea especially since it is only two hundred metres from the petrol station. I draw a firm line to the bus stop, adding it to our route.

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An hour later with a small backpack and some snacks we head out, down the familiar drive way. Four teenagers set out on a mission.
After roughly two kilometres we stop and have a drink and a munch on an apple. Even though it is winter, the sun still gets hot on our backs and we all enjoy the refreshing drink.
Then, we set off again. I keep thinking of Mum and Dad and all the animals on our farm. A tear escapes my eye and I wipe it away, not wanting to be thinking about the bad. I focus on my breathing. In, out, in and out.
Time flys by and before I know it Lenny, who is about ten metres in front of us all calls out that his place is just around the next corner. We have all been rather quiet this walk, I suppose the others have been doing the same as me. Thinking.

Running up the drive way we whistle for Lenny's dogs. He has two Collie's who I love. With no response of the dogs, we expect the worse. We continue running and a few minutes later, puffed we see his house. All the glass out of the windows have smashed and there is rubbish blown everywhere, coming from a tipped over bin.

"MUM!? DAD!?" Lenny yells. Hope in his loud voice, but once again there is a deathly silence. For the next forty five minutes we hunt through his much loved house and find no one and no clues. I walk down the path leading up to his house which is covered in leaves blown down from the trees. I look, hoping to find some sort of clue, but I don't find anything.

We all walk down to the paddocks in silence. Questions pounding through my head as rain starts to spit. Then, we all stop suddenly. A huge tree has fallen on the goats enclosure. Lenny rushes over and we run to catch up with him.

"There are no goats. Not one single goat." Lenny cries as he looks inside.

I walk over and put my arm around his shoulder. He rests his head against me and starts to cry, tears forming a wet patch on my shirt. Abby and Milly come over and we all sit down on the dry hay bail behind us. In silence we sit together and wonder what has happened to our beautiful world and families. There is no noise, until we hear a small, quiet whine...

So, what do you think will happen? Please comment and tell me what you think :)