Lonely Tides

~Chapter Eight~

After a few days we decide its fine to ask about the S.O.U.L commity now. Dwain had shown us a stamp on his arm that was a number 0099, apparently he was only one of the first to be held captive. That meant they had more than 99 people held there.

"T-they are invincible! Big weapons and lots of people and chemicals!" Dwain told us, round the small camp fire we had set up. His eyes were wide, making gestures of how big the stuff was by stretching his arms. I was sat, half hugging my knees with the boy sitting on the other side of the warm flickering flames with Chad and the knife in his belt, his arms folded over my arms as we listenened, he sat behind me to protect me and was resting his chin on my shoulder with his cheek pressed to mine.

We had to think of a way out of this mess was all I could think. looking around like a spooked horse constantly. I could feel the wind picking up around us.

Pitched black.

The licking of flames dying out.

Blown out like candles on a birthday cake.

The winds.

Lightning... CRACK! CRACK!

"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!" shouted Chad at the top of his voice, I scouped up Dwain from the other side, lifting him onto my back and grabbing Chadwick's firm hand. No kidding when I said the freak weather was getting worse. 

We ran. I could make out a faint glow. Swirling. Yet another...hurricane. Trees being scooped up, small fires people had build. As soon as started WOOSH! The whole thing was on fire. The firey tornado heading for us as we ran at top speed. Twigs slamming into my face as I plowed on trying to avoid floating obejcts. The fire lit over the full horizen and glittered like a thousand suns on the water of the sea.

Amoungst the chaos of the night all I could think about was...what had happened to my poor brother. Where was he? Was he okay? Was it possible we'd already past eachother and just hadn't noticed? No. Surely not.

Finally, we reached a building and just by chance, i face plant into its large steel doors. It used to be some sort of a gym I think, now it was half burried in debris such as bricks and swept up foliage. We creeped inside to discover a cluster of beings in the far corner.

"WHO BE THERE?!" shouted a boy whos voice was probably about to break.

"CHESTER OAKLAND?!" Coughed Chad loudly, almost laughing. "The nerds and the...coolish kids...reunited by a tornado. Who would have thought?"

Even in this monstrosity of a town he was able to keep his moods high. They "man hugged" and Chester invited us over to the corner. There were 3 of them here, and 3 of us, so a total of 5 skinny, hungry kids and one adult were hunched into one corner. of a large building.

"Guys, this is Chad and Lola, and some kid they supposidly rescued. Chad, Lola, this is my dad- Edd and my sister Kasidy." We nod at them respectfully as we huddle round the candles.

Chester wore some strange high-tech glasses with one smashed lense and bent handles, his hair was scruffy and jet black. His dad was also dark haired but with a greying beard with a larger build. Kasidy had a much lighter complection with soft chestnut hair in a messy braid. They all had matching grey eyes.

"I'm Dwain!" the kid pipes up and Edd gives a hearty laugh.

"Well aren't you a nice lad." He chuckles with a gruff voice. Is that how you'd describe it?

"How'd you guys end up here?" I ask them, sneaking a glance at their tattered clothes, not as bad as ours.

"Our house was destroyed whild we were going on a walk, thankfully we managed to avoid the destruction and found this place abandoned. We gathered up some rations from the various vending machines. It was closed on the day so we didn't have any hassle." Supposidly Kasidy was 18, but she looked like a scrawny kid.

"Oh yeah dad, I know 'em from school by the way!" Chester says, as if his dad was an idiot.

"Yeah, I remember. Chad the cool kid and Lola the shy one. You described every single one of your class mates on the first day of secondary. I remember!" Edd gave a grin.

Dwain echoed the loudest yawn I'd ever heard and instantly dropped into sleep, slumped against my shoulder.

"We'd better sleep," I laughed "need all the strength we can get...right?" I asked as 4 nodding heads answer me and Kasidy drags over a bunch of abandoned towels.

Me and Chad curl up together to share warmth, Dwain wrapped in my arms between us. The Oakland family were all squished together too.

I gaze up through a shattered window in the roof, up at the glittery stars that shined so bright and thought that if they had survived all those years... maybe there was hope for us too.