Wartorn

Chapter 4

It's become a bit of a habit, playing with Dante and Logan in the shipping container. "No! Don't listen to him! My brother's getting into your head!" Gwen is constantly complaining. I don't care. I love music. Being at the safe house isn't so bad anymore. But things can only look fine for a while before everything comes crashing down.

"That was really good, Logan! Do you want to play it again?"

"Yeah!" Logan laughs. It is the first time I've heard him laugh in a long time. It brings a smile to my lips.

"Okay!" Dante says. "One two..." He is cut off by a loud bang.

"What the hell was that?" I ask. Dante opens the slot, and then closes it quickly. His face is as white as a sheet. "What is it?" I ask, knowing all too well before he says it.

"They're bombing the safe house," he says. "Get down." I grab Logan and push him under the piano. He curls into a ball and covers his ears. Dante pushes me down, and follows me. All three of us huddle together under the piano. The bombing continues for hours. Just when we think it is safe, another round begins. During a lapse in noise, Dante turns to face me.

"Why are they bombing us? Children from both sides of the war are here!"

"How should I know?" I reply. He gives me a look. Oh. He was asking for my opinion.

"When our army begins to dwindle in numbers, where are the reinforcements going to come from?" I ask.

"The boys in the safe house. They're killing innocents and their own just because it might win them the war in the long run?" he says angrily.

"Yeah," I say, but the next round of bombing starts, and the sound of my voice is lost.

Hours later, the bombing stops. We sit curled up for another hour, making sure it's safe. Slowly, one by one, we all get up and dust ourselves off. Dante opens the slot and peers out, before opening the door. We cautiously step onto the ground, which is covered in craters.

"No..." I whisper, tears springing to my eyes. The whole safe house has collapsed.

"Everyone would have been killed. Even those in the shelter on the first floor. Gwennie... she was in there," Dante chokes, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"It's ok, Danny! Everything will be all right!" Logan says happily. God bless adorable naïve kids. Even with the destruction confronting his eyes, Logan still doesn't believe it. I wish I was still able to dismiss things like he does. But I've seen and experienced too much pain for that. 

"Come on, Dante," I say gently.

"We've got to get out of here."