Scraps ~ Ben Parish

4. Beginning of the end

The lights go out midway through Dakota's third class that next day. Most went quiet, others mouthed their confusion, one girl sat in the corner and prayed. Somehow Dakota knew even God couldn't save them from this. They were doomed. "This is it." She whispered.

The teachers lead their classes down to the gym where they could wait for their parents to pick them up. No one was coming to pick up Dakota so she snuck away from the group and made a beeline for the exit. She just about made it before someone called her name from behind. She recognised the voice straight away and turned to face Ben Parish.

***

"Dakota." Ben called as the girl tried to sneak away. She turned around and he kept his eyes locked on hers, memorising everything about them. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"Home." She sounded defeated. He looked down at the floor. Stay here, with me. He tried to think of something to say to her, anything. "Good luck Ben Parish." And she was gone before he could lift his head. Ben made a promise to himself that one day he would see her again, he would search the whole world if he had to.

***

The tears blurred her vision as Dakota ran home, she passed dozens of cars, burning and crumpled. People screamed as they sat trapped inside their crashed vehicles and she didn't stop once to help. Get home. She told herself. You'll be safe at home. But she that was a lie too, the others would find away to flush her out, her and the whole human race.

When she finally did get home she didn't feel any safer. Every noise sent a shiver down her spine, every second the darkness closed in. With no electricity the night would leave her blind and helpless and she begged the sun to stay up just a little while longer. She would have to make a trip to shops tonight, otherwise everything would be gone by morning.

It was like a switch had been flipped, she'd gone from being a somewhat ordinary teenager to a girl who's soul focus was living to see the next sunrise. And all thats happened so far is that the switch had flipped and the lights were never coming back on.

Dakota forced herself to get up, she'd been sitting with her back against the front door for maybe two hours, there was no way of telling time now that the power was out. She made her way across the living room and into the kitchen, kneeling down to lift the rug so she could open the trapdoor that lay beneath. She'd been stockpiling food under the floor boards for over a week, everyday she'd walk to the shops and buy as much savoury food as she could afford. No one had to tell her that it was smart to stock early, it was common sense. Aliens show up, you start packing for Armageddon. Plain and simple.

So that evening when she went for her daily food run she took a total of 5 shopping bags and all the money she could muster, this would probably be her last chance to purchase food. She crossed paths with a few familiar faces on her way but no one stopped to talk, the Others had them scared, all of them.

It was every man for himself when Dakota stepped into the grocery store, all refrigerated food was free to take as it would go off soon enough, fruit and vegetables were free, plain savoury foods were cheap.

Dakota took a bit of everything and by the time she was done all 5 bags were full but not heavy enough for her to struggle under the weight, people would notice her but no one offered her help, not that she'd expected them to. She'd just about finished at the checkout when Dakota noticed an argument starting up over at the confectionary aisle. She made haste and didn't look back until she was safely at home.

After putting everything away and eating a small meal, Dakota sat with her back against the door for hours. She didn't want to believe it but she knew she was on her own now. She'd never see her sister again if they didn't get any power back up, the school would be closed, no one would come to check on her, she would have to fend for herself.

***

Ben made sure to move quietly as he cracked open his window, the morning was crisp and the wind blew tiny flecks of snow into his room as he lifted the frozen frame. His parents had no doubt been up all night and would be waiting for him in the kitchen, that's why he took the window. He thought about leaving the window open incase he needed to get back inside quickly but decided not to, remembering that his parents had gone through the effort of locking every door and window in the house the night before.

The ground beneath him crunched under the weight of his boots as he landed on the thin layer of snow at the front of the house, he'd never needed to jump from the balcony before but it turned out to be a pretty simple manoeuvre. He pulled his coat over his chest and crossed his arms to keep it in place, glancing back at the house to make sure no one had noticed him.

He stalked across the front lawn, light snow dusting the top of his sneakers as he trudged through. Only a day after the lights went out and already the streets were empty. Every so often he would hear noises coming from an non abandoned house, or a pair of eyes watching him through a window and his pace quickened. Great, he'd turned into a total sissy right when the world demanded he be tough. And yet all he cared about was what Dakota would think of him.

Ben stopped at Dakotas front door and took a deep breath. What would she think when she opened the door and he was there? What would her reaction be? How would she- ben pushed his nagging thoughts to the back of his mind and lifted his hand, placing three light knocks on the pale blue door. Though his hands should've been cold from the chilly weather, he barely felt it when he knocked. The adrenaline running through his body warmed his hands and filled him with a buzz.

He'd never imagined that he'd walk all this way for nothing, that she wouldn't answer the door. He knocked again and there was still no answer. Where was she? Was she safe? "Hey Dakota, it's Ben. I just came over to see if you were okay?" He called sheepishly through the door. There was no reply. Ben turned around to see several sets of eyes peeping through windows at him and the house. Of course they were, he was making such a commotion. Feeling slightly embarrassed now, Ben stepped away from the door and hurried down the street, the idea that something had happened to Dakota niggling at the back of his thoughts.

***

Dakota skipped over a fallen tree as she made her way toward the lake. She hadn't made this journey in over two months but the path was seared into her brain. There was something about this lake in particular that made you feel like you were on a different planet. Like there's no one around for trillions of miles. That was what Dakota needed right now. She didn't want to think about the Others or her sister or anyone at all. She crouched on the rock that she'd always sat on when visiting the lake and breathed in a crisp breath of air. There was fog rising from the lake which looked more like a large puddle then a lake at the moment. The trees surrounding the lake hid her from the view of the mothership, that's how she liked, by herself. Though it was sometimes lonely with only yourself for company. She suddenly felt upset knowing that she'd be on her own from now. No one to watch her back, no sister, no friends... She thought of Ben Parish. He was the only one who'd noticed her sneaking away from school. The only one who'd cared.