There's Only This (Sequel to There's Only Us)

Hope

"Guys, we have to move fast." Tyler whispered as he shook everyone awake. Nate was still asleep, but he looked paler than before, sweat beading his forehead as he tossed and turned in his sleep.

"I'll stay here with him." Jack volunteered, all traces of weariness gone as he wrung out the warm rag and soaked it in fresh water before placing it back on Nate's forehead.

No one argued with him as they jogged out into the street. The sun was barely visible over the horizon, providing little light for Signe, Ethan, and Tyler as they began scavenging what buildings they could find that looked safe enough to go into.

"How on Earth are we even gonna find medicine when everything is blown to shit?!?" Ethan yelled angrily as he left yet another completely empty building.

"Guys, Nate's awake but he's dry heaving a lot, I don't know what to do!" Jack ran up to Tyler, pure panic evident on his face.

"Found something!" Signe called out.

"Go back to Nate, we'll come back when we find some medicine." Tyler directed Jack before running towards Signe. She was standing in front of what possibly used to be a Walgreens, the sign overturned and lying a few feet away.

"Good of a place as any to look." Amy shrugged before prying the automatic glass doors apart and stepping inside.

The inside was fairly intact, although there was a huge hole in the ceiling, allowing the sun to shine in like a spotlight. Shelves were knocked over, food and other goods littering the white tiled floor. The doors behind them slid shut with a loud squeal.

"We should grab what we can, then get out of here quickly." Amy suggested, looking up at the gaping hole in the ceiling as a gust of wind blew.

She found a large light gray backpack and began stuffing it with anything she thought could prove useful, including food and extra clothes since her suitcase burned up in the helicopter crash.

"Got it!" Ethan grinned triumphantly, holding up a bottle of medicine, as well as a blue backpack that coincidentally matched his faded blue hair.

"That was fast." Signe remarked as she filled up her own dark green backpack.

"Let's get going then." Tyler walked up to the doors and tried pulling them apart again. They didn't even budge. He then tried pushing them with all of his strength, his face turning a bright red with effort. Still nothing. Everyone else joined in, but nothing changed. They were trapped.

"Door is bullet proof." Tyler cursed, kicking the doors before pacing around, trying to think of a way out.

"The only way out is up." Amy pointed up at the ceiling whee the hole was.

"Everyone drag a shelf over here then, we can make some kind of stair case with them." Ethan started dragging a rusty metal shelf over, the others exchanging glances before following suite.

Soon enough, they had piled all of the shelves up, allowing them to only reach where the lights were.

"It'll have to do." Tyler sighed reluctantly, running up the shelves before jumping and grabbing onto the large light hanging overhead, using that to swing him over to the edge of the hole and lift himself up.

"I can do this, I can do this," Ethan chanted as he adjusted the position of the bulging bag on his shoulders before running up the shelves, grabbing Tyler's outstretched hand as he pulled him up.

"Here goes nothing." Amy muttered as she copied Ethan, first throwing up her bag.

"You can do it!" Amy encouraged Signe, peering down at her through the hole.