Highway to a Haven

Chapter Two: An Unexpected Hero and His Sidekick

The bright sun shines through my eyelids. It's time to wake up. I slept late because I had a nightmare, and it took me forever to fall asleep.

Wow, the floor is really cold. Wait, what am I doing on the floor?

I open my eyes, and sit up. I'm definitely not in my bedroom. And that wasn't just a nightmare.

I assess my surroundings. There's rubble and blood everywhere. Bodies are sprawled across the floor, hopefully just unconscious.

Overwhelmed, I fall back to the floor.

"This can't be real. This can't be real. This can't be real!" I repeated, progressively getting louder.

"Woah, calm down," a warm hand rests upon my shoulder. Reese. Oh my goodness, it's Reese.

"What the heck? What are you doing here, Reese?"

"Geez. I hike all the way across town for you, and this is the greeting I get? I was at least expecting a thank y-"

Before he could finish, I slam my body into his. He smelled awful, but I didn't care. I hug him tighter than anyone I had ever hugged before. I had no idea what was going on. I had no idea what was going to happen. And, I had no idea why he'd come after me, of all people. But, I was too overwhelmed to question anything. I just wanted someone to hold me and make me forget the world just blew up.

"I'm so glad you're here," I mumble into his sweaty t-shirt.

"I'm so glad you're alive," he whispered, wrapping his arms tighter around my waist.

I wanted to hug him forever, but the world was kind-of ending. I slipped my hands off of him, and back to my side. I used my grimy shirt sleeve to wipe all my tears away, and looked up at him. "Tell me everything. Tell me why you're here, tell me everything you know about that explosion."

"We don't have enough time for that. We need to get somewhere safe, and then I'll explain everything you want to know."

On a normal day, I'd question my friend (who I usually only saw at school) coming to rescue me. But, this wasn't a normal day. I literally woke up in my living room full of unconscious relatives.

He was my only hope, and for whatever reason, I knew I could trust him. "Okay, where to?"

"What about your family?" He notions towards all the bodies I was trying to ignore.

"I can explain later, but this isn't exactly my family."

He looked shocked, like I was some heartless person. (And, I guess that's reasonable, considering I suggested abandoning who he thinks is my family.) If this was my family, I'd be all for saving them. But this truly wasn't my biological family. This was my foster parents' family, and they didn't love me. They could fend for themselves, anyways. I decided acting heartless was much more efficient than explaining my life story to him, so I didn't elaborate.

"Ohhh-kay, then. I guess we can head out. One more surprise, though."

I was surprised he didn't question me further, considering I suggested abandoning a room full of dead and dying people.

But wait, did he say a surprise? Oh no. I don't need any more suprises, noooo-

My thoughts were interrupted when a little boy peeped his head through the doorway. It was a mini 7 or 8-year-old version of Reese. He had the same messy brown hair and chocolate eyes. It was obvious he was Reese's little brother. And oh my goodness, he was adorable.

"Hey, there." I say softly.

"That's Oliver, my little brother. He doesn't talk much." Reese explains.

"Hey Oliver, I'm Ellie." I say, introducing myself.

He slipped back through the doorway, to where I could only see the top part of his head peeping out.

"Don't be shy, O. Ellie's my friend. She's very, very nice," Reese says, looking back at me.

I look away, hoping he won't notice me blushing. The problem with being as pale as me, though, is blushing is kind-of obvious.

Reese grinned, and looked back at the doorway Oliver was hiding behind. "Well, I guess we're just gonna have to leave ya here," he said sarcastically.

"Wait!" Oliver squeaked. Embarrassed, he hid further behind the doorway.

"He's just a little shy," Reese whispered to me.

"Yeah, maybe a little," I smirked. Now was not the time to be sarcastic, with the world ending and all, but I couldn't help myself.

Reese walked through the doorway to Oliver. "Piggy back ride?" Reese asked him.

In a split second, the mini Reese hopped on his back.

Awwwwww. What a good brother. It was cute seeing Reese's soft side.

"Are you ready to hit the road?" Reese asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I respond.