Earth's Fall

Day One: August 9th, 2026

You're Not Going Alone. 

~Miles~ 

It took another three hours of convincing, in order for Adalia to finally let him go with Will. Under some circumstances. 

Both Adalia and her finance, James had to go. 

"What time are we leaving?" Adalia asked, shoving her clothes in a bag, followed by her toothbrush, several bottles of water and a first aid kit. 

"We have to be in the Commons by noon, for a quick meet and greet, then we'll be on our way," Miles began packing his own bag, including his pocket knife and handgun. 

"Are you sure we should do this?" Adalia asked, James came in, carrying a case of bottled water. Miles glared at her. 

"Do you realize that this is our only chance for survival?" he rolled his eyes and continued packing. 

"It'll be our first adventure as a family!" James cried, handing them both four water bottles. 

"You're not my family," Miles grumbled flatly, low enough so no one could hear. 

"We'll leave here in a half an hour, and be at the Commons by eleven-thirty," Adalia said, sealing up her bag. "Miles, you should go see Mom and Dad before we leave." Miles glared at her. 

"You know, Mom and Dad weren't the only ones in the car, Toby was too," he snapped, instinctively reaching his hand to his pocket. 

"So were you," Adalia shouted, "You know all three of them would still be here if it weren't for you!" Tears welled up in Miles' eyes.

"I'm going to go finish packing, then I'm going into town," Miles said, eerily calm. Adalia grabbed his shoulder, he shrugged her off. 

"Miles, I didn't mean it. Please," He grabbed his bag and the bottled water and headed towards his room. "Please, Miles, Let's talk about this, I'm sorry." He closed his bedroom door. 

Instead of grabbing everything else he needed to pack, he sat down on Toby's bed. He pulled his pocket knife out of his bag and stared at Toby's name engraved into the handle. Adalia was right, if it weren't for him, all three of them would still be alive. Miles shoved the knife back into his bag, followed by four extra sets of clothes, a pencil and the book his father gave him when he was six. 

He pushed open the door and started down the hall, James stopped him when he reached the door, "You should go apologize to your sister, for walking out when she was talking to you. She was trying to take back what she said."

"What's the point in taking something back if it's true?" He shoved past James and walked out of the house. 

As soon as he came outside, he knew something was wrong. It wasn't as hot as it usually was. Still hot enough to give you a sunburn the shade of a tomato, yes, but not to the point where it ached to breathe.  

He kicked a stone on the sidewalk, Miles glanced at the sky, not a cloud in the sky, like usual. Down the street, the gates to the graveyard were open. He headed that way, suddenly wishing he had flowers. He walked through the gates and followed the stone path to the area he knew all to well. 

Maria, Johnathon and Toby were etched into the headstones. He sat in between Toby's and Dad's. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I know I've said this so many times, but I'm sorry." Tears found themselves on his cheeks. Miles ran his fingers through his hair, "Everyone's always told me that it wasn't my fault. But I know it is. I'm so sorry, and I love you, it doesn't matter what you told me, I love you." 

Someone touched his shoulder, causing him to jump. It was Adalia. "Miles, please let me explain . . . What I said, I didn't mean it. Things happen for a reason, whether we want them to or not." She stuck her hand out for him to grab. "Please, Miles." Reluctantly, he took her hand, she pulled him to his feet and embraced him. 

Miles wiped off his tears and refused to look her in the eyes. "We should get going," he whispered flatly. 

"James is waiting in the street," Adalia said, starting towards the road again. Miles trudged behind her, glancing back at the cemetery. James waved from the street, Miles glared in return. The three of them started towards the Commons, leaving their old town behind them. 

"Are you sure about this?" James asked, kicking the ground with the toe of his sneaker. "I mean, you've heard the stories. It's dangerous out there. Besides, City Salvation might not even be real, it could just be a legend, a beacon of hope for everyone to get through these dark times. We could die."  

"But if City Salvation is real, we could survive whatever 'this' is." Miles snapped, stalking ahead of them. 'If we get attacked by a rabid animal, I'm throwing him to them," he grumbled under his breath so no one could hear him. Despite it being cooler, he was already sweating through his shirt. 

The Commons was once a beautiful grassy area in the center of town, now, the Commons was just a dirt patch. A man limped up to them, looking frail, he held out a cup with a shaky hand. 

'P-please, anything to spare?" Miles recognized him, he used to work at the grocery store down town. His skin was leathery and burnt from staying in the sun. Miles pulled one of his water bottles out and handed it to him. 

"You know where I used to live, right?" Miles asked, zipping his bag back up. The man nodded, "We're leaving and won't be needing it. There's a key under the mat, take whatever you need in there." The man hugged him, tightly. 

"Thank you, and may you find your way safely," he limped away, Adalia grabbed Miles' shoulder tightly. 

"What do you think you're doing?" she snapped, getting close to his face. 

"I'm helping someone, One day, that could be you who needs help." Miles tried to pull away, she didn't release. "I know you think I'm completely helpless, but I'm not. Stop treating me like a child and let me make my own decisions." He snapped, pulling away from her. 

"Miles, I'm not treating you like a child, I'm trying to protect you," she grumbled jamming one of her water bottles into Miles bag to replace the one he gave away. "Let's get going." 

A group of people were all waiting in the Commons, large bags on their shoulders. Will stood next to his son Brayden and the girl from yesterday, Macy. Will waved them over, looking pleased. There were fifteen people in total. 

Adalia, James, Macy, Brayden, Will, a boy with shaggy red hair talking to a man and woman, himself, and the rest he did not recognize. The ages ranging from four to sixty-seven. 

"Gather round, gather round," Will called, gesturing them over to the center of the commons. They circled around the man, most with nervous expressions. "I'm assuming that this is all of us," he paused, waiting for a reply, "Does anyone know anyone else who would like to embark upon our journey?" he asked, filling the silence. Murmurs went over the crowd, followed by the shaking of heads. "This is the first day of many, I can't say if you all will make it through this journey, but I do know, that we will try our hardest. Let's go find City Salvation!" 

That ending was slightly lame, you feel? But I guess I haven't updated this in Hades knows how long, so I decided, minus well, you know. So I updated it, and basically these chapters are going to run by days, not actual titles, except possibly the last chapter. Even though the chapter ended lamely, I'm quite proud of the idea and story line:3