Perseverance ( completed! )

Despair

My heart sunk to my knees as I walked slowly in.

Looking around, nothing looked right. It looked, incredibly bare. Of course, that wasn't unusual, we had a big house and didn't bother filling it with much, but one major thing I noticed was in the kitchen.

All of the food was gone. And I mean all of it. Not one thing was left behind.

I began to think that someone robbed my mother and did something horrible to her, but my eyes caught and a single paper on the fridge.

A note?

I plucked it off of the fridge, my eyes reading it slowly.

The note read;

"Gabriel,
I'm so sorry, son. I knew this was coming, and I had to get to a place that would be better for the both of us. But I was unaware that it would happen this quickly. I left in order to search for one of the camps that had seen this coming before. They are willing to help us son, but one of us had to be there when everything went down. Head west Gabriel, just head west and I promise I'll find you. Oh, and take Buddy with you.
Love, your mother.
(p.s, destroy this letter Gabriel)"

Relief and pain flooded me. My mum was okay!

But, I didn't know where she was.

Liam had been reading the note over my shoulder. He set his hands on my shoulders, turning me to face him.

"We are going to find her, Gabe," he spoke gently, his icy blue eyes not shifting from mine.
I swallowed the lump in my throat, nodding stiffly, my head slumping forward to rest on his chest.

We stayed like that for a moment, and I was grateful for the contact.

"Alright, let's go get Buddy. I love that dog!" My friend piped up gently, and I looked up to see a gentle smile playing on his lips.

A soft giggle left my lips and I nodded.

"I do too," I agreed, pulling away from him and walking toward the back of my house.

Underneath the staircase, more specifically.

I opened the door to the room, and automatically my beautiful golden retriever puppy bounded excitedly out of the room, jumping up at my knees, trying to lick my face.

A smile appeared on my lips and I knelt down, embracing the puppy with open arms. Buddy licked my face wildly, pawing at my chest. I was absolutely in love with this dog.

My mom got him for me earlier this year as a birthday present.

"My turn!" Liam called playfully, quickly kneeling beside me, and Buddy jumped between the both of us, trying to spread his love to both of us. He was so silly.

"Okay," I paused to pick up Buddy who settled into my arms. Luckily he loved to be held!

"Okay, we are going to need to bring at least some of his dog food, and we should probably pack a bit of clothes at least," I stated, but my voice was uncertain, I was leaving it up to Liam.

Liam nodded quickly in agreement. "Sounds good."

"Awesome! Okay, so we'll start here, and then once I finish getting my clothes we can go over to your house and see what we can scavenge there. Does that sound okay?" I asked hesitantly, slightly nervous if this was a good idea or not.

"Sounds perfect," He winked.

So we made our way up to my room, and I dumped out my backpack. Hm, I wonder if some idiots didn't get the memo that school was ending and actually went to school Monday. I shoved three hoodies in, two shirts, one pair of pants, and some underwear. As well as three pairs of socks. And my favorite light pink beanie.