The Journey The Only Survivors

Chapter I: ALONE

The sound of hail pounding on our roof echoed across the house. I moved the curtains back and peered out the window. Buckets of rain fell from the sky and poured onto the roof and the concrete outside. When I turned back around, I noticed Amy and Luke clinging to each other on the sofa across from me, trembling in fear. A loud clap of thunder engulfed their voices as they tried to speak.

I sat on the couch in the family room flipping through channels on the TV while texting my friend, Molly. My brother Bryan sat at the kitchen table with his head buried in his history book. It was only July, and school didn't start for another month and a half, but I knew my brother liked to get things done early. He never procrastinated. I, on the other hand, procrastinated on everything—even if we had three months to do it.

As I pressed the remote's DVR button, the power suddenly went out as the lights switched off and the TV flickered blank.

"Perfect. Now what do we do?" I said. I could just barely see the figures of Luke and Amy—it was pitch black. Bryan slammed his book on the table and groaned in frustration.

"I'll go get candles and a matchbox," he said. Exasperation flooded his voice as he stomped toward the cupboard that held the emergency kit.

"It'll be fun, like we are living in the past," he said and pulled open a drawer. The next thing I heard was a loud "ouch!" with a few selected curse words following. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Bryan, you do know we have two little siblings, correct?" I said, attempting to raise my voice so he could hear me over the thunder.

"It's not like they haven't heard those words before from Dad," he bellowed back.

I rolled my eyes and waited for him to return with the matches and candles.

"Why did the power go out?" Luke asked.

"Because the rain is coming down hard, and the power lines must have gone out," I said. Though Luke was only six, he's smart, so I knew that he understood what I meant, which was why I didn't make up a story on how the power went out.

"I couldn't find the darn matches or batteries for the flashlight," Bryan said as he sat down next to me and dropped his books on the coffee table. "But at least I got the candles." Sarcasm filled his voice as he said the last few words.

"Great. So now, what do we do?" I said. "Oh, wait. I know where the lighter is. It's in the dining room cupboard." I couldn't believe that I had actually thought of something Bryan hadn't.

Bryan growled under his breath and trudged toward the dining room to get the lighter. The sound of his footsteps echoed through the house, but when the next bolt of lightning struck, every sound was drowned out, and everyone flinched.

"K-Kyara." Amy's voice trembled, and I stared at her in sympathy. "When are M-Mommy and D-Daddy coming home?" she asked me.

Amy had been working with a speech therapist for more than a year and had gotten much better at speaking without a stutter. She used to stutter on every word, but now she only stuttered on every few words.

"Late," I said.

Bryan came back into view with a proud smile on his face, holding up the lighter as if it was Lady Liberty's torch. He lit the three candles, sat down, and stared at the flame on the tallest candle.

"How late, Kyara?" Luke asked, with a nervous tint in his voice.

Bryan answered the question for me, still with his gaze on the flame, practically motionless, "You guys are going to be asleep before they get home." The void in his eyes grew as his eyes opened and closed whenever he blinked. Nothing could take his attention away from the flame.