𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐄 | gabriel ✓

03. excalibur

As the group of misfits stormed into the front entrance they were immediately met with nothing.

"Hello?!" Dariush screamed as they ran past the gates. Josie coughed as the dust billowed around them, "Where is everybody?"

"Hello? Is anyone here?!" Alex called as they all spread around, looking for signs of people.

"Hey, guys" Josie called out to the others, "Look."

When they all gathered, they followed Josie's pointed hand to read a hand-drawn sign that said, 'Gone down mountain, stragglers call 911'.

"Oh, they left us!" Dariush sighed exasperatedly.

"Not all of them" Gabriel called out, looking at a figure lying on a picnic table in the corner. Josie recognized the blonde hair and unbuttoned shirt as Conrad, the drunk counselor.

They all sprinted up to the man, calling out his name.

"Is he dead?" Dariush asked once they had all gathered around.

"He's breathing" Gabriel had leaned over and put his hand in front of the man's nose, "He must have slept through an evacuation"

"What kind of asshole sleeps through an evacuation?"

"One whose a black-out drunk" Josie pointed out, lifting up the flask that sits next to him. Zhenzhen then pulled the container from her hand, downing a large gulp before tossing it over her shoulder.

"I don't think that was milk" Dariush spoke disbelievingly.

"Hey, we should check the mess hall. If anyone's still here they probably gathered there" Alex stated, pointing towards the largest building at camp.

Once they entered the mess hall, they all spread out. Josie followed Zhenzhen as she began to gather items that they could use, packing them into a backpack she found. Gabriel went directly to the red phone hanging on the wall. He picked it up briefly only to turn and state that the line was dead.

"That's cause the power's out" Alex announced, "You know what an EMP is?"

"Uh, yeah, that's that music that white people dance to" Dariush guessed.

"No, that's EDM. EMP stands for electromagnetic pulse. A nuclear explosion in the upper atmosphere can cause one, and it knocks out most electronics over a really big area," Alex explained.

"But what does that mean?" Dariush asked the intelligent boy.

"It means nothing works" Josie voiced, pausing as she placed some glowsticks in front of Zhenzhen, having caught on to what Alex was trying to say.

"Not even cars?" Dariush questioned softly.

"Well, you guys have food and a roof over your head. You could do a lot worse than just staying here and waiting this out" Gabriel told them.

"Wait, waiting what out?"

Another loud, echoing explosion caused them all the flinch. They looked at one another before sprinting outside to see what had caused the noise.

They ran to a small clearing before looking up towards the sky where they saw an abundance of aircraft buzzing around this way and that, firing at each other rapidly.

"Those are F-22 Raptor Air Superiority Fighters," Alex told them.

"What the hell are those ships they're fighting?" Gabriel asked.

"I've never seen anything like them," Alex said in wonder.

"Guys, I think they're getting closer" Josie began to take steps backward. Nudging Gabriel, who was stood next to her, on instinct as she turned to run.