With Stars In Their Eyes

Chapter 6: Star Dust

The group walked close together, trying to avoid fire and debris. The heavy smoke had mostly cleared, some still lingering over a few buildings which were smoldering from the fire that had ravished their walls one night prior. Every thing looked completely different, but eerily similar. Every other house was burned to the ground, others were barely holding on to their frames. They couldn't see one building that was unharmed.

Luna did her best not to look at the bodies. They were scattered through town, all with unimaginable injuries. Some burned, some with holes and missing limbs. Thrown around like rag dolls, the limp bodies were a reminder of the hell she had escaped.

Stumbling, Luna's foot caught on something. Looking down she realized, to her horror, that her foot was trapped under a hand. It's fingers stretched out like a spider, she let out a squeak. She felt arms around you, pulling her back to her feet and removing her foot from it's captive. She looked up to see the concerned eyes of Adam.

"Thanks," Luna whispered, regaining her balance, "I need to find some shoes. And preferably not ones that some one else is wearing."

He smiled down at her, concern still lingering on his face. Taking her hand, he guided her along a path between the bodies and rubble, as to not hurt her feet. Zigzagging across the street, Luna held tight onto his hand, trying not to think about all the death. She wanted to cry, but her tear ducts had run dry. So she just kept walking, eyes ahead, looking for something promising. The grocery store was in the middle of town and the clinic was a few blocks further.

After about dozen blocks, they turned a corner and there it was. Half standing and smoking, the grocery store stood tall, almost like a beacon of hope. Lights flickering and sparks flying, the sign on the front was unreadable. But, inside, they could see the shelves. There was food in there!

Approaching the door, they realized that there wasn't much point in a door any more. The glass windows were shattered and the ground and walls were covered in holes, big and small with singed edges. They had a list of things to find: bottled water, energy bars, mostly dry foods that wouldn't go bad quickly. No one knew how they would have to survive before help came. If help was came.

Entering the store, Luna pushed that thought from her mind. Of course some one was coming to help. Some one from a neighboring town, or even the city. There would be ambulances and fire fighters coming to take them away somewhere safe, right?

Looking around, she found a cart that wasn't broken. If she found water, she would need something to carry it in. Most of the food had fallen off the shelves and there was a massive puddle of juice from bottles that had been punctured by meteorites. A small fire had been started near the freezer isle, which caused all the glass doors to shatter. Not that they had a freezer to keep anything frozen, but she would't have been mad to find some ice cream. She stayed away from that area to save her bare feet from shards of glass.

The first aisle had tipped over, covering the the cereal and coffee. Luna had been hoping to find some instant coffee to nurture her caffeine addiction. Sighing, she moved on to the next aisle, hoping to find anything worth while. What she saw, made her heart skip a beat.

A woman was lying face down in the middle of the aisle, partially covered with boxes of noodles that had fallen off the shelves, hand still on her overturned stroller. Luna slid to the floor. No movement was coming from the mother or the contents of the stroller. She could see a singed hole entering the side of the basket and exiting the other. A scream was trapped in her throat, blood rushed to her face and she tried to cry. But instead, she sat there, chest tight, cupping her face in her hands. This is so fucked, she thought.

Slowly, she raised her head. This wasn't the time to break down. There were people back on the hill that needed their help, that needed her to bring back food and water. Opening her eyes, she tried to avoid looking at the body. She scanned the food on the ground, picking up some noodles that looked unharmed. But, she couldn't help yourself. As she stepped over her, she could see her face. Her eyes were open, staring straight ahead. They were dull, but she could still see their eerie ice-blue color. They looked unnatural, glowing, almost.

Luna made her way through the next couple isles, picking up some energy bars, soup, and crackers. There wasn't a lot that was undamaged. The grocery store was hit worse than they originally thought. But Luna was able to find enough food to fill her cart. The bottled water had taken a beating, but she found a decent amount and she put it on the bottom of the cart. She felt like a doomsday prepper. The thought made her laugh.

Meeting up with the rest of the group, Luna realized that they had not been as fortunate as her. Their carts were empty compared to hers. Feeling proud of herself, she smiled. They combined their carts into one and worked their way back out of the store.

"I found something for you," Adam's deep voice came from behind her, a hand resting on her shoulder. Luna turned as he held out a pair of shoes. "I didn't know your size, but I hope these work." They were bright blue tennis shoes with dark blue laces. She thought about asking where he found them, but then realized, she didn't want to know. They looked about her size so she slipped them onto her bare feet. Like a glove, she thought, how in the world...

The clinic was only a few blocks away, but getting the carts there was the hardest part. The ground was littered with debris. Joe was able to find some band-aids at the grocery store, but that didn't cut it. They needed more bandage supplies and medications. Hopefully, the clinic was still standing.

It was not. It laid in pieces, smoking. Any hope was wiped from their faces as they all stared at the rubble. It looked as if it was hit heavily, resulting in a fire. Luna thought about all the people on the hill with injuries that needed medical attention.

Her heart sank and she looked up at Adam. His eyes were stern and muscles rippled under his shirt. He was mad, apparently he had got his hopes up too. Luna took her hand and placed it on his shoulder. He flinched at her touch but turned his head to look at her, eyes softening. He put his hand over hers and gave it a little squeeze.

"We should check the houses, maybe we can find some supplies there." Taking Luna's hand, he paced it on his cheek. Stubble scratching her palm, she moved her fingers to cup the side of his face. He smiled, like he was telling her it would all be ok. She smiled back as he placed his hand on her cheek in return. She had never felt so safe, but so afraid in her life.