With Stars In Their Eyes

Chapter 8: The Children of Destruction

Luna didn't want to leave the steps. She wished that she could just stay and that would be her new reality. But she pulled herself up off the concrete and made her way back towards the hill. It was only about a mile away, but the exhaustion made it feel like she was walking to a different state. Her shoulder was staring to throb and her eyes were dry. She didn't get enough time to recover before venturing off to look for supplies.

"Woah there," He said, catching Luna as she stumbled over some rubble. They both paused for a second and he scooped her up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way. With her head on his chest, she could hear his heartbeat. She put her hand on his chest and looked up at him. He was focused on the trek back to the hill. Allowing her eyes to close, she appreciated the rest he had gifted her.

As they approached the hill, he stood Luna back on her feet. Something was wrong. The group had retreated towards the tree, bodies littered the ground around them. The majority of the group had succumbed to their injuries. She looked desperately around for Tyler. Scanning the living and dead, she finally found him, leaning up against the tree. He's alive, she thought. He was out cold, but she could see his chest moving to accept oxygen.

Stella ran to Adam, squealing. She jumped up on him the second Luna was on the ground. He caught her, and she took her place in his arms like a giant furry baby. It was the most adorable reunion Luna had ever seen. She stayed behind with Maggie and it seemed she was looking after the children in Adam's absence.

There were only about 10 people remaining: Maggie and her husband, Tyler, three children, a younger woman, and a middle aged man. Luna couldn't understand how they all died. They couldn't have been gone for more than 8 hours. When they left, there were a few bad injuries, but most of them were minor: scrapes and lacerations. They should have lived.

Luna made her way up to the tree to check on Tyler. He was breathing, but he looked like he was in a deep sleep. Checking his pulse, it seemed very slow. She held back tears, trying not to think about his condition. She needed to get him back to the gym and out of the open.

The sun had almost gone down, leaving the sky streaked with orange and purple. It would have been an amazing sunset under different circumstances. Luna rejoined Adam at the base of the hill after carrying Tyler over with the help of Maggie's husband, Gary, and placing him in one of the carts to be pushed back to the shelter.

Adam was speaking to the group of survivors and apparently, not every one wanted to come with. The young woman, who was barely five feet tall, seemed to be questioning whether is was a good idea to go somewhere where they had less of a chance of being seen by rescuers. She was going to stay behind with the middle aged man in hope of flagging down some one looking for survivors.

"I'm just scared that they will assume every one is dead." She said, her voice was small, and shaky, as if she didn't believe the words she was saying. "Some one has to stay out in the open to make sure we are found."

She was right, if help was coming, some one needed to get their attention. If some one was coming. They still had no idea what just happened and how big of a problem it actually was. There was no power in the town, no TVs to check the news or phones to call for help. The cars were all riddled with holes and there didn't seem to be any reliable source of transportation. They were stuck.

The children had glued themselves to Maggie like ducklings. The youngest was crying, Luna didn't even want to imagine what they had been through today. Too young to know why their parents weren't with them or why they couldn't go home.

"It's getting dark," Adam mentioned. Luna assumed he was picking up on her sadness for the children. "It's going to be ok. They have Maggie to look after them." He took her hand and guided her to the cart containing Tyler. It was going to be a long night. Gary had loaded up the kids into the other cart and they all took off towards the school.