Don't Move

Searching For Safety

The sound drew us closer. We didn't run away from the noise that we knew would change our lives forever. We ran faster and saw the young man from earlier, dead. His siblings standing near him as they sob profusely. The young man who died was definitely seventeen-years-old and his younger siblings quite young. Heidi and I run towards them. We pick them up, as they cry, and pull them along to safety.

We drag them to an abandoned house close-by.

When they calm down, we decide to ask them some questions about their lives so we can care for them better.

"So,"I say kindly as I wipe their tears and give them some food and water, "can you tell us your names?" "We aren't supposed to trust people,"a young girl says quietly, "our brother told us not to." "But your brother told us to care for you if anything happened to him,"Heidi says calmly. The young girl nods and says, "I remember."

"So,"I say seriously, "I'm Athena and this is Heidi." They nod sweetly. "I'm Joy and I'm thirteen,"the young girl says and points to her brothers, "this is Jay and he's eight. This is Ace and he's six." We both nod and look at each other with worry.

"Nice to meet you guys,"I say and Heidi nods with her forced smile. "We have some rules,"Heidi says seriously, "no going out during the day. We go out at night and sleep during the day. We eat very little and drink very little. We don't talk to anyone and we listen to everything so we can figure out what's happening in this war." Joy and Jay nod but Ace smiles as he isn't listening to the conversation.

"Please explain to Ace,"Heidi says and I nod but Joy beats me to it.

It is daytime, so we decide to stay in this abandoned house unless we have to leave. I see the pain in Joy's eyes and Jay's but Ace is oblivious. It's a gift of childhood. Oblivion is something I'd rather have than this big mess that is infront of my eyes.

"Guys,"I say to the little ones, "you gotta sleep because we gotta leave soon." They nod and I doze off as soon as I hear their heavy breathing.

As soon as night falls, I wake up and move to wake up the children but I see Heidi doing it. I smile at the gesture.

"Hey,"I say as I move closer to Heidi. She looks up at me and smiles as the children open their eyes. "Come on,"I say to them, "we've got to keep moving." They nod. Heidi carries Ace as he is still sleeping and we continue walking with my broken leg.

The kids never seem to notice or ask.

Loud bangs are heard as well as consistent bangs. I look at Heidi and whisper, "Bombs and the random bullets." She nods and goes away from that area. We try to hurry but freeze when we hear voices and see shadows.

We all fall silent and I put my hand over Ace's mouth as I see him waking up.

Ace's eyes widen when he notices the gesture and tears start falling from his eyes. I look at him with a pleading look. All I want is for him to be quiet for the time being.

He continues to cry silently until the noises and shadows disappear. I take the young boy from Heidi and hold his hand as we walk. We are the weakest among them. We are going to be gone together if anything ever comes our way.

I sigh as I think about it and the guilt threatens to break me. I continue walking along with them.

As the night comes to it's end, we come across an old diner and I smile at the familiarity of the place. Joy, Jay and Heidi stop. They look back at us and I point to the place. We hurry into the diner before the sun comes up and we get ready to sleep.

A few hours before dawn breaks, a few men come past and I hear whispers about the alien being thousands of miles away from here and that the trek up the mountain is less treacherous than facing the alien.

I smile at their misfortune and Ace gives me a look of concern.

"Why are you happy?"Ace asks seriously, his concern clear. "Because the more they lose, the more we win,"I say with an even brighter smile. I mess with his hair and he smiles brightly.

The day comes into view as I close my eyes and drift into the only escape from the life we are living. No nightmare could be worse than this reality.

As the sun becomes stronger, my eyes open and I look at the young body sleeping. We didn't eat during the night since we didn't have any food. We have to find something in this diner. Just as the thought strikes me, a loud blast erupts and causing all the glass to break.

Ace starts to cry loudly and I put my hand over his mouth. "Be quiet,"I say roughly and he obeys despite the tears still flowing. I remove my hand and look to Heidi. I whisper, "I will take a look."

I lift my eyes up and see many people roaming freely. The blast forced these people out of hiding. As I watch, robots come into view and all the people are still running. They run and run oblivious to the robots. I continue to observe from behind the table and fear builds inside me.

The robots eyes turn red and every human is shot at. I continue to observe and wonder if it is heat seeking. Then it hits me.

I look at Heidi with fear in my eyes and she starts to come towards me. She wonders what horror I have seen so I scream, "Don't Move."