Beyond The Lamppost

Lost Without You - Part 1

  Set after LWW - before PC.
Ages:
Peter - 18
Susan - 17
Edmund - 15
Lucy - 12

Edmund smiled as he opened up his book. He looked up at the sky, the sun shone brightly and he thought about how grateful he was that spring was finally here. "I'll think I'll sit outside when I get home from school." He mumbled to himself. "Perhaps I'll ask Lucy to join me, she loves this kind of weather."

   He was actually in History class right now. The teacher said the day was much too lovely to be spent indoors, so he insisted they have class outside. Edmund didn't mind one bit, he loved the outdoors. He already finished his assignment, so he decided to continue reading his book.

  Suddenly, Edmund gasped when he felt the ground shake beneath him.

  "Earthquake!" One of the students shouted.

  "Stay calm!" The teacher said, loud enough to be heard over everyone's cries of panic. "Get away from any large objects that could fall on you, and stay still."

  Luckily, Edmund was sitting alone in the middle of the grass. So he was safe. He closed his eyes and pulled his knees up to his chest, covering his head with his arms.

   About a minute later, everything went still again. Edmund slowly looked up. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized the earthquake was over.

Edmund had felt very few earthquakes in his life. They weren't very common in England, but they'd happened before. But this was definitely one of the strongest ones he'd felt. He looked around to make sure no trees or anything had collapsed. Everything was still standing, for now at least.

  He slowly stood up and brushed himself off. Then he put his book in his bag, before placing his bag back on the ground.

  Edmund looked at the school entrance to see all the other students and teachers coming outside; which was the policy when something like this happened. After a moment, Edmund saw Peter's grade walking out the door. He rushed over to make sure his brother was alright.

  He looked over the group of boys, his heart skipping a beat when he saw no sign of his brother.

Edmund quickly walked over to the teacher. "Mr. Adams?" He said.

  The teacher looked down at him. "Yes?"

  "Where is Peter?"

  The teacher quickly scanned his class, eyes going wide when he saw no sign of him. "Oh dear." He said after a moment.

  "What?!" Edmund asked, heart pounding in his chest.

  "He asked to go to the bathroom right before the earthquake. He must not have come back before it happened."

  Edmund's eyes widened immensely as he turned his head to look at the school building, debating on what he should do.

  The principal suddenly ran out. "The building is going to collapse! The earthquake damaged the foundation." He shouted. "Everyone needs to evacuate immediately!"

  That did it. Edmund quickly turned around, seeing the school his sisters went to right across the street. He saw both of them safely out in the schoolyard. He sighed in relief at the fact that his sisters were safe. But his brother wasn't. So he took a deep breath before running as fast as he could inside the school, in search of his brother.

  He heard several shouts of his name, but he ignored them. He had one focus and one focus only. To find Peter and get him out alive.

  He turned the corner to the bathroom, his eyes going wide when he bumped right into someone. He was about to apologize and continue walking, but when he saw who it was he stopped in his tracks.