Lourdes lost her family in the attack. Everything was taken from her; taken from the kind-hearted pre-med student with a whole life ahead of her.

Lourdes had always kept her promise to God, despite it all. Faith was all she had for those cruel months without her family. The world would collapse around her feet, but Lourdes felt safer believing that her prayers meant something to someone.

And then Jamil was taken from her. Jamil. Her first love, her everything. After that, Lourdes just couldn't see the point in praying any more. Why pray for a doomed world? The entire act just seemed foolish to her, the way it must have seemed to everyone else at the time.

The nightmares were getting worse and worse. They were becoming less like nightmares and more like constant visions embedded into her brain. The screams of her family as the aliens attacked, the last few moments she had spent with Jamil, the fear of losing anyone else - it was all there, plaguing her mind every second of every day. Lourdes barely acknowledged them as nightmares now, more like the realisation that there is no way to beat the aliens, no way to escape, no way to go back to a normal life. The most she can do is force a smile for her friends, for Anne who has always looked out for her, for young Matt Mason who has been forced to grow up so fast, for Hal and Tom who would move mountains to protect their family.

Lourdes just wished she had her family.


Lourdes pushed through the mass of people, trying to spot Anne's face in the crowd. Tom, Hal and a small group of fighters had taken off earlier for supplies. Charleston had been hit pretty badly, but not by the aliens. The majority of the supplies were stolen, and nobody can quite figure out how the thief went unnoticed. A group of fighters found the remains of the supplies just outside of the camp, but the thief had done a good job of making them impossible to use. Anne had insisted that she joins the fighters on their mission, making an argument about how they wouldn't be able to identify the medicine she needs. Everyone secretly knew that the fighters could easily manage the right kinds of medicine, but not a lot of people tend to argue with Anne in public. Her pregnancy has just made her even more fierce. Lourdes has even seen Pope back down after Anne took one of his pregnancy jokes too seriously.

She felt a hand on her arm, and turned to see Hal Mason. Behind him stood Tom and Maggie, who were doing their best to avoid Lourdes' stare. Her eyes locked back on Hal as she realised he was speaking.

"- took her on the route back. We're going to get her back, no matter what it takes." Hal spoke with a firm voice, but his eyes showed the emotion he was trying to conceal. His hand dropped back to his side.

Lourdes took a few moments to let the information sink in. Anne. The only comfort she had left was gone. Taken. How many more people did she have to lose?

Anger swept over Lourdes in waves. How was Anne taken so easily? They should have looked after her. Tom should have looked after her.

Lourdes didn't even realise she had punched Hal until she felt the sharp pain in her knuckles. She had never hit somebody before, but from the look of Hal she was pretty good at it. Lourdes felt a small pang of guilt. She hadn't meant to hurt Hal, but the anger she felt was all she could focus on.

Maggie was glaring at her, her hand on Hal's shoulder. Oh. That's right. Lourdes had almost forgotten about their little romance.

She didn't bother to apologise, to explain herself. She definitely didn't care enough to explain herself to Maggie. Instead of shouting at them all or throwing another punch or doing something to satisfy the rage filling her, Lourdes turned and walked away.

... She'd apologise later.