Chapter 1
Anna, 20, survivor of the alien attack that has destroyed most of the human population, me and my sister are the only ones left in our small town, our parents were murdered by the aliens trying to protect me and my sister, so that me to look after and protect the only thing important to me, the only thing worth living for and that was my innocent little sister Mai
Nothing else mattered to me, she was the only person left in my life that I had to be strong for
After the aliens had left, I had got Mai and I out of the basement where we were hiding, and packed the things that we needed, filling Mai's little backpack with all the essentials she needed and my duffle bag with everything else we needed to survive
I lifted Mai onto my back after securing her backpack into place "Now Mai, hold on tight" I told her as I walked out of the back of the house, not wanting to risk running into the dead bodies of our parents, I had covered Mai's ears from hearing the horrific sounds that followed with their death that I couldn't risk her seeing their bodies, scarring her, I had to be strong for the both of us, and I had to protect her for as long as I can from what happened to our parents
When she was old enough I would tell her, when this was all over that's when she can now, but until then we had to move on and find somewhere else, some other form of shelter, somewhere far from here.
"Anna where's Mom and Dad?" She asked me, her head resting on me shoulder
"They've arranged for us to meet them somewhere safe, that's where we're going now" I told her, trying to keep my voice from breaking
She nodded and then resting her warm cheek on the bare flesh of my shoulder, her arms and legs wrapped tightly around me
I kept my feet moving knowing that we wouldn't be able to stop until we found somewhere temporary for us to sleep for the night before making a new start tomorrow
Mai's breathing got heavier and deeper and her hold on me got weaker, I wrapped my arms around her legs tighter, before shifting her round to my front, and tucked my arms under her, holding her against my chest as I continued to press forward
The daylight began to darken as the day turned to night, my body grower slightly weaker as my energy levels dropped slightly, from lack of food and water and sleep, but I couldn't stop yet and I couldn't wake Mai either. I had to keep moving
I pressed a soft kiss to the top of Mai's head as she continued to sleep peacefully in my arms while I carried her, walking further and further away from our home, trying to find us somewhere new, somewhere safe
I came across a bridge, and saw a small path that lead under it, I carefully made my way down the small hill and lowered myself down to the ground, resting my back against the inner wall of the tunnel under the bridge, my legs stretched out infront of me, I adjusted Mai, and wrapped my arms tighter around her, I was so tired but I was tempted to stay awake just a little longer to make sure we were safe, I listened carefully for the sounds of any movement, scanning the area around me for any signs that meant we weren't alone
My eyes finally dropped and closed, sending me into a dreamless sleep, my arms tightening around the only important thing left in my life. Her soft breathing helping me to sleep, helping to comfort me
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I can't recall how many hours I slept, but it was a little after dawn when I woke up, Mai's blue eyes watching me as I woke, I smiled lightly at her and stroked my hand through her hair
"How did you sleep?" I asked her, my throat a little dry making my voice sound a little off
She yawned before giving me her answer "ok" She said, I smiled lightly "You hungry?" I asked as I reached round to pull my duffle bag forward, I unzipped it and pulled out a bottle of water and a cereal bar and handed them to Mai "Eat up, we've got a long day today" I said, stroking my hand through her hair again
"You too" She told me handing me back the bottle of water, I pulled of the cap and placed the bottle to my lips and swallowed almost half of it in one mouthful, Mai laughed softly at my shocked expression when I looked at the bottle
"Must of been thirsty" I said softly, before reaching into my bag again and grabbed another cereal bar and polished it off in seconds, I clearly underestimated just how hungry and thirsty I was.
Once Mai had finished, I put the rubbish back into my duffle to remove any evidence of us being here, and then helped Mai up to her feet before, standing up myself, I helped her up the small hill back to the top of the bridge, climbing up behind her
I took her hand once we were at the top and began walking with her across the bridge
"Today's going to be tough" I told her "Think you can keep up?" I asked her
She nodded
I looked at her "Promise you'll tell me when you start to get tired" I said, she smiled
"I promise Anna" She said, with a slight squeeze to my hand
I nodded and then pulled her closer to me, holding onto her hand a little more, but still being careful to not hurt her
It must have been just after midday when we came into view of any sign of civilisation, Mai looked up at me, her eyes bright and full of longing, I smiled lightly at her and squeezed her hand
"We're not there yet hunni" I told her, my voice soft
She nodded, but looked a little down, I squeezed her hand softly again "I'll let you know when" I told her, leaning down slightly and kissed the top of her head
As I stood back up I saw a figure in the distance that I recognised, I couldn't believe it was him, I hadn't seen him for over a year now
He had a gun strapped to his shoulder and he looked exactly how I remembered him and he was walking in our directions
"Anna?" Mai asked me, I looked down at her and smiled "He's an old friend" I told her when she looked at me confused
"Anna?" I heard him call, my heart jumped in my chest, and then he was running, closing the distance between us
"Is it really you?" He asked me when he was only a few feet away, I couldn't find my voice so I nodded, he still had the same effect on me and I was glad that it hadn't changed over the year that we had hadn't seen each other
He reached out and touched my arm, confirming for himself that I was real, I smiled
"It's me Hal" I said softly, I looked down at Mai and quickly lifted her up and rested her on my hip, she wrapped her arms around me and looked at Hal
He smiled at Mai "I remember you when you were just a baby" He said, reaching over and pinching her cheek lightly, Mai giggled
He then looked back at me "What are you doing all the way out here?" He asked me, I still had to be strong for Mai, so I couldn't tell him everything
"Aliens came to our house, so we had to leave" I told him, looking down at Mai, I kissed the top of her head lightly, he looked between the two of us and nodded, he could tell there was more but wasn't going to push me for the answers just yet
"So you need somewhere to stay?" He asked, I nodded
"Please" I said, He smiled "Follow me, I'll take you back to the school" He said, and then walked to stand beside me before leading us back the way he had been coming from
"The school?" I asked him, a little confused
He looked at me and smiled "It's sort of homebase for my family and a group of other family's too, survivors of alien attacks" Hal said, speaking quietly, so that Mai didn't hear
I looked at her, she had her head buried into my shoulder and her eyes closed, I stroked her back lightly and tightened my grip on her, holding her closer to me as I continued to carry her, walking with Hal, letting him lead us to somewhere safe
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Hal lead me into a room "You and Mai can stay in here with me and my brothers" Hal said "You can put Mai down in that bed for now if you want" He said, I nodded and then carried Mai over to the camping bed
"Mind grabbing her backpack?" I asked, Hal walked over and helped take off Mai's pack, I turned back to the bed and lowered her down onto it, I then lowered down next to the bed and placed my duffle down and unzipped it and pulled out the blanket I had inside it, and placed it over Mai, tucking it around her
I zipped my duffle back up and Hal knelt down beside me, placing Mai's pack next to my duffle, he placed a hand on the small of my back, as I quickly lent over and kissed the top of Mai's head and stroked her hair out of her face
"Sleep tight angel" I said into her hair, before I stood up, Hal standing up with me, keeping his hand on the small of my back
"Want to go somewhere to talk?" He asked me, I nodded and then rested against him a little, he lead me out of the room and walked me down the halls of the school
He pulled me into a side room and closed the door behind us
"What happened Anna?" He asked me, I bit my lip lightly
"The Aliens raided our house, mom and dad managed to get Mai and I into the basement just in time, but the aliens killed them, I covered mai's ears to protect her from hearing it, but the sounds of their screams as they died will haunt me" I told him
"But I can't tell Mai, I have to protect, just a little longer, and I have to be strong for her" I said to Hal, now leaning into his chest, feeling a slight breakdown on it's way, the tears that I had been working so hard on keeping inside, were now fighting to get out
The emotions I had kept inside, battling along side of them, Hal wrapped his arm around me a little tighter, and then pulled me into his chest, wrapping his other arm around me and that's when all my walls came crashing down
"You need to grieve Anna" he said softly into my hair as he stroked my back lightly
"Get it out of your system, don't hold anything in, I'm here" He said soothingly, letting me ruin his clean dry top with my tears, I clutched onto him, grabbing fistfuls of his top as the crying got worse, as it louder and sobs got more painful
Hal just stood still, with his arms around me, stroking my back every now and then to help sooth me, letting me get the death of my parents out of my system, letting me fully grieve for them
When my sobs and cries turned into soft whimpers, Hal moved one of his hands and slipped it between us and tucked his thumb under my chin and lifted my head, so that I was looking at him, he stroked his thumb over my cheeks, wiping away my tears, not saying anything, giving me all the time I need to pull myself back together, and I was grateful that he had done this for me
I took a deep breath "thank you" I said just above a whisper, not trusting my voice just yet, he smiled gently and stroked his thumb over my cheek again
"No thanks necessary Anna" He told me
"I'll always be here for you" He said softly, then kissed the top of my head, I smiled lightly and then released the grip I had on his top and lifted my hands to my face and wiped at it, trying to remove any evidence that I had been crying
Hal smiled "Want a tour of the rest of the place?" He asked me, knowing I needed some sort of distraction
I nodded "Please" I said softly "But umm...don't you want to change your top?" I asked biting my lip a little, Hal shook his head lightly
"Anna, it's only a little damp" He said "It's fine, and besides" He said and then reached down for the zip of his jacket and zipped it up
"No need to change" He smiled and then lead me out of the room again, opening the door and pulled me out, he closed the door again and then we walked through the halls again
Hal showed me some of the other rooms that other families were staying in, where the medic station was, he then lead me to the food hall
"Are you hungry?" He asked
"A little, but think we could grab something for Mai too?" I asked, he nodded
"Stay here, I'll get it" He said and walked over to a table, his dad and a few others were sat around it
I watched from where I was stood, Hal's dad stood up and walked over to me, while Hal walked over to another table
