Hey guys! So I know I've been on a hiatus for, like, a year but I'm back! This is a story that I've been working on with my friend, doppelganger08, give her a follow! We got inspiration for this a while ago and Wattpad saw it first, but now we're putting it on here. This is an AU based in Texas where two separate groups of survivors are trying to stay alive. I wrote the perspective of Hadley while doppelganger08 wrote the perspective of Gray. I hope you enjoy!
Full summary:
When the first wave hit, it was a massive blackout. Even Hadley's mind was dark and void.
When the second wave hit, the water took Gray down with it, and drowned her in the new reality.
It used to be so simple for them. All Hadley had to worry about was her spot on the basketball team and her trumpet while Gray was caught up with choir auditions and her upcoming Algebra exams.
And, of course, they have boys to face. There will always be boys.
Now, they constantly countenance oncoming threats, including aliens, and the typical teenage drama.
Will these best friends find one another again on the trail to a safe haven? And if they do, will they be able to trust one another in a world where all hope has been lost?
A/N: I know in the books the waves were over a longer period of time but they come after one another quickly in this story for the sake of the plot.
Hadley: 1
I thought Friday's were supposed to be fun. In a stark contrast to Monday's, that is. Well this Friday was very different from Monday, but not in a good way. This Friday was easily the worst day of my life.
I mean, it started out good. I woke up around 6, went to basketball practice, and managed to stay awake during my classes. I was ready to boycott school completely, finding no point in going anymore. With the power cut off and the mother ship looming above us, I found no point in anything anymore.
But it was when I walked into band that everything changed. I unloaded my instrument, popping my mouthpiece into my shiny trumpet. The trumpets were across the hall today- every section in our class interchanged the days that they had one on one practice with the assistant director.
I walk into the practice room to find the other trumpets already set up, playing through their scales. I take my seat in third chair. There were only five of us, and I didn't think I was good enough to even be in third chair.
Anyways, I sat in between Ben and Oliver. Oliver was the second chair player, although I always thought that he deserved first. He was shy and quiet, not disrespectful like the actual first chair, his best friend, Asher.
And Ben, the fourth chair-I don't know about him. While Oliver is quiet in a respectful way, Ben is quiet in a weird way. He's sickly thin, his eyes sunken in. He's the kind of guy who watches Anime, and he's always wearing a thick green hoodie. It's probably because he doesn't have enough body fat to keep him warm.
And Asher, the first chair, and as I said, Oliver's best friend. He's this cocky, obnoxious loudmouth who thinks he knows everything about anything. I hate him immensely. He's always putting Oliver in his shadow, treating him poorly. I believe that Oliver deserves better.
Lastly, fifth chair, is this guy named Kyle. At the beginning of the year, Kyle and I became pretty good friends. That all changed when he tried to kiss me-that's a whole other story. He's absent all of the time. That means most of the time there's only four trumpets, not enough to make a difference.
So I sat down in my chair, adjusting my slides so I didn't sound too sharp or too flat. Not long after, a band director came in and led us through our warm up.
"Our Christmas concert is in three weeks," Mrs. Ledger said. "You guys have to play better!"
I've never liked Mrs. Ledger. She was too young, too strict, and too stuck-up. She never gave us real pointers, just told us to sound better. She's supposedly a great clarinet player, but I seriously doubt it.
"Again," Mrs. Ledger said. "From the top!"
I reluctantly raised my trumpet again, starting to play the Jingle Bell Rock. However, we only reached the fourth measure before the ground broke out into a frantic shake.
My chair rattled, and I was thrown onto the ground. Our music stands fell over, papers flying everywhere. Even the whiteboards on the wall fell, clattering to the floor with a loud bang.
"GET DOWN!" Mrs. Ledger shouted over the ruckus. We dropped to our knees, throwing our hands protectively around our heads. I distantly noticed Oliver and I's arms pressed up against each other.
Another wave of shaking rolled in, the ground grumbling. This time it was more forceful, and I lost my balanced. I blushed as I was thrown against Oliver.
The shaking died down. I was almost afraid to move, scared that the ground would split in two right below my knees. But Oliver grabbed my shoulders, steadying me.
"Are you okay?" he asked me.
I nodded, my face hot. "Yeah. I'm sorry."
"It's okay," he said.
"Is everyone alright?" Mrs. Ledger asked, standing up straight and adjusting her hair.
"We're fine," we all grumbled in return. We cautiously rose to our feet, making sure the ground was stable beneath us. Except even though it was sturdy, I wasn't. It's happening, I thought. First the electricity and now what? An earthquake?
"I'll be right back. I'm going to go find out what's going on," Mrs. Ledger announced, brushing off her clothes.
I rolled my eyes at her, turning back to the mess in the room. I picked up my stand, gathering the papers that flew from my binder. I set my chair upright and grabbed my trumpet, sighing in relief when I found that it wasn't damaged.
"Aw, man!" I heard Asher complain. "My trumpet! It's dented!"
Oliver shrugged. "That sucks, dude."
"Yeah, it sucks!" Asher whined. He wagged his fist at the ceiling. "Those aliens owe my a new trumpet!"
"Hey," Ben suddenly said, startling me. He never talked. Like, ever. "We don't know that it was the aliens."
Asher gestured wildly with his hands. "Of course it's the aliens! We are practicing by candle light because of them! Surely they didn't plan to kill us by just turning off our power!"
Ben raised his hands in surrender. "Hey-I'm just saying. You have no proof."
As if on que, Mrs. Ledger bursts through the door, her eyes looking wild. "It's them," she confirmed. "Another attack. I need you guys to listen to me for once in your life."
Geez. That was uncalled for.
"Lock the door," Mrs. Ledger said. "Lock it and don't come out until I say you can. Do you understand?"
We all nodded. No one spoke. Not even Asher said a word. We were all scared, I knew. I felt it in the sudden stillness of the room.
Mrs. Ledger turned towards the door, and I spoke up. "Aren't you going to stay with us?"
Mrs. Ledger shook her head. "We have to make sure the kids in the band hall are safe. I'll be back when the storm is over."
Storm? None of us protested. We simply walked back to our seats and sat, waiting. We didn't know what we were waiting for, but I had a feeling that all of us were preparing for the worst.
"I'm going to say it because obviously, no one else will," Asher said, throwing up his hands. "We're never going to see Mrs. Ledger again."
I knew he was right, no matter how much it pained me to admit that Asher was right. We were never going to see her again. Except I didn't know if it would be us not getting the opportunity to see her, or her not getting the opportunity to see us.
Death is a weird thing.
