Hallelujah! A Guest fan fiction thread! Waited for months. :I But I was disappointed that most of the stories have nothing to do with any of the movie characters other than David. I was really hoping for someone to expound on Anna and David's relationship. (I mean, we all know what it was. It was pretty cool but damn frustrating that they never acted on it. But that only makes me respect Anna more.) Ah well. Better to just take matters into your own hands.

Written on a whim, and written really fast. Figured that small details weren't incredibly necessary for this fic. I hope to wrap this up quick lest I get bored. DX

Enjoy! :)

Chapter 1

When it was all over, she felt a numbness sink in.

Anna sat there, despondent; Luke was more so. A couple of hours ago, their parents had died- murdered by a man whom they had welcomed into their home, welcomed into their brokenhearted family. Like a son, a brother… a romantic fantasy.

She should be furious. But there was nothing and no one left for that wrath to be taken out on. It seemed that only the pain and grief remained. Perhaps some of that anger would return in the future. But right now, all she wanted to do was cry.

The government was more than willing to pay for the damages- and pay for whatever medical treatment, both physical and psychological, that the two teenagers will certainly need. But it was obvious that they had to also keep their mouth shut about the military program.

That fucking military program that most likely killed their brother, and brought that war-machine into their home.

There was a tight pain in her chest. She wanted to break down so badly to release the tension, but for some reason she couldn't. Anna's expression remained detached but deep down, there were too many things running through her mind. Her eyes glazed over.

A medical expert came over to tend to them and check their physical and mental states. It was Luke's turn so Anna had been left to her musings.

Firefighters approached the ambulance the two sat in. She didn't quite catch what they were saying. It didn't really matter either.

Until they mentioned the body count.

She looked up and all of a sudden, she saw one fire fighter slowly making his way (limping) out of the gymnasium.

The cladded figure stopped and stood there. Just stood there. The night had made his features hardly distinguishable under the firefighter headgear. And yet, she could feel the tension- the heated stare, concealed, but was undoubtedly fixed on her.

Anna's slumped posture straightened back rigidly. Panic washed over her, hot and cold all at once, and it shocked her back to life.

"What the fuck!"

"What's wrong?"

Anna quickly turned to the medic in front of her brother. Luke was looking at her expectantly, and anxiously- traumatized enough.

Anna looked at them in disbelief, mouth agape and twitching- finding it very difficult to form a coherent answer. She looked back, dead frightened of what would happen next. For all she knew, the next thing she would see would be the man standing right in front of her.

And then there was no one.

She should be relieved but it did not ease her fears at all. In fact, she was more terrified and at the brink of being hysterical. Luke and the medic turned to look at the spot she was staring at with wide eyes.

"He was- he was right there!" She whispered frantically.

Luke shifted in his spot, becoming extremely uncomfortable. The medic reached out to put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Who?"

In an instant, she felt her control and sanity snap like a toothpick.

"We have to get out of here! Please! Right now! Get us out of here!" The words came spilling out, sounding shaky and panicked.

"Miss, I need you to tell me what you saw."

Anna turned to the medic sharply. She didn't realize until then that tears were now streaming down her face. The woman gave her a concerned look. Anna didn't know what to say, except-

"Just get us out of here! Please! I don't want to be here! Take us to the hospital!"

Her desperation was clear. In her voice, in her eyes, in the way she was fidgeting…The medic understood and nodded curtly. "We'll do that right away."

In the next few minutes, they rushed to the general hospital. Anna refused to say anything else, holding a troubled gaze all throughout. Luke only stared at her, knowing exactly what was what.

When they arrived at the medical institution, Anna's leg wound was immediately treated. She was then admitted and given a private room. She had been adamant on having Luke stay with her the entire time.

That night, after the doctors left, Anna laid on her bed, curling under the bed sheets. Luke half-laid and half-sat on the cushioned bench next to her, idly flipping through the channels on the overhead mounted television.

There was a brief silence before she roughly spoke.

"Luke… lock the door."

Her voice was throaty, and frightened. Her brother looked at her. The frozen expression on her face was all it took for him to get up from his spot and walk over to the door. After that, he sat back down. The cartoons flashing on the TV screen was the only noise that filled the room. It did little to alleviate the tension. The world had suddenly become just the two of them as a thick silence formed between the siblings.

"…Did you really see him?"

Luke silently spoke. Anna's eyes remained unmoving but she nodded slowly. They both said nothing for a while.

"…What now?"

Anna didn't know how to answer him. She was the older one here. She was responsible for Luke. And she didn't know how to protect them both.

"I don't know…"

Luke turned off the TV. Anna wouldn't meet his stare. He was frightened but he felt terribly bad for his sister. He was the younger one. But he didn't want her to think he was helpless. He dug into his pocket to feel the butterfly knife that was given to him. Keeping the blade was ironic but it was a good thing he did.

The anxiety kept them up for hours. But everything took a toll by the time the sun was peeking out in the horizon. Pain, grief and anxiety melted away in their sleep. They dreamt of nothing. They needed that respite.

...

Miles away, in the midst of debris and corpses, in the center of the broken down Petersons' residence, a firefighter stood. A heavy sigh of relief and exhaustion escaped as he removed the headgear. He had a very long walk.

He was built for endurance. It was going to take more than stab wounds to kill him. For some damned reason, the knife missed his heart. Funny. He was actually looking forward to dying.

The man limped across the living room, towards the bedroom he once occupied. He gathered some clothes from his duffel bag and made his way to the bathroom. He shed off the suit, revealing a sculpted body marred with battle scars, other marks, and fresh wounds. He stepped under the shower, washing away the sweat that clung to his blond hair and the blood that painted his skin.

He got out of the bathroom, clean and fresh but tired and wounded. Still, it was little to nothing compared to what he had gone through before his time with his comrade's family. The former soldier returned to his room and patched himself up with the medical kit he always had in his bag. Soldiers like him had these essentials.

He couldn't stay here. He knew the military would search the place the next day. He needed get moving now and fast. The man packed all his belongings. He fished out the mix CD he had stuffed into the firefighter's suit pocket and tossed it into the bag.

Before he walked out the front door, he took one last look at a set of picture frames, eyes focused on that of a small wooden one with a girl and boy in the picture. For a while he hesitated, before grabbing it and placing it inside his bag's pocket.

The next thing was he was out the door, onto a long stretch of road and a wide expanse of flat lands.

Pain shot up each time he made a step.

As much as he wanted to stop, he wasn't done just yet.

I never quite memorized the layout of the home. To be continued.