Chapter 2-

Matthew's eyes slowly fluttered open, staring out the fiery gap that was once the roof of the cafe. He saw black blurs fly through the sky, the attack fighters that had caused all the damage. He could hear in the distance more explosions and people screaming. He struggled to roll on to his stomach and he tried with the rest of his strength to lift himself off the destroyed floor, but it was to no avail as he slumped forward face first.

Matthew turned back to his side and saw blood drip from an open wound on his forehead, landing on his dirtied jeans.

And that's just pleasant as well.

Matthew's eyes began to clear up, the glowing blurs in the café turning into real fires. He gazed around the rest of the demolished bar, seeing the corpses of those unfortunate to not have escaped in time. He slowly turned his head to the right, and saw a figure down the other side of the café trying to resuscitate a corpse. Matthew could tell he was getting frustrated, which could only mean he was failing. The figure pounded his fist on the chest of the man he was trying desperately to revive and cursed out loud. Matthew recognized the voice and raised his feeble arm towards the figure.

"Jeff!"

Jeff turned around and saw Matthew's tenuous position. He ran towards his wounded friend and knelt beside him, a gasping in horror at the deep gash on Matthew's head.

"Matt! Holy sh- your head!" Jeff dragged his friend away from the fires that were closing in and rested him against what was left of the stage. Matthew groaned as more blood dripped onto his lap. Jeff was bouncing from one place to another, trying to find something to stop the bleeding. He found a mug cleaning rag next to the rubble that was once the drink counter, and began to tie it around Matthew's head.

"Highly doubt this is very sanitary, but it'll have to do." Jeff snorted, trying to keep his cool.

"Where are the others?" Matthew managed to cough out.

Jeff sighed and shook his head. Matthew got the message and choked.

"I was trying to wake Chris up over there," Jeff pointed towards the corpse he was trying to revive earlier. "I have no idea where Craig is. He could be under all that rubble, for all we know…"

"Maybe he got out…" Matthew said, trying to spark some kind of optimism.

"Even if he did, he probably couldn't have lasted long out there." Jeff got up and stared at the sky through the gap in the ceiling. The green sky was tinted gray with smoke and ash, and the rocketing attack ships firing there lasers didn't help make it seem anymore pleasant. Jeff turned around from the sight, shaking with fear. His trademark sarcastic facial expression turned to one of hopeless fear, like a lost puppy.

"What should we do, Jeff?" Matthew groaned, his optimism fading away at seeing Jeff's lost expression. Jeff slowly shook his head; no words could describe how he felt. He started to pace nervously, thoughts racing through his head. He knew they couldn't try to make a break down the street, realizing they would be gunned down the moment they go outside. He knew that the raging fires in the café would engulf them anytime soon, if of course the café isn't bombarded with laser fire before that.

"I have no clue." Jeff said, his voice crackling with fear. "We can't make a run for it, but we're no better just sitting here with our thumbs up our ass."

Matthew groaned again, starting to become overwhelmed with the fact that he would better meet his end soon. His thoughts shot back to his aunt and uncle, whom were at work in the docks when he left that morning. He wondered if they managed to escape the attack, finding some kind of safety during the blitz. They were his only remaining family, and he wouldn't know what to do if they were lost.

His mind shifted back to his current situation, making him sit up with a stern face, trying to calm himself down.

To retrospect, if we go out, we die. If we stay here, we die. Decisions, decisions….

Another loud explosion was heard from down the street and sweat started to pour from the wounded young man. A batch of dust fell on Matthew's head, causing him to stare upward at the remaining ceiling. The dust continued to pour at a more rapid pace, and small slabs of concrete started to rain down near his position. Matthew yelped and tried desperately to crawl away from his resting spot.

"Matt!" Jeff ran over to his struggling friend and pulled him away from the raining debris. The rest of the café started to rumble, driving Jeff to panic more.

"SHIT!" Jeff screamed, grabbing Matthew's arm and placing it on his shoulder, supporting him.

"We need to get the hell out of here!"

Jeff led Matthew through the front door just as the café's roof collapsed. A sigh of relief came from both of them. Matthew gazed in horror at the war-torn streets. They were covered in crevices and small craters, filled with destroyed cars and corpses. Most of the buildings suffered a similar fate as the café. Luckily, it seems as though the passing ships in the air couldn't see them resting against the destroyed building.

Jeff was quivering profusely; sweat dripping down from his greasy hair. He slowly turned his head at Matthew, who was no better. "Matt, I really don't want to sound clichéd, but I think my life just flashed before my eyes…"

Matthew didn't say anything, still not comprehending what was happening. His heart raced, yet his expression was one of apathy. It was some strange mixture of both bliss and panic that had taken over his body, making him crack a shaky smile.

I think I'm going mad….

"Matt!"

A squad of three fighters started to fire around the two men, their shots missing them and hitting the ruins of the café.

"SHIT! Not this again!" Jeff grabbed Matthew's shoulder and began to lead him down the torn street. Matthew was still in a trance as they barely managed to avoid another strafing run from the ships. "SNAP OUT OF IT!"

A laser bolt struck the street only a few feet from where they were running; the shockwave that was created sent both of them in opposite directions. Matthew hit the asphalt hard, doing more damage to his injured head. He tried to push himself onward, but the damage was done. His vision was becoming impaired, he struggled to even crawl, and a loud ringing noise entered his mind. But still, he pushed on, dragging himself towards a body that was turned face first on the ground. With tears in his eyes, Matthew turned the body over.

Jeff's face was covered in dirt from the gravel he had met. His eyes were open, his pupils wide. His mouth hung ajar, blood dripping from his lower lip. A severe open wound on his head is what seemed to have did him in. Matthew tried to shake his friend back to life, but he knew it was no use. More tears rolled down his eyes as he stood up, his mind going blank. He wobbled slowly down the street, reaching the docks. He saw a giant crane floating in the dark green polluted waters of his battered planet. It sunk back to the deep end of the waters, causing Matthew to panic.

Matthew tried to gather speed in his feeble wobble towards the end of the docks, hoping that this submarine was friendly and able to lead him to some kind of safety. He reached the end of the pier, his vision still blurred and the ringing still clouding his mind. The submarine emerged, stunning Matthew and causing him to fall over in shock. The crane was dangling a large piece of metal covered in the waste of the oceans, giving it a horrible stench. Matthew tried to compose himself as he saw the porthole of the submarine open, a figure climbing overboard. The figure walked closer to him, and as he got closer, Matthew realized that it wasn't human.

The figure raised its boots over the downed humans head, and brought it back down across his face, knocking him unconscious.

Two straight chapters of Matthew being knocked out? Way to be consistent Brett!

Anyway, this chapter was hell for me, and will probably see some major editing in the near future. Again, this is my first piece of writing EVER, so please keep the criticism constructive. Thanks for reading! Chapter 3 will be up in a few days.