When Jed finally slowed the truck to a stop Lucy was still bracing herself against one of the wheel wells in the bed of the truck. She was sitting next to Robert and Daryl, two boys from her school, and all three where shaking slightly. After the third boy in the bed had been tossed out when they crashed, Lucy had wedged herself against the cab and one of the wheels, bracing herself from further possible impact. Lucy's legs ached from pushing so hard against the truck and her knee was throbbing from when she had hit it on the edge of the bed. When Jed came around to the side of the truck and asked them if they were alright, all three slowly shook their heads and Lucy tried to hold back the tears that had been threatening to fall. Lowering the tailgate, Jed motioned for them to follow him into the cabin.

Jumping down from the bed of the truck, Lucy felt her legs wobble. Before they gave out completely a hand shot out, grabbing her by the elbow and supporting her weight. "Okay?" Robert asked.

Lucy could feel the warmth of Robert's hand through her cardigan and it was oddly comforting. Squeezing her eyes shut she nodded. "Yeah, thanks," she said. They turned towards the cabin together and Robert's hand remained at her elbow until they were inside and Lucy was sitting at the table.

Immediately, Jed was delegating tasks to everyone, asking them to gather any supplies they could. It wasn't until then that Lucy remembered her backpack. Sliding the straps off her shoulders she turned the bag upside down over the table and dumped out its contents. A pair of jeans, six tops, an olive green jacket, a lightweight scarf, two slouchy beanies, another over-sized cardigan, her little clutch purse, and two days worth of socks and undergarments. Lucy quickly stuffed the undergarments back into the bag. This was a mix of the clothes she had been wearing the night before and things Zoe had returned to her. From the front pockets of her bag, Lucy pulled out her toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, a brush, a handful of hair elastics and bobby pins, and her makeup bag which also held a few pieces of jewelry. She looked at the items for a few minutes before speaking up. "I have all this," she said to no one in particular. When Lucy finally looked up she realized that the dark haired girl from out of town was the only person near her.

"Put back what you want to keep," the girl advised. Lucy looked at the girl for a minute before reaching out and re-packing her purse, the jeans, three tops, the scarf, the jacket, one of the hats, her makeup bag, and her toothbrush and hair brush. The socks and undergarments were already back in the bag.

Looking back at the girl standing next to her, Lucy held out the other hat. "Do you want this? I don't know how long we'll have to be out here, but it gets cold," she said, also handing over the other cardigan.

The girl hesitated at first but eventually reached out for the items in Lucy's hands. "Thanks," she said, pulling the gloves on immediately. "I'm Julie," she added. "That's my brother, Greg." She pointed to the dark haired boy coming through the front door with an armful of food.

"I'm Lucy. I heard you were from out of town," Lucy stated as she helped Julie organize the food everyone else had found.

"Yeah, San Diego," Julie replied. "We were visiting family," she added, her hands paused over a can of soup and Lucy saw them shake. "They're all gone," she said suddenly, turning to face Lucy with tears in her eyes.

Lucy put down her box of cereal and pulled Julie into a hug. "I'm so sorry," she said, the lump in her throat making it difficult to speak.

"That's perfect, keep it there," a voice called, turning the girls' attention to the living room. Robert and Daryl had managed to get reception with a pair of rabbit ear antenna and now the television was showing the news. Julie and Lucy moved into the room to get a closer look. Dan Lewis, the news anchor from Seattle, was talking about needless accidents and a help line to reach family. Lucy frowned.

"Bullshit," Jed snapped as he turned off the set.

"What do you mean," Daryl asked, confusion evident in his voice.

When Jed didn't answer, Greg spoke up. "It's propaganda," he said, causing every set of eyes to turn towards him. "Um, if this really is an invading force, they don't want us to freak out. They're trying to keep us calm." He paused and looked around the room. "They're controlling the station," he concluded, pointing at the television. "Telling us what we want to hear," he added.

"But why–" Daryl started, but Matt interrupted by shushing everyone.

"Do you hear that?" Matt asked, his question was mostly directed at Jed. Everyone paused to listen and heard the low rumble of a vehicle engine coming closer through the trees. Jed picked up a gun and ran outside, Matt following close behind.

"What do we do?" Greg asked, backing away from the front door.

After a few seconds, Matt came storming back into the cabin, his fists clenched in anger. "Turn off the lights," he ordered.

Pete, who was closest to the switch, frowned. "What is it? And why do you two think you get to be in charge?"

"Just turn them off so no one knows we're in here," Matt snapped back, glaring at Pete. The two boys stood on opposite side of the room and the tension was palpable.

Robert took a few steps toward Pete, reached around him, and turned off the lights. The darkness settled around Lucy like a wet blanket and she shivered in response.

"So we're just going to hide and let Jed, the hero, take care of us?" Pete hissed in the dark. "That's bullshit," he added. There was a rustling noise and then Pete spoke again. "I'm taking care of myself," he said. The front door swung open, there was more rustling, then the door shut and the room was silent again.

"Idiot," Matt hissed after a few seconds of silence but he too left the cabin.

In the dark room Lucy huddled alone on the couch. She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Closing her eyes, the image of her father kneeling on their lawn sprang to her mind and she opened her eyes again. Staring blankly into the darkness, Lucy felt hot tears sting her eyes and she tried to will them away. The fear she felt settled heavily in her stomach and she bit her bottom lip to keep from crying. From outside the sound of a gun being fired startled Lucy and her stomach felt sick. Her father was dead; she couldn't stop thinking about it. The image of him kneeling in their yard, a gun pressed to his temple was seared in Lucy's mind. Pulling her knees tighter to her chest she tried to keep her emotions pressed in, the last thing she wanted to do was cry in a room full of people.

The sudden sound of people entering the cabin captured everyone's attention and they were momentarily blinded as the lights were turned on again. When Lucy saw Danny standing at the door with Toni she slowly unfolded her legs, got to her feet and crossed the room in silence. As soon as Danny's arms were around her those emotions she was trying to keep in spilled out and she sobbed, shaking uncontrollably.

The rest of the room fell silent immediately. Lucy's emotions were causing everyone to think about their own. Each of them had struggled with the day's events and Lucy finally breaking down made everything that much more real. While most of the people in the cabin looked away from Lucy and Danny, Robert watched the scene, a crushing feeling in his chest. He hadn't seen what had happened in front of Lucy's house, he had been lying in the bed of the truck, but he had heard it. The sound of Lucy screaming for her father had troubled him the rest of the day. For a brief moment he had wondered how he was going to sleep after hearing what had happened, but he quickly realized that Lucy had seen her father killed, how was she going to sleep, ever again?

When Lucy's crying had subsided, Danny pulled back slightly and took her face in his hands. "I went by Zoe's place, trying to find you," he said. "The house was empty so I went to your place." He looked away and in that instant Lucy knew he had seen her father. "I'm so sorry Lu," he said, his voice cracked and his eyes filled with tears.

"Zoe's house was empty?" Lucy asked in a whisper, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands.

Danny nodded and turned to address everyone in the cabin. "They were rounding people up, but I don't know what for." He turned back to Lucy and smoothed down her bangs. "I'm sure she's alright," he added. Lucy nodded and pushed back her emotions again, she had to at least try to be brave or she was never going to survive this, whatever this was.


Thanks to those that have read and reviewed. I really appreciate any feedback. And yes, Ash and Dust is a Radioactive reference, I really think that song relates perfectly to Red Dawn. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.