"Kenna, wake up!" Sydnei screamed in McKenna's face, slightly shaking her, "McKenna Rae Maltby, open your eyes already! Please!"
Kenna coughed.
"Thank god, are you okay, Kenna?" I asked, watching intently.
"What? Where am I?" McKenna squawked, opening her eyes.
"Long story, ouch." I grimaced. Breathing is starting to hurt too.
"You okay?" McKenna asked, stepping up and walking over to me.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just took too big a breath. Are you okay?" I asked.
"I'm good, but what's wrong with you? Are you hurt?" she said, doing a once over of my condition before kneeling beside me.
"Most of my ribs are broken, I just need to relax." I answered.
"How the heck did you do that? Do you want me to call 911?" she looked around for her cell phone, but came up empty. "Where's my phone?"
I looked at Sydnei, she shrugged her shoulders.
"Thanks, Syd, you're lots of help," I said, sarcastically.
"Anytime, I'm going to go check on Kels and Jack, you handle Kenna," she said, walking over to Kelsy.
"What are you guys talking about? What's wrong with them?" Kenna asked, looking over to our two friends lying on the ground a few feet away.
"Kenna let me explain. Everyone, as far as we know, is dead. We're going to have to survive on our own from here on out, unless we find someone else," I watched as she slowly took it in, and then continued, "I don't know how it happened, but it seems that all that crap about 2012 was true."
McKenna took a couple seconds to digest this. "Wait, what? So the world just, ended? Just like that?" she knit her eyebrows together trying to remember. "That's impossible. What really happened? And why aren't Jackie and Kelsy awake?" she glanced at their bodies lying silently next to each other, "Are they dead?" she started to get up, but I grabbed her arm before she could go anywhere.
"Sit down," I said, "They're not dead, just calm down."
She did what I said with a puzzled look on her pale face, the corners of her lips pulling down in a frown. I heard her take a deep breath.
"Okay, so, why are we outside? And how did you get hurt?" she continued asking, sitting down.
"Tree," I sighed, as I pointed to the oak sitting behind me.
"Oh my god, that could have killed you! We need to get you inside and make sure nothing else is broken, because if what you've said about this," she said gesturing to the destruction around us, "Then we really are on our own, and we'll have to deal with this by ourselves, I guess."
I heard Kelsy gasp awake and I looked over to see if she was alright.
"Hey, anything hurt?" I called over there, watching as Syd moved onto Jackie.
"Bruises, lots of them," she looked down at her arms and legs.
She looked around for a second before she screamed.
"Holy crap, did 2012 just happen?" Kelsy jumped up and started running around, looking at everything in a panic, "Oh my god, oh my god, are our parents dead? Everyone we've known is dead. This is not happening."
"Kels, it is, now calm down please," Kenna said, softly.
A sharp pain ran through my midriff causing me to yelp.
"What's wrong?" Kelsy nearly yelled, running over to my side, opposite McKenna.
I sighed. Explaining this was starting to get on my nerves.
"Tree hit me, broken ribs. I'll be fine, I hope, just need rest, and probably somewhere soft to lay instead of this gravel," I scoffed.
"Holy…" Kelsy trailed off, "Everything will be alright, my love, I promise."
"Thanks, is Jackie awake yet?" I asked grabbing McKenna and Kelsy's hands. So far, they were the only things keeping me from having a panic attack.
"Jackie's awake," Sydnei called, helping Jackie sit up.
"You okay?" we all said in unison.
"Of course, pain is too mainstream for me," she laughed, grabbing onto Sydnei's hand and hoisting herself up. She brushed her jeans off and looked around. A look of shock crossed her face, "Fuck, did what I think happen, just happen?"
"Pretty much, yeah," I responded.
She looked over at me, saw that I was lying on the street, holding Kenna and Kels's hands, and I watched as her smirk slowly faded.
"Madre, what happened? Are you okay?" she dashed over to my side.
I looked at McKenna, and she got what I was asking her to do.
"When the world ended," she chuckled, "How weird does that sound, "the world ended" I never thought I'd be saying that," she repeated almost to herself, "Anyways, when we all ran outside, she got hit by a tree and it broke a few of her ribs. Plus, she's in a lot of pain."
"Okay, um, we need to find someplace soft she can lay down, for now at least, until we find some stable house to stay in until she heals," Jackie got up from her crouch and looked up and down the street. She pointed to the left, "There looks to be fairly well looking house up the street a ways. A couple of us should check it out."
"I'll take Jack and go look, you guys just stay with Madi and make sure she doesn't pass out from the pain or anything," Sydnei said and grabbed Jackie's hand.
"Guys, there's no need to coddle me, I'll be alright, I just want to make sure you all are alright as well, if anything hurts, let me know. I know I can't do much, but I can give advice," I said shrugging lightly.
"God, honestly, Madi. You're the one who has broken bones, and not an arm or a leg, ribs!" Kelsy said throwing her hands in the air.
"I agree, even if that's hard to believe" Sydnei answered, smiling slightly while still holding onto Jackie's hand, "If any of us are going to make it, you need to heal up first, we can't do anything with you being hurt. You're just holding us back."
We all laughed and I cringed as another shot of pain ran through my body.
"Thanks, Syd," I said, smiling.
"Of course," she answered back with a grin, "And probably not the best idea to laugh either."
"I'll try not to, but being around you guys, it's kinda hard not to laugh," I responded, "Now you two be safe, okay? We have no idea what's out there."
"I'll always protect my wife," Jackie said, pulling Sydnei into a signature Jackie hug, one where she grabs your head with a bone crushing grasp of her arms.
"We know," I answered, "Now, hurry back!" I called as we watched them retreat down the street.
