Chapter 2:

They say that you should expect the unexpected. The basis of Murphy's Law. Anything that can go wrong, will. But of course no one adheres to that law, and we all pay the price for being ignorant in our own way. And that's what happened to me. And it affected all of us. Here's what happened:

It was of course my birthday. The day went by in the blink of an eye and evening had arrived. It was early in the night, and I had finished dinner, so I was hanging out with Astrid by the fireplace. It started to rain, so there wasn't much that we could do outside. Besides, everyone was on edge because of the storm brewing around us. Back when everything was chaotic in Monument and Canada, the only two things that the rain carried was poisonous Drifts and contaminated water. So, as you can expect, things weren't great at the moment. Niko and Alex anxiously kept looking out the window, as if something was going to happen, while Sahalia was doing her meditation poses (which she only does when she's scared). Astrid and I were cuddling with Charles, which made me feel pretty good. Mom had watched him for most of the day, so it was nice to spend some family time together. He was playing with his pacifier and giggling, which made me laugh.

Surprised, Astrid asked, "What's so funny Dean?"

"Look at Charles, love" I said chuckling.

Charles was smiling ear to ear while waving his pacifier in the air. He was so innocent, as if the cares of this world had decided to skip him. Astrid smiled and chuckled.

"He's so cute! Too bad he has to grow up in a world like this."

"Yea, it makes me sad, but he'll just have to deal with the cards he's been handed-we all have to you know. "

We both stared and smiled at Charles. I was about to give Charles a kiss when a loud noise-no, deafening noise emanated from outside. That's when everything went crazy.

"It's the alarms! We have to move now!" Screamed Niko.

Everyone that didn't have a B type blood (in other words everyone but Alex) scrambled onto their feet and ran to their rooms to get their gas masks. It took only fifteen seconds for everyone to grab their masks and make it back downstairs. When I made it back down, Alex was looking through the window as if something had frozen him in time. The bleak and horrified look he had didn't make things better.

"Alex! We have to get to the bunkers before they close! Alex!" I shouted beckongly.

No response. Just a dead stare. Annoyed yet curious as to what Alex was looking at, I moved back the curtains that were blocking my view to the outside and what I saw I will never forget.

My parents and Niko's uncle were lying in the yard in a pool of blood. Their skin was covered with broken blisters with blood flowing as if they had been riddled with bullets. A very gruesome sight. Niko's uncle looked up at us one final time and reached out his bloody, deformed hand, desperate for help that would never come. And with that, the three of them were dead.

I didn't feel or think of anything at that moment they died. It was probably because of the adrenaline running through my system. All I could think of was surviving into the next day. Then something changed. I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time. I felt rage.

It's hard to think when you're under the control of rage. Your whole body is plagued with the want and need to destroy something or someone. Sometimes it feels good to express such a ferocity. I most certainly did. I turned and looked at Alex. I just felt that I had to hurt him bad; no regrets or anything, just the need to eradicate him. Like a bloodlust of sorts. Before I could grab him however, two people grabbed me (Niko and Astrid I think) and stuffed my gas mask on me. Then everything went black.

I woke up in a to the sound of a click, like something had been unlocked. I turned my head in all directions and realized that someone had put a sleeping mask on me, probably to help speed up my recovery. Then I heard Niko's voice.

"Feeling any better Dean?"

I had the worst headache in my life.

"Yea I'm fine. My head hurts though."

"We kind of had to knock you out to get you under control. You were worse than that one time in the Greenway."

I was a bit bewildered. I guess that's what people feel like when they wake up after being kidnapped. Niko came over and took off the mask. I noticed we were in the bunkers that he setup. Niko sat down on the bed next to me. I was curious as to where Astrid was.

"Is Astrid and Charles okay? Where are they anyway?"

"Dean, I'm sorry..."

Niko had a guilty, forlorn expression. One that showed that he was hiding something.

"What is it Niko? What aren't you telling me?"

"Dean, after you were knocked out, Astrid went to go grab Charles and-"

"No! If what you're about to say is what I'm thinking, then-NO! It can't be!..."

I sat up. Wide awake, I was now extremely worried. I didn't know what to think.

"I'm sorry Dean, but Charles is dead. There was nothing we could do."

My eyes were now watering. My stepson, no, my son was dead and there wasn't anything that I could do. I guess I was talking pretty loud because Astrid came in running like there was no tomorrow.

"What's going on in here?" She looked at Niko and then me, who was still crying.

"Dean," she said with watering eyes and a broken voice. She rushed to me and embraced me tightly. We were now both crying. I felt incomplete, as if a piece of my heart was torn from my chest. And that's what happened. Charles was gone, and I felt so empty, my being devoid of life and understanding.

I'm not the one who processes loss like others. I don't cry (until now), but I store loss within me. I compartmentalize. It's what you have to do if you want to survive in a world like this. It's all you can really do.

Niko got up and left, leaving both of us alone in the room. Astrid looked up at me. The look that she had in her eyes showed hopelessness, something that I was feeling at the moment.

"Dean, what are we going to do? I can't keep doing this. I don't want to live anymore. Not with Charles gone."

Astrid and I laid back in the bed. Pushing the tears back, I moved the hair from her face and kissed her forehead softly.

"We have to keep living for Charles. We honor his memory and life that way." As my eyes again began to water, I desperately tried to hold back the raging current of emotions deep inside my heart. Seeing Astrid's face so lifeless and void, I had to try and be strong, for her sake. Yet when the thought of Charles' innocence and untimely death entered my mind, I could do nothing to stop the returning torrent of emotions from unleashing as tears pouring down my face.

"We've lost so much but we've kept going. All we can do is continue that."

"I don't want to move anymore Dean. I'm so sick and tired of moving. I just want to stay here for as long as I can. Stay here with you."

"I understand Astrid, and I want to stay here with you too. You keep me anchored to my sanity, and...I think I do the same for you. We'll stay for as long as possible but there will be a time when we have to face the harsh reality of the world above. I just want you to be ready."

"I know Dean...I know."

I thought back to a conversation that I had with my dad. He taught me about Murphy's Law. Expecting the unexpected. But I doubt that there was any way that I could've prepared for this. This freakshow of events that turned my world upside down in the matter of minutes; that ripped away just about everything I cared for. I knew that the losses wouldn't end, they couldn't, but while I had the opportunity, I would hold everything that I cherised close to my heart.

Astrid snuggled her head into my shoulder and fell asleep. I wrapped my arm around her lovingly, treasuring the affection that we had for each other. I glanced at my watch. It was two o' clock in the morning. I knew that I wasn't going to get many hours of sleep, if any at all. I looked up at the ceiling of the room we were in. Gray. The color that represents obscurity, yet emphasized the lonliness within me.

I reflected on the times that I shared with my parents, both good and bad. I thought of Charles, and his wonderful smile. They were gone, forever, and now I, seemingly alone, had to deal with the aftermath.

12 hours. 12 hours was all it took to rip away the people that I loved the most. I thought that I was finally safe and away from the dangers of my past. However, like a freezing, weary man sleeping in a icy wasteland, I was under the mere illusion of tranquility. It took my entire world being torn apart to shake me from my fatal misconception of reality. And it was my fault. And I'll never forgive myself.

I don't know when I fell asleep, but when I did, I felt surprisingly calm and serene, at least in contrast to my earlier emotions. I knew I wouldn't feel this way for a very long time in the weeks to come. Now that my loved ones were gone, it was just about surviving day to day, and tomorrow of course, wasn't going to be a good one. They say that you should expect the unexpected. The basis of Murphy's Law. Anything that can go wrong, will. But of course no one adheres to that law, and we all pay the price for being ignorant in our own way. And that's what happened to me. And it affected all of us. Here's what happened:

It was of course my birthday. The day went by in the blink of an eye and evening had arrived. It was early on in the night, and I had finished dinner, so I was hanging out with Astrid by the fireplace. It started to rain, so there wasn't much that we could do outside. Besides, everyone was on edge because of the storm brewing around us. Back when everything was chaotic in Monument and Canada, the only two things that the rain carried was poisonous Drifts and contaminated water. So, as you can expect, things weren't great at the moment. Niko and Alex anxiously kept looking out the window, as if something was going to happen, while Sahalia was doing her meditation poses (which she only does when she's scared). Astrid and I were cuddling with Charles, which made me feel pretty good. Mom had watched him for most of the day so it was nice to spend some family time together. He was playing with his pacifier and giggling, which made me laugh.

Suprised, Astrid asked, "What's so funny Dean?"

"Look at Charles, love" I said chuckling.

Charles was smiling ear to ear while waving his pacifier in the air. He was so innocent, as if the cares of this world had decided to skip him. Astrid smiled and chuckled.

"He's so cute! Too bad he has to grow up in a world like this."

"Yea, it makes me sad, but he'll just have to deal with the cards he's been handed-we all have to you know. "

We both stared and smiled at Charles. I was about to give Charles a kiss when a loud noise-no, deafening noise emanated from outside. That's when everything went crazy.

"It's the alarms! We have to move now!" Screamed Niko.

Everyone that didn't have a B type blood (in other words everyone but Alex) scrambled onto their feet and ran to their rooms to get their gas masks. It took only fifteen seconds for everyone to grab their masks and make it back downstairs. When I made it back down, Alex was looking through the window as if something had frozen him in time. The bleak and horrified look he had didn't make things better.

"Alex! We have to get to the bunkers before they close! Alex!" I shouted beckongly.

No response. Just a dead stare. Annoyed yet curious as to what Alex was looking at, I moved back the curtains that were blocking my view to the outside and what I saw I will never forget.

My parents and Niko's uncle were lying in the yard in a pool of blood. Their skin was covered with broken blisters with blood flowing as if they had been riddled with bullets. A very gruesome sight. Niko's uncle looked up at us one final time and reached out his bloody, deformed hand, desperate for help that would never come. And with that, the three of them were dead.

I didn't feel or think of anything at that moment they died. It was probably because of the adrenaline running through my system. All I could think of was surviving into the next day. Then something changed. I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time. I felt rage.

It's hard to think when you're under the control of rage. Your whole body is plagued with the want and need to destroy something or someone. Sometimes it feels good to express such a ferocity. I most certainly did. I turned and looked at Alex. I just felt that I had to hurt him bad; no regrets or anything, just the need to eradicate him. Like a bloodlust of sorts. Before I could grab him however, two people grabbed me (Niko and Astrid I think) and stuffed my gas mask on me. Then everything went black.

I woke up in a to the sound of a click, like something had been unlocked. I turned my head in all directions and realized that someone had put a sleeping mask on me, probably to help speed up my recovery. Then I heard Niko's voice.

"Feeling any better Dean?"

I had the worst headache in my life.

"Yea I'm fine. My head hurts though."

"We kinda had to knock you out to get you under control. You were worse than that one time in the Greenway."

I was a bit bewildered. I guess that's what people feel like when they wake up after being kidnapped. Niko came over and took off the mask. I noticed we were in the bunkers that he setup. Niko sat down on the bed next to me. I was curious as to where Astrid was.

"Is Astrid and Charles okay? Where are they anyway?"

"Dean, I'm sorry..."

Niko had a guilty, forlorn expression. One that showed that he was hiding something.

"What is it Niko? What aren't you telling me?"

"Dean, after you were knocked out, Astrid went to go grab Charles and-"

"No! If what you're about to say is what I'm thinking, then-NO! It can't be!..."

I sat up. Wide awake, I was now extremely worried. I didn't know what to think.

"I'm sorry Dean, but Charles is dead. There was nothing we could do."

My eyes were now watering. My stepson, no, my son was dead and there wasn't anything that I could do. I guess I was talking pretty loud because Astrid came in running like there was no tommorrow.

"What's going on in here?" She looked at Niko and then me, who was still crying.

"Dean," she said with watering eyes and a broken voice. She rushed to me and embraced me tightly. We were now both crying. I felt incomplete, as if a piece of my heart was torn from my chest. And that's what happened. Charles was gone, and I felt so empty, my being devoid of life and understanding.

I'm not the one who processes loss like others. I don't cry (until now), but I store loss within me. I compartmentalize. It's what you have to do if you want to survive in a world like this. It's all you can really do.

Niko got up and left, leaving both of us alone in the room. Astrid looked up at me. The look that she had in her eyes showed hopelessness, something that I was feeling at the moment.

"Dean, what are we going to do? I can't keep doing this. I don't want to live anymore. Not with Charles gone."

Astrid and I laid back in the bed. Pushing the tears back, I moved the hair from her face and kissed her forhead softly.

"We have to keep living for Charles. We honor his memory and life that way." As my eyes again began to water, I desperately tried to hold back the raging current of emotions deep inside my heart. Seeing Astrid's face so lifeless and void, I had to try and be strong, for her sake. Yet when the thought of Charles' innocence and untimely death entered my mind, I could do nothing to stop the returning torrent of emotions from unleashing as tears pouring down my face.

"We've lost so much but we've kept going. All we can do is continue that."

"I don't want to move anymore Dean. I'm so sick and tired of moving. I just want to stay here for as long as I can. Stay here with you."

"I understand Astrid, and I want to stay here with you too. You keep me anchored to my sanity, and...I think I do the same for you. We'll stay for as long as possible but there will be a time when we have to face the harsh reality of the world above. I just want you to be ready."

"I know Dean...I know."

I thought back to a conversation that I had with my dad. He taught me about Murphy's Law. Expecting the unexpected. But I doubt that there was any way that I could've prepared for this. This freakshow of events that turned my world upside down in the matter of minutes; that ripped away just about everything I cared for. I knew that the losses wouldn't end, they couldn't, but while I had the opportunity, I would hold everything that I cherised close to my heart.

Astrid snuggled her head into my shoulder and fell asleep. I wrapped my arm around her lovingly, treasuring the affection that we had for each other. I glanced at my watch. It was two o' clock in the morning. I knew that I wasn't going to get many hours of sleep, if any at all. I looked up at the ceiling of the room we were in. Gray. The color that represents obscurity, yet emphasized the lonliness within me.

I reflected on the times that I shared with my parents, both good and bad. I thought of Charles, and his wonderful smile. They were gone, forever, and now I, seemingly alone, had to deal with the aftermath.

12 hours. 12 hours was all it took to rip away the people that I loved the most. I thought that I was finally safe and away from the dangers of my past. However, like a freezing, weary man sleeping in a icy wasteland, I was under the mere illusion of tranquility. It took my entire world being torn apart to shake me from my fatal misconception of reality. And it was my fault. And I'll never forgive myself.

I don't know when I fell asleep, but when I did, I felt surprisingly calm and serene, at least in contrast to my earlier emotions. I knew I wouldn't feel this way for a very long time in the weeks to come. Now that my loved ones were gone, it was just about surviving day to day, and tomorrow of course, wasn't going to be a good one.