Callie's first thought when she woke in Lace's house at a quarter till one in the morning was that the world had exploded. Mikaela had gone into labor almost two full months early and had been rushed to the hospital with Sam and Bumblebee driving, Sam making her and Lace promise not to burn down the house. Now, with smoke filtering up the stairs and the crackle of flames below, it sounded like they were doing just that. Lace stumbled into the spare bedroom, choking on smoke and gasping for breath. "Window?" the normally rambunctious girl asked and Callie hurried to check it, almost blinded by the flames in the yard below.
"If we hurry," Callie assented, gauging the speed of the flames below. Lace went first, climbing down as far as she could and then jumping the short distance to the ground. Callie steeled herself then and followed her friend, her bare feet hitting the already dry grass with a crackled. "Devi's house?" she called, coughing violently then because of the smoke. Lace nodded quickly and headed for the street only to freeze dead, causing Callie to slam into her.
It wasn't just the Witwicky house that was on fire; it was practically the whole town. Smoke rose up into the black sky like in the zombie apocalypse movies the high school boys loved so much. Alarms blared everywhere but there was no help coming. "It's the end of the world," Callie said bleakly, staring at the scene straight out of a horror movie.
"That's nice and cheerful Callie-girl," Lace said but she didn't sound as if she disagreed. The two girls stumbled across cracked pavement and past falling chunks of cement toward Devi's house. Neither one said anything but that didn't mean they were silent. Lace's breath came out in little pants and Callie was whimpering softly as she clung to her friend's hand.
Devi's house was a wreck. The two girls stumbled around it and were actually relieved to see Devi's distinctive red hair. Then when both girl's realized she wasn't moving Callie did something she hadn't done for a long time; she prayed. Eyes wide open and completely breathless she stumbled after a nervous Lace, praying in her mind, pleading with God that Devi was alive. She waited helplessly until Lace called, "She's alive. Just unconscious. I think she hit her head."
Callie scrambled around the rubble and gently felt along Devi's scalp. Sure enough there was a bump and a little blood matted in her friend's red hair but she seemed like she was fine. "Let's get her out of here," Callie said nervously.
"Yeah," Lace agreed. "Where should we go though?"
Callie felt the overwhelming pressure of making the right choice. "The school," she said after a minute. "Other people will head that direction if it's still standing."
"Good enough," Lace said. "I'll take her feet if you take her head and shoulders."
"Deal," Callie replied, managing a weak smile as the two managed to lift Devi up and pick their way back on to the street.
The walk to the high school seemed like it took forever even though it normally took fifteen minutes at the most. They stopped twice to place Devi down gently and rest, watching the area around them for any sign of Decepticons. They saw nothing except flaming buildings and bemused people. They stumbled their way to the school and set Devi down in a patch of unscorched grass. The gym had been completely destroyed but the classrooms were mostly intact. Lace searched the building for twenty minutes before she found a place that they could rest and escape easily if the Decepticons attacked again. There was no doubt in either girl's mind that the Decepticons had done this.
Both slept restlessly and woke at sunrise. It took them fifteen minutes and a little cool water, somehow one of the sinks in the nearest bathroom still worked, to rouse Devi. They had no ibuprofen to give the red head for her headache. The television didn't work but the old radio did. What they heard stunned them all into silence. "Yesterday night with unexpected violence unknown and unregistered United States aircraft attacked the military base at Diego Garcia and the town of Tranquility, California, leaving both in ruins. These unknown hostile forces are currently thought to be on Diego Garcia and emergency response teams are being deployed to Tranquility to search for survivors. Death counts for both locations are unknown but are estimated high." It was Lace who smashed the radio against the wall, tears pouring down her cheeks as she tilted her face toward the ceiling and screamed.
"WHY?" Her voice echoed in the small room and neither of her friends could respond, all locked up in their own personal sorrows. Devi bent her head then in prayer and Callie found her own head bowing as she linked her hand with Devi's. A moment later Lace linked hands with both girls, bowing her head as well.
"Father God, protect our family and friends and those still alive at Diego Garcia and around here in Tranquility," Devi prayed. "Give us the strength to face those standing against us and hold us in the palm of your hand, under your protection. We ask this in your name, amen."
"Amen," Callie and Lace echoed. For a moment they stood there in silence, hands linked as they felt an unexplainable peace wash over them.
"So," Lace said after a moment. "What's our next step?"
"Briley," Callie exclaimed.
"What?" Devi asked.
At the same time Lace said, "You're crazy. I'm Lace, remember?"
"Like anyone could forget," Callie replied with a giggle. "I meant Lace and Jazz were on their way here last night. Maybe they missed out on the attacks."
"How far away is the airport they were supposed to land at?" Lace demanded.
"It will probably take us all day to get there," Devi said, her eyes closed as she thought. "But what have we got to lose?"
"Then it's decided," Lace said. "Let's go."
Author's Note: I apologize for the long wait between chapters! Thanks to MissShelz and Fox of Magic for reviewing the last chapter! I own nothing but my OCs
