And then there were two….

"Dad! Daddy!"
Rachel shot from the coal box, the hands of the couple she had been sheltering with grappling at her jacket.
She ran through the crowd, forcing her way through the sea of people who were trying to go the other way. Through the panicked refugees' legs and torsos, she could see the forlorn figure of her brother lying sprawled on the grass, and her dad knelt at his side, staring up at the snaking arm that came down to them.

"No!"

She crossed the grass, tripping over tattered and charred clothes. Her Dad and brother were only a few feet in front of her. She started to run again but felt the heat of a light land on her side. She stared at her left arm. A small, pinpoint light was fixed on her arm.

The small Tripod had gone. She could see it moving up the other side of the hill, torching people as it went. In it's place, and arrived a full grown Tripod with its' tangling, tentacle light arms whipping people up like a harvester. The small, swinging probe stared at her through it's light.

Rachel screamed and ran. The probe lunged for her but missed.

Ray, sat next to Robbie, stared up at the tangling arms of the creature. It paused in front of him, swinging gently like a snake sizing up its prey. It had a pinpoint light on its tip, like a glow-worm, and the light blinded Ray as it swung into his eyes.

Ray gripped onto Robbie's jacket, determined not to let him go. The arm lunged forward and wrapped itself tightly around Ray's waist. The wind was knocked from him. He was tugged up into the air, his grip wrenching from Robbie.

Ray looked down as the ground shot away from him. People ran like frightened spiders all over the grass and road. He saw Robbie still lying flat out on the grass, and someone crouching over him. He tried to get a better view but he was being pulled up, higher and higher. He took one last look.

"Rachel! No!"

Rachel smacked her brother in the chest, unable to think of any other way of getting him to wake up. She blinked up at her Dad who had disappeared to the body of the machine. She didn't know who she was screaming for more.

"Get up! Robbie!"
She hit him again, "Wake up Robbie! I need you Robbie! Why are you doing this, I need your help! Get up Robbie!"

Robbie stirred. Rachel beamed through her tears and shook her brothers shoulders.

"Robbie! Robbie wake up!"
Robbie's eyes moved open. He couldn't fully open one, dried blood had crusted at the side from the wound on his hairline.

"Rach?"
Rachel could only blink happily.

"Where's Dad?"
Rachel pointed upwards. Robbie stared past her and up towards the Tripod hanging close by. It was whipping more and more people into the air, fishing its arms through the trees and bringing out waves of people.

Robbie scrambled up. He groaned. Something thumped angrily inside his head. Rachel wrapped her arms around his waist to help him.
He took a few steps back to get a full view. Slumped across the grass to their right was an abandoned humvee. Robbie dug around the inside, Rachel trying to ask him what he was doing but couldn't shout loud enough over the noise.

Robbie scrabbled around inside the humvee. He felt a tug on his leg and turned to see what Rachel wanted. She was gone.
"Ra…Rachel!"
Something snatched at his waist, latching itself around his ribs and yanking upwards.

Robbie landed and rolled, hitting the edge of the steel basket. Rachel had landed on an unconscious man's body and was trying to move but through the crush of people, could barely see. Robbie pulled her across to him and they sat perched on a metal rung, unable to move. The basket was so tightly full of people there were feet and people all over them. Robbie held Rachel to his chest, keeping himself between her and the squash of people.

"Robbie where's Dad!"
Robbie stared through the thick mass of bodies, looking for the weird aubergine colour of his Dad's jacket, or a glimpse of his face. But he couldn't see him. All he could see was his sister's scared face and the crush of people.

"It's alright Rachel, we'll find him,"

He rubbed her arm.

"What's going to happen to us now Robbie?"
"I don't know Rach. Just…just stay with me, and we'll be OK,"

She wrapped his arms around his chest and buried her face into his neck.

"OK," she said softy. He could feel her cold nose against his hot and dirty skin. He moved so that he was leant against the basket's bars, and pulled Rachel closer to him. He had a view of the ground disappearing below them as the Tripod moved. He tried to shut his ears to the screams of the people in the enclosed space with them.

"What is happening to us!" a woman screamed and Robbie winced. He felt Rachel clenched her fists on his skin.

"It's alright Rach, it'll be OK," he said hoarsely. He stared out across destroyed Virginia. It was drenched in red. Red weed entangled the remaining houses and landmarks. He also noticed something else. Something like a small spider sprinting across the landscape at an alarming speed. It was still immensely huge and definitely a Tripod. But it was smaller than the one he was being carried in. It trumpeted, the exact same noise as its taller counterpart, and headed towards them. Robbie sat up, still holding Rachel.

"Robbie, what?"
"Sh," he whispered. The smaller Tripod skidded to a halt. It's heavy body strained upwards. The light curled in its centre stared up at the larger one, flooding the basket with light. Rachel could see a slice of her prison from the corner of her eye, and she tensed as sudden awkward, frightening shadows danced across the terrified faces around her.

But she did as she was told and stayed quiet, keeping her face pressed against her brother's chest. He smelt of wood fire, dust and wet grass.

The Tripod below them seemed to have frozen, staring up at them. Their own Tripod sounded its call like a foghorn.

Robbie gripped what he had found in the humvee in his hand. The rough material scraped his skin. His hands were shaking.

Up above them, the red circle poised above the basket swirled open. It was ugly and red, like a muscle. A probe forced its way through, and wrapped itself around someone's ankle. Robbie wasn't close enough to help the guy like many of the others were, but he was closer to the probe. He grabbed what was in his hand and tied it in a rudimentary bow around the probe, as it tried to tug the man from the basket. He ripped at the top of the five small round things attached to the belt, then tried to help them pull the man back, hoping the probe would just give up and go.

It let go and, as Robbie had hoped, swung back up. The muscle swallowed Robbie's little surprise and the probe again.
"Everybody get down!" he tried to shout, but no-one could hear him, "Everybody d-"
The Tripod bucked and reared. An explosion tore at it's midriff, sending squares of metal flying from its surface. It crippled, falling backwards to the ground. Robbie gripped Rachel and braced himself for the impact as the ground rushed up towards them.

Just before they reached the ground, the basket became undone and rolled a little before the Tripod crashed heavily to the ground.

Robbie lay with Rachel for a moment, trying to keep his conscious.

"Get on my back Rachel,"

She latched herself onto his back and he clambered out of the basket. He dropped her to the ground and they ran across the grass, watching the burning body of the Tripod regurgitate a sticky, orange substance all over the red grass. The smell was foul.

The smaller Tripod stared at it's fallen ally, and froze. As Robbie dragged Rachel across the grass, he looked over his shoulder, dreading its sudden move towards them. But it didn't move. It stayed still, staring at the larger Tripod. Eventually, its large light in the front of its body switched off, and apart from the licking of the flames, Robbie couldn't see the pair of machines.

"Robbie! Rachel!"
"Dad!"

Ray lifted his daughter into his arms and held onto her tightly.

He stared over her shoulder at Robbie, shaking his head, "Your awake?"

Robbie couldn't say anything, "I….I woke up," he eventually said, lamely.

Ray began to laugh.

Ray was determined not to lose sight of either of his children again. He wrapped an arm around Robbie's shoulders and held Rachel tightly to his side as they crossed an abandoned intersection. They paused on the sidewalk, peering down the smokey street.
"Is that safe Dad?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah…yeah, sure it is," Ray said, nodding his head. They followed the crowd down the smoking street. They lost themselves in a mist of dense smoke and haze.

"It's alright folks, just keep it moving! Come on, nothing to be afraid of!"
Rachel wrapped her arm around her Dad's waist under her Dad's jacket, staring up at the figures that would swarm out of the mist into her view, then be swallowed back again, like lurching, swaying demons. She closed her eyes tightly then opened them again. Now was no time to have a whirlwind imagination.

The smoke swept about their feet and Robbie nearly tripped over a car bumper.

"What's all this smoke?"
"I don't know," Ray muttered, peering through the belching smoke. It was smoke alright, it was getting to his lungs. He coughed, picking his speed up. Rachel began to cough beside him. What had caught fire to cause this much smoke.

The air warmed up.
"Are we walking past a fire?"

Rachel looked over her shoulder. She could just see the end of the street. People were pointing.

"It's getting worse Ray," Robbie said. He could barely see the rest of his body. The heat was becoming more intense.

"Come on folks its OK, just pass through quick and try not to breathe too deep?"
"Is that the army?"

"Yeah Robbie, they know what they're doing. Come on, faster,"
They broke into a half jog, but visibility was so poor they felt as if there was no-one left but them. The smoke began to get blacker. Ray could barely even see the top of Rachel's head if he looked down.

Robbie began to cough, and once he started eh couldn't stop. Ray felt Rachel coughing her face buried into his hip.
"Come on, move faster," Ray ordered, and they began to run. He loosened his grip on the pair to pick up speed but clenched angrily to their clothes. Not being able to see made them jittery and nervous. Rachel looked back over her shoulder. She couldn't see up the road anymore.

"Where are we?" she asked, feeling a familiar wave of hysteria come up.

Ray strained to hear the sounds he had heard before. It was deathly quiet.

"Dad-" Robbie tried to say something but he was coughing to hard.
"Keep moving Robbie,"

"Maybe we should just stop and-"
"No, keep going Robbie, keep moving!"

He began to cough with a bark, trying desperately to see what was through the smoke. They were definitely near a fire. The heat was unbearable. But so was the smoke.

Robbie tried to breathe in but Ray heard the angry rasp at the back of his throat. Rachel was panting heavily.
"Find the sidewalk," he said, through his coughs, "Find the sidewalk,"

Robbie grabbed his Dad's arm and edged sideways. His foot stumped against the sidewalk.
"Got it,"
"Get on it, get on it,"

Ray stretched his arm over Robbie's shoulders and ran his hands along the building next to them as they walked. Robbie jogged along, trying to keep up, and coughing into the smoke. Rachel gasped, her legs burning. She was having to run faster than the pair of them to keep up.

Ray's hand hit glass.

"Wait,"

He pulled them still. He tried clearing the smoke but a new, belching wall of thick smoke hit them. He felt for a wooden frame, or a frame of some sort, to denote a door.

No, the glass wasn't a door. He kept on moving. Robbie gave up asking his Dad questions, trying to keep his breath.

And suddenly, through the choking smoke, Rachel swore she saw something. A long, thin metal pole, rising upwards. She frowned.

It was so close she could reach out and touch it. Tentatively, she stretched out her hand. The tips of her fingers brushed the cool pole.

"Rachel!"
Through the dense smoke, and through the dark silence, rang the sound of a Tripod call.

Rachel screamed. A flash of blue lurched at them but missed.
"Run!"

Robbie stared gaping up at the enemy he couldn't see and began to run. His Dad was holding onto his jacket and presumably carrying Rachel, as he was sprinting almost as fast as he was. All around, strips of blue slashed through the intense heat and blanket smoke and cracked the pavement. Ray saw something reflecting the flash of blue to his right.

"Stop! Robbie!"

Robbie turned, coughing heavily through the smoke.

"Dad!"
"Help me!"

"What, what are you do-?"

"Search for a door! Get a door, get us inside!"
Robbie stared as he saw his Dad's profile move quickly about as he searched the wall. Rachel was clinging to his body, arms slung around his neck and knees pinned on either side of him. Ray's hands clambered over the wall like a blind man's, desperately searching. He had seen a window, and whether it was a shop or a café or something else, there must be a door so they could get in.

Robbie joined in, and soon touched the cool glass of a small square window.
"Dad!"

Ray joined him, and his hands hit against the hard metal of a door handle. He pushed it down and kicked. It was locked.
"Robbie help me!"

Robbie slammed his shoulder against it. The door shook but held. He rammed it again. He blinked through his watering eyes and coughed.

"One, two, three,"

He rammed his body against the door again. Rachel screamed as a hot flash of blue sliced past her. The door fell open. Robbie fell in. Ray leant out, grabbed his daughter under the arms, and pulled her in.

"Shut the door! Robbie shut the door!"

Robbie slammed the door shut.

"Now get down, get down," Ray whispered. The lights were on but they still couldn't see into the thick smoke curling at the windows. Wisps of the smoke stroked the window happily, swirling through the keyhole.

It was a café, with tables and chairs strewn everywhere. They crawled behind the bar. Robbie put his knee into a puddle of spilt coffee. It was cold.

They sat in silence, panting. Rachel bit her lip and sat frozen, eyes straining up to look at the top of the bar, expecting any minute a blue stripe to shatter the top.
Robbie sat back against the cool bar, trying to regain his breath. He felt light headed from the smoke and the obvious loss of blood. The cut on his head had been bandaged up at an American Red Cross post half an hour ago but he still felt queasy and his head throbbed.

Ray felt the burning sensation in his chest and legs ease and relaxed ever so slightly. The ground shook as the Tripod's moved. The sounds of a Tripod call was muffled by the thick glass and walls around them.

There was a scream of blue fire, and the glass in the mirror at the front of the café exploded into shards. Rachel screamed, covering her head with her arms.

Smoke began to curl over the top of the bar. He looked around frantically. There was a door to the side of the bar, partially open. Blackness stood behind it.
"Robbie," he pointed the door out. Robbie crawled across the floor, a trail of blood from a cut in his knee followed him.

"Go Rachel," Ray whispered, pushing her forward. She crawled after Robbie, blinking strands of hair away from her eyes. The three crawled through the door, and Ray shut it behind them. They staggered to the back of the small, narrow room, and huddled against the back wall. Robbie felt for his sister and hugged her to her chest.

The ceiling above them rattled and the roar of air craft moving ahead filled the silence. There were gunshot and screams. But it was all muffled. Once again, the three felt they were the only people left in the world, despite the noise.

Rachel began to cry at the sounds of the bar exploding in the room in front of them.

"It's alright Rach. It's OK. You're OK," Robbie whispered. Ray looked through the gloom to see the pale profile of his son. Robbie turned to look at him.

They shared a look, then Robbie buried his face into Rachel's hair. Ray let his head roll back against the wall. He stared up at the ceiling above him he couldn't see. He felt Rachel's breathing become heavy and even beside him, and eventually Robbie's. Ray felt his eyes spark and ache.

This was all he could give them. Himself, the father who had spent less time than he knew was, as their only protector. He put his head in his hands. He wanted to offer so more, he had always wanted to. But now, just like then, he could only manage part of what he really wanted to give them. Then: a house in a rough neighbourhood, arguments with their mother, a inability to stop being a kid himself. And now: a bed inside a gutted building. Screaming and gunfire for a lullaby. The fact that he could probably do no more in the circumstances didn't console him. Logic didn't make him feel any better.

He stared at his two kids sleeping faces, then curled himself into a small ball to sleep. He tucked his arm under Rachel's back and held her close. She didn't move, she was so heavily asleep.

All Ray wanted to do was give them more. They were still his children, however quickly Rachel was growing and how mouthy Robbie was becoming. They were his little kids, and they would always be. He wanted to show that to them. And he would, he thought, closing his eyes, by letting no harm come to them.

AS/winces/ I hope that doesn't sound corny. If it does I apologise, I'm very bad at emotional stuff. I always become corny, but I'm working on it! Hehe.

I idea of this spooked me, you know, being in an open space with the Tripods but not being able to see them through smoke.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! Review please!