A/N: Several of you wonderful reviewers have brought up a brilliant point in the last chapter, and yes, the power was out, but by the time they reached the highway (which is when that scene was taking place) I figured some power would be restored (so the iPod would work), and if not, then I would just have to deal with it. Sometimes, continuity sacrifices must be made to have a good scene, and I'd rather have been wrong to have the iPod work, but have it work anyway because it was important to the scene. So yeah…lol…and that's that. Sorry if that's confusing, lol. It sounded better in my head…anyway, thanks for all of your opinions.

Jessyka Simmons: Lol, don't worry. I love any reviews, no matter what they say…as long as it's not bashing my stories, lol. Review any time, please.

Dawnie-7: Yeah, I wasn't originally going to add the flashback seen, but when I was revising the chappie, the words just flew onto the screen and I couldn't stop typing. I'm glad you liked the song. I was afraid of what people would think of it, but I loved it too much to leave it out, tehehe.

Jamamaime05: I started reading the book and it's completely different. It has like, two of the same characters, and I think the plot is a little different, but I'm sure it will be fun to read. I hope you put up your own story! I'm sure it'd be cool, I'll read it!

-s'morewhore: Yeah, I love that song. If you go to and type in Cells or The Servant, you can find and listen to it. It's an awesome song.

Tess: Thanks for the review! 8 times? You're so lucky…I've only seen it 3 times. Grrr…

Live2Sk8: Here is the real answer to your question…really, Alex is an alien, and she had magical powers that make the iPod work…jk…lol. Thanks for the review.

Chapter Four: Close Your Eyes

The sun had set far below the horizon by the time the van rolled onto the pale pavement of a driveway.

"Hurry up, hurry up, hurry," Rachel chanted, jumping slightly in her seat with anticipation as she glanced up at the large house.

The van crawled to a stop, and Rachel continued to bounce excitedly in her seat. Alex opened the door on her side and stepped outside, followed by Robbie as he took off his cap and put it on again facing forward. Ray waited in the car a moment, collecting himself before choosing to get out.

Robbie walked around the car and opened the door for Rachel. As soon as it slid open, Rachel hopped outside and ran up the driveway and the steps to the front door, calling for her mother and Tim.

Ray looked up at the large home with envious eyes and tried to shake off his distaste for Tim as he walked slowly to the front steps. It didn't appear to him that anyone was home, though the interior lights were still on. He wasn't even sure if that would be a positive or negative event at this point.

When Robbie reached the top of the steps, he bent over and lifted the corner of the welcome mat. He pinched a tiny spare key in his fingers and stood up. He was excited to see his mom and Tim again, but now that they were there, he wasn't so sure that they would be so lucky as to see anyone.

The house felt empty, no car in the driveway, and the lights were dimmed. When he placed the key in the lock and turned it, he heard Rachel urging him to go faster.

As soon as he felt it click, he put his hand on the doorknob and turned it, pushing the door inward. Rachel ran into the house as if her life depended on her speed.

When they were all inside, Robbie shut the door and looked around, his happiness waning as he began to doubt that anyone else was home. The house felt empty.

"Mom!" Rachel shouted, running into the living room and then up the long slender staircase and back down again, the straps of her purple backpack bouncing over her tiny shoulders. "Mommy!"

"Mom?" Robbie called. "Tim?"

Alex gazed around in awe. It was a beautiful home, with fine furnishings, and a soft yellow color lit the entryway and kitchen. Just to the left of the entry was a kitchen and family room; to her right was a large, neatly decorated living room, and ahead of her were the stairs.

Rachel called out for her mother one last time, exhausted from so much yelling and screaming.

"Nobody's home," Alex whispered. She followed Ray as he headed towards the kitchen, the small food box in his hands.

"Where are they?" Rachel asked, from the stairs, concerned. "Are they dead?"

"No, they're not dead. They're where they always were," her father answered with a sigh. "They must not have come home, and went straight to Boston."

Alex could see the great disappointment and worry that bloomed in Robbie's intense, sea green eyes when he became certain his mom wasn't home.

"How come the lights are on here?" asked Rachel, finding a seat in the kitchen on a bar stool. Robbie came and pulled out a chair next to her, and Alex sat down beside him.

It was Ray who answered. "Because nothing bad happened here," he said, setting the box on the counter and rummaging through it.

Ray stared at each item that he pulled out from the box, frustrated. "Ketchup, syrup, Thousand Island Dressing…" Ray noted all the items as he pulled them from the food box he had ordered his son to pack. "Good job, Robbie," he said with aggravation.

"That's all that was in your kitchen," his son said defensively, removing his cap and placing on the dark, glazed countertop in front of him.

Ray sighed and squeezed the edge of the countertop with his hands, thinking. Alex stepped over to the sink and opened the cupboard underneath it, finding the trash can there, and throwing away the empty Milky Way wrapper. Then she walked quietly back to her spot on the island and sat down.

Ray glanced around the kitchen for some inspiration and found a gigantic jar of peanut butter on the counter that he had pulled out from the box. He glanced around.

"Bread, bread," he chanted quietly, with something in mind. He found a sack of bread on the kitchen counter beside the fridge and placed it on the table beside the peanut butter. After opening the bag of bread, he asked if anyone was hungry. "Want some peanut butter sandwiches, huh?" No one replied.

Ray simply nodded and opened the jar of peanut butter. "Wanna see me deal?" he asked. Without waiting for, nor expecting any kind of answer form anyone, Ray began taking out slices of bread from the bag. "Later," he began, enthusiastically. "I'll teach you all to play poker." He smiled at the thought. "A fun game," he added, with false glee.

As he drew a pair of bread slices from the bag he counted, "Two for Rachel, two for Robbie," he glanced up at the kids only once while he was 'dealing' and then looked back towards the countertop and the food. "Two for Alex, two for me…" he picked up the lone slice of bread and held it as it dangled flimsily between his fingers. "And one for the house," he chuckled, tossing the bread onto the counter carelessly.

Robbie and Rachel simply sat in silence and watched as their father dipped the knife in the peanut butter, swished it around, and brought it back up. He began smearing it all across a piece of bread that he had named as being Rachel's.

With her voice monotone, Rachel said, "I'm allergic to peanut butter."

Ray chuckled. "What? Since when?" He looked up at her.

"Since birth," Rachel scowled.

"Alright, fine," Ray quickly improvised, handing Rachel a clean slice from his pile. "You can have the bread," he offered, patting the bread with the tips of his fingers.

He urgently continued spreading the peanut butter over the slice of bread he had started with. "I'm not hungry." Rachel glared at her father, but he either didn't notice, or acted like he didn't care.

"Alright then," Ray barked. "That's fine with me. Robbie, and Alex, and I are going to have peanut butter sandwiches. Robbie, you want jelly on that?"

"I'm not hungry either," he said, coldly.

"What, you too?" he looked at Alex.

Alex swallowed hard and just shook her head. "I'm not feeling too well," she admitted. "Thanks, though."

"Alright, fine." Ray slammed two buttered slices together and spun around, tossing them frantically at the window.

The peanut butter smeared the glass as the bread slowly dripped downward. Alex looked down at the black marble countertop. In truth, she really didn't feel like eating. She was surprised that she held the chocolate bar down, and peanut butter just didn't sound appealing to her at the time, but she felt sorry for Ray, whom she could see was having a tough time trying to deal with his own kids, let alone her.

Robbie turned his head and his eyes met Alex. "You can eat if you're hungry," he whispered, thinking that she had denied her portion because of him and his sister.

"No, that's okay," she whispered back. "I'm really not hungry right now."

"Well, if no one's hungry," Ray began. "Why don't we all go to bed?"

While Rachel fled to her bedroom upstairs to find her favorite blanket and pillow, Robbie led Alex to his sleeping quarters. The wall in his room was blue and red, and posters of rock bands filled them. Alex counted two AC/DC posters, one for Aerosmith, and another for System of a Down.

"You can use this," Robbie tossed a tan colored pillow at her from his bed and picked up one for himself. He drew up a comforter of the same color from his bed and tucked the pillow under his arm. He glanced around the room for another blanket. "Here, take the comforter," he finally said, when he couldn't find anything else. "I don't need it."

"It'll be cold in the basement," Alex countered. "Maybe I could share with Rachel?"

"If you want, I guess."

Rachel had agreed to share her blanket with Rachel, and so, all three kids traveled down the stairs and towards the cellar, just as Ray had instructed. Ray led them down the basement, down a small flight of white stairs.

The room was brightly lit, filled with two bookshelves, some weight lifting equipment, and a storage area. "Nice basement," he commented with a hint of jealousy.

"If it's safe here, why can't we sleep in our own beds?" Rachel asked as she dragged her feet along the basement floor.

"You know when they have hurricane warnings on the weather channel, and everyone hides in their basement? It's kinda like that."

"I want to sleep in my own bed," Rachel complained. "I have back problems."

Ray ignored her and continued looking around, checking out the area he would be trying to sleep in that night. He glanced at a chair beside the stairs and walked over to it.

Robbie led his sister to a small space beneath the staircase and helped her lay out a soft pink comforter. "There," he said. "You can sleep here, okay?"

"Okay," Rachel said, and sat down, laying her pillow beside her. Alex laid her pillow next to Rachel and helped her smooth out the comforter on the ground.

Ray walked over to the light switch and turned off the basement lights, leaving everyone in darkness. Robbie dropped his pillow next to Alex's, where there was room.

He set his tan comforter on the floor beside Alex and took a seat. Ray took out a gun that had been wedged between his pants and his back and placed it on a small table beside a chair. He hoped he wouldn't need to use the weapon, but he also realized that it could be a life saver if they found themselves in a dire situation, and wasn't about to risk being without it.

He knew he wouldn't sleep much that night, and sat down, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible on the worn chair.

"Thanks for everything, Ray," whispered Alex.

"Uh-huh," Ray replied wearily.

After several minutes of silence, Robbie could hear his sister's calm breaths which indicated she was asleep. He was happy for her and jealous all the same.

Alex could hear him sit up on top of his sheets. "Robbie?" she whispered.

"Yeah?"

"You awake?"

"Yeah," he answered, softly.

"I can't sleep," Alex said, frowning in the darkness.

"I know," Robbie answered. "Just try to keep your mind off it."

Alex thought about what Robbie had just said. "Just try to keep your mind off it." How could she possibly do that? How could she not just think about what happened that day? About how so many people died, and alien invaders where probably trying to take over the world like some sort of cheesy horror film. But this wasn't cheesy, and it wasn't a film. Everything that happened today was real, Alex reminded herself, still not wanting to believe it.

"Just try to keep your mind off it."

Alex tried to reflect on a happier memory from her childhood, and when she found one, she grasped it as tightly as she could, not wanting to let her mind wander any further into the present.

She remembered her birthday two years ago; her step mother had given her a puppy, a little yellow lab she named Star. The happy recollection seemed to slip away from her grasp when she was brought back to the horrifying images of Audrey.

"I can't," she said quietly, her eyes prickling with the sensation of tears.

"Just try," Robbie repeated, patiently.

He had learned over the years, that patience and understanding were key to calming his sister during one of her many fits. Alex wasn't a little girl anymore, he realized, but she was scared and upset, and he didn't know how else to react. He had been faced with so many new feelings and emotions in one day and could hardly contemplate what to say to a girl who'd just lost her mother, even if she was a step-mother.

Robbie tried to remember how his mom comforted him when she and Ray's relationship fell apart.

"Your father and I love you very much," Mary Ann had told him, her voice a soft and sweet tone that was always comforting to hear. "And just because we can't all live together doesn't mean he cares about you or me, or Rachel any less. It just means that…" she had bit her lip, trying to finish her sentence with the most understandable words. "We want different lives for ourselves."

Robbie sat in his bed, listening to his mom's calming voice, and trying to contemplate her words. He had only been twelve at the time, and though he understood the meaning of his mom's words, he still didn't understand why things had to be the way they were.

Why couldn't things be the way they were before? In truth, things had never been great for their family. Ray was rarely at home; he was mostly at work, trying to make money for their growing family.

"Just try to sleep, darling," Mary Ann said, combing her fingers through her son's dark hair. "Now, lay down."

Robbie did so, bringing the edge of his covers up to his chin. "Things will get better, Robbie, I promise."

Robbie replied with a soft, "Okay," as his mother stood up and prepared to leave the room. "Mom," he said, stopping her.

Mary Ann turned around. "Yes, Robbie?"

"Sing for me…please."

Mary Ann smiled. "Honey, you've got to go to bed."

"Mom, please."

"Okay," she finally said, sitting on the edge of her son's bed and leaning closer to him. "What would you like me to sing?"

"Anything."

"How about Hushabye Mountain?" Mary Ann suggested, hopefully.

"I like that song," said a soft voice from the other end of the room, where Robbie's seven year old sister was lying in bed, awake.

"You, my little girl, are supposed to be sleeping," said Mary Ann.

Rachel fell silent. "Alright, Hushaby Mountain…let's see."

Rachel got out of her bed and crawled into her mother's lap. "A gentle breeze from Hushabye Mountain softly blows o'er Lullaby Bay…"

"Sometimes, when Rachel's scared…or when I'm scared," Robbie suggested, tearing apart from his reverie. "My mom would sing to us…when I was younger."

"Really?" Alex grinned. "Audrey did that too. I remember one night, I had a bad dream and I woke up screaming. Audrey came into my room to see if I was okay and after I told Audrey what happened, she made me a bowl of ice cream to feel better…And when I went back to bed she sang to me." Alex smiled, reflecting upon the happier memory.

"Does food always make girls feel better?" Robbie teased. He laid back down, facing the ceiling, and resting his hands behind his head. "I wonder if we have any ice cream upstairs…"

A small blue light shown slightly through a tiny slot in the basement wall. There was a tree outside, with long, wiry branches that jutted out like thin fingers. A heavy breeze blew the branches into the wall, and as they rubbed against it, making tiny scratching sounds.

Ray had shut his eyes, resting his tired head on the chair, trying to shut out the noise. Robbie sat up, a pale blue glow shining over his face. Alex sat up too. "What is that?"

"It's just the branches," Robbie declared quietly, though he couldn't help but feel his heart pounding in his chest. Something didn't feel right.

The room was silent, except for the continuous scratching of the branches against the house, and Alex felt her skin grow cold. "Is it back?" she breathed.

All of a sudden, there was a terrifying banging sound, almost as if two saws had clashed together, and that sound was followed another just like it. Following those was a series of loud screeching sounds; a call, a wail, a terrifying howl.

Ray shot up out of his seat instantly, fixing his eyes on the little window as the branches clashed harder against the side of the house. Outside, he could see a brilliant white light glowing.

The light emanated into the room with such force, he assumed that its source had to be close. The beams of light spilled onto the floor like white water, all the way to Rachel's pillow and disappeared again with a flash.

Rachel sat straight up as the howling and screeching sounds continued. She grabbed the closest thing to her, which was Alex's arm and held on tightly as Alex stood up, standing Rachel up with her.

"What's that sound?" Robbie had to yell to be heard over the high pitched screaming and roaring.

"I don't know!" Ray yelled back. "I've never heard that before!"

Both Robbie and his father glared out the window at the bright white light with horror. "We have to get to lower ground!" Robbie declared, as the familiar sound of death rang over and over in his ears like a screaming alarm clock he couldn't shut off.

"They're here," Alex whispered, terrified and frozen in place.

"Robbie this is your house!" Ray shouted over all the noise. "Where do we go? Where do we go!"

Robbie's heart raced as he looked around the room. "Over here!" He shouted, jogging over to a closed door that led even further underground.

Rachel ran as fast as she could to Robbie's side, leaving Alex by herself. Eyes wide open, Alex stared, motionless, out the small window, mesmerized by the lights and echoing sounds.

Ray followed Robbie and Rachel to the door which Robbie quickly opened, ushering them all inside. Once he made sure Ray and Rachel were safe inside the room, he realized that Alex wasn't with them.

"Alex?" he called, not able to see her in the dark. A bright light flashed, almost like lightening, and lit up the basement. Robbie noticed Alex standing upright, eyes fixed on the window.

When he called her name, she glanced towards him, and almost as if she was in a trance that had been broken by his voice, she realized what she was doing. She tried to run, but her legs wouldn't move. She thought she was running, but she stayed in the same place.

The next thing she knew, Robbie had run up beside her, grabbed her arm, and was dragging her back to the door. His tight grip hurt, but Alex didn't care; he was saving her life.

Alex didn't know why her legs had suddenly decided to work, but they had, and she ran as fast as she could to the open door. Robbie waited until she was all the way inside before running in too, and slammed the door closed behind him.

Alex could hear the pipes whistling all around her. She felt as if she was in a web of pipes in the underground layer of some mechanical insect that would kill and consume her if given the chance.

She gripped the cold stone wall with her trembling fingers and had to feel her way through the darkness to find the others. She could hear Ray and Rachel breathing beside her heavily, and rested beside them while Robbie followed her.

Fear gripped Rachel's heart so tightly, she thought she couldn't breathe. "Are we alive?" she asked, almost breathless.

The only answer she got was heavy breathing. It was too dark to see, but Ray held Rachel in his lap, leaning his back against the wall and holding her close, so not to lose his only daughter.

Alex dropped to the floor, clutching her chest with her trembling hand. She closed her eyes; her heart feeling like it was about to burst. She could hear Robbie sit down beside her.

Rachel tried to stand up to find her brother, but Ray held her back. "Don't move," he gasped. "Nobody move….just…" he panted, his chest heaving. "Stay still."

A/N: Ooh…exciting, jk. So, what did you all think? Please tell me, because every review is important to me. The next chapter is awesome, I promise! Thank you! Oh, and I just had a new person move in with me, so I may be a bit busy for a while, but hopefully it won't change my routine too much. If I do not update for a while, don't worry, I promise I will.

-Modesty