Pan pushed away from the window and ran out into the foyer. She skidded on the carpet and tripped over her laces, slamming into Daryl's door with a loud bang. Her hands fumbled for the doorknob, twisting it once she found purchase and throwing it open. As soon as the doorway was open, Pan's senses were battered with chaos. People were screaming, bombs were dropping from the sky, soliders with parachutes slowly falling to the ground from fighter planes. Pan's heart was about to explode, her panic beyond comprehension. She felt so scared. What was happening? Who was invading them?
Robert came out of the house right behind her, Daryl following close behind. They stared in horror as the pandemonium didn't stop. It unfolded before their eyes like the events of a horror show. The three of them stood, paralysed with fear, as planes soared above their heads, shooting at the enemy and sending them tumbling to the ground.
A massive explosion rocked the ground beneath their feet and they were knocked to the ground. Pan screamed as something hot blasted her skin, making it feel like it was being knawed away, and debris fell around her. She forced her eyes open and pushed herself to kneel, her bones rumbling even though the explosion had ended. "Robert! Daryl!" she exclaimed, scrambling around to find her friends sitting up as well, relatively unharmed. "What was that?!"
"A plane crashed!" Robert replied, having to raise his voice to be heard over the discord. Pan's ears were ringing and she only barely heard him. She had never seen her friend so panicked before, his eyes so wide the whites of his eyes were terrifyingly bright. He stood up and he grabbed her sleeve, pulling her up with him. He dragged Daryl up to.
Pan's legs were still trembling, her bones vibrating, she had to clutch Robert's arm to hold herself up. The whole street was in disarray. People were run ramped, screaming and trying to escape from the horror that was falling from the sky. Pan supposed they should have been doing the same instead of standing in Daryl's front yard, frozen in abhorrence.
"What are we going to do?!" Daryl yelled.
"Get back in the house!" Pan decided, turning on her heel to run. Robert grabbed her wrist and stopped her, pulling her back to where she stood.
"What if a bomb hits the house?" he said. "We'd be dead!"
"We're no better out here!" Pan exclaimed. The realization that they were no longer safe anywhere dawned on her. She rubbed her hand over her face to waken herself up and tugged at her hair desperately. The longer they waited, the closer the soliders got to the ground.
A truck suddenly barrelled around the corner, speeding down the street as fast as ligtening. At first Pan thought it was the soliders but on second glance she realized it was a pick-up truck. Matti from her math class stuck his head out the front window and yelled, "Get in!"
Even though they barely knew him, they didn't think twice. Daryl jumped into the back first and Robert followed, having to run before he jumped. Pan was too busy worrying about them getting in safely that she almost forgot about herself. Her heart palpatated when she realized it had driven past her. She took off running after it, the fear of the explosions and gunfire surrounding her increasing her speed.
When she neared the back of the truck, she leaped forward, soaring through the air had a breakneck speed and slamming into the back with a painful thump, grabbing onto the back and holding on for dear life. Her feet skidded and tripped on the road as the truck continued to barrel forward.
"Pan! Grab my hand!" Robert yelled. He pulled himself up and held his hand out for her to grab. Pan stretched out and grabbed his wrist, taking a risk and letting go with her other hand to grab the front of his shirt for leverage. Pan felt like she was going to fall and tried not to scream, relying on Robert to pull her over.
With a mighty heave, Robert dragged her up and over into the truck. Pan's heart was tying to kill itself in her chest and she felt like she was on the verge of hyperventilation. They hit the deck at the back of the truck, trying not to fall about and skid around as it roared up the road, every twist and turn causing them to bump into each other.
Every part of Pan's body got bumped and scraped as she stayed pressed to the floor. Robert was right beside her, Daryl hopefully there too. The choas continued around them, screams of the damned roaring in her ears, not pausing when she covered them with her hands to blot it out.
The truck jerked to a stop, causing Pan to bang into Robert, her foot catching on what felt like Daryl's elbow. Curious as to why they stopped, Pan peered out over the back of the truck.
Ah, that's why.
Matti's girlfirend Erica's street. He was going to get her too. The whole school knew about their relationship and how intense they were about it. Pan would even go as far to say that they loved each other. There was no way Matti was going anywhere without her. Erica was a nice girl, she lived on the same street as Pan and they used to be close when they were younger. Pan knew her for almost as long as she knew Robert. But not quite.
"Erica!" Matti yelled.
Pan's heart stopped when she saw soliders preventing her and her family from getting to Matti and the truck. What were they doing? Were they going to kill them? Kidnap them? Take them to concentration camps? The possibilites were endless, all of them horrifying. Meth could probably come up with more . . .
Meth . . .
Meth!
"My brother!" Pan exclaimed, leaping out of the truck.
"Pan!" Robert shouted after her.
"Pan, come back!" Daryl yelled.
"Epimetheus!" Pan screamed, barelling down the road to her house, which was located at the end of the street. "METH! GET OUT OF THE HOUSE NOW!" The door to her house flew open and she skidded to a stop. Two figures came out, one having a firm grip on the other, who was struggling. Pan jogged closer, her blood heating up when she realized a solider had a hold of her brother. "METH!" Pan screamed louder, not caring if she caught everyone's attention.
"Pan!" Meth yelled, managing to elbow the solider in the jaw. She let go momentarily, splatters of blood flying from her face. "Pan!" Meth started off towards her, running as fast as he could. Pan sped up, both of them running to each other like the cheesy movies where two lovers would run to each other across a beach or a field of dandelions.
Then solider straightened up. She wiped the blood from her face and picked up her gun. Pan's world slowed down, her muscles aching and her heart pounding, as the bullet fired out of the nozzle of the gun.
And pierced right through her brother's head.
"METH!" Pan screamed, catching her brother as he fell and falling to her knees under his weight. "METH, NO!" His face was covered in blood and he wasn't breathing. Pan screamed, cradling his body in her arms and holding her face to his, not caring that the blood was smearing her face. "Meth, wake up please! Don't do this! METH!"
Someone grabbed the back of her shirt and hauled her up into the air. Pan screamed even louder, the pain over her brother's death too big to bear. She was dragged back into the back of the truck, where Robert forced her to the floor as more bullets were fired. The truck was moving again, travelling even more violently than before. Pan pushed Robert away and tried to jump off the truck. She had to get back to her brother, she had to get back to her brother, she had to-
"Epimetheus!" she roared as the truck whirled around a corner, her brother's body no longer in sight. Robert grabbed her around the waist, preventing her from jumping, but couldn't get her to stop struggling. "Robert let go of me, I have to get back to METH!"
With a sudden outburst of strength, Robert somehow managed to pulled her down and hold her close to his chest. Pan struggled for another minute but eventually gave in and started to sob. "My b-b-b-brother!" she cried.
"I'm so sorry," Robert whispered, sounding near tears himself. Pan supposed it was about right. Robert and Meth used to be close when they were little, always teasing her when she had to wear frilly pink dresses when they went out together. When Pan wasn't around, Robert and Meth spent time together.
Epimetheus was dead. They killed him. Pan felt empty inside. But it seemed like this was only the beginning.
The beginning of the end.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! :)