The Masons sat in their living room. All except Ben. 3 hours had passed since the attack, and things have finally slowed down.
"We need to get Ben," Said Hal finally. He stood up and looked at his dad. "Aren't you coming?"
"Hal, Nick's house is far, and his parents are very responsible," Rebecca said softly.
"So? We just leave him there? He could be dead!" Hal exclaimed.
"I know, Hal, but it's dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt," Rebecca continued.
"No, Rebecca, Hal's right. We've got to find Ben," Tom stood and kissed his wife. "We'll be back soon."
"I wanna go!" Matt whined.
"No way, kiddo," Tom said. "You're still too little," Matt pouted and sat back on the couch. Tom chuckled and lead his son out the door. They walked along the street, silently, afraid to make a sound. After a solid hour and a half, they reached Nick's house. The door had been busted in. Tom nervously crept inside, Hal trailing behind. They split up to search the house. As Tom was looking through the upper floor, he heard Hal scream. He rushed down the steps to his son, who was gaping at the bodies of Nick's parents.
"No..." Tom muttered. If Nick's parents were dead, where were Nick and Ben? Were they dead, too?
…
Lillian held her sister as they cried together. They cried because they scared, mad, sad, confused. Most of all, they cried because they knew their mom was dead. It had been about eight hours since the attack when there was a knock on Lillian's door. She set down her sister, wiped her tears, and answered. It was Hal and Tom.
"Hal? Mr. Mason?" Hal automatically hugged Lillian. They'd been like brother and sister since she and Ben got together a little over two years ago.
"You've gotta come stay with us, Laura too," Hal said, letting go.
"Bring as much nonperishable foods as you can, but other than that, pack light. Don't even bother bringing electronics," Tom said. Lillian nodded and went to get Laura.
"Feel free to look through the pantry," She said just as she disappeared with her sister. Hal went into the pantry while Tom went through the cabinets. Hal took a plastic bag and began filling it with cans and anything else he could find. Tom gathered up tupperware in a cloth bag. Lillian and Laura returned about forty five minutes later, with three duffel bags. Laura seemed to be crying, so Tom guessed she was leaving a lot behind.
"Let's go," Hal emerged from the pantry with more bags than he could carry, stuffed with food. Tom took some of the bags from his son to lessen his load. The four of them trudged back to the Mason household, lugging their cargo.
"Tom! Hal!" Rebecca hugged the two boys. "You'd been gone for so long, I..." She stopped. "Where's Ben?"
"We got to Nick's house," Tom panted. "The parents were dead. No sign of either one of the boys," Rebecca let tears run down her face.
"Lillian! Laura! Thank goodness you're safe," She recovered, hugging the sisters. "I was getting worried. Where's your mother?" Lillian gulped.
"Dead," She whispered. Rebecca gasped and hugged the girls again.
"Well," Sighed Rebecca. "We ought to stock up on food. I know we've got a lot here but having more will be better," Tom nodded in agreement. "Now you boys need to rest, so Lillian and I will go."
"No," Tom said loudly. "I won't let you two go out alone."
"Mr. Mason, I don't mean to be rude," Lillian began. "But if there's an alien invasion, shouldn't we be able to go out on our own?" Tom sighed. He knew Lillian had a good point.
"Fine," He said after a moment's silence. "But be careful."
"We will," Said Rebecca. She hugged her boys, Lillian hugged her sister, and they set out. The grocery store was just outside the neighborhood, so it was only about an hour's walk. When they got there, it was chaos.
"Grab anything and everything, as much as you can!" Rebecca shouted over the mob of people fighting their way through the crowd. Lillian nodded, took a cart, and ran towards the bottled water section. Two people were in a fist fight over the last container.
"Sorry," Lillian apologized, taking it. She knew they'd need more water, so she slipped into the storage room. It was empty of people. She took four more containers of water, and darted out before she was caught. Over at the soup section, people were fighting again. Some even had knives. Lillian snatched seventeen cans of tomato soup and nineteen cans of potato soup. She found a few stray cans of ravioli, which she took. She decided to venture into the candy section for sweets. Most everything was picked clean, besides a few bags. She then went back to the front door to meet Rebecca.
"Ready?" She asked once she saw Lillian.
"Yup," Rebecca had been more efficient, she had two carts of food. The girls hauled the food back to the house and once there unloaded it.
…
As days passed, things got worse. More explosions, more ships, more deaths. Less food, less family, less hope. Everyday Hal and Tom searched for Ben, but they never found him. After a week or so, they gave up. Ben was presumed dead. Lillian was a mess. She wished she could see him again so she could hold him.
Not to mention the actual aliens. They were green and slimy, with multiple legs and eyes. They made a weird clicking noise when they wanted to speak. And they brought these big, giant machines that blew up entire houses. Hal called them Mechs.
After two weeks, a man knocked on their door.
"Hello," He said. He was wearing an army suit and his hair was pure white. "My name is Cornel Porter, I'm here to collect any civilians," Tom, Hal, Rebecca, Lillian, and Porter hauled all the food they had out and onto a wagon. More people were outside and knocking on doors. As we all left our homes, I could only think about Ben not being able to find us.