Our hope for the government to come stayed with us for 3 days after the bombs dropped. We stayed tucked underneath of our barn, going out occasionally to walk around and stretch our legs. It took 2 days for the burning to stop. The parents were worried that the fire would reach the barn, but it never had a chance to once it began to heavily rain.
     With the rain, though, came the ash. The rain that fell from the sky wasn't clear droplets of pure water. All of the ash that had drifted into the clouds with the smoke fell with rain, coating the land in an ashy, grey mess. Everything you touched left a grey residue on your fingers. The fresh green grass and the colorful flowers in the garden and the colorful leaves of the trees and our beautiful white house had all been turned grey. Our hope for the government died with the color of the world, fading to nothing but bleak grey.
     It was on the third day that we were sitting in our bunker, everyone eating their dinner by lamp light, that we heard trucks in the yard. The parents all looked at each other, and you could see the mix of emotions on their faces. Confusion, nervousness, and apprehension. They put their plates down on the floor and stood up, and went to the gun rack.
    My family was a sweet family. We helped out in the community and my parents were kind people. When you looked at our family, you would never think guns would be a part of our household. But hunting season was the week of glory for my family. I had been shooting a gun since the time I could walk and talk. Everyone was familiar with the weapons and knew how to use them well. Which scared me when the parents grabbed them to go see what the humans outside were doing. 
    They instructed us to stay inside. We all nodded in response. I think we were all scared of what was going on. William scooted in closer to Bailey, and she comfortingly wrapped an arm around him. She looked at me and gulped, her eyes holding fear. I tried to smile reassuringly, but that same fear was gurgling in my gut. I looked at Oliver, and he just gave me a nod.
    My head snapped to the door as I heard yelling. I couldn't tell exactly what was being said, but I could hear the parents and other people shouting. My eyes flicked to the gun cabinet. My stomach clenched again, but I stood up.
    "What are you doing?" Bailey hissed as I opened the gun cabinet. I shot her a look as I grabbed a handgun, the one I was most familiar with. I checked that it was full, popped the clip back in, and took a shaky breath.
     "Everybody else stays here. I'll be right back," I ordered and started up the stairs.
     "Enid don't be stupid," Oliver snapped. I turned to look at him and shot him the same look I gave Bailey.
    "Stay here. Watch the kids," I retorted. I took a deep breath as I turned around, and slowly lifted the hatch.
     As I lifted the hatch, I could see the grey covered world that started outside the stall in the barn. I climbed out of the bunker and silently closed the door, and crept to the edge of the doorway, gun ready in my hands. My breathing was ragged, my heart hammering in my chest. I could hear the adults yelling, more clear now.
    I crouched and stuck to the wall as I trotted to the mouth of the barn. I peeked outside to see the commotion outside.
    The parents were all lined up, everybody with their guns raised, aimed at 2 trucks with people surrounding them. Those people had guns as well, 6 people in total. The parents were outnumbered.
    "I will not say it again, get off of my property!" My father shouted, shifting the aim of his gun from a woman with dark hair to a large looking man, who seemed to be the leader of the group. The man jabbed his gun in the direction of my father.
    "What're you going to do? Shoot us? You're outnumbered! Just give us half of your supplies, and we'll let you go," The man fired back. My dad shook his head.
    "Not what I said," He snarled in response.
    "Just go to the city! Why do you have to come here?" Mom asked, aiming her gun at the man's head. There was a good 15 feet between the two lines of people. Dad looked at mom and shot her a look.
    "Keep to yourself Meredith," He snapped at her. She shot him a dirty look. Another man from the other lineup looked at my mother in disbelief.
    "Haven't you been to the city?" He questioned. "The north end of the city is bombed. The rest has been taken over. There's riots in the streets, all of the stores have been raided and robbed, people are acting like animals out there. It's the damn apocalypse!"
    My stomach clenched. The parents all exchanged glances. The apocalypse. The words rang in my head. It really is the end of the world, I thought to myself.
    "You haven't heard the radio?" Another woman asked. "They're calling it a national emergency. The government is collapsed. There is no world order."
    I began to sweat and shake. My breaths quickened and my head spun. I was hearing all of these words but they weren't making sense. I told myself it wasn't true. I told myself there was no way. But as I looked at the smoke rising from the smoldering forest miles away in the distance, and the angry faces of the people across from the parents, I knew it was true.
    "We just need enough supplies to get us through on the road. Come on, Lou! It's nothing personal. We just need food and medical supplies, some gas too," The head man said. My dad's face went from shocked back to hardened and his grip tightened on his weapon.
    "Not a chance Marcus. Get in your trucks and leave," He barked. Marcus paused. He shook his head.
    "I didn't want to do this," The man, Marcus, said remorsefully.
    I screamed as he shot. In one quick second, he shot his gun, and my father blew backwards. I raised my gun and shot with no hesitation at the man, shooting him in the middle of his chest. His eyes popped open and he fell to his knees. All eyes turned towards me as I sprinted out from the barn and fell beside my father.
    "A kid?" The man managed to get out before collapsing to the ground.
    My mom screamed and began shooting. She shot the woman who was standing beside Marcus, and Robert shot another man. Natalie screamed as she got shot in the shoulder with a handgun by the woman with the dark hair, and dropped her gun, clutching her wound. The other people shot blindly, missing everyone as they hopped back into their trucks and pulled away. Robert continued to shoot at the trucks, putting holes in the sides and shooting out their windows. The trucks peeled away and left the house.
    I dropped my guns and my hands shook as I looked at my dead. His face was ghostly white, his eyes wide. His stomach was blown to bits, his shirt demolished, ripped to shreds and covered in blood. Too much blood. My mom fell on the other side of dad, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed.
    He took her hand and he took mine. He gulped and looked at both of us, tears running down either side of his face.
    "Stay strong, you guys will get through this," He said in a hoarse tone. My mom shook her head and pushed his hair out of his face. Her whole body was trembling. He squeezed our hands and squeezed his eyes shut, back arching in pain. And all at once, his eyes opened and his body relaxed, one last breath escaping through his lungs.
    Mom screamed again, shaking his body and holding his face. I covered my hand with my mouth as I watched, tears uncontrollably pouring down my face. Mom took dad's head in her lap and kissed his forehead, her body shaking viciously. I moved beside her and wrapped my arms around her, the only words coming out of her mouth being "No."
    Robert and Natalie stood off to the side, Natalie crying and holding her bleeding shoulder and Robert crying as he looked down at his best friend. In that moment, the grey world seemed fitting and the air that was already thick from smoke and ash seemed to get thicker by the moment.
     We stayed there for so long, mom holding dad, me holding mom. Robert and Natalie came over and kneeled beside us, Natalie rubbing my back and telling me it will be okay. I didn't understand how she could say that. How she could have the audacity to tell me that in that hellish world with everything gone and in an apocalyptic state, it would be okay despite the fact that I wouldn't have my father to help me get through it. How she told me it would be okay, even though I had just shot and killed a man, and I wouldn't have my father to help me deal with the aftermath of that. That she would tell me that it would be okay, even though I wouldn't have my father to help in the aftermath of everything. The bomb. The apocalypse. The crashing of the government. Me murdering somebody.
    We finally got up, and Robert carried my father to one of the empty stalls in the barn. He took one of the sheets from the bunker and laid it over my father, red seeping through the sheet where the blood covered his body. My mom sat in that same spot on the ground, body shaking as she stared at the dirt that was now tainted an angry color of red. I stood at the edge of the barn and stared at her. Natalie and Robert were inside the bunker, getting Natalie stitched up, as well as telling everybody the news. I couldn't hear the conversations inside, and I knew I couldn't go in because going inside and seeing the reactions of my family would kill me.
    My gun was on my hip, tucked into the waistband of my pants. The metal felt cool on my hip, the guilt sitting heavy in my gut. I was a murderer. Sure, I acted to defend my father, but it didn't make me not a murderer. My eyes avoided the bodies that were laid in the yard, not yet moved since the attack. 
    I heard the bunker door lift open, and I heard footsteps emerge from the stall. They came up beside me, and I glanced over. There stood my baby sister, her eyes red and puffy, her cheeks stained with tears. She looked so fragile, so young. She looked at mom and more tears fell from her eyes.
    "I need to go talk to her,"  She whispered, her voice hoarse. She started to walk out towards her, but I caught her wrist. She looked at me. God, she looked so broken.
    "Just leave her for now. She's not speaking," I told her. She stared at me, and then started crying even harder. She fell into my arms, barely standing on her own. I held her and patted her hair, holding back my own tears as I told her that we would make it through it. Truthfully, I had no idea if we would, but I had to tell myself and her that we would so I could try to make myself believe my own words.
   

   That night was hard. Mom finally came inside when Natalie made her, after Robert had taken the bodies from the attack and buried them all in shallow graves on the edge of the woods. We all laid in our bunks, the lamp cascading a soft glow around the room. You could hear everyone's sniffles, everybody crying and grieving. William slept with mom in her bunk. In the middle of the night, Bailey moved in with me into mine. The bunks weren't big to any extent, it was barely enough for one person. It was unnaturally cramped with two people in it, but I appreciated the closeness. It made me feel less cold and less alone.
   My back was pressed against the wall, and my head was propped up by my elbow. I used my other hand to run my fingers through Bailey's hair and scratch her back, something I always did when she was little to comfort her. I listened to her sniffle and watch as her body shook. My chest tightened and I felt tears come back into my eyes. My baby sister, so broken.
    I knew on that night that I would have to take over. Mom would never be the same. She was broken, more broken than I had ever seen her. I knew that I would have to be the one to take care of Bailey and William. I knew I would have to take care of mom. There would be no time for grieving for me. It was my job to care for everyone.
   

    It didn't take long for the seasons to change. Every time it rained, it rained black. Pitch black. It looked like squid ink falling from the sky, coating everything in darkness. It wasn't helping anybody. Seeing everything covered in black didn't help anybody grieve, didn't help the situation feel lighter. Everything just felt dark and depressing and hopeless.
    I became one of the adults. Mom shut down. She would lay in her bunk under her blanket and stare off. Nobody could get through to her, besides William. He would crawl into bed with her, urge her to eat, urge her to drink , get her to talk. I replaced her. I was the adult, watching over the family, and she was the child, that needed to be taken care of.
    Soon, the rain turned to snow. The snow wasn't black like the rain, instead a grey color, still bleak and dark. We lived off of our supplies, rationing it out. The bunker got colder as the months went on, as we slipped out of fall, into winter. We had to use our generator to use the space heater. We saved the oil from the lamps for later, and used a heat lamp to light the room. 
    "We're going to run out of food soon," I heard Natalie whisper to Robert. He sat on the stairs leading out of the bunker, his face in his hands. He looked tired. He'd been working harder than anybody there, doing everything he could to help out 2 families. 
    "I'll go out again. Check the neighbour's houses, maybe go into the city," He suggested, looking up. He had bags under his eyes, his cheekbones more prominent from lack of food. He looked weak. We all did.
    "You know you can't go into the city alone, and we can't leave the kids here alone," Natalie retorted. I was sat in my bunk, pretending to read one of my books.
    "We'd just leave them here with Meredith."
    "Don't be a fool. Meredith can't handle that right now."
     I looked at mom laying in her bed, her body small and frail. William sat with her, playing with her blonde hair, telling her some made up story about knights and dragons and wizards that made no sense. Ever since dad, she'd lost any will to survive.
    I wondered if it would have been different if it wasn't the end of the world. If she would have pulled through. I wondered if the world had not been destroyed and all hope diminished, if she would have gotten over her grieving and returned to normal. I figured the answer to that was probably yes, but I didn't dwell on the thought too much. It hurt too much to think about the "what if the world hadn't ended."
    "Well then what are we going to do?" Robert asked, looking defeated. Natalie shook  her head and ran a hand over her hair.
     "I don't know. I don't know. Hunt?" She suggested. Robert shook his head.
     "It's winter. It's too hard to get around right now."
     I poked my head out of the bunk and looked at the two defeated adults. "I'll go to the city," I stated. They looked at me. "I can go by myself. I'll just stay on the outskirts. I'll take weapons. It'll be fine."
    "Enid, we are not sending you out to the city by yourself," Robert retorted. I stood up.
    "I'm not a child. I am 15 years old. I am capable of doing this. Besides, you know that the city is abandoned. Everybody left. I'll just see what I can find, it'll only take one day," I stated. Bailey looked at me from her bunk above mom's. I just shot her a you have no say in this look and turned back to Robert. "The guns here are mine. This bunker is mine. I will go and get supplies with my guns for my bunker if I want to."
    Robert just stared at me for a moment. He looked old and tired, just after one season after the bombs. His shoulders that were always big and strong were now sagged and slouched, and grey pieces of hair could be seen sprinkled through the rest of the his hair.
    "I wouldn't feel right if I sent you out there alone," He said, shaking his head.
    "I'll take Oliver with me," I said, and looked at Oliver who was to my right, sleeping in his bunk that was above mine. "We'll be fine. In and out in one day or two. It'll be easy."
    After some negotiating, it was settled. Oliver and I would go to the city the next day, and if we weren't back in 3 days, then Robert would come to find us. And as I laid there that next night, trying to sleep, I was trying to picture what the city would look like, what we would find. We hadn't been in the city yet, and we had no idea what to expect. As I laid there in my bed my stomach churned with an uneasy feeling. It was finally time to leave the farm.





- - - - Author's Note - - - -

So there you have it guys! Chapter two, up and ready. I hope you guys really liked it :) This story is so much fun for me to write. In the past I've written stories similar but I have a really exciting plot planned for this one that I think I'll actually be able to write and finish. Don't forget to vote, comment, and subscribe!

With love,
Macy Faye