“Is he alright?” Gabby asked worriedly, gently touching her fingertips to his forehead.
“He’s fine,” Tati assured her with a smile. “He’s just sleeping.”
“Thank goodness,” Bob sighed in relief, wiping a hand over his tired face.
“He was already out cold when we found him not far from here,” Ray explained.
They all looked down at the boy now sleeping peacefully.
“The good news is that he didn’t sustain any more injuries. He’s still in pain from the ones he got when the Rebellions cornered him and Gabby the previous time,” Tati informed them. “My guess would be that he passed out from either pain or fear.”
“I should never have left him,” Gabby said sadly, sitting down next to Mikey’s sleeping body.
“Oh, Gabs, it’s not your fault. I told you that nothing happened to him. If you stayed with him both of you might have gotten hurt. Now you’re both unscathed. That’s a good thing,” Tatiana smiled at the girl. She turned to Bob before speaking again. “I’ll have him committed at the hospital as soon as the place is up and running again.”
He nodded, “Speaking of up and running again; school’s open so you better get going, it’s almost nine.”
Gabby sighed, “Okay. Keep an eye on him.”
She turned to Mikey and placed a soft kiss on his forehead before walking out the door towards the school.
“Wait for me!” Chelle called, coming running in from her room, bag dragging behind her. “Okay, let’s go,” she smiled brightly.
“When will the hospital open again?” Ray wanted to know.
“Well,” Tati said, looking down at her watch. “About forty minutes.”
“In that case I’ll take Mikey there now,” Bob stated. “There’s no use in watching him hurt. Little punk isn’t going anywhere again for a long, long time.”
“Fluffy old Bob,” the raven-haired beauty teased. “Always so caring.”
“Yep, these aren’t muscles. He’s stuffed with love,” Ray laughed, poking Bob’s arms.
“Stop it,” Bob scowled, pulling away from Ray. “Come on,” he told Tati as he slowly picked Mikey up, the boy complaining with a whine at being moved.

*

“This sucks,” Frank muttered, kicking a stone with the front of his old converse, his hands stuffed deep inside his pockets. “I don’t see how they can start school with all this shit still going on.”
“Life needs to continue sooner or later,” Chelle tried to explain. “Everything can’t stand still forever.”
“Hey, you guys!” Erin said, catching up to them. “Ready for what feels like the start of a new school year?”
“Frank’s being a grouchy bitch about it,” Chelle informed her friend with a light chuckle.
“Aw, Frankie, it’s okay. We all like to hide from the Rebellions under our beds, but don’t worry. We won’t let anything happen to you, okay?” Erin giggled.
“I’m not afraid of those things,” he scoffed. “I just think it would’ve been wise to wait a day or two more until everything was back to normal.”
“Hi, am I interrupting?” a deep voice asked and everyone’s heads turned towards the new arrival.
“No, not at all!” Erin assured him with a huge grin. “I’d like you to meet David. David, this is Frank and Chelle.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” the teen smiled at them both. “So, have you found Alex yet?”
“No, I haven’t,” Erin frowned, biting her lower lip. “Have you guys seen her yet?”
They shook their heads, because neither has seen her since the night the Rebellions attacked.
“I gotta get to class,” Frank muttered. “But I’ll see you all later.”
The teen walked across the schoolyard towards the east building and then went up the four flights of stairs to get to his first classroom. It was just another ordinary day of school it seemed. He fell down in his desk and watched as students piled inside the classroom. You’d think that they’d be able to teach some interesting classes considering it’s another life and you don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past - why teach the same old boring classes like back on earth? – but no, he was still stuck doing biology and just because he didn’t want to do history, he thought grudgingly. Both classes were equally boring in his opinion. The teacher came in, his black coat making him seem almost like a large human bat or something. A smile spread across the teen’s lips at that image. He was so deep in thought that he barely noticed that the teacher had started talking and that the class had begun. The dark haired teen stared out the window in disinterest. He noticed a thin sliver of smoke in the distance, but didn’t think much of it. He must’ve fallen asleep, because he woke up to a huge noise and people running around frantically.
“What’s going on??” he demanded, grabbing one teen by the collar to keep him still.
“Re…Re… Rebellions…” he stuttered, eyes wide with fear. “They… they’re attacking a…again…”
“Ah, fuck! Not this shit again!” he yelled angrily.
Just then, there was another loud explosion and the whole building shook. Several students fell down to the ground and some of them automatically dove under their desks for cover. As soon as Frank regained his balance, he started for the door. It wasn’t easy since desks and students obstructed his way. In total frustration, the teen pushed other students out of the way and jumped over desks in order to get out of the suddenly crowded classroom. Of course he had to be on the top floor, he thought dismayed once he finally managed to escape the chaotic class. With a quick glance at his surroundings, he saw that the entire left wing of the school building had collapsed.
“Shit,” he swore under his breath, hurriedly looking for a way to get down to the ground.
In the end, it seemed that there was no other way than down the rubble of the ruined building. Flames sprang up everywhere. He reached the side of the building that had collapsed and shuddered at the thought of how many people had died in the explosion. In the distance, another explosion sounded and he ducked reflexively.
“Frank!” he heard someone call his name and he looked down to see Gabby standing at the foot of the rubble.
“Gabby!” he sighed in relief. “Stay right there, I’m coming down!”
He slowly started to slide down the mountain of rubble and hissed when his hand was cut on a piece of glass. He nearly fell, but regained his balance and safely reached the ground. Gabby ran towards him and looked at him worriedly.
“Are you okay?” the young girl wanted to know.
“Yeah, I’m fine. We need to find Chelle and the others.”
The teens started towards the school building that appeared to still be unscathed. Hundreds of students were already running around the schoolyard and it was near impossible to find anyone. They heard loud screaming as they neared the building, causing them to stop dead in their tracks.
“Rebellions,” Frank cursed. “Let’s go this way.”
When a hand landed on his shoulder, he spun around in a flash, ready to beat the shit out of whatever it was.
“Chelle!” he exclaimed wide-eyed. “Thanks goodness you’re okay!” he breathed, hugging her tightly. “Come on, we need to get out of here.”
“Wait! We have to find Annabel and Erin first,” the brunette stopped him.
“I’m okay,” Erin said, running towards them. “But…” she took a deep breath. “David… He’s…”
The teen broke down sobbing.
“Erin,” Chelle spoke softly, trying to comfort the blonde girl.
“He was right there. I saw them…”
“Not that I don’t care,” Frank interjected. “But we have to get out of here now!”
He grabbed the girl’s hands, making sure that all three of them were with him and then started running towards the nearest exit; staying clear of fallen debris, fires and potential Rebellion areas.

*

“This way!” Bob called, pulling Ashley in a different direction than the one they were going in.
The pair ran along back roads, jumping rubble as far as they went. They had to stop frequently to hide behind dumpsters or bushes to be safe. It seemed like world war had broken out on Una. The sounds of explosions could be heard every few minutes.
“Watch out!” Bob yelled, pulling Ashley against him at the speed of light as a piece of metal fell down from the building they were passing.
He looked up to see the shadows of Rebellions moving past one window, but he could also see people in the building that were still alive.
“Damn it!” he swore loudly. “Come on!”
The brunette didn’t argue, but just kept following him, not that she really had a choice since he had steel grip on her hand.
“Bob, please,” she begged. “I can’t go any further…” she said out of breath.
“We can’t stop now,” he told her over his shoulder, keeping at a fast pace.
She tried to keep up, but stumbled and fell down on the ground, scratching her knees.
“Ah, fuck!” the blonde male groaned in frustration.
He looked down at the brunette, sprawled on the ground and calmed down.
“Do you think you can keep moving for just a few more minutes, Ash?” he asked, squatting down next to her.
She looked up into his blue eyes and saw the mix of fear and worry in them. She took a deep breath and nodded. He reached out his hand and helped her up. He had just turned back to start running when Ashley let out an ear-splitting scream. He spun around and saw the black frame standing behind her, a hand on her arm. Without thinking about it, Bob pulled back his fist and punched the Rebellion full in the face. There was a cracking sound and he then proceeded to pull Ashley from its grip. The male swiftly picked her up and started running.

*

“Tati! Tatiana!” Ray shouted over the noise as he fought his way through the crowded hospital hallway.
Ray hated the hospital, but he needed to find his girlfriend and make sure that she was safe. Everyone was hurrying towards the nearest exit. It was complete chaos.
“There we go,” he heard a familiar voice and then he saw the raven-haired beauty coming towards him, pushing Mikey in a wheelchair.
The teen was conscious and immediately spotted Ray.
“Tatiana! Mikey!” the tall male called to them, running over. “Let me help.”
He took the wheelchair from her and started towards the exit in a rush. She almost had to jog in order to keep up with him. They stopped at the elevator doors and even though it was probably not such a good idea to use it in the current situation, it was the quickest way out at the moment. As soon as the doors opened, Tati jumped inside. The wheelchair just entered the elevator when a large beam came down from the ceiling and fell on Ray.
“No!!!!” Tati screamed hysterically as she watched her boyfriend go down.
“Ray!” Mikey cried out.
“We need to help him! He can’t die!” she yelled running back out to try to help Ray out.
He was unconscious and that complicated matters a lot.
“Help!” Tati called out desperately. “Can someone please help me?? My friend’s stuck!!”
No one paid any attention to the desperate female as they all ran to save their own lives.
“Ray,” she sobbed, falling down next to him and holding onto his hand.
In the next instant, a pair of arms grabbed the beam and moved it. It was a slow process, but the few inches it moved already gave Tati hope. She looked up at Mikey, immensely grateful. She scrambled back to her feet in order to help him move the beam. He was still in no condition to do something like this, but his face showed pure determination. The young teen cried out in pain every time they attempted to move the beam. Tears were streaming down his face, but he wasn’t giving up until Ray was free.
“Mikey,” Tatiana cried, hugging him when the beam was lying next to Ray instead of on top of him.
“Ah!” he winced at her act of gratefulness and she hurriedly apologized. “Come on,” he breathed, sniffing in an attempt to stop his tears. “We need to get him in the wheelchair so we can get out of here. Those things obviously don’t plan to stop anytime soon. I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to die again yet.”

*

“What is this place?” Gerard asked, staring at the walls and low ceiling surrounding them.
They walked along the narrow dirt path hundreds of people following them. After what seemed like forever, they reached a large clearing with a ceiling about twelve feet high. Several torches lit up the large cavern like area. People immediately scattered as friends and family separated into their own little groups and found a place to sit down.
Doctors and nurses from the hospital gathered in order to take care of the injured. Nana spoke to a couple of men and they disappeared deeper into the caves only to return minutes later with supplies: food, blankets, medication, etc. Tatiana immediately took Mikey and Ray towards the group of medics and started to take care of them.
“Tati, could you please look at Chelle quickly?” Frank pleaded with the raven-haired girl. “She was stabbed by a sharp object while we were running for our lives. It’s really bad.”
“Show me,” she said, and Chelle lifted up her shirt to show the large gash on her side. “I don’t see anything,” Tati frowned, cleaning up the bloodied place.
“What?” Frank frowned, staring at the place he knew the cut had been, but he was unable to see it.
“Are you sure she got cut?” Tati asked a little annoyed.
“Of course I am! It was right there!” he insisted, pointing to the place.
She sighed, “Go talk to Nana. Maybe she can explain it.”
“Let’s go,” Frank said, taking Chelle’s hand and leading her towards Nana.

*

“What is this place, Nana?” Gerard wanted to know as he sat down near the old woman.
“It’s just a bit of a shelter for situations like these,” she replied vaguely.
Rae sat down next to Gerard and took a hold of his hand giving it a reassuring squeeze. He flashed her a brief grateful glance, turning his attention back to the woman standing before him.
“So there have been situations like these before?” he questioned. “Situations where the Rebellions would go crazy and start a massacre?”
The old woman shook her head and sighed.
“When I first came to Una fifty two years ago, there were no such things as Rebellions. They simply did not exist. They only came to be about twenty years ago. We still don’t know who started it or why. An old friend and I watched them. We took note of everything they did and how they did it. They only came out after dark and they don’t appear on nights the moon is out…”
“But that’s bullshit since they came out last week when the moon was out,” Gerard cut her short.
Nana sighed again before continuing.
“The last couple of years we’ve noticed some changes. They killed a lot more often and they never left a body. I had a feeling… We were afraid that something like this might happen one day. We feared that one day the Rebellions would take over. That’s why we created this place. My friend and I started working on a new underground world. It’s a place where existence could continue in the worst case scenario.”
“Worst case scenario??” Gerard exclaimed in disbelief. “This is way past the point of worst case scenario! Mikey can barely move, Ray is completely incapacitated, Alex is missing and David is dead! We’re all hiding out in a fucking cave!”
“Gerard…” Nana tried to calm him down, but he just continued, “I have a hell of a lot of respect for you, Nana. I really do, but this is one time I am not going to take your advice. I don’t care if we have to go to war with these things or if we have to kill off the motherfuckers one by one, but this is where it ends! We’re ten times more than they are and you said it yourself; they’re human just like us.”
“Are you sure about this?” Rae asked, looking deep into his hazel orbs.
“I am,” he nodded. “I’m doing this.”