Lost

chapter I

Heavy metal was blasting through Alexandria's bedroom. Laying down on her bed, she screamed along to the lyrics as she finished her algebra homework.

Footsteps sounded through the hallway; they ceased seemingly quickly though, and the door suddenly was pounded upon loudly as if to fill the absence of sound. Alexandria's drunken father was outside of the door, screaming for her to come out. Without a moments hesitation or regards to turn off her music, Alexandria sauntered to the door and calmly opened it, only to see her intoxicated and enraged father standing behind it.
"Your... music is... obnoxious," he slurred slowly, belching loudly.
Slamming the door in his face, Alexandria trudged back to her bed and plopped herself down, heaving a frustrated sigh.

The door opened and this time her father walked in and pushed Alexandria down on the bed.
"Dad, what the fuck are you doing?!" She screeched as her own father began touching her breasts. She could smell the booze on his breath. Repulsed, Alexandria tried to shove him off but of course to no avail. She was scrawny and lacking any sort of upper body strength. Reaching and straining for the lamp sitting upon her night stand, she desperately tried to grip it. After several moments of attempting to grasp the lamp, she finally managed to grip it firmly in her fingers and she brought it down on her fathers head. As he brought up his fist to retaliate, she kicked him in the groin and shoved her groaning bastard of a parent off of herself and onto the ground. She wasted no time and sprinted out the door and into the streets, away from her childhood home. She resolved to never return, no matter the circumstance.

As far as she was concerned, she no longer had a home.

Rushing down the winding sidewalk, Alexandria's legs were begging for a break and her lungs were screaming for air. How long she'd been running for, she had no clue. She paused for a moment to gaze at the sky; she had't realized up until this moment that the sky was alight with bombs dropping to the ground. Along the horizon she could see black smoke clouding the skyline and she was astounded to notice that the streets were empty and barren. Confused and mildly horrified, Alexandria turned the corner; doing so she ran head on into anther girl who was also apparently running for her life.
"Watch where you're going!" Alexandria snapped, picking herself up the ground. The other girl, apparently shocked into silence also lifted herself to her feet.
"Sorry... Are you okay? We've gotta get out of here! There's these huge things flying from the sky!" The other girl exclaimed.
"Yea, I've noticed! What, do you think I don't have eyes or something?" Alexandria hissed, glaring at her. Alexandria examined the girl; she had light brown hair that reached just to her rib cage and hazel eyes that were flashing with panic. She was average build- not quite slim but not fat either. She wasn't very tall either, maybe 5'4 at the most. She wasn't gorgeous but she was pretty, and seemed quite soft.
"Hey, are you okay? What did you see back there?" Alexandria asked, seemingly confused. The concern for the other girl was a bit misplaced as Alexandria had just been angry, but now she was curious and a bit worried. "Also, what's your name?"
"My name is Valerie, and I think there's something happening! We've gotta go- I have to find my sister." Valerie cried, grabbing Alexandria's hand and tugging her in a seemingly random direction. Alexandria was hesitant; of course she didn't want to go with a some girl she hardly knew. She felt her brows knit together; she was conflicted. If she didn't go with the strange girl, she could find herself alone. If she did go with the girl, she could find herself suck with an irritating and overly cautious companion.
Valerie gave Alexandria a once over. Alexandria had lengthy auburn hair and bright blue eyes. She was also quite thin and happened to be tall- perhaps 5'6. Her eyes held a weary, dumbfounded and generally confused gaze and she seemed genuinely worried about what was going on.
"Didn't you see the bombs back there?" Valerie asked, startled that anyone could miss such crucial information.
"No, I wasn't looking. I was just running from-"
The sky became alight with a blazing glare as yet another ball of pure flame crashed to the earth. Unlike before, this one was less timid and filled with fury. Several explosions erupted and shrieks were heard as violent fires started where the bomb landed. Fear begun to evoke itself from Alexandria's bones.
"Valerie, c'mon! We don't have time to look for your sister, we've gotta run!" Alexandria yelped over the sudden catastrophic sound. Valerie gave a hesitant glance behind her before reluctantly turning to Alexandria.
"She's all I got left, please can't we look for her?" Her question was answered once another bomb crashed in the distance.
"Look, my name is Alexandria. I'll look after you, okay? We've gotta go. And we gotta go quickly," Alexandria said calmly, grabbing Valerie's hand and pulling her along.

They both ran at a steady pace for perhaps about ten minutes before coming to a recently evacuated hotel.
"Look at this..." Alexandria breathed softly.
"I'm not sure if I want to," Valerie muttered as a rat scurried across the floor. She stepped through the broken glass doors and took a few aimless steps in every direction; calculating. Curiosity seemed to work it's way into Valerie's eyes. She carefully walked over to what used to be the lobby. Screens filled with static were seemingly all that was left. Until of course she noticed that one of the television screens was still animated. The news was flashing across the screen.
"War has been officially declared upon Canada; evacuation measures have been taken. We advise you to stay indoors until officials can make it and escort you to safety. Take precautions of debris and flying objects. Bombs are being dropped and we ask of you not to panic. Several casualties have been reported so far and many more people have been-" the news anchor announced before a rock was chucked at the screen, abruptly cutting the woman off and splitting a hole smack through the television. Valerie begun to worry about her sister once again; is she alive? Did she go home only to find Valerie gone? Questions began to plaque her mind.
"Let's look around for supplies. Whoever left here left in a hurry and they clearly had no regard for what they were leaving behind. We should grab some stuff- you know. Water, food, we could even crack the cash register open and grab some money," Alexandria murmured to Valerie, snapping her out of her worried train of thought. Valerie had been so lost in her worry that she hadn't heard Alexandria step back to her side.
"I don't know... That sounds really illegal. What if we get caught?"
"Dude. We won't, I promise. Look at this place! There's no one here. You go look around for some water and I'll find some back packs and come cash. I have a feeling we're gonna be on our own for a while," Said Alexandria, who calmly made her way over to the cash register.
"Alexandria... How old are you? Why can't we go home? Can I call you Alex? I'm a little scared, and I wanna see my sister," Valerie fired questions at Alexandria. Her stance had changed from apprehensive to afraid. Homesickness stuck her, which was strange figuring they had only left home an hour ago.
Chuckling, Alexandria responded. "I'm 15, and if you really want to call me Alex you can." Pausing, Alexandria took a moment before continuing.
"If you really want to know why we can't go home, take a look outside, Valerie... but before you do, how old are you? And can I call you Val?"
Valerie flinched at the idea of being called Val. Flashes of her dearest sister begun to cross her mind. Various ideas of Maddie's current position made Valerie shudder. Horror begun to clutch her, threatening to crush her lungs as it squelched her heart and burned in her mind... Valerie shrugged off her negative thoughts and shook her head as if to clear it.

"I'm 14, and well... Val is what my sister called me. She could be dead for all I know!" Turing to the entrance of the hotel, Valerie decided to take a look outside. She instantly regretted it when she saw that in the distance her beloved city was engulfed in flames. Smoke clouded the atmosphere and filled the sky with a smoky haze. Buildings begun to collapse as fighter jets soared above the hotel. The roar of the engine sent Valerie stumbling backwards in shock. She recovered, and tentatively stepped forward again. Her city; her home was nearly a pile of rubble on the ground. Valerie was horrified and hardly able to move; despite that she began to slowly turn before Alexandria let out a blood-curdling scream.