Ashes (Of the Earth Series)

Chapter 7.1 - Prometheus

Three days had slipped away while I prepared for the journey to my family's home. Guilt gnawed at me for leaving Michael behind. I'd asked everyone, but no one had any information about him. The grim stories I'd heard left me with little hope of finding my friend again.

I absent-mindedly sorted through my meager supplies, mentally tallying them. Two cans of beans, three cans of tomato soup, two bottles of water – I could reuse those. My hopes of finding my family were dwindling too.

A can of tuna. During my first hours at the campus, there had been a desperate broadcast from a kid in Lowell, but it had ended in screams and the sound of shattering glass.

No other forms of media were operational. Six packets of sports drink mix, a one-pound bag of M&M's, a multi-tool, can opener, flip lighter, pocket knife, flashlight. I was cut off, with no idea what lay beyond our town.

I meticulously arranged everything in my backpack, mindful of the weight distribution. A poorly packed bag would only make the long walk harder.

With the pack now heavy on my shoulders, I hesitated at the door, the fear of the unknown world outside holding me back. Everyone had tried to dissuade me, but I was convinced my family needed me. Yet, standing at the threshold, I found myself paralyzed, unable to take that first step.

"Alec, wait."

"Lilly?" I looked around and found her hurrying towards me, James following behind. She thrust something small and heavy, wrapped in cloth, into my hands. It felt familiar, and as I recognized its shape, my eyes widened in surprise.

"Where did you..." I started to ask.

"Shh," Lilly interrupted. "James had it. You'll need it."

James extended a small wooden box to me, which I accepted. It was just as heavy, and I instantly knew what it contained.

"You guys need this more than I do," I said, a sense of unease settling over me.

"No, we don't. If they decided to attack us here, we couldn't hold them off," Lilly replied.

"And we're going with you," James added abruptly.

Lilly looked at him in disbelief. "I thought we agreed not to go?"

"Lilly, Mom and Dad are dead. I saw the house. It's gone. The panic room is gone. There is nothing left, they are dead. You can choose not to believe it, but it doesn't change the fact," James said. His tone was flat.

I blinked, taken aback. Brother and sister. I hadn't seen that coming.

James caught my expression and added, "She's my step-sister. We don't like to advertise it."

I raised an eyebrow, absorbing this new revelation.

"Lilly and... James... Potter?" I snickered and put on a posh accent as I said the characters' last name.

Lilly whirled on me. "That's the only word you ever get to say about it, understand? Ever. EVER. Our last name is Jade."

I held up my hands and pulled away from her. God damn, she was feisty. "Alright, jeez, touchy."

"I'm not kidding. It's the one thing this dweeb and I agree on. We hate that reference."

"Yeah," James tossed his hands up and let them quickly fall to slap against his thighs. "That's true, just about the only thing I see eye to eye on with this skank." Lilly shoved him. "What you get to call me a dweeb?"

"It was a coincidence, but," he continued, still eyeing Lilly as she mockingly balled up a fist and twitched at him.

He flinched. "Hey," he yelled. "You wanna tell him?"