If the Sky Falls ➳ Hal Mason

Chapter 2

      "Your sister got here and told us about you. We found you and your brother not far from here and took you in," Dr. Anne explained.

      "My siblings, are they okay?"

      "When we found them, they were dehydrated, starving, and exhausted, but we kept them monitored and they've made a huge improvement."

      I could see her slim lips move, but I had stopped hearing her for a while. I kept repeating her words in my head, 'they were dehydrated, starving, and exhausted'. A few more days and we would all have been dead, the doctor confirmed my worst nightmare.

     What were their thoughts? Did they consider me a failure? It was my job to care for them and I couldn't even give them the basics of food or water.

     Dr. Glass gave me a look and paused for a second. "Emily, are you listening to me?"

      "N-no sorry, I was thinking." I moved my blonde hair away from my face.

      She scanned my face and walked closer. "Both your siblings are great kids, also very sweet. We had to tell them to give you some space because they hadn't left your side since they brought you in."

      They were raised by two of the most wonderful people, I reminded myself.

      A genuine smile appeared on my face. "Thank you for taking care of them, for taking care of us."

      Dr. Glass nodded and wrote something on her chart.

      "How long have I been here?"

      "Only two days," Dr.Glass said and walked closer to my bed.

      "Oh, okay."

      She took off my dry-blooded bandages and examined my wound. Her fingers moved to the side of my head, causing me to flinch. I felt some pain, but it was bearable so I did my best to stay still until she finished the examination.

      Dr. Glass moved back and wrote some more in the papers.

      "Excuse me, doctor, could you tell me when can I go?"

     She left everything aside and tied her dark brown hair into a ponytail as she talked, "I already checked the wound and it looks good to me, so you can leave when you want."

     I nodded. Was I supposed to leave the school?

      "Here are some clothes that you can change into if you would like," she continued, taking some folded clothes and handing them to me, "Right there is a bathroom." she pointed to a closed-door near my bed.

      "Got it. Thank you very much, Doctor Glass," I said, getting up slowly from the bed and heading towards the bathroom.

      Inside, there were some bowls of water, a little blue towel, and a brush. I got the towel wet with water and used it to clean my filthy pale face which was covered in dirt. After that, I put on the black jeans, a gray tank top, a white and black shirt, the usual combat boots, and my black moto jacket.

     I took a look in the mirror and noticed some bruises on my chin and upper cheek. Also, my blonde hair was a disaster, so I grabbed the brush and passed it a few times through my hair making it a little better, but messy as always.

     As I walked outside the bathroom, I discovered a new face staring at me with a pair of joyful brown eyes. A girl, maybe a little older than me. When she spotted me walking out the bathroom, her smile widened.

     "You must be Emily," she said in a particularly happy tone.

     "That's me," I responded, discreetly moving my hand over my mouth, trying not to laugh at her enthusiasm.

     "I'm Lourdes," She said. "Welcome to the Second Mass."

     "Thanks." There wasn't much for me to say at the moment.

     Lourdes placed some of her long brown hair behind her ear nervously. "I found this and I thought you would want it," She said.

     Her hand opened, revealing my grandfather's military tag necklace and my digital watch that worked with solar energy.

     "Thank you, Lourdes."

     She nodded, "Remember to watch your head and rest."

     I nodded and turned over my heels, but her voice stopped me from walking out.

     "Emily! I almost forgot Tom Mason is waiting for you in his office."

     "Who?"

     "Oh, right, you're new here." She laughed at her comment. "He's like the second in charge, kind of like a vice-president here."

     "Okay." I nodded slowly and stayed still for a few moments.

      I was hoping they wouldn't kick us out, there was nowhere for us to go.

      "Don't worry, he's a great man," Lourdes told me like she had read my mind.

      I gave her a small smile and after a few minutes of Lourdes giving me directions, I was finally on my way to find Tom Mason.

      I followed each direction very carefully to not get lost in the huge school. Everywhere I looked, there were more and more people. Some were civilians and others had guns, ready to give their lives for others. They were all different, but they still stuck together and supported each other, and as corny as that sounded that's what I wanted for my family.

      Seeing some kids running past me, made me want so badly to go find Avery and Colton, and the only thing that was stopping me from doing it was Tom Mason. I was going to have a quick talk with him and then run to find them.

     A few minutes of searching passed and if Lourdes was right, I was now in front of Tom's office. It was a white classroom door with some dirt and powder on it.

     My hand was shaking as it slowly turned the knob around. After a deep breath, I peek my head inside. It was weird because to me, it looked more like a bedroom, not an office.