The Age of Terror

Chapter 2

                 

Chapter 2

Cracks

There wasn't as much damage as we thought there would be, one window on the top floor was in pieces, a few shards of glass sat by the entrance of the house which remained slimly open from our sudden exit. From the outside looking in, I could clearly see the couch was forced onto an angle and the glass panelled coffee table was shattered, the wall clock laying among the fragments of glass instead of sitting by the thick brick fireplace where it lived.

Pa groaned loudly from beside the house, anger was hinted in the emitting of his voice as he stood by the gate of the raspberry garden. I walked over to him cautiously, when I rounded the corner I saw Pa slouching with his hands raised behind his head, his posture angry and irritated, I went to ask what was wrong, but then I saw the damage.

A large metal sheet laid flatly over three quarters of the garden, killing most of our exfoliated berries, our healthiest patch destroyed by the sheer wrath of the storm, an oblivious murderer.

I walked over to Pa and placed a comforting hand on his slumped shoulder, "I'm sorry Pa..." I uttered apologetically. He let out a soft whimper as he placed his flushed face in his dry hands.

"This was Roselyn's garden, her berries were her success and now they are crushed under a stupid slate of metal." He mumbled through his hands with angst. I sighed and rubbed his back comfortingly, knowing that Nan's death took a large toll on Pa, they were teenage sweethearts and when my grandma passed last year, he barely coped, I think the only reason he didn't mentally shut down was because of Alec and I. He knew that losing the only motherly figure we fully had throughout our lives had a huge impact on us, and he knew that we couldn't cope losing him as well. I stood silently comforting Pa, watching Alec flapping around the outside of the house, he was attempting to piece together one of the smashed windows, failing miserably as he steps on shards cracking the glass further.

"Pa, I'm going to check the inside of the house." I announced kindly, trying to keep Pa stable. He remained fixated on the broken garden as he hid in his large hands; I turned to leave but was interrupted by Pa's rough voice. "Alisha, the house frame might be weak, I'd prefer if you take Alec with you, just in case."

Alec stopped in his tracks and turned to face us, his ears clearly ringing from the recognition of his name. "What am I doing?" He questioned loudly as he began to walk towards us, he fractured more glass and swore under his breath.

"Accompanying your sister into the house, I don't trust the framing." Pa declared as he trudged through the narrow garden's gate, looking vehemently at the metallic strip.

I looked to Alec as we began to walk towards our damaged house, avoiding the glass that Alec failed to pick up. Luckily when we entered, we noticed that the door frame was sturdy, which gave me hope for my room.

I stood at the entrance of my bedroom, it was a total mess, loose items had been thrown around the room and my desk chair was upside down in the other side of my bedroom. The window's frame was splintered and the hinges hung loosely by damaged nails that half hung out of the wood. My pillow was covered in clothing sticking out of my cupboard and my bed had moved slightly, my lamp was on its side and the light globe was shattered, branches and leaves had blew through the window and was covering my floor almost like a carpet. I'm assuming that Alec did not close my window before carrying me down to the shelter. 

"Cozy is over here." Alec announced from one corner of my room, I turned to his voice and blinked a couple of times as my head began to become clear to my brother's words.

"What?" I asked, trying to remember if he had actually spoken or if it was just my imagination.

"Cozy? Your bear?" Alec tilted his head in confusion. "You came up here to look for the bear right?"