"Move your butt," Terra hissed frantically, giving her twin sister a sharp nudge to make her go faster.
"I'm trying, I'm trying," Lily replied with a groan, "But the tunnel is so cramped and slimy! I'm ruining my favourite leggings!"
A deafening roar echoed through the tunnel, followed by the sound of feet against concrete. The sound of the alien that was tailing the sisters.
"It's getting closer!" Terra screeched hysterically, pushing her sister's behind. The girl's pace quickened, despite her constant whining about her clothing.
The tunnel expanded, so that the twins were able to run in an uncomfortable crouched position. That was good news, because they could move a lot faster, but so could the monster chasing them, which was the bad news. And the worse news? Terra could hear its heavy breathing as it got nearer.
A light appeared at the end of the tunnel, which steadily grew larger until the sisters reached a section with a ladder on the wall. The light was coming from an open manhole above them.
"Climb it, you doof! Or do you want to get eaten?" Terra asked sarcastically. Lily whimpered something about the rusted ladder being gross, but began to haul herself up. Once both sisters were out, they made a mad rush to cover the manhole. They covered it just in time, but still managed to catch a glimpse of the creature chasing them.
The duo sprinted into the enormous library, shutting the doors just as the alien burst out of the manhole in search of them. It spun around, sniffing the ground and trying to get a scent. Eventually, it gave up, and ran off.
"Whew, it's gone. Let's unpack-" Terra began, but her sister was already gone, her backpack abandoned at the door. Lily didn't care about the fact that they'd just risked their lives to get vital supplies, no, she was worried about a little dirt on her clothes. So Terra carried her sister's pack, as well as her own, into the library's main room, where two familiar faces greeted her.
The faces belonged to Kieran Kissane and Corey Jackson, the two boys that survived with the sixteen year old girls.
Kieran was an eighteen year old of Irish descent, his crazy personality making him the joker of the group. He kept things light in a normally stressful environment.
And Corey was a pure-blooded American, only recently turned twenty-three. He was a stickler for the rules, and he'd appointed himself group leader, despite being the most recent addition.
"Terra!" Kieran exclaimed happily, pulling her into a crushing bear hug. "Did you bring me a present?"
"Of course I did!" she replied, laughing at his childlike excitement. She handed him both backpacks, and the red-haired boy immediately began to dig through them.
"You found marshmallows?" he asked incredulously, clutching the bag of soft white candy to his chest.
"You'd better share those, Kieran," Corey said, picking a pack up from the floor. He emptied the contents on a counter, before glaring accusingly at Terra. "You filled a pack... with clothes?"
The girl pushed Corey aside, and stared at the fashionable clothing that lay on the counter. Only one person would've filled an entire backpack with clothes in the middle of an apocalypse... Lily.
And speak of the devil, here she came in a fresh pair of clothes, the dirt and grime already gone from her skin. She skipped over, as if there hadn't been a war, as if it was a normal day, as if she was a normal teenager.
"Oooh, my clothes! Thank you very much!" she squealed, picking up a pink top with glittering embellishments and hugging it to her chest.
"Lily... You know we're a little short on supplies... and you bring home a pack of CLOTHES?" Corey yelled angrily. The girl pouted, fluttering her eyelashes at the young man.
"But Coreyyy," she began, drawing out his name, "You know we need clothes as well, and Terra and I are practically the same size... so it's really not a big deal!"
The blonde male's expression softened. Nobody could stay angry at Lily's puppy eyes. It was a trick she'd perfected in first grade, and she always used it to get her way, no matter the price others had to pay. That's just who she was.
"Alright, I forgive you. But no more, alright? Next time you go on a raid, bring back food. I mean it," he said, before hugging the girl.
Terra rolled her eyes at the display. Her sister had Corey wrapped around her finger, but it wouldn't last. Soon Lily would find another male to be obsessed with, just like she was obsessed with Kieran before Corey showed up.
"So how was the trip, Terri?" Kieran asked, purposely changing the subject. He and Terra had been friends for years, and he knew that she was uncomfortable about the way her sister acted.
"Oh, it was pretty uneventful until Lily here decided to make a very big noise about some fancy shoes, and got the attention of an alien. One that looked like a shark, but green and scaly all over, and with legs," she replied, shuddering at the thought.
"And don't call me 'Terri,'" she added irritably. She couldn't stand that nickname.
"A shark-beast? But... But I thought that the aliens only took the forms of land creatures," the Irish boy said, sounding confused. He'd seen all kinds of aliens in the mutilated shape of Earth animals, but all of them had been land animals.
"Well, I guess not. C'mon, we'd better move these supplies," Terra sighed. The four of them each grabbed a few things from the pile of food, and walked over to an old computer desk. The monitor was still there, its screen cracked and blank. The desk had drawers and cupboards that used to be filled with books, but now they held the supplies that the group needed to survive.
"Alright Terra, you're on lockup duty tonight," Corey instructed, once all the supplies were packed away.
"WHAT?!" she protested, "But I was on lockup last night! It's Lily's turn!"
"No arguing, Terri Werri," her sister smirked, before skipping off with Corey close behind her. Terra gritted her teeth, her hands clenching into fists.
"I'll help you, Terra," Kieran offered, walking with her to the library's main doors. Together they made sure the door handles were tied up, and a heavy oak desk was placed firmly in front of the doors.
Terra thanked him, and he went and joined the other two survivors. She remained by the doors, sitting on a chair near a window. She looked outside at the reddish sky. It was always like that, even at night. The colour had changed about a week before the aliens arrived, and people believed the two events to be connected.
A movement caught her eye. It was a boy with dark hair stumbling along the road, blood trickling from a wound in his head. He looked tired, like he'd been walking for a very long time, and he kept glancing around as if he was looking for something. Or someone.
"Guys... hey guys!" Terra called, and the other survivors rushed over to her. She pointed outside, at the boy, and everyone started speaking excitedly.
"-another human!"
"-better let him in..."
"-the aliens might kill him..."
"I'll get him," Terra spoke up, the others going quiet at her words.
"No way. I'm older, and more experienced, so I'll do it," Corey argued, and this started a whole new stream of talking.
"-he's cute, I'll go!"
"-I'm the leader..."
"-but I'm faster..."
"ENOUGH!" Kieran shouted, and the noise died once again. "Terra saw him, she can go get him. Now no more arguing!"
Terra smiled gratefully at the Irish boy. First come, first serve always won these sort of arguments, so she made sure she had her machete while the two boys moved the desk away from the doors and untied the handles.
"I'll be back before you know it," she promised, before running outside.
Terra ran outside towards the boy, reaching him just as he collapsed from exhaustion. His raven hair was matted against his forehead with a mixture of his own sweat and blood, and he looked like he'd just run out of hell with an army behind him.
His skin was as white as a sheet, and he looked like he was quite handsome, but now his face was worn out by hunger and tiredness, making him look like death.
The girl hoisted him onto her back with difficulty, since he was a lot heavier than a food-filled backpack, but she managed, and she began the walk back to the library.
It wasn't a long walk, not by any means, but Terra wasn't used to hauling an unconscious human anywhere, let alone down the road. And it didn't help that he was considerably taller than her, so his feet trailed on the ground as she pulled him.
"Quick, bring him in," Corey instructed, helping Terra pull the nameless boy inside. Lilith and Kieran closed the library doors, putting the barricade back in place.
Terra and Corey lifted the boy onto an empty table, before checking to see if he had any more injuries. Finding none, Kieran brought the few first-aid supplies they had, and started to treat the boy's head wound.
The injury wasn't too severe, but it was deep enough that it needed sutures, which was going to leave a pretty nasty scar. It was almost as if he'd hit his head really hard on the edge of something, like a table.
"I'm going to have to stitch it up," Kieran said, "I'm no doctor, but I'll do my best."
"It doesn't have to look good, Kieran. As long as you close it up, he should be fine," Corey replied somewhat dismissively.
The Irish boy shrugged, getting out the suture kit and beginning to stitch up the wound. It was a good thing that the stranger was unconscious, because there was no anesthetic to numb the pain that he would normally be feeling.
In the meantime, Terra dug through their supplies, trying to find something for the boy to eat when he woke up. She grabbed a few granola bars, and a bottle of water, before carrying it over to where he was lying.
Kieran had finished, leaving about twenty clumsy stitches in the boy's head, and was busy putting a gauze patch over the wound. It was still seeping blood, but he had done the best that he could.
"Here, for when he wakes up," Terra said, putting the granola bars and water onto a table next to the one where the boy was lying.
"Thanks Terra," Kieran smiled as he checked the boy's pulse.
The young girl pulled over two chairs, one for Kieran and one for her, and she sat down next to her Irish friend.
"So how's he doing?" she asked, looking at the unconscious boy's face. He looked so peaceful, so calm, despite the wound on his head.
"Well, I've stitched up his head as best as I can, but there's not much else I can do," Kieran answered, "All we can do is wait for him to wake up."
And wake up he did, about four or so hours after his head had been patched up. His eyes fluttered open, his irises a breathtaking royal blue, and he sat up suddenly. His head protested at the sudden movement, but he ignored it, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings.
His gaze fell onto the form of Terra, who had fallen asleep beside him while waiting for him to wake up. The boy couldn't help but notice that she was quite pretty, her bronze hair framing her delicate face. Of course, he didn't know that, when she was awake, her features were hard and cold, very different to when she slept.
She stirred, before waking up. She stared at the boy with brown, sleep-filled eyes, before realising what she saw.
"Kieran! Corey! Lilith! He's awake!" she called, suddenly very alert as she stood up. The others ran into the room, Kieran going over to the boy, who was staring at the four of them with fear clearly visible in his eyes.
"Hey, don't freak out. We're not going to hurt you. Can you tell me your name?" the red-haired boy asked gently, his Irish tone soothing.
"My name is Orion," the boy replied hesitantly, his voice a pleasant baritone, "Orion Stone."