Safe and Sound

Silas looked all around him. Just ten minutes ago the beautiful main street of downtown Chicago was full of the shops, street signs, cars, and people. Lots of innocent, good people. All just going to work, picking up their kids, or just out for a walk.

Now jet planes were flying all around Silas, and bombs were dropping. Men strapped to parachutes, holding assault rifles were also dropping from the skies. It had finally happened, North Korea was attacking the United States, starting with Chicago. Most of the once beautiful buildings were now on fire, crushed, or crumbling because of the bombs. The air was full of smoke.

Silas started running. He had to get to his family and friends to make sure they weren’t captured. He had to get to her. A bomb dropped about a hundred yards to his left, and he could still feel the force from the explosion.

He took off through the streets passing all the shops and people, all of them either crying, or running just like him. He could taste the smoke in the air.

He stopped in front of a shop window, and looked at himself.

A reflection of a tall dark haired, blue eyed boy looked back at him. He was covered in dirt and debris from the crumbling buildings. He was dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt. His green windbreaker was full of dirt and smelled of gun powder.

He needed to stop wasting time. He had to get to her. He heard gunshots in the distance, and knew he had to get to her fast. He ran further down the street, and went right. He was heading for her neighborhood. As he rounded a corner, he saw a parade of North Korean soldiers with guns heading his way. He ducked behind the bushes that were lining the streets. They were thick enough to conceal him, as long as he stayed quiet. He called her cellphone, but she didn’t answer.

He looked down the block towards her house. He saw a soldier shoot a man who was trying to run. The soldiers were taking the residents of the neighborhood and leading them away. Anyone who tried to escape or disobeyed was shot. Some families were executed, one by one, just to make an example to the other residents.

Silas knew he had to hurry, or they would get to her first. He snuck around the backyards of the houses, and ran towards her’s. He hopped one last fence, and finally, he had reached her backyard. He glanced around. The ancient swing set was still in place, along with their barbecue pit on the back porch. Even her mom’s garden looked beautiful through the smoky air. A thick line of trees bordered the property line at the back of the yard.

Everything was almost normal, except for the screams and cries of innocent people in the distance. Her family still had a tornado cellar in the back yard. He ran to the cellar door, and lifted it up. He peaked inside the cellar. No one was there.

He started thinking. And he remembered. Her family had an old wooden cabin a few miles into the woods behind their house. Sometimes he would sneak off to the cabin with her, just to get away from everyone else, and be alone with her.

He took off into the woods, running faster than he ever did before. He was tired, dirty, and aching, but he fought through his pain. He had to make sure her and her family were safe. He ran for about fifteen minutes straight, when he saw it.

The wooden cabin looked beautiful. The sun was hitting it just right. The cabin was in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by trees. The cabin stood on an ancient dirt floor. It would of been a peaceful sight if their wasn't the sounds of the guns shots and the sonic blast of the bombs in the air. Silas could smell the smoke of the fires in town, even miles into the woods.

He ran to the door, his feet making the old boards creak with every step, and forced it open. He looked inside and scanned the room. It was quiet; the old dusty furniture was still intact. He stared at the old, brown leather couch against the wall. He thought of the times him and her just laid there, and talked about the dumbest of things. And that’s when he heard the cock of the gun.

He turned to his right to see her. She had a small handgun, pointed straight at his head. When she saw it was him, the gun dropped from her hands, and fell to the ground.

"Emma!" he shouted. He threw his arms around her. When he finally let go, he took a step back and stared at her. Her dark, black hair was full of leaves and dirt. He guessed it got that way from running here. She was dressed in jeans and a white tank-top. He looked into her green eyes. He always loved the color of her eyes. They were full of tears.

"Where’s your mom and dad?" he asked her. She just shook her head and sobbed. "Dylan?" he asked. She shook her head again and started to cry harder. They were gone, her parents and brother…..just gone he thought. She has no one but me now. He pulled her in close, and kissed her, “Don’t worry". He pulled her into him," We're gunna get away from this chaos, we’re gunna be ok".

She stepped away from him and stared into his eyes. She believed him. She would be safe with him. "My dad's old car is behind the cabin, under a tarp" she said as she wiped her tears from her face, "It has a full tank. He kept it hidden there for emergencies". Silas shuddered. He finally let reality set in and knew what they had to do.

"I have some cousins that live in Kansas, we'll head there" he said. Emma ran to one of the back rooms. She returned to him with two suitcases and opened them. One was full with money, the other with clothes. "My dad knew this would happen, he knew they would attack someday." she said. Silas knew Emma's dad would be smart enough to plan for something like this. He looked through the clothing, surprise they had some clothes in his size. “He wanted you to be with us,when we left” Emma said without looking at him.

Silas counted the money. Five-hundred dollars exactly. That was barely enough to get them there. Emma grabbed him,”Wait” she looked at the ground, “What about your family?.” Silas closed the suitcases,” They’re on vacation remember; I stayed here because of you.” She hugged him;”You need to call them, as soon as you can.” Silas took a deep breath, ”You know, we can only run away if they haven’t taken over all the roads.” Emma pulled away from Silas,”I know, so we better move fast.”

They each grabbed a suitcase, and ran out the back door. They ran to the old car. Silas dropped his suitcase and pulled the tarp off the car. Under the tarp was an old, blue Toyota Prius. Silas jumped in the driver’ s seat, and through his suitcase in the back seat. Emma did the same.

“There’s an old hunter’s trail for four-wheelers straight ahead. This car should be able to squeeze through the trail.” Silas started the engine, and steered the car towards the hunter’s trail. He looked at Emma, she was crying again.

“The trail leads out to the highway” Emma said while sobbing. Silas knew he had to hurry, or the highway would be taken over by the Koreans. He went faster, and saw the end of the trail. They hadn’t taken over the highway yet. He pulled off the highway and headed towards the interstate. All of the roads were abandoned.

He had done it, he had escaped the invasion, and he had Emma. They were going to be safe now. Emma was still crying. She unbuckled her seatbelt, and scooted closer to him. She snuggled into his windbreaker.

“Silas, please tell me we’re gunna be okay, tell me everything’s gunna be alright.” Silas waited a few seconds before responding,” Emma, I can’t predict the future, but as long as we’re together, we’re gunna be ok. This I can promise you.” He couldn’t stay strong anymore, he finally let the tears stream down his face.

Emma stared at him, and kissed his cheek, ”Your’re all I have now, you’re all mine forever.” Silas sobbed, “ And your’re all mine” she wiped the tears from his face,” I love you” he said.

Emma smiled, “And I love you.” Silas pulled over to the side of the road and kissed her. He kissed her hard, like it was the last kiss they would ever share. He pulled himself away from her, and continued on down the road, to freedom.