Peace

Hilary and Elisue were standing at a distance from the rope and were keeping a watch on the creatures. It was a bush area followed by a side lake and a small abandoned house which was off-limits. They heard a sudden bang on the ground which made them jump a bit. Turning slowly, they watched what had fallen, probably from the sky or the terrace. Taking small steps, they moved closer to the figure.

Their eyes widened. Elisue sighed and turned around as his hands clasped his face. Hilary slowly bent down from her knees, her trembling hands hovering just above Alisa's skin. They were afraid to touch her for fear of the cold, clammy blood that seemed to seep from her face. It had been half smashed and embedded with door shards.

"Hey," Hilary whispered, "you can hear me right?"

Elisue shook his head and grabbed her hand, helping her get up.

Lue landed on her feet beside them avoiding their eyes. She didn't say anything, and a few moments later Eve came down. Both Hilary and Elisue still stood there waiting for an explanation, but neither of them was able to say anything.

One by one they all came down and sat behind the bush. In the end, Lorek joined them. Beric bent behind to see past Lorek. No one was coming. The tension was palpable as the group waited for an explanation, but Lue remained silent. The moments ticked on and no one seemed to know what to do. Eventually, Lorek joined them, and Beric bent down to check if anyone else was coming. But all was silent, and no one had an answer. His eyebrows lowered and pulled closer together, his lips drawn in tightly. There was a moment of silence as Lue looked at everyone. She asked, "How much time are we left with?"

"Just a few minutes," Beric said while getting up. "Let's go."

Lorek took a deep breath and exhaled, "alright!" he picked up his bag and took out a bottle, "You know the plan right? As you hear an explosion. Run towards the bus. Straight across the field which is not even 400m"

"There are about 3 minutes left," Beric stated while carrying Hilary on his back.

"Let's go!"

Lorek stretched his hand backwards and threw the whole bottle of azidoazide azide towards the building. The sound of the explosion came to a terrible echo as if it were the anguished cry of God. The explosion ripped through the air as if it was intent on shattering the universe by ripping apart every atom. The building was shattered into pieces. The wild creatures ran for their lives as the whole place was covered in dust and a cloud of black smoke. Their ears rang from the force and the noise of the explosion. A faint voice began to emerge, which they could hear as they became more aware of their surroundings.

"RUN!!!" Lorek shouted while waving to them, not like he was clearly visible to them, "WE DON'T HAVE TIME!! THIS IS OUR CHANCE"

Beric held Hilary tightly and jumped into the smoke and started running straight towards the bus. The group followed Beric while Kayan carried Elisue and Ayaan ran alongside him. Lue choked on the smoke and began to cough. Her body was thrown off balance by the force of the explosion. She was standing much closer to the building than the others. Her head was spinning but she kept running. Not knowing if she was heading straight or backward, she tried to keep her eyes open waving smoke out of her way. She ran fast.

Lorek threw his whole bag at the creature coming towards them from the other side. The bag filled with liquids and powders caught fire almost in an instant as it touched the ground. The fire gave him enough time to reach the bus and open the gate for others. Wild dogs and cougars had started chasing them by now. Beric stopped at the door and jumped in placing Hilary in one of the seats. He started searching for the keys to turn the bus on.

Everyone else stepped onto the bus one by one and got on.

"Hurry! Sound the horn!" Eve shouted, "what are you doing?"

"I can't find the keys!" Beric said flustered.

"Uggh" Eve said while running her hands through her hair, "Lue do you have any idea?"

"Ahh! Hurry!" Ayaan said loudly while he searched under the seats, "Find it"

Everyone was shouting and running around the bus, hitting each other and the poles inside the bus. Lorek held the door tight, and yelled, desperate to be heard above the chaos." Faster! I can't hold this for much longer-" the bang on the door prevented him from finishing the sentence.

"Lue?" Eve asked slowly, turning around in search of her. "Where are you? Lue?" Her voice became louder as her eyes widened.

In a flurry, Beric tossed the clutter on the dashboard here and there and spotted a key. He took the key and started the bus without much delay.

"W-wait," Eve said turning towards the front, "BERIC WAIT!" she shouted

But it was too late. Beric hit the horn with both of his hands clasped together. The sound howled and rattled the windows of the bus. The door got locked on its own and Lorek gave a sigh of relief. "Guess it's finally over!" he muttered

"What?" Beric finally turned around raising one of his eyebrows, "What is it, Eve?"

Eve slid into one of the seats. "Lue is not here"

"WHAT?" Lorek shouted, "Come again?"

"LUE IS NOT ON THE BUS", Eve shouted while digging her face into her palms.

Lorek turned to open the bus gate again but guess what? It was too late. The whole bus was surrounded by those creatures. They didn't even know how long the windows would last. He took a step back and sat down, and ruffled his hair, "Where did she disappear?"

Beneath her cheek, the plastic-covered seat felt soft, not as soft as even a firm carpet, but not right for a nap. Eve tried to move to the edge of the seat, her pants brushing against the bus pole. It was nearly impossible to make out the details of the bus in the summer light outside. Although, she smirked a bit because it had been so long since she had seen light that bright. It was the same as it ever was, just warm, peaceful, and dusty. There are no more weird noises coming from those creatures. On her right, she saw a familiar figure, not clear enough. She blinked continuously for a while. "Lue! Lue! You were here?" Her only answer was the creaking of Lue breaking into thousands of pieces. She reached out to her but her hand felt too heavy to even move, her mind swirling, her eyes watery, her breath shallow until she fell into oblivion.

Peace finally prevailed after the storm.