“I will jump down first and help you both down into the tunnel.” Lyle leapt down effortlessly into the hole which was over his head. He put his hands up and said “Gran you first.” Lyle helped Gran down into the hole with him and then turned back to help Amaris who had already jumped down without his help. Lyle moved past her and reached up and closed the hatch and pulled a string that was next to the hatch then pushed a code into a box that Amaris had not seen next to the hatch. Lyle turned to look at the two women. “That will lock and cover the door with the carpet, but we need to move quietly until we get further out in the tunnel. Follow me.” He reached up to a small shelf above his head and grabbed 3 flashlights down and handed one to each of the women, then he grabbed a backpack that was hanging on the wall and started down the tunnel. Amaris let Gran go ahead of her and moved on down the tunnel after them. It smelled earthy and yet was hard and cold like cement where she touched

When Amaris woke she was warm and laying on something soft. As she moved and rolled over she opened her eyes. She found herself looking up at the underside of a bunk bed. She was under a blanket on the lower bunk along a wall. It was not a dream she thought and tears began to stream down her face anew. Would she ever see Gran again? She turned her head and looked around the space, which she did not get a chance to do earlier, since they were running for their lives and then Gran locked them in and gave herself up. It was a long room, but not very big with metal walls, floor, and ceiling. The walls were lined floor to ceiling with supplies except where there were two sets of bunk beds attached to the wall on either side. There was a small room at the back that Amaris was hoping was a bathroom. The shelves had everything from cans and boxes of food to blankets and clothing to first aid supplies. Amaris rolled over and pulled the blanket off and sat up. Her feet touched the cold floor a

He looked like a shorter version of Lyle with lighter hair. On second look, the differences were more apparent. His eyes were hard and cold not like Lyle’s warm caring ones, and the man was built more ruggedly and compact, where Lyle was muscular, and lanky.“Hello Adam, your a site for sore eyes!” Lyle stepped forward and threw an arm around the younger man. They each patted the others back in the embrace, although Amaris noticed that Adam had done so almost hesitantly. “Amaris, this is my brother Adam. Adam this is Amaris.” Well, thought Amaris, that at least explains the resemblance. “Nice to meet you. Thank you for getting us out of here.”Adam said nothing just nodded his head. He gave Amaris a curious sideways glance as he turned away to address his brother. “We need to be quick. They have literally spread out everywhere. Our fighters have most of them confined to the other side of the village, but the toll that they took on the village last night was a heavy one. There are 12 c

Stepping into the next room seemed like she was steeping onto the set of a horror movie. All the furniture was covered in white sheets and the room was so dusty that they were leaving foot prints. It was clear no one had been to this place in a very long time. Amaris felt almost as she were intruding. The room had a feel of sadness about it. There was little light apart from what Lyle’s flashlight provided, and it gave the impression that the house was grieving.“You said that your great great grandfather built this place? Has anyone been here since he passed?”“Actually, no one has been here since his first wife passed. He loved her so very much that he could not bare to be in the house that they had made their life in. After that he moved into town. The counsel later decided that he needed to marry again and chose my great great grandmother for him to marry as his second wife. They say that he was good to her, but he never loved her. Sad really. This place has been in the family all

Amaris walked as quickly and quietly through the forest as she could. What was she thinking. Mr. Lyle Bruce was here teacher. Before yesterday their conversations consisted of home work and the study of the moon. She never even knew that he did not live in the village or that he was from the mountain. She had blindly followed him because he had showed up at the right time on the road after she avoided the men in the forest. Could he be part of it? No. Gran had said that she knew him and that they had been working together. Unfortunately she could not ask Gran any questions since she has now disappeared. As Amaris walked she knew that she needed to pull herself together. She needed a safe place to think and a place to be able to make a plan. She had to find out if Gran was alive and if she was, get her back safe. That was really what mattered right now.Amaris walked through the night. She traversed the forest and as she worked her way down the mountain she found the stream that she k