Master of the Lights

Chapter Two

AMITY

Attacks can last anywhere from 1 week to three months. The longest I have ever seen was 2 and a half weeks. That was years ago.

25 days pass before we hear the all clear siren, which really pushed our supply usage. We only had so many of the essentials in the basement.

All three of us where awake to hear the obnoxious noise for the entire four minutes it rang. Dekka jumps up bouncing on her toes. She is more than ready to leave the basement and move on. Asa and I are slower to get up, but excited to be able to get out of the stale air and cramped space. Asa is mostly quiet like me, however, Dekka does not do well in confinement for more than a day. Meaning Asa and I don't do well in confinement for more than a day... with her. I love Dekka dearly, but not within limited space and walls that exaggerate every. Single. Sound. She constantly makes random noises or hums. I'm delighted that she's happy, but I also enjoy quietness.

Asa unlocks the hatch and pops it open. He is the first to go up the stairs, then me, then a bouncy Dekka. Once everyone is completely out, all we do is stare down the hallway at the living room. My mouth is open but I can't be bothered to close it.

It is completely destroyed. The sofa is ripped to shreds, coffee table covered in gashes, glass spewed about the room from broken windows and picture frames. The walls that where recently painted a lovely brown have holes and enormous claw marks all over. Everything that isn't crushed or torn into oblivion is out of place and soggy from rain. It looks as if multiple Shadow Lights had a fight in our house.  How could we not hear that?

"Hold on, I'm getting my shoes. There's glass everywhere," Asa states as he walks back down to the basement. Dekka and I follow to do the same. After we all put our shoes on, each of us checks a different part of the house. Every room is the same, but in varying degrees of destruction. 10 minutes later, we report back to the living room, the second most destroyed part of the house after Asa's bedroom.

Asa stands in the middle of the floor covering his eyes with one hand, the other tucked into his pocket. Nobody says anything until Asa removes his hand from his face.

"Okay, we'll deal with the hand we've been dealt. No matter how many bad cards, we will deal with 'em," he sighs. Asa claps then rubs his hands together as if they are cold. "Amity, you grab our backpacks. Dekka, get Iggy and a big bag of his food, and I'll figure out where Matrix is hiding. We'll meet up at the car in ten."  I cannot imagine where he plans on going, but I trust Asa has some idea. He seems as confident as ever. Dekka and I do as he instructed us without questions.

Something like ten minutes later I am the first to have completed my task. Grabbing the car keys off the counter I awkwardly make my way to the car with three backpacks hanging from my body. As I'm putting the packs in the back of mom's SUV Dekka comes out holding Iggy in one arm and a heavy bag cat food slipping from the other.

"Help, help help help help," she says. I breathe a laugh, running to catch the falling weight before it crushes her toes. "Thank you. That thang is heavy!" she exclaims. I laugh again and dump the sack on the floor of the car.

Asa comes out with Matrix on a short leash. He is also carrying a bag of food for Trix, but he has thrown it over his shoulder.

"See Dekka, that is how you should've carried it," I say.

"I told her," Asa says, shaking his head. "She's just too stubborn to listen." He hits her arm playfully with his elbow. Dekka grins like she is proud of the fact that she doesn't listen to advice. I'm sure she is.

The three of us get settled in the car. Asa drives, I'm in the passenger seat, Dekka is behind me with Iggy on her lap and Matrix beside her. We pass people on the pavement looking confused or shocked. Asa slows down to drive around a fire engine and an ambulance, allowing me to get a better look at the scene before me: a woman and little girl who looks to be about 8 are hugging a man in front of a terribly burned house. The roof has caved in enough to expose the blackened rafters, and some parts are still smoking. It's very rare, but every couple years a Shadow Light will dig into the ground and rupture a gas pipeline. A dropped cigarette can send a building up in flames in seconds. The worst part is that two paramedics are carrying not a stretcher, but a tiny black body bag from the house.