“Come on, Hurry...!” firmly whispered his mother, her voice breaking into a tremble.
Jacob did not respond as he stared back towards the darkness of the park. The lights of the road lamps shined on the empty pavement and buildings of the city, as the vapour of his breath expanded out and crystallized in the cold autumn air. The city now looked calm and peaceful in soft light as a deafening silence seemed to have replaced the chaos of moments before. With no one in sight, the night now seemed void of life, as Jacob for a moment began questioning his reality. In that tranquil moment, no record of chaos remained, less his memories and the wisps of smoke dancing in the soft breeze under the streetlights.
Jacobs moment of respite became short lived. The soft purple light of Teros and a thousand faint stars became instantly replaced by a blinding white flash, then complete darkness. Rubbing his eyes as they slowly adjusted to the darkness, Jacob felt as though someone had flicked a switch and simply turned off all the power in the city. Growing more accustomed to the low light, Jacob could make out the faint silhouettes of building and tall trees in the distance, though barely visible in the soft natural lights of the night sky. The sound of the heavy door of the lobby broke through the darkness echoing a terrible screech into the night. Prying the stiff metal door open, Angie finished her prior task of entering the building. Getting inside the building once offered some feeling of safety, yet now seemed no different than the outside world. Reaching down for Alex as she held the door open with her foot, Angie’s hands slid through empty air. In a panic she let go of the door and blindly swung her arms. Frantically walking forward through the dark, Angie searched for her child, as the metal door slammed loudly shut behind her.
“Alex!” Angie whispered; a tone of panic clear in her voice.
“I’m right here,” said Alex loudly.
“He is here, I have him,” said Jacob, at the same time.
Finding his mother in front of him, Jacob passed his brother to Angie. Alex tightly wrapped his arms around his mother in fright and fatigue. Feeling through the thick darkness, Jacob found the building as his hands hit hard against the cold glass of the door. Feeling along for the keys, Jacob pried the heavy frame open as it once again spilled its familiar screech out into the dark expanse. Holding the weight of the door along his back, Jacob reached out and took Angie by the arm guiding her into the building.
Still holding the door for a moment, Jacob looked back across the emptiness. Vague shadows and silhouettes danced in the cold darkness of the night. Teros stood high above them casting little light upon the surface. Aero's, the second moon of Issa, slowly rose above the distant horizon, in perpetual chase with its larger companion. Turning his back to the outside, Jacob began to enter the building when the sound of sudden movement came rushing towards him. Quickly thrusting himself inside the building, Jacob loudly slammed the heavy door shut in front of him. Still holding onto the handle of the door, Jacob felt the vibration of something hitting hard against the glass. The sound echoed violently throughout the foyer of the apartment. Stepping back, Jacob bumped against Angie as he continued to force his vision against the darkness. Trying to catch a glimpse of what was beyond the door, as he continued to stare, he felt sure something stared back.
Familiar with the building, Jacob moved along the wall with his hand, feeling the rough cracked paint beneath his fingers. Angie followed closely behind, carrying Alex, now asleep, in a way only a five-year-old could sleep among such chaos. The warm of the building coupled with exhausted and fear simply too much for Alex to handle. Sharp sounds of banging against the outside door caused Jacob to quicken his pace. Arriving at the stairwell, a familiar musty smell spilled into the surrounding air as he swung open the old door. Holding the door ajar, Jacob guided his mother through. Cautiously climbing the stairs in total darkness, Jacob held onto the cold guild rail. The percussive sounds now only faintly heard, muffled by the heavy stairwell door and the distance now between them and the outside world.
Following his mother through the darkness, they ascended for what seemed an eternity. Chased by the echoes of their footstep's reverberating up and down the hollow concrete column. Arriving at the fourth floor, Angie stood aside as Jacob felt along the cold stone wall to find the door. Warm interior air rushed past as he pulled the hallway door open. Following the current of air into dark hallway, Jacob and Angie moved along the wall. The sound of the carpeted ground rubbing under their feet appeared to be all that existed, as Jacob silently counted the void spaces of doorways. Moving through the hall to their apartment, Jacob could hear faint voices of people behind the passing doors.
Coming to their unit, Jacob flung open the unlocked wooden door, as the three of them funnelled into the apartment. The familiar sent of home filled the air, creating a sense of calm as the door securely shut into its frame behind them. Moving through the familiar environment effortlessly in the absence of light, Jacob collapsed onto a nearby sofa. Angie sat on a large armchair across the small room from him, still tightly holding onto Alex. Soft moonlight spilled through the large window in the living room, barely enough to outline an object only a few feet away in
