Justin

     The rest of our day drags on, Molly and Leo sit on the living room floor playing checkers while Corinne and April decide on what to pack. I sit at the kitchen table, staring blankly at my laptop as I try to figure out the best way to get to the train station without being seen. I've considered every option, alleyways, sewage systems, even rooftops. There's no guarantee of safety anywhere, so it's mostly up to where would be the least likely place to run into a psycho.

     April and Corinne come down the hall, carrying all our backpacks. They set them down on the table, and I shift through the contents.

     "We should bring maybe one or two changes of clothes, a water bottle for each of us, food that won't spoil on us, maybe one or two keepsakes. Money, too."

     I nod my head, and walk over to where Molly and Leo are sitting, they've been staring at their pieces for a while now.

     "Hey, how's your game going?"

     They look up, their trance broken.

     "Huh? Oh," Molly says, "I'm beating him."

     "Only by one piece!" Leo pipes up.

     "Can you guys finish up soon? You probably need to start looking at toys to bring with you. Make sure you choose your absolute favorites."

     Because we're not coming back. I keep this thought to myself.

     "Okay, we kinda got bored of playing anyway." Leo says, and he swipes the pieces off the board and into its box.

     We all grab our backpacks and go into our bedrooms, I've already decided to bring my handgun that I keep hidden under my bed frame, and a locket with pictures of my biological and current family. Corinne comes out of the bathroom with her favorite makeup and jewelry.

     "Interesting choice of keepsakes, very functional." I say to her, she looks up and scoffs at my sarcasm.

     "What's wrong with a little bit of vanity? Just because I'm immigrating doesn't mean I can't have nice things."

     I kiss her forehead, "Of course, I'm just teasing."

     She smiles, "I know."

     We walk over to Leo's room, who's got his matchbox cars all laid out on the floor. He carefully studies each car, trying to select his favorite. He turns around and is surprised we're behind him.

     "I can't choose one." he whines.

     "You can take up to five." I tell him, and he happily grabs his favorites.

     April and Molly come out of their own rooms. Molly carries two books, and April holds her headphones and mp3 player.

     "Which books are you taking?" Corinne asks Molly.

     "The Penderwicks and the Hobbit, too bad I can't take all my books."

     "Nerd." I say to her, and she smiles at the familiar nickname.

     Corinne walks into the kitchen, "I'd better get started on dinner so we can leave early."

     "What is it?" April asks.

     "I'm gonna boil some spaghetti, we can use our last can of tomato sauce."

     "Can I help?"

     "Sure, you can heat up the sauce."

     I grab a chair for him to stand on, and he hops up in front of the hotpot. They somehow manage to work around each other on the incredibly small space. I decide that I should help out too instead of just standing there, so I have Molly and Leo set the table. I get out the fancy plates that we only use on birthdays and Christmas, it's not like we'll get the chance to use them again.

     Soon the pasta is boiled and the sauce is warm. The kids sit down at their respective spots and I carry each plate of spaghetti to them. We all eat in silence, only looking down at our plates and dragging out our bites of pasta. The food is so delicious, probably the biggest portions we've had since before Bakarti began preparing for war. It's kinda nice to be gluttonous for a change.

     After we all finish, my stomach hurts from the extra food. We all get up and make a little assembly line of dishes. Corinne and April wash the dishes, Molly dries them with a rag, and Leo and I carefully put them away. None of us say anything, probably because the whole situation has fully become real, this is the last meal we will have under this roof. The house I've worked my ass off to pay for, the one where we've raised Leo and Molly and April. Me and Corinne have lived in this house since I graduated, nearly 5 years. And even though this house is old and falling apart, I feel a bit of homesickness as I put the dishes in the cabinet.

When we finish our chore we all stand there for a moment without saying a word. Corinne rubs at her eyes, and Leo sniffs. My voice echoes around the house when I speak.

     "It's time to leave."

     The rest of my family passively nods, and we slowly grab our bags and file over to the door. I unlock the door and peek my head out, making sure there's no one wandering around. I open the door all the way and hold it for everyone to walk through; I turn off all the lights in the house and close the door behind me.

     We're just going for a stroll. I tell myself to try and make locking the door easier. We'll be back before we know it. The lock scrapes into place, and I bend down and bury the key in the small garden.

     "Wait next to the door for a minute." I tell my family. I walk a few paces down the road to the manhole, and pry it open. I motion for everyone to come over and climb in.

     "This is the safest way for us." I whisper apologetically, as I see everyone cringe. I climb down first, and Corinne helps me ease Molly down without hurting her bad leg, and passes Molly's crutch. The other kids hop down easily, and Corinne is the last to hoist herself down. I move the manhole over us, and we're absorbed by complete darkness for a few seconds until me and Corinne turn our flashlights on.

     "Are you sure this is going to work?" Molly asks, wrinkling her nose at the stench.

     I chuckle, trying to hide my own fears.

     "Of course, I've seen tons of spy movies. If I've learned anything it's that you always have to escape through the sewage system."

     "If you say so, Sherlock." she says and rolls her eyes.

     It's cold and damp in the tunnel, but at least it's not filled with too much water, only a small trickle runs at our feet. I pull out the small map I sketched out of the sewage system, and start walking in the direction of the train station.