The Disappearance

Alexia woke up and saw that she was alone once again, but this morning, chaos had overtaken everyone. Alexia got up and started looking for Luke and got rammed into a wall. She winced but got back up and kept looking. Alexia saw Luke and ran into his arms.

"What the heck is going on?!"

"Rose is gone. She disappeared in the middle of the night, no note, no call, nothing, but there was a sign of struggle. We think someone knows we're here, and they don't like it. We're leaving in a few days and relocating to Marfino. We need to get out of here now, before someone else disappears."

Alexia's face went cold, then she said "We need to leave sooner. We don't have the time. Someone else could get-'"

"Shhhh... we can't let them see we're worried. We must calm everyone down. Get the younger ones together, to get their stuff. We need all hands-on deck tonight, tomorrow, and the next day."

Alexia nodded and walked to find all the kids. She started to wander and went into the bunks to see a child crying. Alexia sat down next to the boy.

"Hey, why are you sad...? It's all okay, and we're going to all be fine!"

"I have a right to be sad. My sister is gone. Who knows what happened to her. Maybe she's gone forever, you never know." His eyes darkened.

Alexia opened her mouth to speak but he whispered "I'll start packing..."

Alexia solemnly got up and gathered a group of kids. They all started packing, including Alexia. One of the boys walked up to her, he looked about 13, and was short and scrawny.

"Are we going to be okay...?"

Alexia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She then turned to all the kids, trying to smile.

"Everything will be fine! Luke knows what he's doing... and we have to trust him! For now, just remember why we're all here..."

The level of uncertainty in her head increased. What if her brother was right? What if Rose really was gone? She tried to clear her head of the negativity, but it was almost impossible. She kept a small smile on, so she didn't scare the kids. Once they all finished, she went to find Luke. He was obviously stressed, so she left him be. She left a note on her bunk (that she never slept in) and said the following:

"Dear Luke,

I know you're going to come looking for me, to make sure I'm okay. I just wanted to go say goodbye to my family, and grab something I want to keep with me... See you soon!

Alexia"

She slowly opened the hatch and ran but then realized she wasn't close to her house. She started walking home. She slowly approached her front steps, the chilly winter breeze surrounded her, causing her to shiver. Alexia put her hand to the door, then stopped before knocking. She didn't want to let them know that she was leaving Moscow. She jumped into her broken window and grabbed her hoodie. It was the very last thing her dad gave her before the war. She smelt it. Cinnamon. She smiled and put it on. She wrote a note and left it on her old bed.

She grabbed some more things, including actual food. She wandered around the house, only to find that no one was there. But then she saw. Blood. Everywhere, all over the living room. She saw only a bear, of which her youngest sister never left. Alexia got closer and started crying. There were no bodies, but a puddle of red blood, that looked old. There were signs of a struggle. Alexia, however, didn't sit there and dwell in the past. She grabbed her jacket, food, and her sister's bear, and left the house for good, with tears in her eyes.

She came back to the bunker, with eyes dark and cloudy. Alexia put the hoodie onto her waist, and the bear in her bag. The note she left on her bunk was gone, Luke probably found it and took it away with him. She then laid on her nicely made bed and daydreamed about what could've happened. What if they were taken? Or worse... killed? That was something she would probably never know. It dawned in her head that she could never see her family again. As of the information she had, she was an orphan. She was the only one of her family that was alive. That single fact lingered in her mind as she laid there, hoping to think of something that would cheer her up. She finally gave up and started to wander around the bunker. The crowds of people had finally seemed to calm down, but there was still mass panic from the older teens that knew what was going on. We were being attacked. Most likely by adults. Everyone was murmuring about what had happened to Rose. No one actually knew where she was, but the rumors were endless. Some say the Chinese soldiers took her to a concentration camp. Others said she died. Alexia thought she was taken to make them all pack up so that they could take the bunker. Or maybe, just maybe, Rose had left on her own free will. That was unlikely though... but Rose did tell Alexia to enjoy herself while she could. Maybe it was Rose? No, that couldn't be. Alexia's thoughts raced through her head all day. All Alexia really wanted was for them to go away so she could concentrate.

Dinner came quick. Usually it was full of talking, and laughs, but tonight was different. A pin could drop, and everyone would hear it. Other than the occasional whisper, no one spoke. Everyone seemed so scared to stay here another night.

The older teens started to keep watch during the night, but that didn't last long. Everyone ended up either not waking up or leaving post early to go to sleep. Alexia was peacefully asleep, then she had someone shake her awake. It was Rose's brother, who's actual name was Andre.

"I thought I heard something... can you come check with me please...?" He barely ever spoke, but when he did it was never above a whisper.

Andre led Alexia to another set of bunks. It was the boys sleeping quarters. They started to check beds, they got about halfway through until someone was missing. A single bed, on the top bunk. The covers and blankets hadn't been made. They shook awake the boy on the bottom bunk.

"Who are you and why are you waking me up."

"Who uses the bunk above you? They aren't here, and Andre thought he heard something."

"Luke. He uses that bed almost every night. He was here, sleeping when I came in..."

Alexia's heart sunk. Her eyes teared up. Andre fell silent once again. The boy looked at Alexia and saw she was upset.

"I-I'm sorry... my name's Sage..." He tried a small smile, but immediately retreated. He teared up and reached for her arm. She snapped away and sprinted out of the boys' room. Alexia started running around until her breath ran out. She checked the sitting area, the dining hall, and almost all the hallways. Luke was gone. Alexia broke to the floor, crying. She just sat there and cried. Her tears kept coming, even when she tried to stop.

After about 20 minutes of just sitting there sobbing, she finally got up, walked to her bed, and went to sleep again. When Alexia laid down, she heard a small whisper. She assumed it was the girls talking and said "Lights out. Now." Then she slowly dozed off to sleep, with tear stains still on her cheeks.

In the morning, the word had already broken out that Luke was gone. The chaos of yesterday came back, and everyone looked at Alexia for guidance. She got overwhelmed so quickly, to the point that she broke down. Breakfast came around, which was when Luke usually made any major announcements. That responsibility relied on Alexia this morning. After almost everyone was done eating, she went to the middle of the tables.

"Attention everyone! Announcement time. As you have probably heard by now, Luke, was... taken during the middle of the night." Murmuring immediately started.

"Shut it! We are all leaving for Marfino. Tonight. Until we find Luke, I'm in charge. We will need to get there by walking. We're going be on the move all night, so rest today. 17 and 18-years will take shifts, leading at the back and front of each group. Separate groups will all take different paths, so that we are not such a huge group. We will find bunkers for different groups, so that we aren't all together. Collect all your things, and when you're finished, meet me in the seating area. We will sort out groups there. We need to act fast everyone. That's all for right now. Now go do everything I told you!"

Surprisingly, everyone cleared the dining hall, and went to their bunks immediately. Alexia started to sort out groups. There were going to be about 20 groups, with 2 17-18 years in them.

Around 3 P.M, almost everyone was in the seating room. Alexia had finished making random groups. She was nervous for the long journey ahead, but felt they were prepared.

"Alright. I'm going to say your name, and this is your group. Remember your group. It's super important. Alannah, Jack, Melanie, Johnson, Jett, and Corey. You are group 1. Group 2..."

She continued to rattle off names, until the last group was formed. She handed out the maps, with everyone's groups' route.