The sky, now devoid of the planes—or spacecrafts—seemed impossibly calm. The air felt thick with the remnants of chaos, the heavy silence almost unbearable. I could still hear the distant screams, the echo of lives changed forever. And yet, the world around us seemed to go on, as though nothing had happened.
David broke the tension first, his voice sharp and light, trying to cut through the suffocating seriousness. “Well, that was fun,” he said, looking around with a wry grin. “And it’s such a coincidence that all our parents aren’t around to witness this,” he added, motioning to the wreckage and chaos around us. “Talk about bad timing, huh?”
A brief, nervous laugh escaped me, but it didn’t last. The weight of the situation quickly returned, and I was reminded that this wasn’t just some nightmare we’d wake up from. This was real.
Bobby, though, wasn’t smiling. His jaw was clenched, and his gaze was distant, focused on something only he could see. Then, without warning, he turned to us, his voice cutting through the air with determination.
“No more distractions,” Bobby said, his tone sharp, authoritative. “We’re not here to stand around and make jokes. We need a plan. Andy and Dan are gone. We can’t afford to waste time.”
His words were like a cold splash of water to the face. There was no room for hesitation, no more jokes. Bobby had shed his uncertainty. He had taken charge, as the older brother rightfully should. Although the irony wasn’t lost on me—just a couple of days ago, he was on top of me, pounding on my back, laughing as if nothing serious ever happened, all while Mom and Dad had gone out to eat. And here we were, relying on him to lead us.
It hit me harder than I expected. Bobby had been the one to pick on me, the one who had pushed me around when life felt safe and predictable. Now, we needed him to lead us through the chaos. It was strange, a flip of the world I hadn’t asked for but couldn’t avoid. The weight of responsibility sat heavy on him, but it was clear—he wasn’t backing down.
“Let’s go,” Bobby said, his voice low and firm. There was no sign of the brother who once teased me; instead, there was a man who understood the gravity of the situation. He wasn’t just our older brother anymore. He was our leader.
And we had no choice but to follow.
“We’re not moving just yet,” Bobby said, his voice steady, cutting through the air with clarity. “We need to get our bearings, figure out what the hell is going on. And yeah, those things are probably gone for now, but there’s no guarantee they won’t be back. We can’t afford to sit around and wait for them to show up again, but we also can’t rush into anything. Stay put, stay hidden, and we survive this—together.”
He paused, looking up at the sky, as if expecting them to reappear at any moment. "And, honestly, I still don't get it. They were here one minute, and then gone the next. Just like that. That doesn't sit right with me. I can't help but think we’re missing something... maybe they're watching us. Waiting for something."
His words struck me harder than I expected, but what got me thinking more than anything was how easily they had disappeared. It felt off, like there was something we didn’t understand about them. And as I watched my brothers, the thought lingered—maybe it was time to share with them my secret, the one I had kept buried for far too long.
“Follow me, and keep it tight,” Bobby ordered. “We move fast, no looking back. We survive this—together.”
And just like that, Bobby became the leader I never saw coming. He wasn’t the guy who cracked jokes anymore. He was the guy who would get us through this.
I nodded, swallowing hard, my heart racing with a mix of fear and hope. We had no choice. We followed him, stepping into the unknown.
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