Felix propped a couple chairs against the front door and wiped his hands on his pants. Dust flew around the room with any sudden movement they made and the house they ran into was filthy. It was clearly abandoned a long time ago. At least, he hoped it was… the last thing he needed was a stranger popping out.
“How about the couch?” Luna asked. She stood in the middle of the room hugging herself. She shivered with nerves but her face flushed with heat.
“The chairs should be enough for now. We might need the couch for later.” Felix replied. “Besides, this might be an okay play to stay the night. You can sleep on the couch. You’d be most comfortable there.”
Luna glanced down at the couch and gave it a disgusted look. It was leather, but the holster was scratched up as though a monster had come through and destroyed it. She wasn’t even sure what color the couch was supposed to be – brown, maybe? Whatever it was, it was faded. There was a thin layer of dust covering the whole surface of it as well.
“We have to make due, Luna.” Felix said exasperated. He knew exactly what his twin sister was thinking from the look on her face.
“Are we going to die?” Luna blurted.
Felix swallowed a lump in his throat. He didn’t know how to answer that. He wanted to tell her no, they weren’t going to die. However, their house and hometown were destroyed. They were on the move with no where to go. They had no money, no food, and this was the best shelter they could find. They haven’t come across another human in days. At least, Felix thought it was days. He had lost track of time.
There were no more days, only darkness. Whatever caused the bugs to come, it blocked out the sun somehow. It was hard to tell if there were clouds in the sky or if it were the bugs.
“You’re not answering me.” Luna sighed. She sat down on the couch. The cushion sunk pretty low but for some reason she didn’t even care.
“I don’t have an answer for you.” Felix shrugged. “I’d like to say we’re going to be fine, but mom and dad and… I just don’t know. I don’t even know what’s going on.”
Luna buried her face in her hands for a moment. She drew in a deep breath and then looked back up. She cracked a smile. “We’re going to be okay.” She said. She stood and walked over to the window. She pulled her sleeve over her hand and wiped away some dirt on the window. The bugs were swarming all around the house. There weren’t going anywhere for a long time. “Someone needs to contain them.”
“Who?” Felix asked. Now he sat down on the couch. He nearly fell over when the cushion sunk so low and he grabbed hold of the edge to balance.
“I don’t know. There must be some military or police around, right?” Luna asked. She hugged herself watching the bugs, listening to the buzzing getting louder and louder as they flew above the house.
“I hope so.”
“Are they following us? I feel like we haven’t been able to lose them at all.”
“They’re attracted to something.”
Luna jumped at hearing a strange voice. Felix too jumped from the couch and stood beside his sister. A young woman emerged from the other room.
“What they’re attracted to, I have no idea. I’ve been holed up in this house for a long time.”
“We’re sorry, we didn’t know anyone was here.” Felix apologized.
“No need to be sorry,” she shook her head. “We’re all in this together. It’s not like I’m going to toss you out and make you find a different shelter.” She smirked. “I’m Alex.”
“Thank you,” Felix said with a sigh of relief. “I’m Felix and this is my sister Luna.” Luna gave Alex a small wave.
“How far have you guys come? Is it just the two of you?” Alex asked. She walked over to the window and looked out.
“Just us, unfortunately. We’ve been walking for days. We’re not really sure how far we’ve come.” Luna explained.
“You and me both. I’ve been here for a while but I’m sure I’m a long way from home.” Alex stated. “It was quiet here and I wasn’t sure what to do next or where to go. I waited too long though and then the bugs made it here. They’re on the move, but like I said, I don’t know why. I don’t know what they’re trying to get to.”
“I wish we knew where they came from.” Luna added. “Maybe we could herd them back to where they came from or catch them or something.”
“There’s too many to catch. They’re too big to herd.” Felix countered with a shake of his head.
“We can’t squish them so the only thing I can think of is the light.” Alex said.
“The light?” Luna repeated turning her attention to the stranger.
“Think about it,” Alex began to explain, “the sun was blocked out as soon as the bugs came. I’m not sure if that’s coincidental or not. I’m not sure if it’s the bugs’ fault. But I know there are some bugs that are attracted to light and they bring themselves death by getting zapped. If we brought the sun back, then maybe the bugs would disappear or disintegrate or something.”
Felix hummed to himself. “You know, that’s not a bad idea.”
“But how in the world are we going to bring the sun back?” Luna sighed.
Felix turned to Alex. “Have you thought further on your idea at all?”
Alex shrugged her shoulders. “Well, that’s the problem. I have no idea how to get the sun back. But maybe, now that there’s three of us, we can think of something together.”
A banging came at the window causing the three of them to jump.
Words: 1,005
Sunday Morning
An abandoned house. A heist. A new puppy. Lost Love. From unbelievable to true-to-life, this flash fiction collection will take you to many places and get to know various characters. With no two stories alike each is thought-provoking, emotional,...
