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The air was cool in the dark of the night, dry and howling through ruined structures, carrying the smell of fire and rot, impersonal in its drift down across fields and to a small house.
an "L" shaped house, to be exact, with singed shingles and curtains pulled tight against every window, the peeling wood of its walls seemed far sturdier than others built the same way. A matter of will, perhaps. The wind did not care for it, and rustled the fields surrounding it. It might have been comforting, if it were a night long before all of this.
He never wanted all these people here, the chaos of the sun and something as insane as Visitors were already too much— He would've been just fine all by his lonesome,— but his neighbor had given him a warning, and in all te time he knew him he was never wrong. Besides, how was he supposed to say no? To deny people safety as they begged at his doorstep?
God, his Neighbor, a good man, He thought, as he looked out his window towards the burning house. It erupted out of nowhere, it seemed, since when he woke up it was already engulfed. the crackling of wood and billowing smoke reaching him, from the relative safety of his home.
Never before had he felt so guilty for being alive. Would that happen to him too? Would that be so bad? To be free of the apocalypse breathing down his neck?
His mind was consumed mostly by worry for the people inside. Hopefully they could escape— Especially his neighbor's daughter, she was.. 8, last time his neighbor told him. He would like to uphold his end of the promise and provide somewhere safe for them.
He grimaced, face contorting in worry and grief as he closed the windows, and started towards the incessant knocking at the door, peering through the peephole.
He was greeted by the sight of his neighbor's daughter standing on his porch, sobbing.
—
Desa ran as fast as she could from the growing flames engulfing her house, sparing a few glances back she saw figures lit only by the moonlight emerge and also begin to run. She searched desperately among them for her father, and despite spotting him running, it was away from her.
She cried loudly as she ran to the Neighbor's house. Daddy said if anything happened to go to him, and he'd pick her up from there. The long grass tickled her legs as she ran, the darkness of the night, once a comfort, seemed to press against her on all sides, as she ran away from the screams inside of the house, away from the fighting, into the cool of the night where her and her Daddy could be alone for a while.
She arrived to the house, panting and sweating, nervous glances thrown over her shoulder as sobs racked her body. Desa approached the old porch, still crying and breathing heavy, and knocked as politely as she could through her panic. She heard the familiar latch of a peephole cover, and looked up to it.
"L-Let me in.."
—
Desa had been at the Neighbor's for so long now! The small calender in the hallway said it had been a full week! When was Daddy gonna come get her? Mr. Neighbor was nice enough, really, but she wanted to go home. Desa didn't know much, especially because Daddy wouldn't tell her anything about what was happening, but it felt like her entire life was coming apart. She saw Daddy escape, she saw him leave! Why couldn't she stop crying? Why wouldn't he come get her?! She couldn't stop herself from crying! Now, in the middle of the night, the faint sounds of snores and muffled words reaching her, seeming to suffocate the air on top of everything that happened in the span of just a week.
She had seen a lot of people come in and out of the house, a few of them trying to talk to her before they left, too. She desperately pushed the times where she was told to close her eyes— the sound of pleading and then a gunshot— far away from her mind.
She wanted to go home. She wanted her Daddy, and Mommy, and— even Uncle! Even if he was mean to Daddy sometimes, and kept talking about hunting with guns, she wanted someone to talk to! She wanted her family.
Desa cried herself to sleep that night, like she did every night in the house. Daddy always said she shouldn't cry over things she couldn't fix, but he wasn't here to tell her that anymore. He wasn't- She stopped herself from thinking about it, before she worked herself into one of the fits where she couldn't breathe.
Desa closed her eyes and fell into a restless sleep.
She was awoken from her grief-induced slumber to the sight of men in bright yellow suits dragging her up by the arms.
Desa looked around tiredly, panic beginning to fill her veins. "Wh-What's happening?! I-I" She began to cry loudly. She caught a glimpse of Mr.Neighbor looking distraught, being held back by another yellow man. "Daddy! Daddy!" Desa sobbed loudly as she was fully dragged out of the relative safety of the house and into the dark night. It wasn't comforting to her anymore.
The yellow men closed the front door, before carrying her even farther away, her wails disrupting the tenuous silence held over the land. She struggled against their grip but it only made them grip her harder until she felt her arms bruising.
They approached a van, one of the men moving to open the side of it—
A loud gunshot echoed through the air, prompting Desa to wail louder, not noticing how the yellow men all went still at the noise.
She opened her eyes meekly, noticing how the grip on her arms loosened, to the sight of a shadowed man, gun aloft in his hands.
A gun that she recognized, even through the chaos and darkness of the night.
"Uncle Boris!" Desa yelled out, wriggling out of the hold of the yellow men, who let her go quickly after her exclamation, before running over to her Uncle. This was amazing! He saved her! She found her family again, and they'll find Daddy, and everything will be right again!
Uncle Boris stared down at her with scrutiny, but didn't stop her from running up and hugging him. She was still crying, but hopefully Uncle saw how happy she was. "Where have you been? Did Daddy send you? Is he okay? Are you here to take me back home?" Desa stammered out, feeling as if a blockage dislodged from her heart. Uncle looked down at her fully, gun still held towards the yellow men, looking at her like he was trying to see something. "Desa?"
Desa nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! I- I was at our house and- and then it burned down and Daddy ran— He's alive! But The house was gone so- so I ran here! and Mr.Neighbor took me in and I slept in the kitchen!"
Uncle's face softened considerably, but he pushed Desa behind him slightly, turning his attention back to the yellow men. "Get out of here, don't you know to test people?! She's not a Visitor!" His face snarled with each word, the gun in his hands being tightened with more force.
The yellow men quickly got away from them, mumbled curses that she hadn't even heard Mommy say, before they piled into a van, and drove off into the city. Desa breathed a sigh of relief, looking up to Uncle Boris, a smile on her face.
Uncle Boris looked at her with something unreadable, before crouching down to her level.
"Open your eyes." Desa opened her eyes, something like panic creeping up her veins. It was just Uncle Boris, he wouldn't hurt her! Uncle Boris looked at her, his face hardening. "Have you been crying, Desa?" Desa nodded nervously, eyes flicking to the ground. "Open your mouth." Desa opened her mouth, sweat beginning to form on her forehead. Why was she scared? Uncle Boris nodded. "Show me your hands." Desa showed him her hands, Daddy always said to wash her hands when she came inside.
Uncle Boris stood up, smiling down at her as he always did before. "I knew you weren't a visitor, Desa, but you can never be too safe. Especially against these things." Desa let out a sigh of relief, letting herself relax.
"Do you know where Daddy is?" Uncle Boris shook his head, to her displeasure. "I've been looking for him too. Come on, Desa, we'll kill some visitor vermin." Uncle Boris smiled a crooked grin at her, something slightly paranoid, but genuine.
Desa grabbed his hand, and nodded.
They walked off, Uncle Boris bringing her back to his 'Base' where he stayed when it was too hot out during daytime. She slept soundly that night, Uncle Boris insisting he'd keep her safe until they find her Daddy.