For a few minutes, we all sat very still, not saying a word.

“Do you think there’s been some kind of attack?” Georgie asked nervously, breaking the silence.

“I really don’t know, that sound is so bizarre. Screeching? Sounds so alien.” I replied.

“Maybe it is aliens?” Georgie said, her voice shaking.

“Let’s not speculate too much, we just need to try and stay calm and figure a way out of this.” Reese said gently.

“Whatever it is it doesn’t sound good, did you see the sky this morning? Maybe it was an ominous sign.” Roderick asked.

“Yeah, it was different this morning. It was abnormally pink.” I whispered.

“I noticed that too," said Roderick. “I thought it was to do with the wildfires and the smoke.”

“Yeah, I think that's what everyone else thought. I have this strong feeling that there is something else going on and maybe it’s connected to whatever this is.” I thought back to what had happened in the car park that morning, it all seemed too coincidental.

I stood up, needing to walk around to release some of the nervous energy that had built up in my muscles.

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“Ariah, what are you doing?” Roderick whispered from the floor.

“I need to move otherwise I’m going to explode.” I answered gruffly back.

The lights flickered and came back on, dimly illuminating the room once more. My shadow loomed on the opposite wall as I walked nervously over to the staircase, stretching my aching legs.

“Ariah, don’t go up there, you need to come back here and get down.” Roderick commanded.

My sisterly defiance flared but I understood his concern. Nodding mutely, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, the dusty air filling my lungs. I coughed. The sound of it echoed in the quietness and made me jump. My eyes flicked open, alert once more to my surroundings. I quickly strode back over to the others and popped down to the floor, sitting myself between Georgie and Reese.

“So this is what we know. The metal and wood are problem areas. There is something outside causing the destruction.” Roderick started listing off the obvious things, in what I thought was an attempt to slow things down in his head so he could get some clarity over the situation.

“Maybe some kind of weapon did it?” Georgie whispered hoarsely, her voice trembling with suppressed emotion.

“Could be, although it does seem weird that it didn’t affect the concrete?” I replied.

“Concrete is made up of a different chemical structure.” Roderick added.

“So now your science knowledge comes in handy. You should keep going to class.“ I said with a deadpan expression on my face. “Besides, metal and wood are made up of different chemical structures too, so I’m not sure where you’re going with your statement.”

Roderick ignored my attempt at humour.

“Imagine if I’d still been in science class instead of here. Imagine if all of us had been in the places that we were meant to be. I wonder what happened to everyone else.” Roderick said, with a frown.

We all shuddered and I felt a surge of fear in my chest as I thought about Mom and my friends.