CrystalHeart27: This is a new story of mine, and hopefully you all will like it. This is just another one of my crazy ideas that came as a form of a plot bunny and refused to stop hopping for awhile until I wrote it... Well, here it is!

The panicked screams and loud sobbing finally made me realize what was going on. I got up from my spot under the tree and burst into the house without wasting a second. I spotted my mom in the kitchen boiling some water while humming happily.

"Mom, mom! They're back!" I shouted. She gasped and put her hand on her chest.

"Saphira, you scared me!"

I shook my head and pulled her arm. "Mom, didn't you hear what I just said? I said they're back!"

Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. "Is he--?"

"I don't know! I just heard crying and assumed they were back. I really don't know if he survived..." I mumbled. I saw her blowing out the fire she was using to boil water.

She took off her apron and placed it on top of the counter. "What are we waiting for, we have to go check!"

I nodded and we both took off running. The air outside was slightly humid and suddenly I wondered how Rea's hair was at this moment. That would have been a sight to behold. I shook my head. How could I be thinking about that at a time like this!?

As we neared our destination, fear and nervousness gripped my heart. What if he wasn't there? As quickly as that thought came, it disappeared. He made it. I know he did.

Many people were pushing each other in desperate attempts to get to the front. At that rate, it would be impossible to get to the list. I cursed under my breath and looked at mom. "Now what?"

"You try to get a hold of the list while I'll check the grounds and see if he is anywhere." She frowned for a moment.

"Is something wrong?" I inquired, then internally smacked myself. What the hell was I saying! Everything about this was wrong.

She smiled at me but I could tell it was forced. "Don't worry, sweetheart. If I take too long, I just want you to go back home, okay?"

"But mom--!" I argued. I had every right to look for him as well. It just wasn't fair!

"Please, honey." She pleaded. Suddenly I realized how hard this was for her. Losing a child was bad enough, but losing another? That would be devastating. It would destroy her.

I sighed. "Alright mom."

She kissed me on the cheek and hugged me. Then, she was gone.

I grumbled. "This sucks."

I briefly looked over the wave of people pushing, shouting, and crying and sighed tiredly. Looking at a spot near the ground, I had an idea.

"Well," I said awkwardly. "I guess we'll just have to do this the old fashioned way..."

I got on my hands and feet and crawled through the wild crowd while biting my bottom lip every time I felt a kick at my sides.

I gritted my teeth. "Move it, people!" Some people looked around and tried to find the source of the noise. I don't know how long I was crawling but I hoped I was at least going in the right direction.

Finally, my nose was hit with fresh air and I stopped crawling. I stood up, painfully, and stretched. I took a few long breaths and wondered why I was free of the hoard of people. I finally looked around and was caught by surprise when crying assaulted my ears.

I observed the families around me and was hurt by a pang of sadness. They don't deserve this...

Then, a crinkled, brown paper that looked as if it had better days as part of a tree, caught my attention.

Or rather, what was on it. I scrambled to it and caught it just in time as it tried to fly away. I closed my eyes and clutched it in my shaking hands. Finally, I opened my eyes.

SURVIVORS:

Faulley Preston

Idina Teigher

Julinna Styphen

Emery Sterling

Halkin Kish

Gress Judin

Winona Verness

Krey Saenz

I breathed a sigh of relief. "He's alive!..." I smiled. Mom would definitely be happy. Then I frowned.

"That was almost half of the people that went out there..." I said quietly. I shook my head. How could it be? Was the war getting worse?

I made my way out of the crowd's way, which was starting to diminish as each family either went happy, or in tears.

I walked to the house with a disturbed expression on my face. What is going on?

If the war was getting worse, that meant that something or someone might attempt to attack our home very soon. If the humans weren't safe from the beginning, what was going to happen now?

I didn't want to know.

There were so many creatures out there...so many. And we weren't the only ones who wanted to fight for domination. There were simply too many creatures who were stronger than us. We had no chance. It was useless sending out our people just for them to meet their death. Those who survived were only lucky. Next time, though...

I looked up at the familiar tree that rested a few steps away from home and then at the house. I started walking towards it when I heard a slight rustle from the nearby bushes. I jumped at the sound and turned around, but nothing was there. I stayed there for a few more minutes but everything seemed to be normal.

I raised an eyebrow in curiosity but just shook my head and went inside.