Aftermath_The Armorian Chronicles Read online

  “I’m sorry! I cannot help what I am afraid of. I’m not like you. You are not afraid of anything.”

  “I am afraid of a lot of things,” said Lyla with a sullen look on her face. “Losing you is what I am most afraid of. That is why I am so hard on you. I do not know what I would do if I lost you. I couldn’t go on without you.”

  “I agree,” Lilly replied. “You are my other half. Literally and figuratively, with us being twins and all. We are one and the same, you and I.”

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Lyla said.

  “That’s what sisters do right?”

  They smiled at one another and walked silently for the rest of their journey. They walked for miles until they finally reached their destination. They came to a large rock wall covered with green vines that hung down to the ground. Anyone that came across it would think it to be just an ordinary wall and would turn back the way they came. To Lyla and Lilly, it was an entrance. Lyla went over to the place of entry and moved the hanging vines to the side like a curtain. Behind it was a short and narrow opening through the stone wall. Lilly went in first followed by Lyla. Lyla turned and moved the vines back the way they were so as not to expose the entryway to anyone that may pass by.

  The entryway was dark, but she could see light at the end and Lilly waiting on the other side. The stone wall continued in a circle all around, apart from an archway they used as a second entrance and exit on the opposite side. Soft green grass encompassed the large space, with trees along the outer edge. There were the most beautiful flowers and landscaping, and in the center of it all was a cottage. It was covered in stone and in the middle was a brown door with a tiny window at the top. A dark-colored shingled awning was hanging above it. Above the awning was a small window in the shape of an octagon. Identical windows were on either side of the door with light-colored curtains showing through each window pane. The roof also had dark shingles, and on the left side was a stone chimney ascending from the top.

  “We’re finally here,” Lilly said as they approached the door of the house. She turned back and smiled at her sister as she reached for the handle. “We’re home.”

  Chapter 2

  Lilly and Lyla walked into an open kitchen. It was old fashioned with warm-colored wooden cabinetry and cream-colored wallpaper with a flowered border. Many items were placed on the cabinets and around the room suggesting the owner had an interest in vintage and rustic decor. To the right was the dining room. The same wallpaper flowed into this room, and a tall wooden cabinet with a glass door containing fine china stood against the wall. On the back wall was a large bookcase completely filled with books. The table in the center of the room was wooden and very old, with scratches and unwanted marks, and had matching chairs that would sit four people.

  “You’re back!” said a figure that was sitting at the table. She was an elderly woman with white hair. They could see her short and thin body as she stood up to hug them both. She had nice clothes on, nice as in not torn or worn, that consisted of a white cotton shirt and blue jeans. Her eyes were as blue as the sky.

  “Hello, Grandmother,” they both said, one after the other, with a smile. “Where is Grandfather?” Lyla asked as she looked around, realizing he was absent. Her face immediately turned into a frown.

  “He is working on his inventions as usual. You know how he is. He gets one idea after another and doesn’t stop until they are complete. I get concerned that he works throughout the night without any sleep though. He will be stuck in the basement for days before I hear a word out of him, and he always keeps the door locked so I cannot intrude.”

  Before the invasion, Grandpa Joe was the best inventor around. People would come for thousands of miles just to see his work. He made a great fortune selling his trinkets and gadgets of all kinds. Now the money is of very little value. They left their beautiful home in the city and came down to the cottage to live with Lyla and Lilly as well as their mother, but when they arrived they saw the awful tragedy that had happened. Knowing that no one would be able to take care of the twins due to the recent death of their mother and the death of their father that had occurred only a few days earlier, they felt they had no choice but to raise them. However, they didn’t feel like they had to, they wanted to. They were their grandchildren after all.

  “He will be awfully excited to hear of your return,” she said with a smile. She looked at them both and noticed how dirty they were. Dirt was all over their clothing and their hair was full of tangles and knots. “We will both want to hear of your journey, but not before the two of you wash up and get some rest. I will call for you when supper is ready.”

  Lyla and Lilly did not argue. They always looked forward to getting a nice hot bath when they returned from their travels. Not to mention the nice clothes that they actually owned. Most of their clothes had come from shops that were abandoned during the invasion, but others were made by their grandmother. It was essential to wear torn and ragged clothes on their travels so that the Takers believed they were homeless girls wandering about if they were seen and, most importantly, captured. They didn’t want them to come looking for their home.

  Lilly’s bedroom was on the right just past the dining room. Their grandparents’ room was just across from Lilly’s. Lyla walked past Lilly as she entered her room. Straight ahead was a door that led to the attic. Lyla’s room was to the right and down a narrow hall. To the left was the nursery. Not much had changed since the death of their mother. Their grandparents never wanted to go in there after what had happened. It was occasionally cleaned to prevent dust from collecting on everything, but other than that it was the same. Lyla never understood why they left it that way. In her mind, it made it harder to forget, even though that was exactly what she wanted to do. Forget.

  She approached the door, put her hand flat against it, and closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure what she thought she would feel. Pain, sadness, or even some sort of a feeling that her mom was still there somehow. She wouldn’t dare open the door. A few moments passed and she headed to her room.

  She headed down the narrow hallway. The bathroom was the door on the left and her room was at the end of the hall. She opened the door, dropped her belongings, and plopped down on her bed. Her bed never felt more comfortable than when she returned from a long journey.

  Her bed was surprisingly comfortable for a twin-sized bed. Her room did not have much in it, but it was cozy to her all the same. To her right was her nightstand with a picture of her mom holding her and her sister when they were infants. She stared at this photo for a long while before she went to bed every night, hoping to dream of more pleasant dreams of her mother. A simple dresser stood against the wall by her door, her closet just across from it, and to her left was her bookshelf. It was hanging just inches above her bed so that it was within reach.

  Lyla could hear the bath water running in the room next door. Lilly had beaten her in there, which was no surprise because she always did. When they were younger they would race to see who could get in the bathroom first. Lilly almost always won, of course. After a while, Lyla stopped caring. Lilly would complain if she got in there first anyway. She hated being dirty and muddy when she didn’t have to be.

  With nothing else to do at the moment, Lyla picked up one of her books and started reading. The majority of her books were love stories and fairy tales. She often found herself wondering if she would ever find a love like the ones in her story books. She wasn’t sure if that was possible. Not in the world they lived in.

  She had only met one boy in her entire life. His name was Ryan Tolemo and he used to be very good friends with Lyla and Lilly. They would play together every day; until one day he did not show up. Nor the next or the next. They had no idea what had happened to him or his family. Both of his parents were quite nice and he had a younger sister who was only five years old, but they had never met her and did not know her name. They were seven years old at the time. Many years had passed since then.

  Lyla would
often daydream about meeting her prince charming, and Lilly would make fun of her for it. “You’re the toughest girl I know, yet you are sitting here in la-la land daydreaming about boys?” she would say with the most disgusted look on her face. “What a waste of time! Even if I ever met a boy, I would never fall in love with one. I would rather marry myself. I don’t need a boy acting like he’s a real man, trying to show himself off to the world and take care of me. No, thank you!” Lyla ignored her sister at this point.

  Maybe one day she will meet someone and change her mind.

  Lilly knocked on the door even though it was open and stood in the doorway. Lyla turned from her book and looked at her. She was dressed in khaki pants that hugged her legs all the way down to her ankles and a black shirt with a green jacket over the top. Her hair was still wet and pulled into a bun on the top of her head.

  “Bathroom is open,” she said.

  “Okay, thanks,” Lyla replied as she closed her book and placed it back on the shelf.

  “Hey, I got you something. Wait one second.” She ran out of the room with heavy footsteps leaving Lyla befuddled. When she returned, she had both hands behind her back, hiding something. She sat next to Lyla on her bed and pulled out an old-looking book. It had a blue cover with a woman asleep in a bed called, and it was called Sleeping Beauty.

  “Where did you get this?” Lyla asked.

  “Whenever we stopped in that last small town to look around for supplies that we might have missed, I was rummaging through a desk in that old abandoned building, just to see if there was anything of interest, and I found this.”

  Lyla was turning pages to see how delicate it really was. It was a thin book, and the cover was a little damaged, but the pages were in good condition. She turned to her sister. “I love it! Thank you!”

  “Good, because it’s your birthday present,” she laughed.

  “You know that’s not for another few weeks, right?”

  “Of course I do. How could I not know when your birthday is when we have the same birthday? It’s an early gift. I thought, since we just got back, that you may have some time to read it in between training time and our next journey.”

  “I’m sure I will,” she said with a smile. “Now get out so I can go and take a shower.” Lyla threw a pillow at her and they both laughed.

  After her shower, Lyla went to the kitchen and saw everyone gathered around the table with dinner ready. She put on the same clothes as her sister, which was normal. Her grandfather sat at the table, his white hair glistening from the lights above. He was taller than her grandmother, but he had a little bit of a belly. His eyes showed wrinkles as he smiled at his granddaughter.

  “Come over here and give your old man a hug.”

  Lyla gave him a hug and sat at her place at the table. Her grandma had made a nice warm onion and potato soup, which they had more often than not.

  “So, tell me about your journey to Chicago, girls,” Joe said.

  Lyla and Lilly looked at each other.

  “Well,” said Lilly. “We went the closest we have ever gone to the city. We did not find out much about the Taker’s plan or what they were doing though. In order to do so we would have to go inside the city and we are not in a position to do so at this time.”

  “You’re right!” Joe said. “You must better prepare yourselves before you pull a stunt like that, or you will get yourselves killed.”

  “Don’t talk like that at the dinner table, Joe,” said Norma.

  “Well it’s the gosh-darn truth, Norma. Anywho, did you bring home any meat, Lyla?”

  Lyla looked up from her soup, not paying much attention. She had a nervous look on her face and she was tearing up the napkin in her lap.

  She had never come home without some kind of meat for the family. They depended on it due to the fact that all stores were emptied and abandoned whenever the Takers took over. She decided not to mention the family of rabbits she’d seen in the forest.

  “Actually, no,” she finally said. “We didn’t see anything on our journey. All I have are a few canned vegetables and some clothes.” Her grandparents looked at one another and she knew they were disappointed in her. Lilly looked at her grandparents and back at Lyla. “I believe it’s because the Takers are coming closer this way and they’re driving the animals away. We saw three Takers out by the river and came in contact with them, but they are gone now. It’s not likely they will come this far, but at least we have the barriers up to protect us.”

  “You’re right, but that may still be a problem,” said Joe. “Without meat I am not sure we will survive the winter. Tomorrow morning, your grandmother and I will go to the next town over in search of food. There may be supplies left that we missed, and we may see some animals on the way.”

  They ate the rest of their meal in silence. Once Lyla finished, she went to the sink and washed her bowl. She dried it with a drying towel that was sitting on the kitchen counter and placed it in the cupboard. By the time she was finished, everyone else had finished eating, so Lyla stacked the bowls and walked them over to the sink, followed by pleasant appreciations from her grandparents. Lilly joined her, and together they washed, dried, and put away the dishes.

  “How about we all go to the living area and sit by the fireplace,” said Norma as she got up from her seat.

  “Not for me, Norma,” said Joe. “I have a lot of work to do downstairs.”

  “You always have a lot of work to do,” she groaned. “How about you, girls?

  “We would love to,” they said simultaneously.

  They walked into the living area as Joe made his way downstairs. Lyla and Lilly sat on the couch and Norma sat in her rocking chair. The fire was already blazing, giving off a beautiful yellow and orange color. Bright red coals were already forming at the bottom, and Lyla couldn’t help but stare at it.

  It was such a cozy room the way her grandmother had it set up. The walls were a light yellow, and the fireplace still had the original stone that went up to the ceiling. Across the couch from where Lilly and Lyla sat was a recliner, and just beside it was a cabinet that held all the quilts their grandmother had made.

  “I have something special planned for your birthday, girls.”

  “And what would that be?” Lilly asked.

  “Ah, ah, ah.” She waved her finger. “It’s a surprise.”

  “Oh, please tell us.” Lilly now had her hands together and was sitting at the edge of the couch pleading to know what the surprise was.

  “Now where is the fun in that?” Norma laughed. “My lips are sealed. I will not tell.”

  Lilly groaned and fell back into the couch slouching her body. Lyla thought she looked like a puppet waiting for someone to pull the strings. She held her hand over her mouth, but she couldn’t contain her laugh. She pulled her hand away and let it out, followed by laughs from Norma and Lilly.

  Lyla lay in her bed unable to sleep. She tried closing her eyes, but her brain was too active. She heard a creak in the floor and it sounded like it was coming from the kitchen. She got up, grabbing a knife that was on her nightstand, and slowly opened her door. No one was around, and the house was completely silent. She walked into the kitchen, and her heart started pounding as soon as she noticed the front door was cracked open.

  She knew her grandmother had locked the door, she’d been standing right next to her when she did. Did someone break in? It didn’t look like anyone was in the house. Did they steal something and then leave without waking anyone? This all sounded crazy. No one would be able to find their house when the barriers were up. She walked toward the door and peeked through the crack before opening it all the way to make sure no one was on the other side. No one was in sight, so she opened it all the way. She stepped out and saw a figure sitting on the bench to her left.

  “What are you doing out here?” Lilly asked.

  “I could ask you the same question.”

  “Usually when I can’t sleep I come out here. It’s so peaceful.”


  “I didn’t know you did that,” Lyla said. She sounded more surprised than she intended to.

  “I like to look up at the stars and think of Mom. I always wonder if she can see us, if she’s looking down and watching out for us, you know?”

  “I’m sure she is, Lil. Nana said she went to heaven when she died.”

  “Sometimes I’m not sure if I believe in that stuff,” said Lilly. “If God is anything like what Nana says, then why is the world like this? Why would He allow so much destruction and chaos, causing people so much pain?”

  “I don’t know, but I do know that He has a plan for everything and He never puts us through more than we can handle,” said Lyla. “Things will get better, you’ll see.”

  “I hope so. I would like to live a normal life for once.” They both sat in silence and looked up at the stars.

  “I’m going to visit Papa in his study,” said Lyla. “Would you like to join me?”

  “I’ll catch up with you. I just need a few more minutes.”

  Lyla gave a smile and walked back into the house. She walked past the kitchen table and stopped at a bookcase that was built into the wall. She grabbed on to one of the shelves and pulled it to the right. The bookcase slid into the wall, revealing a set of spiraling stairs that led to the lower level of the house. The stairs and the walls were all concrete. As she stepped down, she ran her fingers along the smooth concrete walls. This was her favorite part of the house because it reminded her of a castle. If it were not for her grandfather occupying the space, she would love to have it as her bedroom.

  When she reached the bottom of the stairs she saw her grandfather sitting at a table against a wall with his back facing her. All around were gadgets that she could not even begin to know the purpose of. They were all so oddly shaped and made mostly of metal.

  “What are you working on?” Lyla asked. He must not have heard her enter the room because he jumped back. He was wearing a peculiar headpiece that went over his eyes. It had circular glass sections with metal frames and she guessed it had to be some kind of a magnifier.