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Chapter Text

Ray Ferrier and I have been dating for the last 2 years, he recently just asked me to marry him. Our wedding was in a month. He's a dock worker, moving cargo boxes from the ship to the loading brackets. I work more behind the scenes, doing all the paperwork type stuff. He loaded the last of it and came into my office. I looked up. "Knock much, Ray?" I laughed. "I didn't think I would have to knock on your door, ever." He chuckled as he sat in the chair in front of me, he reached for my hand, "Besides, you're my fiancee. You should know me by now. You know I don't knock, much." He said. I shook my head and chuckled. I held his hand, "That sounds better every time you say it, I can't wait to marry you." I smiled. "Oh, I know you don't. Me either. Something we have in common, babe." I winked. "I can't wait either, baby. I did tell you my kids were coming today, right?" He asked. "Yes, Ray. You told me and I can't wait to meet them." I squeezed his hand. He smiled, "Are you almost finished up here?" "I have one more thing to print off and then I'm done." I printed the spreadsheet off. "And done! Let's get out of here." I laughed as I got up and made my way over to him. I was about to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head and intercepted my lips. I smiled into the kiss. He got up. "Let's go." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and we walked out.

"Ray! Ferrier!" Sal called. Ray shook his head and laughed as we kept walking. "I need you back at 4:00 instead of 12:00." He said. "No, no, no, I can't. I'm on a 12 hour blow. Call Tedesco." Ray told him. "Tedesco can't move 40 containers in an hour. I need somebody who can do double picks." He told him. "I wish I could help you, Sal. But union regulations." Ray said. I laughed. "Come on, I'm in a position here!" Sal said. "Come on, you remember the union regulations, Sal." Ray told him. "You know what your problem is?" Sal asked. "I can think of some people who'd be happy to tell you." Ray said. We made it to his car. "You sure you wanna be with him?" Sal asked me. "Oh, most definitely!" I shouted back to him as I laughed. We got in and went to his house. He pulled in the driveway. There was a van parked. Before we got out, he grabbed my hand, I looked at him. "Ready to do this, baby?" He asked me. "More than ever, baby. Let's do it." I smiled, he kissed the back of my hand. "I love you." He said. "I love you, too." I said. We got out. Ray took the trash can to the street. "Is it 8:30? We say that?" He asked. "We said 8:00." Mary Ann said to him. I was standing at his steps, he came over and pulled me with him. "Hey, this is my fiancee." He introduced me to his ex-wife and her husband Tim. "Hi, nice to meet you." I said. We shook hands. "You too." She smiled. I smiled back.

"This is one safe looking vehicle you got yourself here, Tim. Congratulations." Ray said. I turned and stifled a laugh quietly. "Thank you." Tim said. "8 o'clock, huh?" Ray asked. "Uh-huh. We'll be back by 9:30 on Sunday, depending on the traffic." She told him. Ray told me his kids names before, they're Robbie and Rachel. Robbie got out of the car. "There he is! You got a hug?" Ray said. He ignores everyone and continues to the front door. "Confusing handshake? Kick in the teeth?" He says jokingly. "The door's locked. Still working on those manners?" He said. Mary Ann nodded. Rachel got out. She comes over, "Hello, dad." "Hello, Rachel!" They hugged. She then goes to get her suitcase, but couldn't get it out. They all tried to help. I heard Robbie say, "The door's locked." I scoffed and said quietly to myself, "He just told you that." Mary Ann had the suitcase. "I'll just get it in the door." She said. "It's got rollers, just roll it." Rachel said. "Well, we can't roll it up the stairs, now can we?" She said. "Really, I got it from here, okay?" Ray said. He looked at me and smiled. "You with me?" He whispered. "I'm with you." I smiled.

We all went to the kitchen as Robbie went upstairs. I looked at the car engine on the table and shook my head, chuckling to myself. She saw it, too and she looked at Ray. "It's a 302 V8. It's gonna be out of here next week." He said. I was standing behind him, I leaned up and whispered in his ear, "Is it now? You've said that before." I chuckled, he turned his head to me and whispered back, "Maybe. Who knows." He shrugged and chuckled. She was looking all through his stuff. "You better get going if you want to beat traffic, don't you think?" Ray asked. She ignores him and looks through his refrigerator which is almost empty. Rachel was on the staircase. "Would you close the door, please? That's my refrigerator." He said. "I'm gonna wait outside. I love you, sweetheart. See you in a few days." Tim said to Rachel as he hugged her. "Bye, Tim." She said. "I'd better get this upstairs." Mary Ann said. "Mom, mom!" Rachel tries to get the suitcase. "Let me get this." Ray said. "I can get it." She said. I was following behind. We came to his bedroom, "Excuse me." He rushes to close his door. We all go into Robbie and Rachel's room. I was leaning on the wall behind Ray. Robbie's laying on his bed listening to his music. Rachel sits on her bed. She looks at me. I smiled at her, she smiled back. "A little old to still be sharing, aren't they?" She asked Ray.

"I don't hear any complaints." Ray said. He looked back at me and rolled his eyes, I chuckled. "It'll be okay." I whispered. He smiled and nodded. "No, I do." She told him. She walks over to Robbie and unplugs his headphones, the music stopped. Ray sits down on the desk chair. I moved behind him and put my hand on his shoulder. He turned and gave me a smile. She looked at Ray and then back at Robbie, "Robbie's got a paper on the French occupation of Algeria due Monday which he's yet to begin. It would be nice if he were done by the time we got back so we don't have to keep him up all night on Sunday." She looked at him. "I just got to type it up." Robbie said. "No, you just got to start writing it first." She told him. "I love you, mom." He told her. "I love you." She said, walking over to Rachel. "Listen to your father." She hugs Rachel. We walked out of their room and downstairs, she was headed for the door. "We'll be at my parents' house in Boston. I've got my cell phone, so if anything comes up, just call." She said. "Believe it or not, I can handle it." He said. "I'll leave the phone on. Oh, and again, it's very nice to have met you. Keep him straight." She told me. I chuckled, "Oh, I do the best I can, but sometimes it's a hard job. And it's very nice to have met you, too." She chuckled, she looked at Ray, "Take care of our kids." "You got nothing to worry about." He told her. She left.

He turned around and looked at me, "Hard job to do sometimes, huh, baby?" He chuckled. I shrugged, took his hat out of his hand, and put it on. "Just sometimes, baby." I chuckled. He grabbed my hips and pulled me closer to him. "Says the girl who said yes to marrying me." He kissed me. "You look pretty good with my hat, by the way." He whispered in my ear. I giggled. "Again, I can't wait to marry you." I kissed him. He smiled. I took his hat off and put it back on his head, I smiled. "You look good, too." He kissed my cheek. He then walked off to grab a baseball glove. "Come on." He grabbed my hand and we went upstairs. I heard the TV in their room, there was something about lightning storms in other parts of the world, Robbie was going through channels. Ray went in, turned the TV off and threw him the baseball glove. He caught it. "Baseball season's over." Robbie said. I sighed to myself. "Five minutes. It's not going to kill you." Ray told him. He looked at me, "This might be harder than I thought." He said quietly. I shook my head, "You can do it." I kissed his cheek. He smiled and headed outside. "Okay, come on." I smiled and followed him out the door to the backyard. Ray was standing waiting for Robbie. I chose to sit down beside Rachel.

"Hi." She smiled at me. "Hi, it's nice to meet you, Rachel. I've heard a lot about you." I smiled back. "My mom told me my dad had someone new, so I'm glad to meet you. I hope we can be friends." She told me. "Aw, of course." I told her. Robbie came out, finally, he had his Boston hat on. "There he is. Boston? That's how it is? That's how it's gonna be?" Ray asked. Robbie throws the ball to Ray unexpectedly, he barely caught it. "Careful with that throw." He said. "Whatever, Ray." Robbie said. "Your mom says you've got a report due on Monday, so you're going to work on that when you're done here." Ray told him. They continue throwing the ball to each other. "Yeah, I'm almost finished, I just got to type it up." Robbie told him. "Yeah, bull-crap." Ray said. "Yeah, and what do you know, Ray?" He asked. "Everything. Haven't you heard? Between me and my brother, we know everything." He said. "What's the capital of Australia?" Rachel asked. I laughed. "That's one my brother knows." He said. "Really?" I smiled and shook my head. "Or you could ask her." He pointed to me and smiled. "Oh, no. I'll leave that to you and your brother." We laughed. "Is it okay with you if I just laugh the first 500 times you tell that one." Robbie said. "Just do your report. We don't send you to school so you flunk out." Ray said. "You don't pay for it, Tim does." Robbie said. Ray throws the ball at Robbie hard enough you see dust come off the glove. He shakes his hand in the glove and grits his teeth in pain.

"That's half of what I've got." Ray told him. "I hate coming here." Robbie said. "That why you act like that?" Ray asked him. Ray throws the ball, but Robbie purposely moves, causing a window to shatter behind him. Robbie turns and goes back in the house. Ray looks over at Rachel and I. "What?" He asked. "That's not how you're going to get through to him. You want him to listen-" Rachel started. "What are you? Your mother or mine?" He said. "Come on." He held his hand out to me. I put my hand in his. "Where are you going?" She asked. "To sleep. I work for a living." Ray said. "What're we supposed to eat?" She asked him. "You know, order." He told her. We walked upstairs to his room. He pulled me in and shut the door behind him. He took off his shirt as I put one of his shirts on and a pair of shorts. He laid down and sighed. I laid down next to him. I wrapped my arm over his waist, I sighed and kissed his cheek. "I know I'm not one to talk, but Rachel's got a point, you know?" I said quietly. He nodded, "Baby, please don't ever be afraid to tell me anything like that, I need all the help I can get, okay? I love you." He wrapped his arm around me. "Okay. I love you, too, baby." I said. He tightened his grip on me and kissed my head. We went to sleep.

We woke up, I went to get up, but Ray pulled me back down, I chuckled. I looked at him. He kissed me. "I'm glad you're here." He said. "Me too." I smiled and leaned up and kissed him. He smiled into the kiss. We both got up and headed downstairs. He got a cup of coffee. I see Rachel in his hard hat, I chuckled softly. He sat down in the chair as I sat on the chair arm. "What's the matter?" Ray asked Rachel. "I got a splinter." She said. "Where'd you get it? Come here." He told her. "On your porch railing." She said. "What, you want me to... You want me to take that out for you?" He asked her. "Absolutely not!" She said. "Well, come here. Let me see it." Ray said. Rachel shows him, she doesn't let him touch it. "It's gonna get infected." He said. "No, it won't." Rachel said. "Yes, it's gonna get infected." He told her. I took his cup and got a drink. He looked at me and shook his head as he chuckled softly. "No, it won't. When it's ready, my body will just push it out." She said. "Push it out?" I asked. "I read that. You should get TiVo. Tim got it for my room, it's awesome. I can watch all my shows after homework." She said. "Yeah, I'll just put on my platinum card. Robbie?" He called. "Robbie?" He tried again, no response. Ray took a bite of the food on the table and made a face. "What is that?" He asked. "Hummus." Rachel said. "Hummus?" Ray asked. I made a face. "From the health food place." Rachel told him. Ray looked at her with a face saying, 'This is gross.' "Uh, you said order!" She said.

"That you did, babe." I said. We laughed, "I meant order food! Where is Robbie?" He asked. "He went out." She said. "Out where?" Ray asked her. "I don't know. He just took your car and left." She said. I scoffed. Ray almost ran out the door, he noticed his car wasn't in his garage. He saw everyone else looking at the sky, he looked himself and found a black cloud with a white hole in the middle of it. "You ever see something like that?" Someone asked him. "In the springtime, maybe. Not this time of year. Come on, we can see better from the backyard." Ray said. He went out back. The wind starts to pick up. "That is so weird." He said. "What?" A woman asked him. "The wind is blowing toward the storm." He said. "That is weird." She said. Wind picks up faster. "Baby, you and Rachel wanna see something cool?" He asked. Rachel rushes down the stairs and to his side. She hugs him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. I stand on the other side of him, he wrapped his other around my waist. "What is that?" I asked. "I have no idea." He said. Lightning hits the pavement. Rachel jumped. "It's okay." Ray told her. "I want to go inside." Rachel said. "It's okay." He said. "I want to go inside." She said again. "Okay, you go ahead." He said. A baby started to cry. "That's enough weather for me." She walks inside. I looked at the sky again. "I don't want to go by myself." Rachel said.

Lightning hit the ground again. We all ran towards the house. "Kind of fun, ain't it?" He asked jokingly. "No." Rachel said. "Oh, come on. It's like the Fourth of July." He said. "No, it's not." She said. Ray begins singing the Star Spangled Banner, I hit his shoulder playfully and shook my head. The lightning gets louder and scares all three of us, we head for the house. Car alarms were going off. The lightning continued. We all ran fast up the stairs to the kitchen. Ray and I looked out the window, Rachel was standing far from the window. The lightning happened again and Rachel screamed. I jumped and backed up. "It's okay. You're fine." He said. "It hit right behind our house." Rachel said. "Yeah, well, it's not gonna hit there again because lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place." He told her. It hit again and Ray jumped. We all got under the table for safety while the lightning continued. "You were saying?" I looked at him with fear. He shrugged and sighed. "Where's Robbie?" Rachel asked. "I don't know." Ray said. "Is Robbie okay?" She asked, he didn't say anything. "Are you okay?" She asked. "Where's the thunder?" He asked. "Why won't it stop?" Rachel said. The lightning stopped. "Is it over?" Rachel asked.

We all get out from under the table. He looked over at me, "You okay?" He asked. I nodded and gave him a small smile. "It's gonna be okay." He said as he began looking around to figure out what happened. "Where are you going?" Rachel asked. "Just checking things out. Just wait there." He said. He came over and took my hand. "Come with me." He said. "Are we going to be okay?" She asked. "I don't know." He said. "You don't know?" She said. I touched her shoulder, "We'll be okay." I smiled at her. She nodded. I squeezed his hand and started checking everything with him. "No. I meant... Rachel, please, just stop asking so many questions. Just wait here." He said. We walk around to see if everything is okay, the power's off. Nothing in the living room has power. Nothing worked. We walked outside. We see the cars aren't working. His friend joins us on the sidewalk. "You believe this, Ray? Every single car." She said. Ray grabbed my hand and we walked past her, we saw Robbie walking towards us. Ray runs to him. He looked at him worried. "The car just stopped and..." Robbie said. "You're okay? Are you okay?" Ray asked him. "The lightning started hitting about a block away over and over again. And me and this other guy, we..." Robbie said.

"Where'd you go?" Ray asked him. "Over on Lincoln Avenue. By the church." He said. "Did you see it? Did you... Were you near it?" He asked Robbie. "Yeah. 26 times we counted! Over and over the lightning started hitting. It opened up this hole or something." He said. "26 times?" I asked. "Yeah." He said. "Okay, well, you're okay?" Ray asked him again. "Yeah." He said. "Good, because your sister's in the house and I want you to stay with her, okay? And the next time you take my car with no driver's license and no permission, I call the cops. You better be there when I get back." Ray told him. Robbie doesn't move. "Robbie." Ray says as he claps his hands together. He takes my hand in his and smiles softly. "It's gonna be okay, baby." He told me. I sighed, "Okay, baby." I nodded. We begin walking down the street hand-in-hand. We stopped at the auto shop, "Manny! Hey, Manny. What is it, dead?" Ray asked. "All of them, everything. Look at this. Starter's fried." Manny said. "Lightning hit it?" I asked. "Not even close. I thought if I changed it... You got any idea what's going on?" He asked. "I'm on my way to find out. Try um... Trying changing the solenoids." Ray told him. We joined the people walking where the lightning hit. Ray's friends joined him, the cops walked by. "Hey, what up, Ray and his girl? Still can't believe you're gonna marry him." His friend said. I chuckled, "What can I say? He's a good guy and I love him." I smiled and shrugged. Ray looked at me and smiled. "I love you, too." He said. "I should've known you two were behind this." He told his friends playfully. "You see it?" His friend asked.

"Yep. You got power where you are?" Ray asked. "Nope, nothing." Another guy said. "It's the cars though. That's the thing." Ray said. "Solar flare, that's what this guy told me." A friend said. "A solar flare?" I asked. "Yeah, the sun shoots off blobs of plasma, they turn into solar flare flashes. It's the only thing that can kill all the electronic stuff." They all talked among themselves saying how dumb that sounded. We all walk up to a hole in the ground. "I never seen anything like this before. That many strikes of lightning in one spot." A cop said. The cops started ushering people away from the hole. "Is this the only place?" Ray said as he bent down and picked up a stone. He was switching it from hand to hand. "Is it hot?" I asked him. "No, it's freezing." He said. There was a vibration under our feet. Ray stood in front of me and grabbed my hand. "What is that?" A cop asked. "You feel that?" Ray asked. "Yeah, I feel that." I said. "Is it the subway?" A friend of his asked. They all tried to figure out what was moving. "Well, there's something down there and it's moving." Another cop said. The pavement started cracking, we started running away. Windows broke, the road split into pieces causing us to lose our balance. The church cracked. The pavement caved down. The was something like the leg of a robot comes out of the hole. Ray and I and his friends hide behind a building. I held onto his arm. He looks at me, "Whatever you do, you make sure you stay with me, okay, baby?" He said. I nodded my head and whispered, "Okay."

He grabbed my hand and we walked out from behind the building. The machine makes a loud noise. "Stay behind me." He said. I nodded. The robot's arm soon started striking people, Ray and I ran. We ran into a convenience store, we ran out the back door and hid behind a building as the machine walked by. We made it back to his house. "What happened?" Robbie asked. Ray sat down against the wall of the counter top, not saying anything. "What's going on? Dad, what's the matter?" Rachel asked. "What's that stuff all over you?" Robbie asked him. Rachel then pulled on his hood, he jumps. "What's all that stuff?" Rachel asked him. "Hello? Ray?" Robbie said. Robbie then looked at me, "What happened?" He asked me. I was speechless myself, I shrugged my shoulders. Ray gets up and heads to the bathroom to wash the dust off of him. "Ray? What're we gonna do?" I asked him. He looked at me and walked back into the kitchen. "We're leaving this house in 60 seconds." He said. He grabbed an old box and shoved it to Robbie and told him to pack up all the food. "Rachel, sweetheart. I need you to go with her to get your suitcase." He told her and looked at me. "Please help her, sweetheart." Ray said. "Of course." I said. "Dad, you're really scaring me." Rachel said. "It'll be okay, Rachel. Come on." I told her. "Dad... Dad!" Rachel said. "Bring it to me, okay? Can you do that for me, darling? She'll be right there with you." He said to her.

We went to get her suitcase and went back downstairs. Rachel went to Robbie, I was on the bottom step, Ray met me. "Come with me." We went to his room while his kids were downstairs. He quickly enters the combination to a box and grabs his gun. He tucked it into his belt on his back and put his shirt over it. He looks at me, "I don't know what's going on, but please stay as close to me as you can. I need your help, sweetheart." I took his hands, "Baby, I'm right here. Whatever I can do to help, I'll do it." I said. He nodded and kissed my lips quickly. We headed back downstairs. We were all walking in a fast pace down the sidewalk. Rachel had Ray's hand as Robbie had the box of food. I was holding his other hand, he squeezed mine. "What's happening?" Robbie asked. "Shh, shh, I can't tell you now. We've only got about another minute." Ray said. "Ray." I nodded my head to a car Manny was working on as someone closed the hood. "Please, please, please." Ray said quietly. We approach the car. "Just keep it down." Ray said. "Ray, I'm standing right here. Can you please answer me?" Robbie said. Ray looks at the ignition and finds keys. "Just get in." He said. We all got in the car. Manny saw us, he walks over to the passenger side where I was sitting. "Ray, open up." He said. I looked at him. "Open the door, Ray." Manny said. He reached over me and opened it. "Get in." He said. "It's not your car." Manny told him. "I don't have time to expl-" Manny interrupted him, "I got a shop to run. You know how many people-" Ray interrupts him, "Get in!" "No, Ray get out of the..." "Get in Manny or you're gonna die." Ray told him. I looked at him. Rachel started crying. Ray and Manny were still talking. "I'm not kidding now. Get out of the car, Ray!" Manny said.

"Close the door!" He said to me. He helps me close it. Manny got zapped. "Get down! Get down!" Ray said. "Is this the terrorists!?" Rachel asked. "Just get down." He said. Ray grabbed Robbie by the collar and shoved him toward the floor. "Get down!" He said. We saw flaming debris behind the van. "Where are we going!?" Robbie asked. "We gotta go! We got the only working car around here. I'm not stopping until we're clear." Ray said. "Clear of what!? What's going on!?" Robbie said. "You saw! We're under attack!" Ray told him. Rachel begins crying harder and louder. "By who!?" Robbie asked. "Rachel, you've gotta keep it down!" Ray said as he honked the horn a few times. "Shut up, Rachel! I can't think!" Ray told her. "She's freaking out!" Robbie said. "Well, he's driving, do something!" I said. He looked at me, "Thank you." He mouthed to me. I nodded my head. Robbie turns to Rachel and attempts to calm her down with an arm technique. "This is your space. You're safe in your space. Nothing is going to happen to you in your space." Robbie told her. Ray looks back at them in amazement. They held hands as Robbie turned to his dad. "I want to know everything you know." Robbie said. "This thing, this machine, it crawled out of the ground and started torching everything and killing everybody." Ray said. "What is it? Is it terrorists?" He asked. "No, this came from some place else." I said. They looked at me, Ray then looked back at the road. "You mean like Europe?" Robbie asked. "No, Robbie! Not like Europe!" Ray said.

He swerves to miss a car. "This machine, it was already buried." I said. "Maybe it came down in the lightning storm." He said. "Wait a minute... She just said it was buried." Robbie said. "No, the machine she's talking about was buried. But, what came down in the lightning storm, what operates it. That's the... You know. The..." Ray said. "The what?" Rachel asked. "Why aren't there any helicopters or airplanes?" Robbie asked. "Hey, Rach. How you doing there, girl? How's she doing?" Ray asked. "How you doing?" Robbie asked her. "I'm fine." Rachel said. "She's good." Robbie said to him. "Good. What was that thing you did with her?" He asked. "Works sometimes. She gets claustrophobic." Robbie said. Rachel began saying she wanted her mom, she started screaming. "When you start screaming like that, you know, I can't really..." Ray said. She screamed for her mom again. "I know. That's where we're going right now." Ray said. We arrived at their mom's house. Robbie and Rachel got out and went inside their house, looking and yelling for them. Ray exhaled deeply. I put my hand on his arm, he reached up and took my hand in his. I put my fingers through his and smiled softly. He gave me a small smile back. "Are you okay, baby?" He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it. I sighed. "I'm gonna be honest with you. No, I'm not. I'm scared, baby." I looked at him. He got out of the driver's seat and came around to my side and opened the door. He grabbed my hand and helped me out. He shut the door and rested his forehead to mine. "You have nothing to be scared of, sweetheart. I'm right here. I promise you." I wrapped my arms around his waist and closed my eyes. "Okay, baby." I kissed him, he smiled and kissed me back.

"I guess we gotta go in, don't we?" He chuckled softly. "I feel like they don't need me." He said quietly. I held his face in my hands and rubbed my thumbs underneath his eyes. "That's not true, baby. You're their dad. They need you." I kissed his cheek. He nodded and we headed inside. We walk through the door. "They're gone." Robbie said. "Where is she?" Rachel asked. "She's not here, okay? They're never here." Ray said. "How do you know?" Robbie asked. "Because they're on their way to Boston." Ray said. "How come the lights are on here and not at your place?" She asked. "Um... Because nothing bad happened here, okay?" He said. He tried the arm technique that Robbie did with her, "You're safe in your area." He said. I smiled. "Dad, that's not how it goes." She said. He looked at me and closed his eyes for a moment. I reached my hand over to his and squeezed it, reassuring him it was gonna be okay. He opened his eyes, I smiled. He smiled back. "Alright, anybody hungry? I'll get some food." He started digging in the box. All he got was condiments. "What is this?" He asked. "That's all that was in your kitchen." Robbie said as he sat down. He found peanut butter. He looked for the bread, opened the peanut butter and put it on the bread. "After we get done eating, I'll take you down, teach you how to play some poker. A little five card stud, a little blackjack." He said. "I'm allergic to peanut butter." Rachel said. "Since when?" He asked. "Birth." She said. They both said they weren't hungry. He then picks up the bread and throws them at the sink window. It sticks, but slowly slides off.

I put my hand on his back. "Everybody just relax, okay? Because we're here now, we're safe, and we're gonna stay. And everything's gonna be fine, okay?" He said. Rachel and Robbie went to get pillows and blankets. I stood behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I rested my forehead on his back. He put his head down. "Ray?" I called him softly, I then leaned up and rested my chin on his shoulder. "Yeah?" He asked quietly. "Like you just said to them, everything's gonna be fine." I said. He turned in my arms, he laid his hands on the counter top. "You sure about that? Because I don't know if I'm sure." He said. "Well, this amazing guy told me it was gonna be and I believe him." I cupped his cheek. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulled me close and hugged me. I hugged him back. He pulled back and kissed my forehead. I laid my head on his chest for a moment, he rested his chin on the top of my head. He kissed my head. I looked up at him. "I love you." I whispered. He cupped my face and rubbed his thumbs underneath my eyes. "I love you, too." He smiled. I smiled back at him. Robbie and Rachel were standing there waiting for us. They had their pillows and blankets, we all headed down to the basement. "If everything's fine, why do we have to sleep in the basement?" Rachel asked. "It's like a slumber party." I said. "What are you afraid is gonna happen to us?" Robbie asked. "Nice basement." Ray said. "I want to sleep in my bed." Rachel said. "You know when there's a tornado and they tell you to go to the basement for safety? It's like that." Ray told her. "There's gonna be tornadoes?" She asked. "Rachel, no more talking." He said. Robbie and Rachel were talking in the background.

Ray sat down on the sofa, I sat beside and curled into him. He wrapped his arm around me and squeezed me gently. "I really appreciate you being here with me, baby." He told me quietly. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be." I leaned up and kissed his cheek before laying my head on his shoulder. He smiled and kissed my head. I fell asleep on him. He soon went to sleep himself. There was something rattling against the windows, he had laid me down as he continued to sit. The noise woke him up. The lightning was heard again, it woke us up. It lit the whole downstairs. Rachel gets up. We were all breathing erratic. "Is the lightning back?" She asked. "No, this is something else." Ray said as he grabbed my hand. There was a loud noise. Rachel runs to Robbie. "What's that sound?" Robbie asked. "I never heard that before!" Ray said. The lightning and noise grew more intense. "We gotta go! This is your house, where do we go!?" Ray asked Robbie. He opens a door to a furnace room. We all go in, but Ray goes back for his gun. He comes inside the room quickly closing the door, but the fire blasts through the wooden one, he shuts the metal one. The room is completely black. "Are we still alive?" Rachel asked. Ray and I are looking out the window. "It's safe to go check it out, if you want." He said to me. I nodded. We stepped over Robbie and Rachel who were sleeping. I held onto his arm as we walked out.

We both saw a burning airplane engine. We continue to walk outside. He sees a person hauling a cart. "Down here! Were you on this plane? Are you a passenger?" Ray said. The cart came flying down, he moved me out of the way. The man came down, he asked us if we'd help him open the cart. A news reporter came over. "Are you a passenger?" I asked. The two opened the cart and got the water and food. "Where were you?" Ray asked her. "Out there in the pine barrens." She said. They continued to talk about the lightning storms and whatever was underground. She shows us a tape of tripods destroying a city. She shows us the next piece. "We saw that storm. We were right in the middle of one of those." He said. I grabbed his hand. There was a vibration noise, we jumped. They were loading in the van. The reporter asked Ray, "Were you on that plane?" He shook his head no. She then closes the door. We walked back inside the house to get Robbie and Rachel. "Look at me. Look at me." Ray said to Rachel as they put on their coats. "You keep your eyes only on me, you understand?" He said. She nods her head. He looks over at me, "You stay with me, okay?" He said. "I'll be right behind you." I said. He nodded. He then looks back at Rachel, "Don't look down, don't look around me. I'm taking you to the car and you're gonna want to look around. But you're not going to, are you?" He asked her. "No." She whispered. Ray carries Rachel to the car, I'm behind them, Robbie behind me, looking around. "You're doing good. Keep your eyes on me. We'll go right to Boston, and we're gonna see your mom." He said. "I'm not gonna look, dad." She said. "That's my girl. Okay, listen, I want you to close your eyes. Got them closed?" He asked. Watching that moment between him and Rachel made my eyes tear up. "Uh-huh." She said. "There you go. Keep 'em closed for me." He said.

The three of us get in the car whereas Robbie is still looking around in devastation. "Robbie, get in." Ray said. "Robbie! Get in!" He said again. "Why are you yelling?" Rachel asked. "It's okay." He said. "Get in." I said. We continue on our journey. I was looking out the window. Ray had the map. "Why aren't we on the turnpike?" Robbie asked him. "Because I don't want everybody to see we've got a working car. We'll find a ferry, cross the Hudson, then take back roads across Connecticut all the way to Boston." He reached over and took my hand. I looked at him and smiled softly. I intertwined my fingers with his. "Where is everybody?" Rachel asked. "I don't know. Running, hiding in their basements." Ray said. "What we should do is go back there and find one of those things and kill it." Robbie said. "Yeah, well, why don't you just let me and her make the big decisions, okay?" Ray said as he shoved the map down. "Which would be when? Never, Ray? Never's about your speed." Robbie said. "Really?" I asked. "Okay, enough Robbie!" Rachel said. "Okay! Enough with the Ray crap! It's dad, sir, or if you want Mr. Ferrier. That sounds a little weird to me, but you decide." Ray told him. "Dad?" Rachel said. "Yes, Rachel?" He said. "I have to go to the bathroom." She told him. "Really?" He asked. I chuckled to myself and shook my head. He pulls over and grabs Robbie by his shirt sleeve. "Come on, I gotta go!" Robbie said.

"Not so fast, alright? Now, there are two things we have to watch out for, and the second is people who might want our car." Ray said. "There's nobody around." Robbie said. "I gotta go." Rachel said. We all got out. "Rachel, that's good right there!" He said. "I'm not going in front of you, guys!" She said. "Listen. Every time you don't listen to me, I'm telling your mother, okay? I'm making a list. I'm making a list!" He said. I laughed. He looked at me and motioned for me to come here. I stood in front of him, "Yes, Mr. Ferrier?" I asked as I giggled. He pulled me close to him and shook his head. He chuckled, "Yeah, yeah, you're funny. Next month, you'll be Mrs. Ferrier." He kissed me quickly. "I can't wait baby." I said. "Me either, baby." He smiled. He rested his forehead to mine and sighed. "You okay?" I asked as I slid my fingers through his hair. "I am. I promise. Are you?" He asked. "I'm trying to be, but knowing that I'm with you through this, it helps." I said. He hugged me close. I hugged back. "She's been gone for a few, go check on her." I said as I kissed his lips quickly. He nodded. I leaned my back against the van. Rachel was by a stream when Ray got to her, "I told you to stay where I could see you!" He said. "I'm sorry!" Rachel said. He grabs her in his arms and begins walking back to the van. Robbie was beside me, he looked at me. Ray came back just in time to hear what Robbie asked me. "You sure you wanna be with him?" He asked. "Really?" Ray asked him. "To answer that, yes, I'm very sure." I said. "Why?" He asked me. "Isn't it simple? I love him. He's never done anything to let me down." I told him. He laughed, "You're lucky then." "So are you. He's just trying to protect you." I told him. "Yeah, I'm sure. Whatever. You don't know anything." He said. "Hey, okay, don't talk to her like that." Ray said.

He looked over at me with a sorry look on his face, I smiled, "It's okay." I mouthed to him. He gave me a small smile. Army trucks came passing by. Robbie runs toward the trucks, "Wait! Stop! Give me a hand, you have room!" Robbie shouted at them. He told Rachel to stay beside me, she grabbed my hand. I smiled at that and held her hand. He goes to Robbie. "What? Robbie, you want to go in that direction!?" He said to him. Robbie ignores him. "There's nothing living in that direction, Robbie!!" Ray shouted. They continued yelling at each other. Rachel rushes over to Robbie, shoving him. "Robbie! Where are you trying to go!? What are you trying to do!?" She said as she began to cry. I started walking towards my fiance. "Who's gonna take care of me if you go!?" She said. Robbie picks her up and walks toward the van. I stood in front of Ray with tears in my eyes. "I guess it was gonna happen eventually, right?" He said quietly. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "I'm sorry, baby." I whispered. He tightened his grip on me and sighed deeply. "I don't know how to get through to him." He pulled back slightly and looked at me. "But you'll figure it out, Ray, like you always do." I kissed his cheek. "Thank you, baby." He whispered. I nodded my head and smiled. He gave me a smile back, he nodded to the van. "Let's go." I grabbed his hand and we walked back to the van. He opened my door for me, before he shut it, "Wait." He said. "What?" I asked. He kissed my lips quickly. I chuckled softly as he went around to the driver's side. Soon Robbie and I switched seats, he told me to rest. I rested in the backseat as he was now sitting beside his dad in the passenger seat.

Robbie was driving into the city while Ray rested. The streets were crowded and Robbie started getting worried. "Ray. Ray." Robbie said, no response. "Dad!" Robbie said. Ray wakes up and Robbie tries to get him to take the wheel. "You think you could..." Robbie said. "Don't stop... Don't take your foot off." They switched seats. We were all awake now. "Where's everybody going?" Rachel asked. "I don't know, Rach." Ray said. "But we do, right?" Rachel said. "Yeah, we do." He said. He continued driving through the crowd and everybody was getting mad. They began banging on the glass. "Why'd he do that?" Rachel asked. "He wants a ride." Ray told her. "Can we give him one?" She asked. "Just everybody put your seat belts on." Ray said. We all put on seat belts on. "Be careful." I said. He looked at me and nodded. People were banging on the windows saying, 'Give us a ride.' The police said to stop the car, but he kept going. They were climbing on the hood of the car. "Get off the car!!" Ray and Robbie both said. Rachel started panicking and doing the arms technique to keep calm. Someone threw debris at the windshield and breaks it. "Hold on!" Ray said. There was a woman with a baby in her arms just standing there, Ray swerved to miss her and hit a telephone pole. He looked at us, "Are you okay?" He asked. We nodded. The back windshield is broke open. The driver and passenger side windows are broken. The passenger side door is opened and someone grabs Robbie. He screams. A fight broke out. Someone pulled Ray out of the driver's side window. "No, just wait! Stop!" Ray said. "Daddy!" Rachel screamed.

Someone grabs me from the back windshield and starts beating me. The fight continued. Someone hit Ray in the back of the head with a baseball bat. He yelled. A man tries to get in and start the car. "Rachel, get out of the car!" Ray said. The fighting continued. Someone hit my head on the side of the car. I got up and limped my way to Ray. He grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him to protect me. Ray then pulled out his gun and fired two shots in the air, looking for Robbie. "Where's my son!? Where's Robbie?" He said. Ray then spotted him and pulled him from the crowd. He had a bloody nose. "Dad!" Rachel yelled. "Ray!" I said. There was a man holding a gun to his head. He told him to put the gun down. He put it down. "I just want my daughter, please." Ray said. He got Rachel out of the car. Ray then pulled Robbie up.

Chapter Text

The four of us made our way into a diner. We all sat down in a booth. Rachel was in Ray's arms. The three of us had gotten beaten. Ray's head was bleeding, Robbie hurt. There was a gunshot that went off, we all jumped. I groaned, I knew my ribs were probably bruised. Rachel got out of his arms and went to sit in Robbie's lap. Ray put his hands over his face and started crying. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and leaned my head on his, I begin crying softly. He wrapped his hand around my head and kissed my forehead. "I love you." He whispered. I sniffled, "I love you, too." "Are you okay?" He asked me. I shook my head and put my face in the crook of his neck. He ran his fingers through my hair. He then looked at Robbie and Rachel to make sure his kids were okay. I leaned my head on his shoulder and looked at Robbie and Rachel. "I'm sorry for the way I talked to you. I can see you truly care and love my dad." Robbie said softly. "It's okay. I truly do, I can't imagine life without him." I said. He kissed my head, "Baby, I can't either." Robbie and Rachel smiled at me. I gave them a small smile back. Rachel then got up and came over to me and gave me a hug. She cried. As soon as she wrapped her arms around me, I broke down as I wrapped my hand around the back of her head. I felt Ray's hand rub my back. She pulled away, "Thank you for being here for us, too." She said as she went back to Robbie. "You're welcome." I whispered.

Ray grabbed my face and kissed me. I kissed him back. He smiled, I smiled back. "Alright, we gotta go. Come on." He got up and held his hand out for me, I put my hand in his, he pulled me up gently, "Are you gonna be okay to walk, baby?" He asked me. "Yeah, I'll be alright, baby. Just help me." I said. "Of course I will." He said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I wrapped mine around his waist. Robbie and Rachel got up. "Okay, wait. We all gotta stay together." We nodded. We started walking out of the diner. People were talking. "Looks like there's still power on here." Rachel said. "Yeah, power's still on because nothing bad has come up from under the ground." Ray said. A railroad crossing bar came down, we stood behind the guard and waited. A train approaches and is on fire. It crossed and we continued walking. Soldiers are telling people which way to go and keep it moving. Ray looked over at me and saw the hurt look on my face. He pulled me gently closer to him, "Tell me the truth, baby. What hurts?" He asked me. I sighed and closed my eyes briefly before opening them back up. "My ribs. I think they're bruised." I said. He looked at Robbie and Rachel. "You two stay right here. I'll be right back." He said. They nodded. He pulled me to a place where there wasn't anybody. "Let me see." He said. I nodded my head and lifted up my shirt, he held it up and his eyes widened. "Baby..." He said. "I know, but I'll be okay, baby." He closed his eyes and nodded. We went back to where Robbie and Rachel were. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder whereas I had mine wrapped around his waist. We then heard someone call him.

"Ray! Ray?" A woman said. "Sheryl?" He said. They hugged. "Oh, my, gosh, are these your kids?" She asked. "Yes, this is Rachel." Ray said. "Hi, I'm Sheryl, this is my daughter Nora. And who's this lovely girl?" She asked. He smiled, "This is my amazing fiancee." "Hi, it's nice to meet you." She said. "It's nice to meet you, too." I said. Rachel was turned looking at the sky while they continued talking, Ray introducing Robbie to her. Rachel was looking at the birds. "The trees are funny." She said to herself. Rachel then grabs her dad's finger and he turns. We all turn around and look at the horizon. A robot puts its foot down, it makes a loud noise again. The crowd begins overrunning the soldiers and cramming onto the ship for safety. "Cast off! Get that ramp up! No more people! We're taking the ramp up!" Someone said. The soldiers create a blockade. Ray looks at me, I hold onto his arm. "You stay with me, okay?" He said. I nodded. "Grab my jacket." He told Sheryl. We all began pushing our way through, but Sheryl is knocked around by some people and she loses the grip she had on his jacket. A few people had run into me causing me to let go of him and fall behind. "Ray! Ray!!" Sheryl and I yelled. Robbie tries to grab my hand, but a soldier stops him. "Let me through! I'm with him!!" I yelled. The ramp begins lifting. Ray looks back at me. "Baby!!?" He shouted. "Ray!!" I yelled. "There's room on the boat!!" He shouted to someone. "Let me through!!" I shouted. "There's still room on the boat!! There's still room!" Ray yelled again. Rachel screams as Ray runs to the bow with her in his arms. "Robbie!?" Rachel yelled. "Stay with me, Robbie!!" Ray said. Robbie ran to the stern. "Robbie!!" Ray yelled. Robbie ignores them. "Grab my hand! Hold on!" Robbie said. Ray looks at him with a look of proud ness on his face.

Robbie then spotted me, "Take my hand!!" He said. "I can't!" I cried, I couldn't reach him. The ship begins to slowly turn toward a hole as it's being sucked in. The robot's arms begin pushing the ship making it lean and tip over. Ray, Robbie, and Rachel are in the water, swimming to get to safety. They all reach the surface. They're all fighting to catch their breath. "Help me with her." Ray said. They pull each other up the hill. "Don't stop. Don't stop." Ray said. Alert sirens were heard. Ray pulls the two of them up and they lay on the hillside to catch their breath. Ray sits up and puts his hands over his face. "Please, don't tell me I just lost her." His voice breaking. "She'll be okay. She can make it. She'll find you." Robbie said. Rachel hugged him. They all got up and started walking. They were walking along a fence line. Robbie was walking ahead of them. "Robbie, slow down!" Rachel said. "Robbie, we gotta stay together. Robbie!!" Ray said. The two duck as a missile came right over their heads. "Get back here!!" Ray shouted at him. Robbie ran to try to get to the army trucks. Ray and Rachel run to try and keep up with Robbie. Ray sets Rachel down next to a tree. "Don't move! I'll be right back!" He told her. Robbie gets thrown on the ground by two soldiers. Ray grabs him and pins him down.

"Why are you doing this?" Ray asked him. Robbie's watching what's going on all around them, not paying attention to his dad. "Listen to me! Turn around! I want you to listen to me!" Ray said. Robbie ignores him. "Listen to me! Don't do this! I love you!" Ray told him. "I need to be here! I need to see this!" Robbie said. "I know it seems like you have to, but you don't! You don't!" Ray said. "Please, let me go!!" Robbie told him. "I'm not letting you do this! You can hate me, but I love you!" Ray told him. "Let me go, please! Dad!!" Robbie said. "Just listen to me!" Ray said. "I need to be here! I want to see this!" Robbie said. "Wait, stay for your sister." Ray said. "Please, let me go! You need to let me go." Robbie said. Ray looked back at Rachel, some couple was trying to take her away. Robbie got up and ran over the hill. Ray ran over to Rachel and got her. "Robbie!!" Ray yelled, but he was out of sight. Meanwhile, I had swam to safety. I was walking alongside some people, I looked up and couldn't believe what I was seeing. "Oh my-" I said with tears in my eyes. "Ray!? Ray!!" I shouted. He looked and his eyes found me, "Oh my-" He started, "Is that-" Rachel started. "Come on." Ray grabbed Rachel's hand and began running to me, I ran to him and met him in the middle, I threw my arms around his neck tightly, buried my face in his chest and cried. He wrapped his arms around my waist tightly and gently squeezed me. "I thought I lost you." He whispered with tears in his eyes. "So did I." He kissed my head as tears ran down his face. I looked up at him, he cupped my face and rubbed his thumbs underneath my eyes, "I love you so much, baby." He said. "I love you so much, too, baby." I said as I cupped his face and wiped his tears away, he chuckled softly. He leaned forward and kissed me hard. I kissed him with everything I had in me. He rested his forehead on mine, closed his eyes and savored the moment that we found each other. I slid my fingers through his hair and held onto him, not wanting to let him go. He kissed my head again.

Rachel then grabbed my hand, I looked at her, she hugged me, I hugged her back. I looked back at my handsome fiancee and smiled. He smiled back. I shivered because I was cold. He noticed, "Here, take my jacket." He took his jacket off and put it around me. I wrapped it around me. "Thank you." I whispered. He smiled and pulled me close to him. "We need to find safety, quickly. Come on." He told us. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, he laced his fingers through mine, lifted my hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it. I giggled. "I missed that laugh." He whispered as he leaned into my ear. I kissed his cheek. He smiled. We then heard someone say, "Over here! Over here!" We looked over at the man and then at each other, "What do you think, sweetheart?" He asked me. I sighed, "I mean, we can't stay out here and we all three have each other, so I think we'll be fine to go." I said. "Okay. Come on, Rach." He grabbed her hand and we went to someone's basement. Ray helped me down the stairs. We went into the main room as the man shut the cellar door. He grabs a lantern and looks at all three of us who are shivering from our damp clothes. "You alright?" He asked Rachel, no response. Then he asked Ray, "And what about you?" Ray looked up at him and looked at the lantern and muttered, "Robbie." quietly.

I looked at him, he shook his head, "He just needed to go, he said." He shrugged. "I'm sorry." I quietly said to him. He smiled softly, "It's alright, baby." I smiled back at him. The man moves a wheel barrel across the floor while Ray, Rachel, and I are at a couch. "I'll be over here while you guys talk." Rachel was quick to grab my hand, "Please, stay. My dad loves you and I love you." She said with tears in her eyes. My eyes grew teary. "She's right. I do love you, so don't you dare go anywhere. You're exactly where you should be." He held my hand. I nodded. "I love you both." I whispered. He kissed my cheek. I was sitting beside him as he was on his knees at Rachel's side. She was so tired. "Dad?" Rachel said. "He's gonna meet us, Rach. In Boston, at your grandma's." He said. "What do you think mom's doing right this minute?" She asked him on the verge of crying. "Mom? She's in Boston. Waiting. And I know she's not sleeping cause she's so worried about you. And they're all just counting down the minutes until they see you again." Ray said trying to comfort her. She's crying because she misses them. "What is this?" He asked, picking up her ribbon. "I won." She said. "You won?" He asked. "The walk, trot, and canter. Third place." She said tiredly. "Sing me Lullaby and Goodnight?" She asked him. "I don't remember that one." He said. "Sing me Hushabye Mountain?" She asked. "I'm sorry, Rach. I don't know that one either." He said. Rachel turned her back to Ray.

Ray began to sing, "I'm not bragging, baby. So don't put me down, because I've the fastest set of wheels in town. Something comes up to me that don't even try." Rachel turns back over. "If I had a set of wings, man, I know she could fly. She's my little deuce coupe. You don't know what I've got, just my little deuce coupe, you don't know what I've got." He finished in a whisper. Rachel was asleep and Ray kissed her forehead, I saw a tear fall down his face. I put my hand on his back and rubbed it comfortingly. He sat down beside me, wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. I laid my head on his chest and cried softly. He pulled me closer and rubbed my arm lovingly as he kissed my head. "Hey, shh, I'm right here, baby. We're gonna be okay, I promise you." He said quietly. He lifted my head from his chest, rubbing his thumbs underneath my eyes and wiped my tears. I sniffled and exhaled deeply. "How are you feeling? Do your ribs still hurt?" He asked me. "I'm okay, baby. And yeah, more times than others, but it's alright." I said as I looked at him. "I'm sorry. I wish I could help them to not." He said. "Ray, it's okay. I promise. I'm right here with you and that's all that matters to me." I leaned forward and kissed him. "Me too, baby." He kissed me back and smiled. I smiled back.

Chapter Text

The man taps three glasses together, Ray and I get up and start walking towards him. He hands us a drink. Ray sits down in a chair, he pats his lap, I chuckled softly and sat down on his lap. "I know this isn't the best drink, but that's all I've found." The man said. "Thank you." Ray said. Silence falls. "I'm sorry about your son." He said. "We got separated... He's gonna meet us in um, in Boston." Ray said. I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and played with his hair. He wraps his arm around my waist and rubs circles into my hip. "Did you... Did you lose anybody?" He whispered. "All of them." The man said. "I'm sorry." I whispered. "Harland Ogilvy." He introduced himself. "Ray Ferrier and this is my fiancee." He introduced us. We shook hands. I kept closing and opening my eyes, I was tired. Ray looked at me and chuckled softly, "Sleepy, baby?" He asked. "Yeah." I chuckled softly. "Come on. Let's get some sleep." He said. I nodded. "I got water and food. Enough for weeks. You're welcome to stay, all of you." Harland said. Ray and I got up. "I'm sorry. We're gonna get some sleep." He said as he grabbed my hand. "Those machines, those tripods they got, they buried them right under our feet. Since before there were even people here. They've been planning this for a million years." He spoke loud enough causing Ray to stop.

Ray looks at him. "Please, my daughter." He said. Harland kept talking. "This is an extermination." Ray and I walk over to where Rachel's sleeping. "Are you afraid?" He asked. "Of course I am." Ray told him. Harland kept going on his job on the ambulance. "You know the people who make it, Ray? The ones that don't flat-line before the hospital? It's the ones who keep their eyes open, keep looking at you, keep thinking. There the ones who survive, we can't lose our heads, Ray. Running, that's what'll kill you. I'm dead set on livin." He chuckles at his joke. I held onto Ray's arm. He put his hand on mine. Harland walks back over to where he was sitting. "Thank you for taking us in." Ray said as we walked to the couch. He sat down and leaned his back against the couch. He pulled me down gently. "Now, come on, baby. You need to sleep." He said as he rested my head on his lap. I smiled. "So do you, baby." I said. "I'm fine, I promise." He told me. I rested my hand on his cheek, he leaned into it, "Ray, please, get some sleep. If anyone needs it, you do." I said softly. He kissed my palm and nodded. He took my hand and intertwined our fingers together. I had my head on his lap, he leaned down and kissed the top of my head. We fell asleep.

The ground started shaking from the robots outside. Ray and I get up as we hear a loud noise. A piece of the corner of the basement collapsed. He grabbed my hand. "It's okay! Come on, I wanna show you something!" Harland told him. "Stay with her, please." He nodded to Rachel. "Of course, baby." I smiled. He smiled back and walked toward the window. "We're gonna fight them, Ray. They gotta have a weakness. Come on, take a look." He said. They both see the robots. "Somehow they killed a few of these things in Osaka. You telling me the Japanese can figure it out, but we can't?" He told him. Rachel grabbed my hand, I held onto it. Ray came back over to us, he picked up Rachel and we went someplace else. "We can do it. We can get 'em. We can figure it out." Harland said. Ray sets Rachel down in a chair. "Stay right there!" He told her. I put my hand on her shoulder as Ray opens a window and looks outside. The robots were skimming the ground as if they were tilling up the soil. "I have a daughter!" He said. "Why did you bring us here?" I asked. He walked back over to Rachel and I. "To fight 'em together, Ray. We'll take 'em by surprise." Harland said. Ray put his hands over his face, I put my hand on his shoulder. "We're right under their feet, Ray." He said and walked off.

Ray stood up and looked at me. He held my hips, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get us in a mess with him." He closed his eyes. I reached up and cupped his face. "Baby, look at me." I said. He looked up. I smiled, "Neither of us knew we were gonna get in this mess with him. But we're here together, all three of us." I said. "Together, sweetheart." He kissed my lips quickly and smiled softly. Rachel took our hands. "Are you okay, Rach?" I asked her. She shrugged, "I am. I think." Ray bent down in front of her, "We're right here. We're gonna be alright. Okay, Rach?" He said. She nodded. Ray took my hand and we looked out the window. We looked at the red plant that's growing wildly. He felt some of it and studied it. "What is that?" I asked. "I have no idea." He said. We heard talking, Rachel was sitting on the steps next to the man and he was asking her questions. "You know, if anything happens to your daddy, I'll take care of you." He said to her. Ray started walking towards them. "Rachel!" He said. She runs towards him, he pointed to beside him. She stood behind a wall. "You don't have anything to say to her, do you understand? If you wanna talk to somebody, or ask somebody a question, you ask me!" He said to Harland. "And her?" He pointed to me. "You don't talk to her, either." Ray told him. "What exactly is your plan, Ray? I know what I'm gonna do. How about you? You gonna sit here, wait for them to come get you? Is that your plan?" Harland asked as he walked around to different parts of the basement. "Maybe you wanna get caught." Harland said.

The robots had stopped moving outside causing the rumbling to stop. He looked over at me, "Listen. It stopped." He said. I nodded. The man kept talking and not paying attention to what Ray was saying. "Will you shut up and listen!!?" Ray yelled. Pieces of wood come falling down and a robot camera comes in the hole. Ray hides behind the stairs. I grabbed Rachel as we hid. Ray goes to the couch and is moving around it to not be seen. Ray looks at Rachel and I, he motions us to him after the robot goes elsewhere, we quickly go to where he is. He grabs Rachel and I move behind him. Harland grabs an ax to cut off the camera from its limb. Ray shakes his head no as he convinces him not to do it. The man goes toward Ray, so we can hide together, but he hits a cabinet full of glass and it makes a loud noise. I closed my eyes and shook my head. The robot turns and we run to a different spot. It got closer to us. Ray grabbed a mirror and put it in front of a doorway to try to trick it into seeing another robot. It looked over the mirror and luckily didn't see us. It turns around, but then Rachel's boot slides, making a noise. Ray grabbed her. We move to the middle of the basement.

Rachel was sitting in a chair. The aliens came into the basement and started looking and messing with things. Harland loads the gun he had in his arms and aims it to fire at one of them. Ray went over and pulled back the gun. "Give me that!" He whispered. I was holding onto Rachel. They are in a silent fight for the gun. He then pins Ray against the wall and forces him down to the ground to try and get the gun from his grasp. The aliens keep looking through things. Ray lets go of the gun and Harland jerks it away from him just as the vibration noise is heard from the robot. The aliens hurry out through the hole. He comes down to Ray, who is now sitting on the floor. "You and I... I don't think we're on the same page." Harland said. He moved away. I moved over to him, he sighed and reached up to touch my cheek, I leaned into his hand and kissed his palm. He ran his fingers through my hair. "Are you okay?" He asked me. "A little freaked out, but other than that, I'm fine." I gave him a small smile, he smiled back and got up. I got up with him, he pulled me close to him, hugging me, "It's gonna be okay. We're gonna get out of this. I promise." I nodded and kissed his lips quickly, he kissed back. He then looked over at Rachel and asked her if she was okay, she nodded and smiled softly. "Thank you for watching out for her." He told me. "Of course." I smiled.

Ray was at the window holding his hand out to the mist that was entering through the window. He retracts his hand and turns it over to reveal blood. I looked at him with a scared look on my face, "It's okay, baby." He whispered to me. I nodded. Harland then starts yelling Ray's name. "Keep your voice down! Quiet!" Ray told him. Harland turns around and his whole face is covered in spots of blood. They turn around and Harland runs. I went behind Ray, watching out the window with him seeing a man being set down, fighting to be let go. A needle object comes down and stabs the man. We both have a horrifying look on our face. Harland then says over and over again, "Not my blood!" "You've gotta do something or something's gonna happen to us if he doesn't shut up." I said. "I know." He said. Ray ran to Harland who is digging a hole. "Stop it! You gotta stop it! You gotta be quiet or they'll hear you!" He told him. The man was freaking out. "They drink us!" He said. Ray continued telling him to be quiet, Harland kept going on and on. "They're gonna come back down here!" Ray said. Harland lost it. "Do you understand what I'm gonna have to do? I can't let my daughter and fiancee die because of you." He told him. The man isn't paying attention, he kept digging a tunnel. "This tunnel will get us to the city. We'll have our own tunnels there. Ready made! Subway, see what I'm saying!" He said. "Stop it!" Ray said. Harland kept talking about an army and going underground. "Stop it!" Ray told him.

Chapter Text

Ray grabs him by the arm just as he hits Ray on the forehead with a shovel. Ray lets go and lies in a dirt pile next to Harland. "We're the resistance, Ray! They can't occupy this country! This is our land." Harland said. Ray runs up the stairs where Rachel and I are standing. Ray hugged Rachel. He sets her down on the couch and wraps a cloth over her eyes. "What're you doing?" She asked. "Whatever you hear, don't take this off. And she's gonna be right here beside you." He told her. "Dad?" She said. "Rach?" Ray said. "Dad?" Rachel said. "What was that song... That lullaby I didn't know?" He asked her. "Hushabye Mountains." She said. "Yeah. Please, Rach, sing it." He told her. Rachel begins to sing it. "Don't stop." Ray said. She keeps singing. "That's my girl." Ray kisses her hands and has her put them over her ears. He looked over at me, cupped my face and rested his forehead to mine. I had tears in my eyes, he rubbed his thumbs underneath them. "I have to do something, baby. I can't lose you two." He whispered. I closed my eyes, "I know, baby. I can't lose you, either." I said softly. He kissed my forehead, "I love you." He said. "I love you, too." I whispered.

He walked back to Harland and shut the door. Rachel kept singing. A fight occurred and then it went silent. Ray opens the door and walks out, he sits down on the stairs. Rachel and I went over to him. I sat beside him as Rachel sat in his lap, putting his arms around her. I wrapped my arm around his waist. He looked at me and let out a shaky breath. I leaned my head on him and kissed his shoulder. We then all laid down to get some rest. Rachel was wide awake and she set up and then screamed. The robot camera is close to her face, she ran to the wall as Ray hit it and then grabbed the ax and began hitting it some more. Ray and I were trying to stop it. Rachel ran up the stairs. The robot finally pulls away and is pulled out of the hole. "Rachel?" I said as he grabbed my hand. Rachel lets out a scream. "Rachel!!" Ray yelled. "No." He said to himself. We ran up the stairs and searched the house for her. "Whatever you do, stay with me and behind me." He told me. I nodded. "Rachel?" We were both calling her. Ray opened the front door to find the vines covering it, he moved them off quickly. We stepped out and continued looking for her. "Rachel, make some noise, baby." He said. "Rachel?" I said. We walked further out. "Rachel? Talk to me, baby. Come on!" Ray said. We kept calling for her.

We ran to a truck and hid, the robot's claw broke through the window and flipped the truck causing it to roll. We both yelled. We then heard Rachel scream. She's standing at the top of a hill. The robot grabbed Rachel. Ray pulled me out and we ran to an army vehicle and he found a belt of grenades. He took one off and removed a pin and threw it at the robot. "Hey!!" He yelled. It grabbed both of us and threw us in a cage with some other people. "Ray." I patted his shoulder and pointed to Rachel. We went over to her. "Rachel." He said as he held her face. "Dad?" She said. I touched her shoulder. Ray was about to say something, but the cage shifted, tossing all of us around. The door opened to grab another person, it grabbed Ray, Rachel was holding onto him, he moved her arms from around his neck and grabbed the grenades. A soldier held onto his arm and told the people to pull him. We began pulling him and Ray down. "We got him! Keep pulling!" The soldier said. We pulled and finally got them, we fell back into the cage. Ray spits out two grenade pins. "Everybody down!" The soldier told us. The robot explodes, the cage was released and fell into a tree. It opened and we climbed out.

The two of us looked at Ray, I chuckled softly, "Very nice move there, baby." He chuckled and kissed my cheek. He took our hands and we walked away. We had made it to Boston, we were walking down the road. The soldiers are ushering everyone and telling us to keep moving. The crows were eating the red plants which were dying quickly. Ray picks up a piece of it. "What happened to it?" Rachel asked. He crumples it up, it turns to dust and blows away. "It's dying." He said. We kept walking and saw a robot lying half struck into a building. "What happened?" I asked. "I don't know, something's happening to them. Please keep moving." A soldier said. "Something's happening to them?" Ray asked. The kept telling us to go. "Excuse me, what happened here? You guys take it down?" He asked another soldier. "No, sir, it was behaving erratically, walking in circles then it went down on its own about an hour ago. Now let's keep moving." He said. We were walking down the road with everyone. "How is it dead all by itself?" Rachel asked. "Rachel, I'm not sure." Ray said. There was another robot, we were moving to get somewhere safe. Ray stopped and noticed the birds flying over and landing on the robot. Its shields were down. As he began to speak, the vibration noise started again. "Look at the birds!" He told them. "I can't hear you!" A soldier said. "Look at the birds!" He kept telling them, but louder. It's fighting to stay alive. "No shields!" Ray yelled. "I can't hear you!" He said. "No shields!" Ray yelled as he pointed. The soldier looked, finally getting it. "The javelin's the key! It's gonna be a tough kill, let's go!" The soldier said.

Ray, Rachel, and I get into a tunnel. People were running out. "It's safer in here!" Ray said. "Let's go! Bring out the javelin!" A soldier said. Ray had Rachel in his arms, I was behind him, Rachel was screaming. "It's okay. You're gonna be okay. I love you." He told Rachel. The soldier fired missiles at the robot and it collapses. It quickly died. "It's clear!" A soldier said. We walked out and watched the alien turn to stone and die. We were down the street to Rachel's mother's house. We arrive and she opens the front door, she sees Ray with Rachel in his arms, she comes out, Rachel gets out of his arms and they run toward each other. "Mom!!" Rachel said. They hug each other crying. I had tears in my eyes, I grabbed Ray's hand and held it. He squeezed my hand. Mary Ann looks at him and mouths, "Thank you. Both of you." Her parents and husband look at us. Ray suddenly sees Robbie coming down the steps towards him. They look at each other. "Hey, dad." Robbie said. They hug each other. Robbie then looks at me and hugs me. I hug him back with tears in my eyes. He then went back towards everyone else and they all went inside giving Ray and I a moment alone.

I wrapped my arms around him, buried my face into the crook of his neck and cried. He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and began crying softly. We held onto each other for a moment until he wiped his eyes and pulled my face gently away from his neck. I kept my arms around him, he cupped my face and rubbed his thumbs underneath my eyes, wiping my tears. He brought me forward and kissed me. I kissed him back, he smiled. He pulled away and looked at me. "You sure you still wanna marry me?" He laughed. I laughed, "Hmm... Do I still wanna marry you? After everything we just went through together, yes, of course I do!" I kissed him. He rested his forehead on mine and held me closer to him. "I love you, baby." He said. "I love you, too, baby." I smiled. "I don't know where we go from here." He said quietly. I cupped his face, "But we'll figure it out together." I rubbed my thumbs underneath his eyes before I hugged him, he hugged me back. He took my hand and intertwined his fingers with mine. "Come on. Let's go." I nodded and squeezed his hand.

It was a month later and we had finally got married. We found a place in Boston. His kids had stayed with us, they went home a couple days later. We were in our bedroom, I had my head on his chest, I looked up at him. "I just wanna say thank you for keeping me safe and protecting me through everything that happened." I rested my hand on his chest, he put his hand on top of mine and shook his head. "It's my job, baby. I would do anything to keep you safe." He said as he kissed me, I kissed him back. "I love you, Ray Ferrier." I smiled at him. "I love you, too, Mrs. Ferrier." He smiled back at me. I cuddled closer to him, closed my eyes and kissed his neck, sighing contently. He held me tighter in his arms and kissed the top of my head.