As the cry of the newborn was heard in the delivery room, the mother could only wonder what life would bring her precious baby boy. Clearly, she wished him fortune and fame, perhaps a career in football or the CEO of a large institution. But like all new mothers she could not predict the future and only time would tell. But as she held her newborn all she wished was for him to have a better life than she had,
Trevor was typical of most children growing up. Sometimes lady luck worked in his favor and other times it didn't. Like the time Trevor fell out of a tree and only got a bump his head. But another time he broke his arm and leg after being hit by a car. There were no major catastrophes for the first fourteen years of his life, but at the age of fifteen things took a turn for the worse.
“Mom! Hurry up! I’m going to be late for school!” Trevor tapped his foot impatiently and glared at the bathroom door as his mother prepared for her workday. “Okay, give me a moment” she said, as she did her hair. Leaving the bathroom, she grabbed her keys, and out the door they went. Soon enough, they arrived at school. “Have a good day!” she said with a smile on her face. Trevor nodded. “Okay, remember I'm walking home after football practice,” he yelled as he closed the car door.
The school day passed by slowly. For Trevor it was like living in a vortex that repeated itself over and over again. First period, the Math teacher yelled about missing homework, Trevor couldn’t find his assignment again. Second period, the Gym teacher hustled the kids as they ran the mile. Third period, English; writing, writing and more writing. Thank God for lunch, the only time Trevor had a chance to catch his breath, but sadly it was the only time of the day that seemed to fly by faster than the rest. Fourth period, Physics, fifth period Biology, and finally Health. It was an uneventful day but Trevor was glad it was over. Now it was time for football practice. Trevor loved the thrill of a good scrimmage. The idea of having four guys latched onto your ankles as you carried the football across the goal line was the best feeling in the world. But like all good things they always come to an end. So Trevor changed into his street closed and began his walk home.

It was late October, and Trevor could feel the cool autumn breeze on his face as he left the high school. The sun was setting and the sky was filled with beautiful orange and red highlights. As Trevor turned on Alcott road the streetlights came on. By the time he got to Adams Street it was almost completely dark. The air became cooler, and Trevor pulled his hoodie up over his head.
Finally, he reached the alley, only a few more streets before he would be home. Trevor always hated walking through the alley it was very dark and often times there were homeless people sleeping near the trashcans. Even more disturbing was the howling and screeching of the stray cats fighting over food in the dumpsters. It was the kind of sound that made shivers run up and down your spine. But this particularly night Trevor felt something else. He could feel the hair stand up on the back of his neck. The alley was so dark he could only see as far as his arms could reach. He shook it off as just him being silly, but nonetheless he picked up the pace of his stride. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck and the world faded to black.

Trevor woke up completely dazed. He had no idea where he was or what was happening. He could hear the sounds of sirens in the distance and helicopters hovering overhead. People ran frantically everywhere. Firemen were sprayed water on demolished buildings. Others were aided people who had been injured. Then Trevor’s world went dark again.

After several minutes, Trevor woke up again to a girl wrapping his head. “Hey!” Trevor said, as he tried to get up. The girl responded, “Sit back down!” as she grabbed his shirt pulling him to the ground. Trevor responding “Why?” backing up, “Your head is bleeding,” she said. Trevor touching his head and looked at his hand seeing the blood. “Oh!” Trevor still stunned and dazed sat down on a pile of rubble. “What happened? He asked. In a serious tone she responded, “Las Angeles has been bombed. You were lucky to be standing in the alley because it shielded you from the blast.” Trevor responding in a shocked voice, “Is my family ok? What your name?” She replied, “The National Guard has evacuated most everyone except for a few people they thought to be dead.” “Sadly, there was no warning of the attack and currently we have no radio or cell phone service due to the blast.” “I heard we have to head north to the evacuation camps.” “Oh, my name is Taylor, what’s your name?” “Trevor, he responded, I’m 16.” “I need to find my family, I need to make sure they are okay.” Taylor finished wrapping his head and helped him to his feet. “I’m 17, lets go find your family.” They head down the ally. As they turned on Knox road all they could see was devastation. Trees we uprooted and thrown into buildings, cars turned upside down and smashed, and the smell of smoke from burning buildings was overwhelming. Taylor looks at Trevor, “This is crazy, how are we ever going to find your family, or even get out of here?“ Trevor responded, “How? Who?” “I don't know, but we better find shelter, it’s going to be dark soon,” she said. With Taylor holding Trevor’s arm they crossed several streets and finally found an abandon building. “I’ll make a fire and we should try to get some sleep.” Taylor said.

It seemed the night passed quickly, as the sun glimmered through the window. Neither felt rested, so they decided to head to the gas station down the road to look for supplies. The building was still standing but clearly was very unstable. Together they decided it would be safer and easier to enter through the window. Trevor grabbed a block of wood from the ground, stepped back like he was ready to hit a home run and swung with all his might. The glass shattered and fell across the ground. They climbed inside and began frantically grabbing supplies off of the shelves. Behind the counter Trevor found a gun. “We might need this for protection,” he said. Taylor was grabbing matches and lighter fluid around the corner. Suddenly they both stopped. “Did you hear that?” “Shhhh..” Trevor said. I few seconds later they heard the noise again, Trevor yelled out, “Hello anyone there?” There was no response. Suddenly a man jumped out from behind the cooler door and pulled out a knife. Taylor yelled, “Were not here to..” BANG! The man dropped to the ground. Taylor yelled, “You shot him!” No response from Trevor, The man lied on the ground gasping for air. Trevor says softly, “Lets get what’s left of the water and food and get out of here.” Taylor nodded. A few minutes later the man was lifeless on the floor. Taylor could not believe what happened. They both scurried around getting the rest of their supplies and headed out the window with everything they could carry. As they trudged down the street Taylor asked, “Why did you shoot him?” Trevor responded, “I shot him to protect us!” Taylor says softy “Thanks, I was really scared.”

They started walking north as Taylor had suggested earlier, she figured it would be about 20 miles from ground zero to the camp. They could not believe the devastation. Many stores had been looted; there was lots of debris in their way. They spent many hours trying to climb over and under things to get to the camp. It was starting to get dark again so they decided to find shelter for the evening. They were very tired and had no problem falling asleep. In the morning they gathered up their supplies and began walking north. A few hours later, off in the distance they could see a gate. Trevor seemed shocked, Taylor started running. Trevor called out “Wait Up, Taylor!” All Trevor could see was dead bodies laying everywhere and several guards protecting the gate.

Trevor shoots up, looks around, and sees a man in a white coat standing over him. He shakes his head and adjusts his gaze. It was at that moment he realized his mother was sitting beside him holding his hand. With a shiver in his voice Trevor asks, “Where am I?” “The hospital,” his mother says. “You passed out in the alley and smacked your head on one of the dumpsters. You have been out for 3 days” “How are you feeling?” “Are you Okay?” “Yes, I had a bad dream.” Trevor said, “but I think I’m okay.” The doctor ran a few more tests then released Trevor from the hospital.

That evening Trevor got ready for his first day back to school. He knew he would have a lot of homework to catch up on, so decided to go to bed early. As he lay in his bed he couldn’t help but think about that crazy dream he had while in the hospital. But it wasn’t long before he was fast asleep. The next morning “Mom! Hurry up! I’m going to be late for school!” Trevor tapped his foot impatiently at the bathroom door as his mother was preparing for her workday. “Okay, give me a moment” she said, as she did her hair. She completed her task, grabbed her keys, and out the door they went. Soon enough they arrived at school. “Have a good day!” she said with a smile on her face. Trevor nodded “Okay, remember I'm walking home after football practice,” He yelled as he closed the car door.
The school day passed by slowly. For Trevor it was like living in a vortex that repeated itself over and over again.