Left For Dead [malec fanfiction] [complete]

Eight: Aftermath

"Anything?"

Alec pressed his ear up against the door. "I don't hear anything. You try."

Jace pressed his own ear against the door and strained to listen. He shook his head. "Nothing. No wind or hail. Just an eerie silence."

Alec stomped back downstairs where the rest of the group was. "Okay. Jace and I think the storm passed so let's go see what the damage is like."

Magnus didn't know how much time had passed. There were no clocks to distinguish the time of day anywhere in the basement. Coincidentally, Jace's watch had stopped because it had a crack going down the middle of it. Perfect timing. No pun intended.

Alec slowly opened the door. There was something blocking the doorway so he shoved as hard as he could. When the door finally opened enough for them to fit through, they all filed out of the basement one by one.

"Jesus....." Alec breathed.

"What the fuck....." Jace fell over a piece of wood. "Is this even our house?"

The house was in ruins. The part that used to be the living room was completely gone, the wall now laying flat on the ground and their furniture sprawled all over the lawn and road. A part of the staircase was smashed in as well. Magnus could even see bits of shingle from the roof scattered all around the remainder of the house.

"Oh my god...." Isabelle covered her mouth with a hand. "The storm did this?"

Alec's throat was dry as he spoke. "I guess so...."

"It destroyed our home, Alec!" She exclaimed in a panicky tone.

"Yes I can see that, Isabelle!" Alec shouted. He closed his eyes in an attempt to regain control of his emotions. "Everyone just stay calm. I'm going to go check the town. Maybe some people are holed up in the town hall and need help. Then I'll grab some supplies and come right back. Nobody move."

"I'll go with you," Simon said. "I need to see if Maureen is okay."

"I'll come too," Magnus said. "I don't have any friends or family here but I'd like to help anyway." Of course, nobody knew his double agenda. All he wanted to do was find his weapons and get the hell out of this freaky town before something bad happens again. He knew there was a good chance that his weapons might be gone, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

"Stay close. We don't know what happened with everyone...." Alec cringed. Magnus assumed he really meant "We don't know who's dead or who's alive. Or who came back from the dead."

Their small group walked through the streets while assessing the damage to the other houses. Some were still standing with no damage at all and others were completely knocked down altogether. Magnus knew New York weather was crazy and unpredictable sometimes but this was just insane. He'd never seen so much wreckage before due to a hailstorm. This was definitely new to him.

"Alec," Simon whispered. "Stop."

Alec paused. "Why? What's wrong?" Simon was pointing at something off in the distance. Squinting, Alec could see movement up ahead. "It's probably one of ours. A survivor. Hey! Hello! Are you okay?!"

Magnus gripped Alec's shoulder. "I don't think it's a smart idea to be shouting-"

"It's Raj! I can see him. Raj! Are you alright?"

Magnus felt his heart starting to beat faster the closer they approached this Raj guy. "Alec we should really turn back-"

Alec ignored him and reached for Raj. A snarl ripped from Raj's throat and Alec stumbled backwards onto the pavement. Raj had fully turned around to reveal pale green skin with black veins running through his face and arms. His eyes were covered over in a white film and half of his face was ripped off, revealing the solid bone of his skull.