The whirring of the large robotic hornets got louder.

Leon shouted, "Did someone call my name?"

Nana bellowed, "Leon, how can you hear anything? It sounds like we're on a helicopter landing strip!"

Leon cocked his head and focused his ears. He blocked out the noise all around him. The whining tweens, the barking dogs, the complaining bear, his platoon leaders shouting orders faded into the distance. He focused until he could only hear the sound of his own name being called from far off.

Leon turned to Marina. "It's coming from The Wood"s Shoppe! I've gotta go!"

Marina grabbed his arm. "The Wood's Shoppe is gone. It's too dangerous."

As the wind picked up sand began blowing in tornado-like formations around them. Leon pulled away from his grandmother and ran back into town.

Only moments before the bay had resembled a sea of glass. Now the hefty ship offshore began to rock and quake in the surf. Due to its size it couldn't get near the dock. The captain dropped anchor a half mile out to sea.

SOD clung in a nearby swaying pine. He enjoyed watching the earthlings scramble. He especially enjoyed them losing their cool. "These so-called believers make me sick. Oh they're happy when everything is going their way and they've got mushy food in their bellies. Send a violent sandstorm, a few dozen combat drones... Throw in a swarm of demon-hornets and their whole world falls apart." He perched lower in the tree to get a better view and asked, "How do you like me now?"

As the wind picked up the sergeant ordered everyone to crouch down near an old chain link fence behind the dunes. Soon everyone huddled together like a company of red ants. With their backs to the wind they were impervious to the stinging pelting sand.

---

In minutes Leon made the mile trip to what was, The Woods Shoppe. He saw Izzy desperately clawing her way through the ashes looking for the former hatch to Marina's underground lair. Two odd looking boys were trying to stop her.

Murdok shouted at her, "Izzy it's no use!" They've gone. This place is a warzone!"

Izzy ignored him.

Murdok pleaded, "Come on Izzy. The whole place could collapse from under you. It's not stable!"

Izzy refused to listen and kept clawing in the ash. "They're under here! Don't you get it? It's our only hope. We've gotta hide the kids from the drones!"

Panney crouched down next to Izzy. "I'll help you." He began digging too. He didn't believe anyone could still be alive under the charred collapsed buildings but he focused on supporting his friend.

Murdok grunted and joined the digging frenzy.

Even with the world falling apart Leon snuck up behind Izzy and tapped her on the shoulder. He smirked and asked, "Whatcha doin' Missy?"

Izzy jumped up, spun around. Shocked, she exclaimed, "You!"

Leon smiled showing off his dimples. He pointed to himself and said, "Me."

Izzy stared into Leon's big brown eyes. She noticed his perfectly frocked afro was full of sand.

Leon stared into Izzy's red swollen eyes. Her face was covered in soot which only made her green eyes pop.

Spontaneously they fell into one another's arms and Izzy did something completely out of character. She cried.

Tears streamed down her sooty face leaving behind trails of clean skin. Leon pulled a blue bandana from his back pocket and dabbed Izzy eyes. He smudged the soot down her face.

Izzy sniffled and gasped. Holding back the tears she said, "I think you're making it worse." Everyone laughed.

For the first time Leon noticed the wolf-boy and Panney's twisted frame. He wondered who these boys were but he had no time for pleasantries. The angry hornet sound grew closer and the ashes began swirling all around them.

Leon took Izzy by the hand and tugged. "We've gotta get out of here!"

Izzy froze. "We have to get our friends!"

Leon asked, "There's more of you?"

Murdok said, "Come on Panny let's get them."

As the two boys ran to the cattle trucks Leon pulled Izzy into a close embrace.

"I'm such a mess! I probably smell bad." She pushed her sooty blond hair away from her forehead.

"I don't mind." Leon spoke sincerely, " You're still the prettiest girl I've ever seen."

Izzy joked, "I'm probably the only girl you've ever seen."

"I could meet ten thousand girls and you'd still be the one. Leon pulled Izzy close and they kissed their first kiss. It was sooty. It was sandy. It was salty. It was perfect.

Just then the boys returned with almost 200 children in tow. Leon's eyes got wide. Nana had prophesied for years how one day she'd be taking care of an army. Now here they were, a group of misfit children unlike he'd ever seen. He saw a girl with webbed fingers, conjoined twins, toddlers with cleft palates.  Some children walked on their own, others carried tiny deformed babies in their arms. He noticed many children crawling while others hobbled along on missing limbs. He remembered a line from a song his nana taught him:

Let the weak say I am strong, let the poor say I am rich...

Izzy spoke to Leon, "Leon meet the former Tunnel Children. Children this is my... friend..."

Leon corrected her, "I'm her boyfriend Leon."

Izzy smiled shyly.

Leon reached down and picked up a little boy with missing feet. "What's your name little man?"

"I'm Bucks," said the boy with blond hair sticking straight up.

"Did you see a ghost?" Leon teased and tousled his hair.

Nissa raised her little nub, "And I'm Princess Nissa!"

"Are you now?" He picked up Nissa and placed her on his other hip."

"Well Princess Nissa, Bucks and all of my new friends we gotta scoot! And fast! This way folks!"

Leon led them back down the worn desire path to the docks. Izzy followed at the rear making sure no child was left behind.

-End of Chapter 47-

Authors note: I think I have one more chapter to go! Maybe two? I am enjoying the ending so hopefully you will too! Thank you for your support. Your votes your comments your reads your edits! You're the best!
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