Aaron opened his eyes. He was staring up at the roof of a building devastated by the expansion of the sun. Now just rusted ruins and filled with orange sand. He blinked then remembered. He was woken by groans of pain coming from next to him. He took off the dirty, sun bleached sheets and got up. He walked over to a lump on the floor with old, ragged blankets pulled over it. The thin sheet beneath it showed signs of movement. He got closer to see an older woman with long, messy dark brown hair laying on her back. He knelt next to her. The cracks around her mouth showed signs of the sickness. She moaned again.
     Her lips were black like burn marks and her eyes were as red as the sun.
    "Hey, mom." He whispered and put a hand on her blanket covered shoulder. She flinched and looked at him.
    She relaxed and smiled. He smiled faintly back. She put her hands on his face softly and rubbed them gently. Her hands were ruff but he did not care. It was still his mother.
    "Oh, my son..." She whispered with a horse voice and coughed a dry cough. He quickly place a hand on hers as she stroked him. They were now cracked and blackened. They were not her soft loving hands anymore. Aaron looked at her and slowly got up and her hands fell to her sides.
     He turned and went to an old rusty looking stove with pans on it. The sand made a low crunching sound as he walked with his bare feet. The building around him was slanted to the left, revealing broken windows and other rooms above. It was the only thing left after the burning for them to stay in. They didn't have beds, only sheets on the ground and packs as pillows. The clothes they wore were dirty and torn in spots and bleached because of the sun. The boy's skin was tan and burnt in some spots, showing signs of radiation and the intensity of the sun outside.
   It was a hard world to live in but yet they still survived.
     "Which one, honey roasted beans or rare pancakes?" He said and looked back. His mother sat up painfully. Her dark blue dress now grey.
    "Pancakes, that would be... Be nice." She croaked and coughed again. He rushed and gave her water. She gulped it down. He sighed and got up again and took out a match. He scraped it against the side of the box and lit it.
Aaron tossed it into a pile of wood in the stove and it caught. He placed the tray on the burner and poured a bag of wet pancake batter into it. They started sizzling. He looked around and waited. Listening to the silence around them. A low rumbling sound came from above and he gasped.
A helicopter! He thought in fear. They were coming. He quickly ran for his pack and stuffed the rags into it the tossed it over his shoulder. He then ran to his mothers side and shook her. She gave him a wary look.
"My darling, you will have to leave without me... I am to weak to move anywhere. Just leave me." She whispered as her head nodded.
"No, Mama, I just can't!" He croaked as he started to cry.
"But you must." She urged him. He shook his head frantically. She put her fingers through his light brown hair. His bangs swishing over his eyes.
"Over here!" He voice called from in the hallway. He shot up and looked out in terror. Tears staining his face.
"You must hide now!" His mother shoved him and he stumbled behind the stove, holding his breath as many footsteps echoed outside.
They soon enter their room. He peaked out from behind and his eyes widened. They are wearing light grey full body suites with helmets like what a motorcyclist would wear. They were all holding large guns.
Aaron quivered back in fear as they circled the room with the guns held at aiming position. Two pointed them at his mother.
"Do you have any children?" He ordered in a harsh tone. She shook her head "no". They did not believe her.
"I will asked again. Do you have any children!?" He yelled. She just shook her head again.
"Search the premises." He ordered and motioned to the others. They nodded and started to kick back sheets and rocks. His breath rattled in his chest as he scooted back. Tears ran swiftly down the boy's face. He stared ahead as they got closer to his hide out.
Something colder moved to the back of his head making him freeze in terror. It bucked his head as it was rocked forwards.
"Found one." A girl said from behind him. Her voice sounded like is was being spoken from a radio. He was to afraid to look behind him.
"Get up." She ordered and pushed the gun into his hair. He closed his eyes and screwed up his face then got up. Tears leaking through the fear.
"How old are you?" The man asked. He didn't answer. "What is your age, kid!" The man screamed this time and the lot surrounded him.
He flinched back. "Twe—twelve!" He said back fear clear in his voice.
"The younger the better." The man rumbled and grabbed him my the arm and yanked him.
"Aaron!" His mother shrieked from behind. The sound of loaded guns echoed through the air.
"Kill her." The man said with no emotion. His voice scratchy.
Aaron pulled and screamed as he heard what the man said.
"NO! MOM! LET ME GO!" He screamed as he tried to reach her as they lined up around her. He pulled and yanked at the two hands grasping his arms but they didn't even open a little.
She looked at him with sad and wide eyes as they took him out of the door.
It seemed to pass in slow motion as the people pulled the trigger and he yanked to become free.
There were loud bangs as the guns let go of the bullets. They shot her in the chest and head. He stopped struggling and gaped as blood spattered the walls behind her. His eyes went wide as tears stung them.
He bursted out in a cry of sadness and horror as she just went rigged. Her eyes half closed and her cracked mouth a jar. She relaxed and fell forward with a sickening thump as her body hit the floor. She was dead. Dead... The word echoed through his mind as he screamed and flailed.
Everything seemed to go numb around him and voices just became faint mumbling as he collapsed, letting the people drag him and lifted him up as he sobbed. Grief stung him like the scorching sun above as the turned around the corner. They exited into open air. Kids were screaming and sobbing too but it all just seemed like a high pitch ringing. He looked side to side slowly to see other children being ripped from their homes and were taken to the huge air ships around the old city.
They took her from him. They killed her. He had nothing left but emptiness.