<strong>Danielle Avena<br/>On the streets of San Francisco -&gt; Russian Hill<br/>With everyone</strong><br/><hr/><br/>Danielle could have sworn she saw Sana and Mayson still at the intersection, but as she turned her head the other way, there they were, just a few steps behind them. In no time the incline started and the grueling walk back to Russian Hill began.<br/><br/>When Tristyn became sluggish and slowed his pace, therefore weighing down on Dani and Michelle, Danielle whispered into his ear, like a mother would coach her son from the sidelines.<strong>"Almost there, baby, just one more hill,"</strong>she said into his ear. A couple hills down, the phrase was expired. When she thought she had no words to encourage Tristyn to keep going, she heard insults coming from behind her. It was Sana, using her voice like a drill sergeant. It was quite funny and inspiring initially, but both of those Danielle grew tired of. She wasn't in the military and had nobody to drill her like her man would be in BMT. Every five minutes Sana would say those morale-boosting words, but every time after the first was just annoying. In any way, she didn't stop carrying her man up the streets of San Francisco. In fact, Sana's words seemed to seed deep with Tristyn and by the time they were one block away from Russian Hill and their apartment building was clearly in view, the man above her shoulder somehow found an inner strength, a brawn he used to push not only himself, but the two women at his side.<br/><br/>They took a break, letting the view of Russian Hill inspired them as they rested. It was at this point Tristyn started apologizing.<strong>"What's wrong, baby?"</strong>she asked. He stood on shaky legs and told her, or everyone, to stay in one place.<strong>"He's right."</strong>Then he talked about the guns, the exact guns she knew was for their protection but had no desire to use. She had no time to complain or refuse, for Tristyn was already taking her hand and leading her up to their home.<br/><br/>They did have their dramatic moments before the one-block push to Russian Hill. They had to stop because chaos had erupted in an intersection, causing them to find an alleyway to divert to. The chaos was merely a distraction for desperate survivors to look whatever they could. It wasn't just water bottle or cases of them. Some looted useless things like fried cell phones and busted TV's, probably hoping to cash in after the whole disaster. It wasn't something Danielle would do, but if there was a better camera than the one in her bag, there was no telling what she would do. But what was more important was hauling her man and getting her friends back up to Russian Hill. They moved swiftly and without any delay. No one had noticed the injuries of the group and tried to take advantage of them.<br/><br/>There were already in Nob Hill when everyone took a breather and Danielle took a water bottle from Sana to give to Tristyn. Minutes before, they came across an ice cream truck that had no owner or driver. Knowing the batteries in her bag were all drained or fried, she emptied them and replaced the space with bags of chips, a couple bottles of water and a bunch of bags of candy, which included those peach-flavored rings, regular gummy worms and jelly beans. Knowing everyone did not lunch. Danielle gave the bag to Sana or Michelle to distribute. She took a bag of chips for herself and a pouch of jelly beans, which she gave to Tristyn, feeding him one bean at a time and made sure he chewed them before he swallowed.<br/><br/>Now one block before Russian, everyone pushed, or at another angle, it was Tristyn, Michelle and Danielle being pulled and Sana and Mayson trying to catch up. Though it might have been humorous, once at the top, there were no laughs, only heavy breathing. At last they were home and before the sun went down beyond the horizon. Already, up the sky, what aurora remained was clear to see, waving in purples, golds, and cyans.<br/><br/><strong>"Good idea, Sana,"</strong>Danielle said sitting right next to Tristyn as they sat on the bench in front of their apartment building.<strong>"We'll bring Tristyn upstairs and get him patched up."</strong>As much as she would like to rest on that bench, there was no telling when the chaos of the looting or the desperation at the foot of the hills could rise up. The sooner they were in their apartment, the sooner everyone could get out of danger, especially her man.