In the living room the voice-clock sang, "Tick-tock, seven o'clock, time to get up, time to get up, seven o'clock!", as if it were afraid that nobody would. Fortunately, Mr. McClellan woke up, still half-asleep from the late night celebration his family prepared for him the night before. August 26, 2024, Mr. McClellan heard the wall call the date time and time again, as if he didn't know it already. He slowly rose from his bed, yawning and taking a look at his beautiful wife. As he showered, another voice called from the kitchen "Seven-nine, breakfast time, seven-nine!". Some eggs and toast were placed in the table, waiting for any hungry soul that would like to eat them. Mr. McClellan decided to let his wife rest, after all, she deserved it after all she had prepared for his return from the front-lines.
*Today was the day the family would be spending the first morning together after 3 years.*
Returning from his service, after being wounded by a stray bullet was as relaxing as Mr. McClellan thought. Everything was working perfectly and in All around the house, small cleaning mice ran around, making sure everything was in place, neat and organized. As the Mrs. opened the bedroom door, she could hear their children playing outside with the family dog. As the kid played outside, Mr. McClellan got changed and went towards the living room, planning on watching tv while he ate. "Which channel would you prefer to watch this morning Mr. McClellan?", asked a robotic, yet friendly voice. "Channel 7 news", the man answered. His wife walked in on him, "I can't believe it's your first day here and you're already worried about the news". He stood up to hug her "I'm sorry honey, but when I came home last night some officers were very worried about something", he answered as he kissed her forehead. "I'm sure everything will be ok"; he reassured. As the tv went on in the background about the rising tensions between the two sides of the war, it was suddenly cut off by static. The McClellans waited for a moment, and decided that an afternoon spent outside was better.
*That morning was inexplicably quiet, as if the birds and wind had been calmed down by an inexplicable force.*
Mr. McClellan went outside, taking in the fresh air, and letting the sun rays land softly on his skin. Turning his head around, he saw their two beautiful children, a boy and a girl, playing with a ball and chasing the dog around. A small smile formed in his face. His wife came from behind him saying "Why don't you make yourself a little useful and try to mow the lawn, God knows your son never does". As much as he didn't like doing chores, he accepted, realizing how tall the grass actually was. He went looking for the lawn mower. After standing around a few minutes, Mrs. McClellan decided to spend that morning gardening, it had been a while since she tended to her garden. She didn't particularly excel at gardening, but it took her mind off things, and with the constant threat of a sudden nuclear war, gardening seemed like a good hobby to pick up.
*The tv turned back on. A man wearing a suit seemed worried about reports of flashes in major cities across the country.*
"Come on throw me the ball!", a girl's voice could be heard, the little McClellan daughter had energy, that's for sure. Since the moment she came to the world her father was amazed by how many crazy ways she found to entertain herself. The boy, well he was always looking to learn new things, being the eldest he had to gain as much knowledge as he could to pass it on, or at least that's what he told himself Both kids had a good future ahead of them, their parents knew they would become great people.
*They didn't pay much attention to the military car that zoomed across the front of their house, by now, it was a common sight.*
Mr. McClellan returned with the new lawn mower he had bought before leaving for his military service. It was obvious it hadn't been used many times. As he mowed the lawn, he noticed that at that moment, everyone in the McClellan family was happy. His wife bends over to pick up a flower that had dried up. His son throws the ball up towards his daughter. And the dog had ran away chasing a squirrel that caught his attention. "I love all of you", he said to himself.
*Then there was a flash*