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CHAPTER 1

"Home"

It is an understatement to say that New York catches a draft during the fall season. Even the trees would shiver from the relentless chilly breeze that would brush its cold fingers against its leaves. Winter was approaching- and fast. The cold was something I felt was more tolerable than a majority of things. I pulled my jacket closer and kept a firm grip on my suitcase as the distant beeping of cars sounded in the distance. I'd taken a taxi on the way home from New Jersey but I'd stopped a few blocks away just to see how the neighborhood was faring. And as far as I could tell, Staten Island was just as it was when I left it. I passed the intersection between Clove Rd. and Post Ave. The pavement of the sidewalk still had bits of weed peeking out from the cement. The old rundown gas station was still rotting in its own bed of gravel and termite infested wood.

The colorless autumn sky painted the pale blue buildings in a lifeless glow, as if the clouds themselves sucked the color from the houses, grass, cars even the lawn gnomes. But the familiarity of the streets brought a strange sense of security and warmth even in such cold and drowsy weather. Yes, I may make it sound a bit awful, but my memories of it were not all that bad. A low buzzing sounded from my back pocket. It must have been my sister calling to see how far I was from the house. My pace slowed a few steps as I pulled my phone from my pocket, answering the call.

"'You almost here yet?" Yup, I knew that voice anywhere.

"Yeah, Chloe, I'm nearly around the corner."

"I'll keep an eye out. Anyways, I heard you're still waiting on that magazine company to open a spot for your story. How's that going for ya'?"

I sighed, "I'm still waiting on the feedback. Honestly, I don't know if I had a good chance to begin with, but I might as well try, right?" I turned at the sharp intersection and saw the house up ahead.

"I know you can do it, kettlebug. You'll see, that email will come sooner than you know it."

I rolled my eyes, but a small smile peaked at my corners of my lips. "I can't believe you still call me that, Chlo. I'm 24 now, remember? Not 5." I was passing through our yard, silently greeting the stone rabbits and turtles that stood almost curiously in front of our porch. Surprisingly enough, the flowers my mom planted by the steps were still alive and fighting the cold. Their bright orange color of their petals popped in the paleness of nearly everything around it.

"You know that still doesn't change anything. Oh, I think I saw you from the window!" She'd hung up already before I could reply and I saw the front door open. Chloe approached me in her oversized T-shirt and fleece Eeyore sweatpants. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, a few stray strands falling to frame her face. She always jumped right into her pajamas the moment she stepped back into the house after an exhausting day at the office.

"Still a light traveler I see." She grinned and she held the door open as wide as it could go to help me and my luggage pass easily. I only brought the essentials that weren't already present in the house. There was no reason to bring along any extra items that would already be at your destination. "Oh my God, and how did you survive out there with that short haircut and no hat!" Hauling the suitcase up the stairs and doorstep, I gave a relieved huff as I was greeted with the comfortable heat, courtesy of our living room fireplace. Chloe closed the front door behind me and I leaned against it to remove my shoes, placing them on the nearby mat.

"Well, I did only bring what I needed. And it's not that cold, really." I shed my thick jacket and cardigan, laying them neatly over the arm of the couch. Not much was different other than the new plant pots that were traded for the shabby old ones. Everything was spotless thanks to Mom's daily cleaning. Not a knick-knack was out of place on the entertainment shelf. Not one of them had a speck of dust either. The sofa covers were smoothed and folded neatly to conform to the chair. The piano still sat patiently in the living room. It was a rather new addition to the house actually and neither me nor Chloe had the time to learn how to play it. The living room TV was powered own, tuned to the HBO Family Movie channel.

"It's really nice to have you back, Chris." Her arms had pulled me into a silly hug as she swayed her body from side to side.

"Aaaw, it's really nice to see you too." I smiled widely and returned her tight embrace, swaying to her tempo. Oh, I haven't mentioned the reason why I was visiting home, have I? You must be wondering what I was doing here. No? Ah, well. Nonetheless, I came back to take some time off and spend time with sister. In fact, it's been nearly 2 years since I've seen her. Though we've texted every once a while, we haven't been able to see each other in person. Ever since we split paths for college, we've both been too preoccupied to schedule anything else than work. In our younger years, Chloe and I did not get along as well as we do now- a simple sibling rivalry, was all. Not to sound rough around the edges, but not seeing each other every waking second of the day seemed to have remedied the tension between us. Same goes for my parents. Speaking of parents, Chloe seemed to have been the only one in the house.

Releasing me, Chloe settled back into the sofa with her laptop as I went off to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. I called out to her, "So where are Mom and Dad? I thought they had the day off."

"Huh, I thought I mentioned it to you before; Mom's caught a bad cold and Dad said she'd better stay at the hospital. He's just being cautious, though. She'll be out in a few days, it's nothing serious."

"Damn, really? We should at least give her a call later to see how she's doing."

I spent the reminder of the day sitting back and watching movies with Chloe, relishing the thought of not having to catch up with a deadline or sit awake at the wee hours of the night, typing away at my laptop. It'd been quite a while since the last time I was able to loosen up. Ever since I graduated from college, I've been working day and night on my most recent novel. My professors advised that I should lose the tense shoulders and take my time writing it, as fast progress usually results in unsatisfactory outcomes. Although I was never one to rush my work, the lingering thought of a piling tuition began to breathe down my neck. Chloe had eventually convinced me that if I didn't slow down, my writing will take the brunt of the fault. She proposed that I take a short break, gather my thoughts, and I would return to my work like new.

Later that night, Chloe and I finally decided to contact the hospital Mom was being kept at. Using the home phone and taking a seat at the living room long table, we waited as it rang. Seconds after, the secretary at the door had picked up our call. We asked to be linked to the room my mother was resting in and she happily obliged. She transferred the call and my mother picked up the phone. Her voice was thick, groggy and congested through the phone. She was pretty sick, that was for sure.

Though I knew she couldn't see my smile, I knew she felt it in my voice, "Hey, Mom. Chloe told me you've been feeling under the weather."

"The doctor says it's only a minor flu but your father wants to make sure of it. You know how cautious he is about these things."

Chloe piped in next to me, "We all want you to feel better as soon as possible."

We heard her give a faint, soft chuckle. "Don't you two worry; I'll be fine. So Chris, how was the trip back home? It's pretty chilly out there, huh? I hope you bundled up well."

I nodded, "Yup, coat and all. Is Dad there with you right now?"

"He just left for the bathroom. I can tell him you two called. It really won't be long, though. The doctors expect that I would be able to leave by tomorrow morning anyway."

"That sounds great! We should probably let you rest now, huh? I've got a lot to tell you when you come back."

She laughed again, "I'll be glad to hear it all. Remember to turn on the porch lights before you go to bed! And Chloe, please watch the stove if you're boiling water and don't blow up the house while we're gone." There she went, talking to us as if we were still kids. She had a tendency to repeat things like a record player.

While I suppressed a grin, Chloe groaned and slumped in her chair and let out a drawl, "Ok, Mom." We gave our goodbyes in unison before hanging up. I took the phone . My sister sat back down on the couch, leaning forward with her eyes glued on her laptop, which she'd set down on the glass coffee table. It was nearly midnight and I planned to head to bed soon. Chloe tended to sleep whenever she wanted to. I joined her on the other side of the chair, watching the TV with half lidded eyes. Courage the Cowardly Dog was on, so I decided to stay awake just a little longer.

I heard Chloe speak up next to me, "Hey, did you hear about what went on in Georgia? The one where someone mysteriously caught this disease that killed him, and then brought his body back to life?" She changing the tempo of 'mysteriously' for a dramatic effect.

I glanced at her, "Oh yeah. Skeptical stuff, really. Why do you ask?"

"Yeah...It's just that I was thinkin'...you don't suppose Mom caught it right?" She looked at me, brow knit upwards with tentative worry.

I turned my head to face her with an incredulous expression. "Seriously? I mean, I highly doubt it. The doctors said Mom only had a minor flu. Well, yeah we're in the colder months now and the flu is becoming common, but I heard that the virus was contained in a hospital in Georgia as soon as it was reported. I don't think we have anything to worry about."

She kept her eyes on me for a few seconds before shifting her gaze back to her laptop with pursed lips. "You've got a point." She appeared convinced, but I saw a fleeting glint of doubt and nervousness in her eyes. It was some bogus story the news was spouting. Apparently someone in Georgia showed signs of contracting a strange disease. A few hours later, the person was declared dead. And lo and behold, another few hours later , they stood right back up like a daisy. I'm not saying I don't believe that the contracted virus is something scientists and doctors may not have encountered before or that I know any better, but I have trouble imagining that it somehow reanimated a corpse. Besides, we already knew that Mom just had the flu. We had nothing to worry about. With a wide yawn, I stood from the couch and announced that I was heading to bed early. After months of getting less sleep than I should, a comfy bed sounded very welcoming.

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