Chapter 1:: White Walls & Bad News

Author's Note:: So, welcome! I don't really have that much to say, except that this is the beginning of a story based off of the movie the Covenant and I hope that you enjoy it! The events take place pretty much right after the action of the movie, with the exception of this first chapter.

May16th, 2006

Junia's eyes fluttered open to something that was a striking shade of white. It was the rare, immaculate, pure white. The same shade of white as new tennis shoes, untouched snow, or a fresh can of paint. She inhaled slowly, painfully. No new paint smell. But what she did smell was the smell of….clean. There was no other word for it. How else was it possible to describe the absence of any definable smell, good or bad? It was about then as she took in her second breath, that the sound reached her ears. The lack of variety in smell was certainly made up for by the abundance of sounds. Her quiet, white world suddenly had a horde of intruders, coming to her in waves. The first wave included machines, whirring and beeping, as well as the sound of heavy things being rolled around at various speeds. The second wave hit her hard, and that was the layered sound of footsteps. The loudest footsteps she heard were those of people running. They had to be in a hurry to get somewhere or do something. The second loudest footsteps were walking briskly, with purpose. They were needed to be somewhere, that was certain, but being a little late wasn't going to change anything in their purpose. Behind those two speeds, were the faint echoes of carefully placed, slow footsteps. The last wave that hit Junia was the wave of voices. There was shouting, brisk orders, crying, frantic questions, and close by she could hear anxious whispers and a cool, calming voice.

Junia turned her head against the cool pillow so she could see who it was who was talking near her. A metal bar cut a line through her vision, but she could still identify two of the three figures near her. A woman in a white coat was talking to her parents. Her back was to Junia, and her shoulder blocked out all of her father's face except for his eyebrows up. Her mother was turned slightly, so that Junia could see her. She wished that her mother's face was hidden behind a shoulder too. It was streaked with tears, and her mascara and eyeliner were all over the place. It wasn't until she saw the tears that she remembered what had happened and why she was put in this room, in an uncomfortable little bed with a pillow that was too hard. She now could guess who it was that was wearing coat, and why taking a deep breath was painful. She wanted her mother.

"Mom." Junia croaked. Her voice was not as lighthearted or distant as it usually was. It was thick with emotion as reality hit her, very hard.

"Junia…?"She exclaimed running over to her. "Jason, come here! She's alright! She's alive!" Her mother had been given a gift, never to look a day over 25. She now looked as if she was 55, 12 years older than she really was. And her father looked different too. Now that she could see him, she saw how exhausted he looked. Like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Her mother leaned over her giving her a kiss on the forehead, which hurt, but Junia tried not to wince. "You've been out for days, we were so worried…that you wouldn't wake up…like Lukas…" she said, tears brimming in her eyes. Junia felt the breath go out of her.

"What." Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

"Your brother…Lukas, he's…he's moved on Junia." Her father said tightly. Junia would have turned her head away from them if she could have. But her eyes seemed to be caught by her mother's.

"It's all my fault." She said slowly. The phrase hung in the air as everyone seemed to take it in. "I…I shouldn't have let him-"

"You did nothing wrong." Her mother said. Her voice was watery, and it quavered like any moment it would break. "He was almost thirteen. Almost old enough. Just four more days. Four more…" her mother trailed off and dissolved into tears.

"You're forgetting there was another person involved Junia. And if anyone is to blame, it's them. Not you." There was another pause as the family contemplated this comment. Junia decided to switch the subject.

"Where is Krista?"

"Sander flew home right away after he found out." Her father said. "He's watching her now." A woman in blue scrubs walked over to the small family reunion.

"Mr. and Mrs. Goodwin, I know that you're anxious to talk to your daughter, but she needs her rest. A concussion, a broken arm, and a few cracked ribs are a lot to recover from."

"Of course." Her father said, gently guiding her mother out of Junia's line of sight.

"Try to get some sleep." The woman said serenely. As if Junia could get to sleep. She had killed her brother. It was an accident, but it was still her fault. No matter what her parents said. Yet, no matter how ludicrous the thought of sleep seemed to be, it over took her quickly after everyone left, and Junia was able to slip away from the white room filled with bad news, sadness, and on other days, miracles.