Nam: No I'm not back I had to write this for class and this is it so I thought I'd post it and get some constructive critisim. I'm not sure when I'll be back for good... I'll try as will Angel.

ALONE IN KANSAS

 

The Beginning of the End

Alone. That's what I am, and now, who I am. I guess in a sense, I'm not really alone. I have all the animals here with me. Animals, though, will never compare to the feeling of having a human being there by your side to love, cherish and the company they provided. Before all this happened I had a name. With no one with me to use it though, I guess I've forgotten it. I think back to what is only a year ago, though it doesn't seem that long, without a human companionship time passes so much slower and reality means nothing. When I think back, I wonder how it happened; why am I now alone on the planet? From what I can remember, and the few news articles I found from when everyone else was dieing, there was a nuclear explosion so the gas cloud went around the planet and because of it I'm the only person left. The day 'it' happened is something I remember well though.

I woke up with the tornado siren blaring and an announcement coming through the speaker, "Ladies and gentlemen Iran has been shot with a nuclear missile, but before it was hit it launched four of it's own. The destinations for these four missiles are; Beijing in China, Sydney in Australia, Sacramento in California, and Topeka right here in Kansas. This is not a drill. The President says everywhere in the world will be effected and that no one is likely to survive. We would like to take this time to pray for all the souls on the planet and pray that we will all meet and greet our families in heaven. Please let God be with you all. Amen." The speakers cackled out. I remember standing there mouth open, wide eyed and surprised. A minute later I was on the ground out like a light

I woke up what appeared to be the next day. Oh how off I was. I woke up and it was over a week after the announcement had been made. The only means of time or date I had was a cellphone that was ready to die. Soon after waking up I worried about my friends and family so I bolted up and ran out the door. What I saw will forever be burned into my mind. As I opened the door I saw bloody, disfigured, burned bodies littering the streets and hanging out of partially opened windows. I called out hoping someone else had survived the nuclear explosions and nuclear gases. I found no one in my town and not being able to drive was afraid to go to the next and see the chaos that issued there.

I ran back into my house, which had also somehow made it, and I cried. How can I survive without my family or friends? Will I be able to make it on my own?

 

Prelude to Chaos

Lets go back to two months before any of the missiles were fired into the atmosphere. Thinking hard enough, I remember that my name is Elizabeth Sinatra Paddock or Eli for short. I was a Junior at William James High School. At the time I was sixteen years old, turning seventeen on July 19.

 

/FLASHBACK TO TWO MONTHS BEFRORE MISSILES FLY/

" Elizabeth, sweetie, time for school, " my mother, Jasine, said as my alarm started blaring loudly in my ears.

" GOD DAMMIT MOM I HAVE AN ALARM CLOCK FOR A FUCKING REASON, " I yelled, glaring at my mother with a fierce glare that would make Lucifer cringe in fear.

" ELZABETH SINATRA PADDOCK WATCH YOUR MOUTH, " Jasine yelled, a fire like gleam entering her eyes. " You will stop that meaningless, vulgar language and you will get up RIGHT NOW!"

My mother is one of those who, in her whole life, has never cussed. She wished the world was rid of violence, vulgar language and any other obscenities of the sort. I guess some people would call her a hippie while others would call her an activist of sorts. She's one of the most eccentric people a person can ever meet and she'll make you her friend in less time than in takes to make instant rice. The best thing about her, is that she's not only my mother she's my best friend.

I sighed, " I'm sorry mom. You should know by now that I'm not a morning person. " I was breathing in and out trying to calm my self down. She waited patiently as I did my breathing exercises mantra; in and out, in and out, in and out. I repeated the mantra a couple hundred times in my head while keeping my eyes shut and my head down. I looked up to her as I finally calmed down myself and my breathing.

" I know but I worry about you. You have no High School friends hun. Please go to school today and make some friends... it's your second to last year in High School and how will you be ready for College if you aren't social in anyway at all in High School, " my mom said, her eyes starting to tear up with sadness.

" Mom... I'll try, " I looked up to her, with a smile gracing my features. " I'll try, I promise you, I'll try. You don't have to worry about me. " A gave her a beautiful smile, showing her that I wasn't kidding and that I meant what I said. She gave me an even bigger smile back, then my mother soon left to give me my privacy so I could change.

I came down the stairs forty-five minutes later. During that time I took a shower, put on a pair of clothes that suited my tastes for the day, put my hair in a bun on the top of my head and brushed my teeth. The shirt that I was wearing was a black shirt with multi colored skulls on the front, on the top of the back was a hole showing part of my back. The pants that I was wearing were also black; on the pockets of them were skull bunnies, there was fabric that was like the pants that buttoned to the pants and hung slightly down and crossed in the back. I put my hair into a simple bun on the the top of my head with a chopstick going down to the left.

" You look beautiful, " Janine said, smiling her signature smile. " You should be able to make friends easily hun. " I don't know why, but I didn't believe a word she said to me just then. I don't know why but I think that I'm ugly... I'm just so self conscious of my looks now. High School changed me... I went from and insane amount of friends to none in little to no time, which tells you that they weren't true friends to begin with.

I sighed and grabbed a pop-tart as I walked out the door to get to my bus. " Who the hell ever made a bus stop for six-thirty in the morning is the FIRST person on my to kill list, " I mumbled as I got there right before the bus did. No one ever sat with me on the bus but today I hoped to change that once and for all. I looked at the only other girl, who was the only other goth besides me, on the bus. I went and stood next to her, giving her a look asking to sit next to her.

" Why would you want to sit next to little ol' Raven, " the girl, Raven as I remember and she pointed out, said. She looked at me with her white painted face and her red lips and her curious blackish/brown eyes.

" Your the only other goth in our school... and I'm tired of feeling like goth kids like myself don't have any friends, " I said with a nonchalant attitude. I looked at her with my own white face and red lips, my brownish/green eyes rimmed with black eyeliner and eyeshadow, shining with curiosity and hope.

Raven grabbed her bag and scooted over and allowed me to sit down with her. I pulled out my MP3 and put the head phones in my ear and started listening. " You can plug your headphones in also. With my MP3 two people can listen at once. It's Hawthorne Heights. " I said offering her the side of the MP3 that my headphones weren't in.

She looked at me wide eyed. " You like Hawthorne Heights. I've never met someone who knew who Hawthorne Heights is. " She plugged in her MP3 and we both just listened to all my songs on shuffle. The bus stopped again as we reached the next stop, five more kids got on and looked wide eyed at the two of us, Raven and I, just listening to music and drawing. Raven and I got through about eleven Hawthorne Height songs before we got to the school. " What classes do you have Eli, " Raven asked suddenly as we waited to get off the bus.

" Since it's a new semester I have strings first period, second period I have Trigonometry, for third period I have Chemistry, fourth period is my favorite because it's Japanese. Lunch is what I consider fifth period, sixth period is Art, and my last period is gym, " I said while standing up and stretching.

" Hmm... Actually I have the same exact schedule as you this semester. What instrument do you play in strings I play the Violin, " Raven replied also standing up and starting to stretch. " Whoever made our bus stops for like six in the morning is gonna die... "

" I play a couple of instruments depending on what they need. I play Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass and Bass really, depending how many of each they have, " I said with a yawn. " I totally agree with you one the bus idea... I think it was a morning person. " We got off the bus and walked towards the school still talking about random issues. " So apparently we're in a war with Iran because of President Chance. "

" Yup, soon we're gonna be throwing nukes at each other like there's no tomorrow, " Raven replied shaking her head. " Going to kill the planet, that's what we're gonna end up doing to each other... I mean we have enough nukes on the planet, maybe even America alone, to blow up the world ten times over. "

/TIME SKIP TO ONE MONTH BEFORE MISSLES FLY/

Raven and I walked into Strings with smiles on our faces. Raven took out her violin as I took out my viola and we started to do our usual warm-ups. While everyone was doing tuning all of a sudden the air raid siren started blaring. " WHAT THE HELL DO WE DO, HIDE UNDER A CHAIR OR SOMETHING, " Gregory, a boy in our class yelled, while Raven and I were already under our chairs.

" So how the hell would this protect us if this was an actual air raid? " I asked, lying my head into my hands, stretching, and yawning like a cat. ' This is so stupid. If we have no desks we should go into the middle of the room and stick our butts into the air. At least if we do that, our butts would take the majority of the damage... If we survived that is. ' I thought as the siren turned off.

Mr. Stesha sighed and looked at Gregory, " When the air raid siren goes off, here's what I want you to do. I want you to SHUT YOUR MOUTH UP. " With that said Mr. Stesha started ranting about the reason we need to be quiet during an air raid drill.

" Why do we hide under a chair anyway? " I asked nonchalantly. " Why don't we just stick our butts in the air and hope for the best. At least that's better then hiding under a chair. "

Mr. Stesha stopped his 'speech' and looked at me. " That's a logical point... but its a conspicuous consumption to have desks in a music room. "

I shook my head, looking at him with a bored expression, " What protection would a desk provide? If the roof collapsed in on us, wouldn't the desk collapse on us? Thus killing us in the process of what's 'supposed to keep us safe' type of thing. So I say we stick our butts in the air next time... or we can hide under the grand piano if that'll make you thing that we're 'protected' from the big evil air raid drills! " After that little speech Mr. Stesha couldn't think of anything to do other then blink and open and close his mouth like a gaping fish.

Raven shook her head also a small smirk gracing her features, " And that would be the reason why you would make a great lawyer... I think you made Mr. Stesha cry by outsmarting him. Though it's better then when they took away the marching band's third place trophy away because of point four points and he clung to the trophy and started yelling. "

I couldn't help but smile at that a little, " That was great, Lori and Mimi video taped it too, and they sent the video to everyone in band and all there friends. I'm pretty sure that they eventually put the video on Youtube, Myspace, and Facebook. His reputation as a band director will never be the same again... Oh well sucks for him. "

All of a sudden the principals came over the loudspeaker, " Attention students, teachers and staff there are thirteen B-52 bombers flying around Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Please be advised we will be evacuating all students, teachers and staff to the bomb shelter that resides beneath the school in the basement. Teachers of Freshman students or if you have any Freshman in your class, please bring them all down. We will be calling the others in soon. Thank you and please be patient we'll get to your class soon. "

As soon as the speakers cackled out Mr. Stesha stood up. Well times like this I'm glad we have three Freshman in this strings class. UNLESS YOU HAVE A FIVE THOUSAND DOLLAR INSTRUMENT PLEASE LEAVE IT IN THE ROOM... Eli, Raven, grab your case and put them in as we go. There is no way in hell I'll let you two leave two seven thousand dollar instruments in here. "

" They're already in there case Mr. Stesha, " Raven and I said at the same time following our class out of the room and down to the bomb shelter.

/TIME SKIP TO DAY BEFORE MISSILES FLY/

" Attention citizens we are on high alert. At oh-six-hundred-hours today we shot Iran with a nuclear missile. Doing thus we have finally ended the war and with limited casualties on our, the American, side, " all of a sudden rang from the tornado siren speaker. " You are now free to roam as you will around the town. Thank you and have a nice day. "

 

/END FLASHBACK/

That brings us to now. A year after the beginning; The beginning of the end. I'll tell you three more things and how I got to where I am.

 

/Final flashback/

After I learned I was alone I did what any sane person would do; I ran to the next town screaming to see if anyone was there. There was no one anywhere... I was truly... alone. I grabbed a car, how it made it like the houses and the animals I'll never know, and I drove... and drove... and drove. I finally reached where I was aiming for... Dayton, Florida. I walked around hoping to find someone; but like everywhere else I went there were only houses and animals... no sign of human life anywhere. I chose a house and luckily for me it had a bomb shelter, I could use it in case there was a hurricane and I wanted to stay here. I lived in this house and I learned later that it was one of my best friends houses.

The ground in Florida made for good planting. I got seeds and made a vegetable garden and a fruit garden. The vegetables that I planted were delicious: In my vegetable garden were artichokes, broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, corn, cucumbers, honeydew, lettuce, onions, peas, pumpkins, radish, tomatoes, and watermelon. The fruits were a little too sweet for my liking: The fruits in my garden were apples, apricots, oranges, lemons, grapes, kiwi, rhubarb, strawberries, pears, and dewberries. Some of these things were harder to grow while others were actually really simple to grow in this climate and are.

When your alone you have to be able to do something but thats the problem. What can you do when you have all the free time in the world and it seems that there is nothing that you can do. I did the only thing I could think of and one of the things I enjoyed to do; I read. I went to the library and grabbed all the books that I could carry and whenever I ran out and I've read them I'd go and get more. If I was tired of reading I'd write my own stories... how I made it through a year I'll never know!

 

Ending of the Pain

As you read this, if there's anyone reading it, you're probably wondering why I'm writing this at all. It's because if it turns out I was wrong... that I'm not the only person alive I want them to know. I want them to know... that I know what it's like to be alone. Please know that what I'm about to do is because the pain has gotten to be to much for me and that since it seems I'm alone that there's no point to life. I've lived life... I've hunted to live. I've moved from house to house for food, for shelter, or for convenience.

/Change of POV (Point of View) to third person/

A fourteen year old girl finished reading and looked down to the body near the note. " It seems I was to late and now I truly am the last surviving person. " The girl looked down at Eli, " Rest in piece... I hope you get to see your family and friends again. Now it's up to her. Will she live her life like Eli or change the rhythm of new world!