Yay! Chapter 2! I finally have chapter 2 up. Now to get past 3.
I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last.
On with A Life UnWorth Living
...xXxXx...
Chapter Two: Living Nightmares
"When sleep comes at night—and dreams take over your mind—it's wise to listen." Entry 18 ~ A Haiku ~
I stared out the window, through the heavily falling snow, and across the field, at the workers who were putting up the new siren. It's been almost three months since the disasters started and the snow began falling like this. Since then it's been a continued heavy snowfall. The one thing we were told to do when it started was stay indoors. The temperature hasn't risen above negative sixty degrees and the snow was at least six feet high. It blocked all the doors.
I've caught people sneaking out of their windows over to the next home, but that was about it. No one dared to stay out for more than five minutes, lest that person wanted to freeze. And several people have froze. I wouldn't have anywhere to go if I went out so I stayed indoors. A foolish move, some would say. Why stay inside when everything is out there? It was foolish in a way. At least now, they are with people they love and care for.
About week and a half after the snow started, once everyone had given up hope that it would clear up soon, boxes of food were being dropped in front of every house in the base. Each box contained a week's worth of food for your entire family. I was the exception. My box contained a month's worth of food. Therefore, the boxes that came after that first one, I just left out there for the government to pick up and deliver to a family in need. I took a second one about four weeks ago. It was almost all gone.
My house originally had four people in it, but my family was evacuated from base three during an earthquake, to a different base. From there they were moved to a different sector altogether. Base three is where my parents and little sister were on a business trip. It was completely destroyed after the earthquake. Base six, where they were relocated, ended up having a tsunami. It flooded the entire base. Other disastrous events have plagued the other six bases too. I believe one and two had an earthquake that caused a large forest fire that couldn't be put out for two weeks. The only bases that have not been evacuated yet are bases ten and nine.
As I thought about my family, a cold breeze drifted past me and sent Goosebumps crawling up my arm. I moved from the window and snuggled deep into the comforter to keep warm. Two or three weeks ago, the backup electrical unit went out. Now everyone was in a world of, not only cold, but also darkness. Blankets have been sent at the bottom of every box along with the food. Since I already had six in my house, along with the comforter I was under, I put it back outside for some other needy person to use. I threw in some nonperishable food that I would never eat, crayons, and paper. Hopefully when whoever picked it up saw what was inside knew it was meant for a child. The next box I received would go back with four blankets and some more paper. I only needed the comforter to keep warm. And the extra two blankets would be for emergency use.
I sat in the living room feeling lonely again. The most communication I had with my family since the snow started was with my mother to make sure everyone was all right. She was, obviously. My father and sister had met up with her in base six before the flooding. Now I had no way of contacting her with the phones all down. Even my cell was out of service. I doubted I would get to see them again. Nevertheless, as long as they were safe I would be fine. It wasn't as if we were much of a family unit before.
I kept in contact with Darius for that time. We talked on the phone every night until the power shut down and even then he would leave notes in a crack in the door and pick up the ones I'd sent back. He was brave for going out in such cold. Even if it was for a short period of time. We had gotten to know each other really well though.
Other than having no one to talk to, there was absolutely nothing to do. I had come into possession of several art supplies and a truckload of copy paper on my raid through the house. All of it seemed to be mysteriously hidden in well-concealed places. I mean, why would anyone, unless it was against the law, hide paintbrushes in an empty cereal box? I didn't dwell too long on the mysteries of my parents. It only caused the loneliness to resurface after I suppressed it.
All of the materials I found seemed to be made for professional use. There was an abundance of fine, smooth acrylic paints, pencils made out of soft wood and pens with grips so you didn't get cramps in your hands. I, at one point, found color pastels, but put the back at the idea of breaking the fragile looking things.
I tried to write a story to pass the time when I first found everything. But when I got to the second chapter, I couldn't keep going. I found myself doodling in the margins and on scrap papers. It was always the same thing. A black scribble that took shape into the black creature that occasionally chased me around in my dreams. I bet if I wrote a story about that day, I wouldn't get distracted.
I pushed the thought out of my head and tried to focus on a happier thought. Immediately I thought of Darius down the street. I knew I would see him once the snow cleared and the ice melted. But seeing, as there hasn't been more than a five-minute break at a time, I doubted that would be soon. The more I thought of him the hotter my face was becoming. The blush was an instant reaction when I thought about the kiss he planted on my cheek.
Along with the warm feeling was a mental imprint of his face in my mind. I even managed to draw out a few random sketches of him. There was only one that I really liked though. It was of him sitting with a book like when we first met. His facial expression was the same as when we first met, too. He had that stern yet humored look. And his posture was elegant and intimidating all in one. I even drew his coat with maximum detail. I was thinking about coloring it in when it was done, but other coloring attempts ended in an epic failure. I settled on shading it in with a pencil. Besides, I thought, leaving it gray-scale makes him look even more mysterious.
I tried hard to focus on the scribble I was making on a new sheet of paper, but my eyes were getting heavy and suddenly closing. I held on until I couldn't hold them open any longer. The days seemed to be running into one another lately and I didn't keep track of the time. I got up and looked out the window. It was dark out. The clock in the room said ten thirty-two. I decided to sleep on the couch. At the moment, my room felt like it was a mile away. And it wasn't as if anyone was going to come over and see me. I placed two couch pillows next to each other for my head and pulled the comforter up to my chin. Even under the cover, I still tried to stay awake. However, the drowsiness overpowered me in the end.
...xXxXx...
I was running. Why was I running? Where was I going? What was going on? Not stopping the pace of my feet I looked back to see what had happened. There they were, a hoard of them, all running after me. I could see them thirsting for me. I knew I was going to die. These black, heartless creatures were trying to kill me and I could barely keep away from them.
I looked back to take in my surroundings. I was running through a forest. Twigs were snapping under my bare feet. Branches reached down from nowhere and struck my face. My breathing was coming out sharp and my lungs felt as though they were going to explode. How long had I been running?
Suddenly I was falling. One of the creatures had jumped on me and I easily lost my balance. I tried to scream but when I opened my mouth to do so, nothing came out. Instead, I could only watch as the earth rose toward me. I would hit the ground and the rest of the yellow-eyed monsters would descend. I closed my eyes and tensed my muscles, anticipating the impact. But when I reopened my eyes, nothing was there. The creatures were gone. So was the forest. Now I was just falling through a black void.
I fell until I landed, on my feet (which were bloodied from running), on a platform. It was a pure black, flat surface, with a single yellow ring in the center. It seemed to be made out of glass. I walked over to the edge of the platform and looked over it, almost falling in the process. I could see no trace of light. Not wanting to fall again, I went over and sat down in the center of the platform.
Just then, bright lights appeared out of nowhere and surrounded me. There were eight in all. I thought maybe those creature were coming back to finish me off. My heart raced at the thought of those things coming back for me. But they didn't. Instead, the eight lights turned into eight ornaments. Like something that could be hung on a Christmas-tree. I studied them all trying to figure out a meaning behind them. The one directly in front of me was shaped like a crescent moon. Slowly I walked to it, wanting to pick it up. As I did, I noted that it was actually a sphere. When I turned it, the shape of it changed; just like a real moon.
Looking closely at the others, I noticed they each had a kind of uniqueness about them. I held each one in turn thinking intently about what they could be. There was a star and a leaf, a water droplet, a flame and a sun, a lightning bolt and a snow crystal. I liked the star, leaf and moon the best. The star was a medallion that reflected light, giving it the appearance of having four, five, and then six points. The leaf was three-dimensional that, changed colors. Almost as if it was fast-forwarding the year so all the seasons fit into a few seconds. The moon was still my favorite and I held onto it.
As I placed the star back where I found it, the floor began to open up. No, it sunk inward. I felt like a rock in a wet paper towel. Once again I was falling, the earth rushing up to meet me. However, I wasn't falling like when I had tripped. Air was rushing past me, as if I had jumped off a plane and was plummeting toward the ground without a parachute. I opened my mouth and let out a high-pitched scream that sounded almost like a siren right before I hit.
...xXxXx...
I was still screaming when I woke up. I had also managed to fall off the couch onto the floor. My shoulder hurt and I just knew I was going to get a bruise. I slowly got up to my feet. Something was off. Normally, as long as I'm standing still, I have decent balance. Now I could barely hold myself upright. Moreover, even though I was done screaming that siren like wail was still ringing in my ears. What was going on? Suddenly the house began to shake violently. The wail was becoming more distinct. The siren went off! They were evacuating us! The ground was still shaking, but I tried to make it to the front door anyway. I fell several times in the process, making the twenty feet of so feel like a mile. Eventually I made it to the door, only to find that the door wouldn't open. How was I going to get out?
I made a quick decision to try the window upstairs. It was directly above the door, so even if I couldn't jump, I could find out why I couldn't open the door. Before I reached the window, I could already see what my dilemma was. The telephone pole was gone. I hoisted the glass up and got a face full of cold air. I peered down and sure enough, the telephone pole was lying on the ground in front of the door. The distance to the ground was a long way down and I doubted I would have the courage to make that kind of a leap anyway.
I walked out the room trying not to fall when everything went still. Was the quake over? The lights in the hall were now flickering. Taking short and slow steps, I made my way to the stairs. My hearts literally stopped when I saw what was on them; the blackened creatures with the glowing yellow eyes. One of them turned its head and stared into my eyes. Just like last time, I became utterly paralyzed. But not for long, for the creature that saw me was now making its way up the staircase, and I wasn't about to find out why.
I sped down the hall and into a storage closet. Inside was the 'collection' of memorable items my father kept. Bike chains, an old box of whistles, even a bag of Technicolor handkerchiefs. He was a hoarder, but refused to be called one. And for once, I was grateful he was. I grabbed two rusty bike chains and fastened heavy combination locks onto the ends of them. I opened the door of the closet and swung menacingly at one of my pursuers. The lock connected with the things face and it disappeared into a thick cloud of black smoke.
"Well if that's all it takes," I said to no one. The creatures had stopped to evaluate the damage I had done. Several of them had backed off, but the bigger ones kept right on advancing toward me. Instead of staying in the narrow hallway, I turned and headed up another set of stairs to the roof. There I might have a chance of getting though these things, I thought.
Once I made it to the attic, I opened up another window and climbed onto the flat part of the roof. I made my way to the center of it with bare feet. The adrenaline rushing though my body made it so I didn't feel the cold. I watched as the black things poured out of the window onto the roof. They made a semicircle around me. I held the chains out in front of me like nun-chucks, ready to fight to the death if need be.
Just as the first creature attacked, I heard someone call out my name. I swiped with one chain and hit the thing across the chest making more smoke appear. Now that the others were backing away, I looked to see Darius, looking twice his size due to the layers of clothing he had on him. Two men were with him trying to move the telephone pole out of the way so they could enter.
I turned to them, ready to call for help when another of the black creatures jumped on me. Just like in my dream, I began falling. The earth was rising up toward me. I would surely hit the ground and die this time. At least I didn't have to worry about those things killing me. But I couldn't die. Then Darius and company would be targeted. I couldn't let that happen. I reached up and grabbed hold of the gutter. I was alive for the time being. The creature that attacked me however was not so lucky. It had lost its grip on me and went plummeting to the ground.
A mob of my pursuers was gathered above my head reaching desperately for me. I looked down so tell Darius to run away before the creatures spotted him, but I saw no one there. I could only wish he had sense enough to leave after seeing them. But just as fast as my hopes rose, they diminished. A black blur was sent over the edge of the roof, then another and then another. Was he really fighting them?
I hoisted myself up and got an eyeful of Darius fending off my attackers with a headless broomstick. He was winning too. I pulled myself back into the fight and took out four more attackers. In all Darius got at least, ten and I got seven. And one of mine was an accident. I fell to my knees spent. I didn't even have the energy to climb back through the window. My feet were numb and my body was shuddering from the cold. The last thing I remember was warm hands picking me up and carting me back inside.
...xXxXx...
I woke up underneath my comforter, on top of the couch in my living room. My head hurt and my feet were so cold they felt like they had been it a bucket of ice for a month. I uncovered my feet to see they were bright red. Maybe they were in a bucket of ice. At least my nightmare about the blackened creatures was over.
I slowly rose and walked over to the kitchen, which smelled good. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Darius standing there. What was he doing in my house? I felt a little more secure knowing he was here, however my fear of why he was here overpowered that joy. I was scared so I shut the door. I had just finished dreaming about this boy coming to my rescue. And now he was in my home. There was a bike chain on the floor to the left of me and picked it up. I would use it as protection if it came down to it. Again, I opened the door and this time took a few steps in. Darius froze and slowly turned his head to face me. The relief on his face when he saw me made me relax a bit as well. I wasn't going to let down my guard though.
"What are you doing here?" I asked coldly.
"What do you mean, 'What are you doing here'?" he turned his entire body toward me now. "I was trying to keep you from getting pneumonia, that's what." He looked a little offended by my comment.
"Why would I get pneumonia?" I asked shocked at his excuse.
"You were outside, half naked, in the freezing cold." He came closer to me and I let my guard down. I knew he wasn't going to harm me. "You were on the roof fighting off those creatures, remember?"
"So… that wasn't a dream? Those things really were trying to kill me?"
"I'm so sorry I didn't believe you when you mentioned them before," he said wrapping his arms around me. My heart was beating a million mile an hour. I couldn't believe he was so close to me right now. I pressed myself closer to him and his arms grew tighter. He let me go and held me at arm's length, eyes analyzing me. I couldn't help but blush. "You seem healthy enough," he said randomly. "Are you hungry?" I nodded and he steered me to a chair.
Once he was back at the stove, I became curious as to what he was making. Only about a dozen houses or so still had the ability to cook. The stoves in those houses were run on gas. I would have heated up the house with it but I didn't know how long. I rose and stood next to him by the stove. He was cooking dried fish and rice. I didn't recall having any fish left over from the box.
"Where'd you get the fish from?" I asked.
"I found a lot of it the neighboring houses. Almost no one ate the stuff."
"You stole it?" I was yelling now.
"No! Everyone was evacuated remember. We're the only ones left in any of the bases."
Yes. He was right. When those black things attacked me, the alarm had gone off. Only an idiot would stay behind; which says a lot about Darius staying to save me. He must have known he would have been left behind if he didn't leave with everyone else. And what happened to the two men who were moving the pole away from the door? What about them? "Darius…?" I stopped myself. What happened if those things had attacked them? What happened if they were dead?
"What is it?" He asked softly.
"What happened to the two men who were with you?"
"What do you mean?" he asked as if he had no clue as to about whom I was talking. I looked at him expectantly. "Oh, you mean Dilan and Aeleus. They went on ahead. I told them I could handle it on my own. They said when they make it to the relocation area, they'll find someone to come and get us. I told them to meet us at the middle of the Base, bi the train station." This made me feel better.
"But if everyone evacuated, that means we have to fend for ourselves until they find us." I told him.
"We'll manage," he confirmed scooping a good-sized serving of rice into a bowl. "Want some fish?" he asked holding out a piece with his chopsticks. I held the bowl out as a yes.
We ate in silence. It was awkward sitting with him this time. Three months ago, I would have enjoyed spending time with him. Now it seemed almost… unfortunate. When we were done eating, we decided to get some sleep. I brought out all the blankets and let him pick out the ones he wanted to use. He chose two heavy quilts and a soft blanket to use in my parents room. I used the comforter again and slept in my own bed for the night. I would need all the warmth it could give me for the night.
...xXxXx...
The cold settled on my skin as I ran through the forest again. This time I was the one in pursuit. But of what was I in pursuit? I stopped in the middle of the forest to figure out what I was doing. My dreams seemed to be in the same setting every time. I looked around trying to get my bearings when something ran past me. That was it! The thing I was after; it ran right past me. I still didn't know what it was, but I knew it was important.
Again, I began my pursuit. Catching glimpses of the creature every now and then, I followed it into a clearing where I was stunned to see hundreds of them in all different colors. Some were blue, others were yellow, and I even caught an eyeful of pure purple ones. This is what I was looking for. I knew it was.
I walked forward to get a better view of the things when a red one with her that resembled fire turned and hissed at me. "Flare!" it yelled. It walked toward me and I saw its mouth start to glow a bright orange.
Suddenly, a black creature jumped in front of me and knocked the little red one to the ground. For a second I thought it was one of the creatures that attacked me before, but when it turned, it was obvious it wasn't. The thing had yellow rings on it and bright red eyes. The creature reminded me of the black platform from my last dream. The black creature was slightly bigger than the red one so I was safe for the time being. The red one walked back into the mob and disappeared.
Just as fast, as the creature saved me, it turned on me. "Bree, breon!" it yelled at me.
"What?" I asked confused.
"Bree, breon!" it repeated louder. Gradually more of the creatures started appearing. One by one, these strange animals surrounded me. I was just about to run when a small, fluffy brown and tan creature jumped onto my arms. This is what I was looking for! This is why I was searching the woods. The brown creature licked me on the face. Without warning began to glow.
...xXxXx...
My eyes flew awake with a sudden awareness. I was burning up. My skin felt as though it was on fire. Slowly I made my way to the kitchen and poured a bottle of water into a plastic cup. The air around me seemed to be hot. I knew that wasn't possible because the generator had gone out weeks earlier. I walked into the living room and surprised myself to see the television covered in gray static. I ran over to the thermostat to see that it too was on … 97 degrees! No wonder I was roasting. Quickly I lowered the temperature to 70 and startled myself when I turned around to see Darius staring at me while turning off the television. I thought he didn't know how to turn off. It was dark now and my eyes didn't want to adjust.
"When did the power come back on?" he asked. I just shook my head. Obviously, while we were asleep, I thought. I walked over to the light switch to test them out. Sure enough, they came on without hesitation. I turned to Darius, about to make a smart comment, when once again I was shocked. I hadn't actually seen Darius come in so when I noticed him standing there with no shirt on my heart stopped beating all together. I turned and headed back to the kitchen as the blush swiftly spread across my face. WHY DOESN'T HE HAVE A SHIRT ON! I quickly pulled myself together and headed back to the living room. Darius was now sitting on the couch with a shirt now on but still wide open. "I think we need to leave," he said suddenly.
"What? Why?" I complained. "I mean where are we supposed to go?"
"I already told you, the men I was staying with are going to come get us. We need to be out in the open when they do. What a better time to do so, then while the power's on and the temperature is rising."
I looked away, embarrassed that would question him at this critical time. "Yeah, you're right." I said barely audible. He looked at me, a frown present on his face.
"Don't worry. We're going to get out of here." He placed both hands on my shoulders and bent down to look me in the eyes. "I promise." I smiled and nodded.
"Of course we will." I felt so stupid for doubting anything he said, but I did. So far, he'd been the only one who has even remotely made me feel safe. Without him, I would probably be dead.
"We'll leave in two hours. By then the sun should be up and it'll give us enough time to pack a few things for the trip."
"Yeah," I said walking to the window. "We better dress warm though. It might be warm in here but it's going to still be freezing out there." I shoved a thumb at the window.
Darius smiled lightly and my heart skipped a beat. "Sure thing," he agreed. I blushed and walked away to my room so I could get ready. Any longer with that face and I might just faint.
I quickly dressed myself extra warm for the trip. I also found an old duffel bag in my parent's room. I placed pencils and paper in the base of the bag along with extra socks and an extra pair of sweat pants off to the side. I placed my chains in one pocket. Darius fill the rest of the bag with nonperishable food (which was mainly dried fish and beef jerky) and cooking oil packets. When he wasn't looking, I placed a pair of long underwear, which used to belong to my father, in the remaining open space.
Once everything was packed and we were warm, we headed out. Darius was generous and carried the duffel bag. Along the way, we managed to pick up a second, smaller backpack and filled it too with food. We also found a gas lantern to use for light and if need be, heat. I figured we would be fine with what we had packed, but if worse came to be, and we were stranded in the station, we had better be prepared.
It would have taken us twenty minutes to walk to the station, but with all the stops in the abandoned houses, (numbering thirteen) it took us an hour and a half. We made it to the station in one piece at least.
"Well," Darius started. "Now we just have to wait." He dusted snow from a bench and set the duffel bag on it. I placed the small backpack next to it. The station was the center of town. If we weren't rescued here, we wouldn't be rescued at all.
I sat next to him on another bench. "Are you sure they'll be able to get back in to the base?" I asked.
Darius flashed a wicked gorgeous, yet sinister, smile. "Of course they will." I left it at that. I had no idea as to the arrangement these men made, and I was had no right to be asking a bunch of simple-minded questions.
"It's not as cold as it was before." I said trying to strike up a conversation.
"You're right. That's because it's almost time for spring." He was drawing squiggling lines on the frost on his pants.
"Of course it is. It was a long winter, wasn't it?"
"A boring one if you ask me." He was still doodling on his leg.
"I wish we could have hung out in different circumstances. It's a little depressing being like this." I looked down at the bench we were sitting on. The wind was blowing elegant designs in the dusty snow. Darius looked up from his picture and scooted closer to me.
"I know," he agreed. "But I'm glad I could still be with you at all. If I hadn't seen you on top of the roof and come to help, I would have never seen you again." He was right. I was surely going to die if he hadn't found me then.
"I know," I agreed scooting closer to him too until our arms were touching. "I know." Darius took my hand in his and drew me closer to him. He was warm and I just wanted to stay like that forever. However, life has a way of messing with you in the best possible way. Darius was leaning forward tantalizing a kiss, when dozens of those blacken creatures happened to appear out of nowhere!
The fear in my voice was unmistakable as I screamed. Darius jumped up and pulled me with him. As he did, the creatures began their pursuit. We ran past the bags, not bothering to get them, when I remembered the chains I had packed. Tearing away from Darius, I ran back to the only weapon I could think of. Just as I pulled them out of the secondary pocket one of the black creatures descended on me. It jumped into the air and knocked me to the ground. Luckily, I was faster at getting up and was able to hit it across the head with the lock on the end of one of the chains. It disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.
Darius caught up to me with a long lead pipe in hand. With him, I was confident we could take them out. The first wave of attackers was the faster ones. Not giving any openings, we took them out easily. Every now and then, a bigger, stronger one would join in.
We managed to take out seventeen when there was a sudden vibration in the air. I knocked out another one and looked up to where the source of the noise was coming from. Directly above us was a helicopter. Darius took out two more and then called out to the crew. "Hey! We're down here!" He waved his lead pipe like a maniac. "HEY!" Suddenly a rope ladder fell from the sky. My heart fluttered with joy. We were saved!
Darius pushed me toward the rope, an indication that I should go first. I started climbing as he took out three more attackers. I was halfway up when he grabbed hold of the rope. He was climbing faster than I was and soon caught up to me. I tried to speed up but almost fell in the process. Several of our attackers were climbing up after us before the crew in the helicopter decided to fly higher. We were climbing thirty feet above the ground when the creatures caught up to us. Darius managed to kick three of them off, but one of them grabbed him by the ankle. It jerked him around until he lost his hold on the rope.
I watched in horror as Darius fell to the ground and the black creatures swallow him up. I was at the top of the ladder when two men pulled me into the helicopter. I struggled to break free of them, but they were too strong. I tried to make them go back for Darius, but they said no one could have survived a fall that far. Instead, I wept as they took me away from base ten, away from those things, away from whatever was left of Darius.
...xXxXx...
Just so you know I am cursing myself for this chapter. He wasn't supposed to fall. It just happened. Don't hate me.
Anyways... If you can figure out who the redhead is you get a cookie. And don't worry this'll be a happy story by the end okay.
Remember reviews are good for encouragement. I need motivation.
