"It's quiet here... too quiet... I enjoy it very much... The silence, no
screams... no pain... no hatred... My tummy hurts, mommy... I'm so hungry,
so thirsty... so lonely..."
"I remember..."
Chapter 2
"Mommy, why do the stars twinkle like that?" Emily had asked her mother. She and her mother were sitting outside of their home on the balcony. She remembered it all too well; this was three weeks ago. Yet, in Emily's mind, it seemed so real.
"Well," spoke her mother, "the stars are big balls of gas, shining brightly millions of miles away from us. The stars are much like the sun except they are so far away." Emily's smile slowly faded and her face had a look of confusion. "But, mommy. You told me that daddy was a star and was watching over me?"
She looked to her child and gave a sweet smile. "Your father is watching you, sweetie. He's right here. in your heart." Said her mother as she raised a hand to place it over her chest.
Then, the entire scene seemed to have melted away and she heard noises. She heard voices and a sudden chill around her body. Her eyes slowly opened to see beautiful leaves from the tree she had fallen asleep near by. The cardboard box and her Zero plushy were still beside her, as if protecting her from any harm that came her way.
"I'm so cold." Emily whispered to herself. Her tiny hand reached forward and grasped her doll and box. She opened up the backpack she still held onto with her left arm and placed her box inside with the rest. She had stood on her feet and placed the backpack on her shoulders and back. Holding her plushy, she started to walk down the path to find her way out of the park.
She came to a stop when she saw, in the distance, what was left of the town she used to call home. No building stood to the ground anymore; it was nothing but ash, dust and debris. Bodies and machine parts were scattered everywhere and she saw very few people going through the debris.
"There. There is nothing left. Everything's gone.!" Emily exclaimed aloud to herself. She took a deep breath to try to calm her fears down and walked forward to try to find anyone she knew that had survived. She wanted to find someone, anyone that had survived and could assure her that everything would be okay.
She stopped when she heard the same voices again. Her head took a glance to the side to spot two people, a boy and his dad, sitting on the debris discussing something she could not make out. She edged on closer to try to listen what they were saying.
"That was some attack, wasn't it Gavin?"
"I-I guess so, father."
"I'd never have seen such a desperate attempt on Sigma's part. They say that the space colony, Eurasia, is on a crash course to the planet. Yes, seems we are all going to die soon. Maybe it was meant for us to die like this."
"Don't say that, daddy! That's not true at all!"
"Son, there are some things you must accept in life and one of those things is death. In sixteen hours, we will all be gone. All we have to do is accept the facts and enjoy the little things we have now."
Emily could not believe what she was hearing. It does not matter if I survived or not, she thought. We are just all going to die. just like that.
"No!" Emily shouted that drawn out the attention to the two toward her. Emily's stared to the two as her eyes began to swell with tears. "That isn't true, it can't be true! X and Zero will save us all, just as they always do! I'm not going to die.!" She felt her knees weaken and give way, falling onto her hands and knees. "I don't want to die." She whispered, before she started to cry to the ground.
Gavin's father had a look of astonishment to see the little girl. "She must've lived here." He whispered to his son and knelt down to the little girl. "It's okay. I.I didn't mean it! I was. I was kidding!" He saw that his talking was not helping the situation and sighed.
"Look. You will not die, I promise. My son, Gavin, and I were heading toward Hunter base ourselves in search for shelter. If you'd like, you could come with us." Emily slowly stopped crying and stared up to the man. A smile slowly came onto the little girl's face.
"Can I really come with you.? But, mommy."
"its okay," He interrupted, "You'll be happy once we get there. Just, no more tears. alright?" Emily nodded to him and sniffled slightly, standing to her feet. "Th-Thank you, mister." She spoke up to him with a sniff. "Well, now that we've all met, what is your name little girl?" "My name. is Emily. Emily Gabbison." She replied. "Well, Emily, my name is Emilio!" He grinned down to her, and then gestured with his hand to the thirteen-year-old boy next to him. "This is my son, Gavin. Say hello, Gavin." Gavin gave a warm smile toward the girl and waved lightly to her. "Hello, Emily." He spoke toward to her. Emilio turned to the road ahead and to the darkened skies in front of them. "Well, we've better get going now.! Maybe if we're lucky, we'll find some food along the way!" Emily's eyes had widened as she remembered the food in her backpack. She reached behind her back, opening her backpack as she dug out three apples and showed them to the two. "I have food. I took some while the attacks went on. Here, take one!" Gavin let out a warm smile as he took two of the apples. "Thank you very much. Here, dad." He offered the apple toward his father but Emilio shook his head. "Later, son. I need to concentrate on our journey ahead."
It was around three hours that the three had walked in the barren wastelands. The sun might have been covered but the heat was almost unbearable. Emily had held on tightly to Gavin's arm as the two had followed the older Emilio. However, as they walked, Gavin noticed something was not right with his father. His father held the water canteen yet would not drink the water. Gavin recalled the events that had happened to them. They went out fishing and heard on the radio of the virus infecting everyone all over the planet. He remembered how his father and he traveled all night to this town to not only find it destroyed, but also a little girl that seemed to be the only survivor.
"Father." Gavin spoke up, ".Maybe it's about time you drank something. You went out a long time without water." Emilio looked over his shoulder and gave a small grin to his only son. "Gavin," He spoke, "I made a promise to your mother to make sure you grew up to go to college. I plan to make sure your mother's wishes are granted." "But father!" Gavin exclaimed before he stopped, looking around to the area. He thought he heard something fall. Emily had heard it too, and was clutching on his arm tighter then she was before. Emilio slowed to a stop as he glanced to some rocks, then back to the children. "I'm going to check it out.Maybe it might be a search team looking for survivors in the region." Emilio assured them, before taking off the canteen and handing it to the two. He had grinned to the children before he turned to check out the rocks ahead. Emily had let go of his arm and sat down on the ground below. She sniffled as she hugged her knees tightly. Gavin glanced to the girl and smiled lightly. He knelt down to her and watched her for a moment before speaking up. "Hey," He began, "It's going to be okay. My dad never failed me before and I'm sure he won't let us down either!" He heard no response from the girl and sighed to himself. "I know it must be hard, Emily. but I know we won't die so easily. Everything that was said was only rumors spoken from other survivors we met last night. I'm sure there is nothing to be afraid of." Just as Gavin finished, the two heard a scream that came from the rocks. Emilio emerged from the rocks, holding a stub where his right arm used to be, staggering to get away from the rocks. "M-Maverick." He stammered, "There are Mavericks hiding.we need to run!" Fear came across Emily's face when she heard the very word she feared, Maverick. Gavin grabbed Emily's arm and they ran as fast as they could from the place. The sun was high in the sky to show it was afternoon when they had finally stopped. Gavin knelt down to his injured father and had taken off his long sleeve sweater to try to press against the wound to try to stop the bleeding.
Emily watched in horror at the sight bestowed on her. She had the faint images of her mother's death return to her. She did not want the father to die; she couldn't let him die! She clutched onto her Zero plushy even tighter as she watched him.
Emilio weakly glanced up to Emily and tried his best to give her a reassuring smile. "It's. alright, Emily." He spoke weakly, "I'll be fine. It won't take long, I assure you. All I need is some sleep. Yes, sleep. Then we'll make it to the base. I promise you, you will be safe."
As he closed his eyes, a beam shot out to the sky behind the two at the sky. An explosion was heard far off into the distance in the sky. A smile slowly crept on Emilio's face when he heard the explosion. "Yes." He said, "We'll be safe. That must have been the hunters.They'll rescue us, and we'll live together. the three of us."
"..Emilio never woke up again. and we were alone."
To Be Continued. In Chapter 3.
"I remember..."
Chapter 2
"Mommy, why do the stars twinkle like that?" Emily had asked her mother. She and her mother were sitting outside of their home on the balcony. She remembered it all too well; this was three weeks ago. Yet, in Emily's mind, it seemed so real.
"Well," spoke her mother, "the stars are big balls of gas, shining brightly millions of miles away from us. The stars are much like the sun except they are so far away." Emily's smile slowly faded and her face had a look of confusion. "But, mommy. You told me that daddy was a star and was watching over me?"
She looked to her child and gave a sweet smile. "Your father is watching you, sweetie. He's right here. in your heart." Said her mother as she raised a hand to place it over her chest.
Then, the entire scene seemed to have melted away and she heard noises. She heard voices and a sudden chill around her body. Her eyes slowly opened to see beautiful leaves from the tree she had fallen asleep near by. The cardboard box and her Zero plushy were still beside her, as if protecting her from any harm that came her way.
"I'm so cold." Emily whispered to herself. Her tiny hand reached forward and grasped her doll and box. She opened up the backpack she still held onto with her left arm and placed her box inside with the rest. She had stood on her feet and placed the backpack on her shoulders and back. Holding her plushy, she started to walk down the path to find her way out of the park.
She came to a stop when she saw, in the distance, what was left of the town she used to call home. No building stood to the ground anymore; it was nothing but ash, dust and debris. Bodies and machine parts were scattered everywhere and she saw very few people going through the debris.
"There. There is nothing left. Everything's gone.!" Emily exclaimed aloud to herself. She took a deep breath to try to calm her fears down and walked forward to try to find anyone she knew that had survived. She wanted to find someone, anyone that had survived and could assure her that everything would be okay.
She stopped when she heard the same voices again. Her head took a glance to the side to spot two people, a boy and his dad, sitting on the debris discussing something she could not make out. She edged on closer to try to listen what they were saying.
"That was some attack, wasn't it Gavin?"
"I-I guess so, father."
"I'd never have seen such a desperate attempt on Sigma's part. They say that the space colony, Eurasia, is on a crash course to the planet. Yes, seems we are all going to die soon. Maybe it was meant for us to die like this."
"Don't say that, daddy! That's not true at all!"
"Son, there are some things you must accept in life and one of those things is death. In sixteen hours, we will all be gone. All we have to do is accept the facts and enjoy the little things we have now."
Emily could not believe what she was hearing. It does not matter if I survived or not, she thought. We are just all going to die. just like that.
"No!" Emily shouted that drawn out the attention to the two toward her. Emily's stared to the two as her eyes began to swell with tears. "That isn't true, it can't be true! X and Zero will save us all, just as they always do! I'm not going to die.!" She felt her knees weaken and give way, falling onto her hands and knees. "I don't want to die." She whispered, before she started to cry to the ground.
Gavin's father had a look of astonishment to see the little girl. "She must've lived here." He whispered to his son and knelt down to the little girl. "It's okay. I.I didn't mean it! I was. I was kidding!" He saw that his talking was not helping the situation and sighed.
"Look. You will not die, I promise. My son, Gavin, and I were heading toward Hunter base ourselves in search for shelter. If you'd like, you could come with us." Emily slowly stopped crying and stared up to the man. A smile slowly came onto the little girl's face.
"Can I really come with you.? But, mommy."
"its okay," He interrupted, "You'll be happy once we get there. Just, no more tears. alright?" Emily nodded to him and sniffled slightly, standing to her feet. "Th-Thank you, mister." She spoke up to him with a sniff. "Well, now that we've all met, what is your name little girl?" "My name. is Emily. Emily Gabbison." She replied. "Well, Emily, my name is Emilio!" He grinned down to her, and then gestured with his hand to the thirteen-year-old boy next to him. "This is my son, Gavin. Say hello, Gavin." Gavin gave a warm smile toward the girl and waved lightly to her. "Hello, Emily." He spoke toward to her. Emilio turned to the road ahead and to the darkened skies in front of them. "Well, we've better get going now.! Maybe if we're lucky, we'll find some food along the way!" Emily's eyes had widened as she remembered the food in her backpack. She reached behind her back, opening her backpack as she dug out three apples and showed them to the two. "I have food. I took some while the attacks went on. Here, take one!" Gavin let out a warm smile as he took two of the apples. "Thank you very much. Here, dad." He offered the apple toward his father but Emilio shook his head. "Later, son. I need to concentrate on our journey ahead."
It was around three hours that the three had walked in the barren wastelands. The sun might have been covered but the heat was almost unbearable. Emily had held on tightly to Gavin's arm as the two had followed the older Emilio. However, as they walked, Gavin noticed something was not right with his father. His father held the water canteen yet would not drink the water. Gavin recalled the events that had happened to them. They went out fishing and heard on the radio of the virus infecting everyone all over the planet. He remembered how his father and he traveled all night to this town to not only find it destroyed, but also a little girl that seemed to be the only survivor.
"Father." Gavin spoke up, ".Maybe it's about time you drank something. You went out a long time without water." Emilio looked over his shoulder and gave a small grin to his only son. "Gavin," He spoke, "I made a promise to your mother to make sure you grew up to go to college. I plan to make sure your mother's wishes are granted." "But father!" Gavin exclaimed before he stopped, looking around to the area. He thought he heard something fall. Emily had heard it too, and was clutching on his arm tighter then she was before. Emilio slowed to a stop as he glanced to some rocks, then back to the children. "I'm going to check it out.Maybe it might be a search team looking for survivors in the region." Emilio assured them, before taking off the canteen and handing it to the two. He had grinned to the children before he turned to check out the rocks ahead. Emily had let go of his arm and sat down on the ground below. She sniffled as she hugged her knees tightly. Gavin glanced to the girl and smiled lightly. He knelt down to her and watched her for a moment before speaking up. "Hey," He began, "It's going to be okay. My dad never failed me before and I'm sure he won't let us down either!" He heard no response from the girl and sighed to himself. "I know it must be hard, Emily. but I know we won't die so easily. Everything that was said was only rumors spoken from other survivors we met last night. I'm sure there is nothing to be afraid of." Just as Gavin finished, the two heard a scream that came from the rocks. Emilio emerged from the rocks, holding a stub where his right arm used to be, staggering to get away from the rocks. "M-Maverick." He stammered, "There are Mavericks hiding.we need to run!" Fear came across Emily's face when she heard the very word she feared, Maverick. Gavin grabbed Emily's arm and they ran as fast as they could from the place. The sun was high in the sky to show it was afternoon when they had finally stopped. Gavin knelt down to his injured father and had taken off his long sleeve sweater to try to press against the wound to try to stop the bleeding.
Emily watched in horror at the sight bestowed on her. She had the faint images of her mother's death return to her. She did not want the father to die; she couldn't let him die! She clutched onto her Zero plushy even tighter as she watched him.
Emilio weakly glanced up to Emily and tried his best to give her a reassuring smile. "It's. alright, Emily." He spoke weakly, "I'll be fine. It won't take long, I assure you. All I need is some sleep. Yes, sleep. Then we'll make it to the base. I promise you, you will be safe."
As he closed his eyes, a beam shot out to the sky behind the two at the sky. An explosion was heard far off into the distance in the sky. A smile slowly crept on Emilio's face when he heard the explosion. "Yes." He said, "We'll be safe. That must have been the hunters.They'll rescue us, and we'll live together. the three of us."
"..Emilio never woke up again. and we were alone."
To Be Continued. In Chapter 3.