"Attention all, attention all, all adults evacuate the buildings now, take children with you, I repeat, evacuate the buildings and homes now," The speakers started dying out as the truck went by, going farther and farther away.
Rala looked up from her homework and looked at her mother. She loved her mother dearly, but at the moment she was mad at her for making her stay home to watch her baby sister, while she went and saw the new movie with her father. Her mother knew perfectly well that Rala would have loved to see it and had actually planned on doing so with her friends. But she was stuck babysitting. She had to cancel her plans so her mother and father could go see the movie instead of her. It wasn't fair she thought. How can they do that to me? How can they leave me to watch a six-month old child while they go and see a movie... my movie! How could they? She would wonder while laying her spoiled rotten brother in his crib to bed. She hated her brother with a passion now that he started talking. The whole family was always intent on listening for any new words that he might come up with. While she, Rala, had made a 37 chapter, 450-page story about her characters and all they said was good job. Then her brother said "Poppies" and the whole family erupted into cheers. Rala was beginning to feel that she wasn't loved.
She glared up at her mother. "What do we do now? Where do we go mother dear?" She could tell it was a dire situation though. She hadn't seen her mother this worried in years.
"I don't know what to do honey," She looked out the window to see what the other neighbors were doing. Apparently they all had the same idea. Look out the window and see what happens with the other neighbors and how they are acting about the sudden evacuation.
The baby, Faith, started to cry in his crib. He was awaken by the noise of the speakers. Rala looked over at his closed door and glared at it. Wondering how he could sleep through mother's vacuuming right next to the crib and not wake up, when in the next room, Rala would play her music half as loud as that annoying vacuum, and wake up. It seemed Faith had something against her. She knew it, there had to be some way that Faith hated her. She could almost feel it. She watched as her mother went into the room and tried to hush her crying child.
Rala was tired of waiting to see what was going to happen. She walked outside into the blazing hot sun of California. She looked next door to see if her neighbor friend, Ebony was home along with her sisters Siva and Java. They were considerably nice girls. They didn't get along to well together but when Rala came over for a sleep over, they would have a great time talking about all of the guys they thought was hot and all of the teachers they hated. Eventually they would go to sleep... if they got lucky. They would stay up to around 4. 00 A.M. Before they're mother, politely, would ask them to shut the hell up and go to bed because she has to work in an hour. The girls would laugh to themselves and fall asleep. But they couldn't have that kind of fun this weekend because of Rala's mother and the babysitting deal. Sure the sisters understood what it was like to be stuck babysitting instead of a movie, but something was odd. They hadn't called or talked to her all week. It wouldn't have surprised her the most if school was going on. But because it was Spring Break, she wondered if she did something to upset them.
Rala walked over to next-door and knocked. It was Siva who answered the door. Her bleached blonde hair shone brightly in the sun. "What do you want Rala... can't you see we're trying to pack?" This wasn't the welcome she had been looking forward to. She was looking forward to a nice hello and a welcome inside. Instead she got something that made her sound like they didn't care much. The only thing she could manage to say was; "Why are you packing?" Siva laughed. "Are you that dense? Didn't you hear the intercom? 'Evacuate now', doesn't that mean anything to you?" Rala was angry now. She would expect comments like that from Ebony or Java, but never Siva. They were the best when together. They could finish each other sentence and just have a load more fun than they would if it was just Rala and Java or Rala and Ebony.
"I heard the announcements, but where are you going to go?"
"We're moving to New Zealand... you know. The island?"
"I God Damn know what it is Siva! I'm not that thick as your sisters and you put together!" She heard her gasp and felt the wind in her face as she slammed the door. She couldn't believe her ears. New Zealand, that was on the other side of the world! How would they ever make up now? She would more then likely never see them again. But right now she didn't care if she saw them again. She just hoped that if she did see them, they would be lying on the floor dead.
Rala's mother walked outside with Faith. Rala looked up when she heard a thud. It sounded as if something hard had hit the ground. When she looked up she saw her mother on the ground, her eyes in the back of her head, and her brother crying at not at the sight, but at the scrape he had gotten from falling. Rala ran over and held her brother trying to tell him that he was all right. She was merely trying to calm him down as much as her. She started sobbing next to her mother. She wished that she had been able to say sorry for being a brat to her and to her little brother. She hoped that wherever she was that she could hear her thoughts and forgive her. But until when she knew, she had a guilty conscious. Mother, she thought, I am so sorry that I didn't forgive you; it was very selfish of me to say those things to you. She continued to sob when Java and her sisters came out see what the noise was. Their parents came also. They too heard a thud and looked behind them to see that their parents were dead at their feet. They all were to stunned to say or do anything at the moment, but silent tears fell on the ground. The three of them hugged each other and started to cry.
Ebony looked back at her mother and father and said to her older and younger sisters, "Oh sisters, please let us have each other and protect each other from whatever is attacking them. Please, lets not fight and lets not take sides but try to help," the sisters nodded in agreement and looked over at Rala. Rala looked back over at them and stood up. She walked over to where they were standing. "May I join the partnership?" She asked in a quiet voice. The sisters nodded and made room for the other two siblings to join in the group hug.
There were plenty of other kids roaming the streets with tears in they're eyes. One of them, Martin, along with his brother Bray, was a gathering supporters. They walked over to where they were standing, huddled together.
"Well, what an interesting group we have here… a baby and four young girls, certainly not old enough to be it's mother," The older brother smirked down at his little brother, he looked almost like him if it wasn't for the hair and some of the facial differences.
"Oh knock it off," Ebony said, sniffing as she did so. She wiped away her tears. "What do you want anyways?"
"Well I heard the idea about moving to New Zealand and thought it wonderful. There has to be somewhere over there that wasn't attacked by the virus,"
Rala looked over at him with a quizzical look about her face. "Virus? Who said this was a virus? And how are you going to get to New Zealand when you can't drive and when it's all over on the side of the world?!" She though this a ridiculous plan of course. There were no grown-ups from what she could tell, and how would they be able to power a boat?
"What else would it be? It can't be an epidemic because it would have attacked everyone. So what else could it be? A Virus that's what. Now, Are you five ready to go to New Zealand. I know you three," He looked over at the three sisters, "Are already to go seeing how you have your bags in your house already packed. And what about you?" He looked over at Rala.
Rala shifted her brother to her other hip to let the other side to be able to relax a bit. "I don't know. I think that Faith would have a hard time making it to the other side of the world seeing how he is so young." She looked down at her brother. Now it was her turn to be worried about her brother. Now she knew how her mother felt when she wanted to do something but was restricted because of her kids. She experienced sudden sympathy for all mothers now.
"Faith? What a name to call a child. Especially a boy," Martin snickered a bit at this while his brother just stood there smiling at them. "Alright, enough horsing around, are you going to let your brother take control of your life just because he is younger then you?! What a way to live don't you think Bray?" Now it was time for Bray to say something. Rala looked over at him expecting him to say something crude and just as harsh as his brother.
"Well, if your brother restricts you from having to go somewhere as far as New Zealand, especially with sickness of the water and such, but I think since your brother is so young, he should stay here. I'm sure there will be other people left here to help you take care of him," This was the longest thing she had ever heard him say. And truthfully, it made sense. But Martin just laughed. "My dear brother, haven't you noticed that we rounded up everyone to go? People from all over the city has come here in hopes that someone knows what is going on and that someone has an idea to help them with they're lost ones and such. Brother there will be no one left for her," Martin looked over at her smiled almost evilly at her. "But if you choose to stay where I'm sure it isn't safe and no one could help you then be my guest dear child. No one will stop you,"
Rala looked over at the Sisters. Ebony was shaking her head, and clearly trying to mentally tell her to come with them, it would be better. Java looked like she really didn't care either way, and Siva had her hands to her mouth, so that it looked like she was praying for her to come also.
"I'm sorry, but I just can't risk Faiths health just for me to come with you. Sure I might have a better chance surviving in numbers, but I'm quite sure that I can make it alone with him. I'm sorry, but I'm declining your offer," Rala walked into her house and started packing.
Enraged with her choice, Martin walked into her house fuming. "What the hell do you think you are going to go?! I thought you wanted to stay here!" He said through gritted teeth.
"Well, your right about one thing," She said packing up a duffle bag of her brothers clothes and diapers. "I can't live here alone with him, I'm going to wander the city and try and find anyone else that didn't leave with you. And once I find them, we can be a tribe together," She said a lot of dignity. Martin couldn't stand it. "You know what? Fine I don't give a damn, stay here for all I care! Because you know what else, I don't give a god damn if you do or not!" He walked out of the house and slammed the door. Sadly Rala was half expecting to hear her mother yell 'don't slam the door Rala! It might wake your brother!' But nothing came. Rala sniffed her sobs back and looked at her brother who was trying to crawl into the walker. This gave her an idea. She knew it was going to be a pain in the butt to carry her brother everywhere, but he had a big red wagon she could put his walker in and him in the walker and pull it everywhere. And since it was one of those little towing wagons, she could hook others onto it. It would be hard to pull, but she had no other choice. She would fill the bags and put them in the second wagon and pull it everywhere that she went. It was her only option.
She didn't know what happened to the Sisters or Martin and his brother but she figured that they had gone with the plan and headed towards the coast to find a boat and take it across the ocean. She began to wonder the streets with her cranky brother the next morning. Apparently Rala hadn't figured out the times for his naps yet so he was cranky that he either missed it or when she tried to get him to fall asleep about 3 hours before when he was supposed to. So she just let him fall asleep whenever he wanted and recorded the times on a piece of paper in her pocket. So she began her way through the empty streets crowded with garbage and bags.