Title: Amicus verus est rara avis (Latin for: A true friend is a rare bird
Disclaimer: The tribe does obviously not belong to me – I just like to play around with the plot
Chapter 1She was alone. Alone out on a small balcony of the hotel she was staying at. If she looked up she would see the clouded, dark sky, but if she looked straight forward, she would see the lights of the city. She was sitting down, leaning against a brick wall. Her brown hair fell down over her shoulders, which were covered with a blanket. She looked to her left and saw a dark figure coming out of the door and walking towards her. The person sat down next to her.
"You're up late," the person said, obviously a male, "or early."
"I guess I should say the same thing to you," she said avoiding the eye contact he was trying to make.
"I was going to get some water, when I saw you out here."
"Why didn't you just get some in the bathroom in your room?" she asked him. They were there with their school class from Denmark. Their classmates and them had been split up in small groups and been checked into rooms on the third floor of the hotel, which had their own bathrooms. Everyone on the floor shared a small kitchen and a balcony.
"I didn't want to wake up Daniel or Mark," he answered quietly. She just nodded. "Christine, are you alright?"
For the first time, since he sat down next to her, she turned her head and actually looked into his eyes. A silent tear ran down her cheek. She hoped he wouldn't notice. "Our family and friends are on the other side of the ocean, and we are stuck here in London and have absolutely no idea whether they are dead or alive. So yeah, I'm perfectly fine," she said sarcastically. She knew it wasn't fair to him, but she couldn't help it either.
"I'm sorry," he looked down. She couldn't see it, but she knew there was sadness in his eyes. "I know," he spoke up again, this time in a weak voice. He then almost whispered, "I know."
He looked up and into her eyes again. This time there was something different about the scene this time. It was like the lights of the city reached them, and they were able to really see deep into the other person's eyes. She remembered now. Earlier that day, he had tried calling his parents. "Oh Michael, I'm sorry," she said and moved closer to him. She wrapped her arms around him. She realised now – they hadn't picked up the phone.
She pulled away from him after a while. No tears had come to his eyes. A part of her expected there to be, but she knew he was strong. And what guy would cry in front of a girl? They were sitting close, still looking into each other's eyes. "What's going to happen to us?" She asked whispering.
She could read his face that he didn't know either. He leaned in and his lips touched hers slightly. Just then a siren went on over the city. "TO THE LOBBY!" They heard someone call in the hallway, knocking on every door. Soon they found their classmates walking around in the hallway, with just as confused looks on their faces as Michael and Christine had on theirs. With one last glance at one another, they stood up and walked inside to join their friends.
In the lobby, Christine noticed that only half of the guest turned up. All around her people were in panic. "Calm down for a minute," An old-looking man suddenly spoke up. His voice was very hoarse and weak. She recognised him as the hotel manager, though when he had greeted her classmates, teacher and her, he had looked a lot more cheerful, energetic and, well, younger. "We have just been informed that the virus, which broke out in New Zealand earlier on the week, have been spreading with such a speed so mankind have had no chance to stop it. It has hit England. All children under the age of eighteen will be evacuated to the country site, because as you have probably all heard, no child has been hit with this virus. You will be brought back when things are safe. Busses are waiting outside."
The manager stepped down ignoring the questions and comments people started yelling. More and more started moving outside towards the bus. Christine knew some of her classmates were over the age of eighteen. What was going to happen to them? She was seventeen herself. What was going to happen to her? She had asked those questions before. She got caught up in the flow of people running towards the busses. They did not care that it was only meant for children. She heard someone call out her name. She looked back and saw Michael. He was getting further and further away from her. She tried calling for him, but a few seconds later she couldn't see him anymore. The crowd pushed her outside. She tried looking for some of her friends but she couldn't find any. A large man knocked her over, so she hit her head against the hard concrete.
She felt people stepping on her hand every now and then, until she got up again. She took a look around the street. It was in complete chaos. She started walking towards one of the busses that hadn't driven out of town yet. She felt dizzy after the fall. She managed to push herself into the bus, and get a seat at the window. The bus kept on filling with more and more people, until not one more could be squeezed in. Her vision started blurring. She closed her eyes slowly and leaned her head against the window. The last thing she remembered before nothing but blackness was the feeling of the bus starting to move.
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She woke up with great pain in her head. She let out a small scream as the pain stroke. She felt someone take a hold of hand, and she did not pull away. At the moment she couldn't focus on anything else but the pain. She twisted back and forth hoping it would go away. It felt like hours, days, weeks, before it finally settled down a bit. Her eyes opened slowly. She felt herself breathing heavily.
She took a look around the room she was in. She was lying in a soft bed made of blankets and pillows. It filled with light, which came in through a small window. When she looked out of it she couldn't recognise anything. Around on small boxes and tables in the room were candles, though not lighted. "Finally awake," she heard a male voice say next to her.
She turned her head and saw someone she did not know. "Where am I?"
"A city thirty miles south of London," he answered. He was holding her hand. "I'm Will." She looked around the room again. "We're staying in a two-storey storage building. We have put up walls to make rooms – though with no doors yet.
"We?" she asked in a low voice. She wasn't feeling her best yet.
He smiled. "Yes, we. My sister, Melissa, and I came just after our parents died. More children turned up and they sort of became our new family. Six of us are living here now."
"How long exactly have you lived here?"
"About two weeks I think. The virus came from the south and hit us three weeks ago. Our parents died within that week." A trace of sadness ran across his face.
"I'm sorry," she said and squeezed his hand slightly. "If the virus broke out here three weeks ago. How come we didn't hear about it in London before yesterday?"
He looked into her eyes with a confused look on his face. "You have been lying here for about a week." His expression turned concerned. "Don't you remember anything?" She shook her head. "The bus you were on crashed into a tree. It was lucky I found you because either the bleeding from your head would have killed you, or the virus. All the adults on the bus were dead. Some of the kids died in the accident and I'm guessing the rest ran away."
She lifted her right hand, the one he wasn't holding, and put it on her head. She felt the bandage he had put on her head. She ran the hand softly through her hair until she found another painful spot. She carefully felt the bump. It must have been from when she hit the concrete. That she remembered. She took her hand down again – it hurt when she touched it. "Thank you for your help," she said.
He smiled again. "Only glad to see you better. You should get some rest. What's your name by the way?"
"Christine," She answered. He nodded and got up. She leaned into the pillows, and soon after she was asleep again.
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"Ready to take a walk?" Will asked her a few weeks later. She had spend the time in bed, mostly spending the time sleeping, only waking up to eat some of the food Will brought her. She nodded. "All right," he helped her to stand. "Good so far?" She felt a bit dizzy but nodded. "Good. Here we go." He held her as they started walking.
She took a deep breath and walked out of the small room. They came out on what looked like one long balcony. It went around in a square. There was a hole in the middle so you could see right into the entrance hall. Everywhere were candles. "Since the adults died, the electricity and water supplies have been cut off," Will explained. "Come on, I'll take you to the kitchen."
They walked down the stairs, turned left and walked into a small room. In one side was a kitchen, and in the other was a dining table. Four people were looking up at her from the table, studying her every move. "Daniel?" she asked as she recognised one of the faces. He smiled at her. It was him. He walked up to her and gave her a hug, then pulled out a chair for her to sit on.
"I see you already know one," Will said. "Everybody this is Christine. Christine that's Ally," he pointed towards a girl in the kitchen, who was about a year younger than Christine and had long blonde hair. Christine smiled and nodded towards her. "My sister Melissa," he nodded towards a girl with dark hair. They were obviously twins. "Daniel you already know. Then there's Scott." A boy around the age of fourteen. He was wearing a blue cap. "And finally Jeff." Jeff had dark red hair and was around the age of twelve.
Ally came over to Christine with a plate with some food on it. "You should eat something. You have lost a lot of weight." Christine thanked her. She looked down herself. Ally was right.
"Anyone been outside today?" Will asked. "What's the word on the street?"
"It's the usual chaos out there," Scott said. "Children running around with no where to go, graffiti on every wall, and the Raiders are getting more and more power due to the loyalty they get from all the people."
"The Raiders?" Christine asked.
"Some name isn't it!" Daniel said.
"It's a group of kids running around trying to get a political system on it's feet," Will explained.
"But that's good, isn't it?" Christine asked. "Getting a political system back means getting society back." Will looked down. "Unless we are not talking about democracy." She realised.
"I'm afraid we aren't," Scott continued. "The Raiders are planning on taking over, controlling everything."
"They win over the trust of the children, who doesn't have anywhere to go. They promise them water and food, which is something that is very needed in this city," Will explained.
"Now to the news," Scott said, adjusting his cap slightly. "Word on the street is more and more children are missing. No one knows whether they are dead or kidnapped. All clues point towards the Raiders, but no one wants to believe that because they feel the Raiders are the only ones, who will be able to protect them in the end."
"Sounds like a bad movie," Jeff spoke up.
"And we're starring in it. They have occupied a building in sector three. One, which used to be a high school." Scott said carefully. "and that is not a small building if I recall correctly."
"Sector three," Christine said thoughtfully, "Which sector are we in?"
"Five," Will answered. "Scott and Jeff will give you the grand tour once you're feeling better."
"She's staying?" Melissa joined in on the conversation for the first time.
Will looked from Melissa, then to Daniel, then to Christine. "Yes she is. Get used to it." He smiled.
"It's not to be rude, Will, but our food storage is not exactly high as it is."
"I think I'm the one to decide on that one," Ally spoke up. "If we are careful we can feed another mouth. By the look of her plate she is not the one, who eats the most." She glanced down at the plate in front of Christine. Only half of the food had been eaten. "Scott and Jeff are on the case of finding food, aren't you?" Ally looked at the two boys.
Jeff nodded and answered the question, "Most have been taken by the children in the city, so I think we have to look towards the country site. Maybe we'll have some more luck there. There might me crops and such."
"See?" Ally said with raised eyebrows. "She can stay. She is not in any condition to leave anyway, nor does she have anywhere to go."
"Thank you," Christine said with a smile.
"You should go back and rest," Will said. Christine nodded and got up. A sudden dizziness hit her again and she had to put her hand on the chair for support. Will got up quickly. "I'll help you." He took her hand and placed it around his shoulders. He then took his other hand and planted it around her waist. They walked back to what now looked to be Christine's room. "What do you think of the place?"
"It's not bad," she said with a smile. "Could use some cleaning maybe, but other than that I like it."
He laughed. "Yeah it could. Sorry about my sister by the way."
"No offence taken. I understand her concern." He walked her over to the bed where he put her down. "Tell me something though," she continued. He sat down next to her and listened. "All of this, the chaos in the city, children getting together in – what should we call them – tribes, adults dying, water and electricity supplies being cut off – all of this happened in just three weeks?"
Will let out a sigh. "Those children had no have a single worry in their life before now. They are used to their parents taking care of everything. Now they have no one to do that. That is why they get together. Some of them are under the age of five. Without someone to watch over them, they would be dead in a matter of days. Some sick people – in this case, the Raiders – have found a way to take advantage of their vulnerability. They get power out of it – and who doesn't want power? Power can be used in good and bad ways, and as it looks now, they are not planning on using in a good way. If they are, it's only to win more loyalty. Who knows what they hope will happen in the end." She listened to him carefully, catching every word he said. "You should get some rest," he said with a sudden change of tone.
He stood up and walked out of the room. She let out a sigh. The world looked like a much more complicated place now than it used to be. She leaned back and pulled the blanket over her. It didn't take long before she was asleep.
That night a nightmare haunted her. She was running down the street with someone on her tail. She couldn't see their faces, but she could hear their footsteps behind her. She turned into a dark alley. Unfortunately it was a dead end with no where to go. Their were coming close now. "We know you're there," they said. "We have taken everyone you care about. You can join them."
"No," she said.
"All you have to do is come with us."
"No!" she said a little higher. She still couldn't see them.
"Then you are just going to have to see them in heaven. Will you get there first or will they?" they laughed.
"NO!" She yelled feeling the tears run down her cheeks.
"What's wrong, darling? Not getting scared are you?" Their creepy laughter filled the alley.
"NOO!" She yelled as she sat up in bed with her eyes right open. She could feel the cold sweat on her forehead, and her chest pounding up and down with a haste speed. She pulled the blanket away and got out of bed. She pulled on a sleeveless, blue sweatshirt and a pair of loose, black pants. As she walked down the stairs to the kitchen, she tried to calm herself down.
"Gee, you look like a mess," Melissa said as Christine entered the kitchen. Melissa, Ally, Will and Scott were already awake.
"Thank you," Christine said sarcastically and sat down next to Will.
"Nightmare again?" Ally asked as she placed a small plate of food in front of her.
"Parts of the dream."
"What exactly is it that you dream about?" Will asked.
"My last day in London, first day I'm awake here," She answered. "And the first day I'm up walking."
"How can that be a nightmare?" Scott asked. "That's the day you met us. Should be the best day of your life."
Everyone let out a laugh. "That's not the nightmare part," Christine explained. "It's the nightmare I had the same night that keeps replaying in my head." All eyes fell upon her. "That nightmare is about me being chased by someone, who had already killed or kidnapped my friends."
Will looked closely at her. "None of us has been taken yet," he said, hoping it would calm her down a bit. "Besides it has been three months since you got here."
"It has," she nodded. "But the dreams have only been there a week. I'm sure it will stop soon." She smiled hoping they would believe her. She wasn't even sure if she believed herself.
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A/N: Alright that was first chapter done. Tell me what you think :) . That's my first Tribe story by the way. Until next chapter..