Delirium Short Story- Rescuing Grace

Rescuing Grace

As I approach the end of the road, I make a silent prayer that Grace will be there. Through the slight morning fog, I search for my cousin's thin figure.

 I hear a stomping noise, and duck behind a tall hedge. Regulators are clomping by - there has to be at least four of them. I watch silently, hoping that they wouldn't turn on to Brooks. Brooks is the street where Grace is.

 The steady beat of footsteps echo through the streets of abandoned houses. I watch the regulators turn away from Brooks, and, breathing a sigh of relief, I grab the sack I was carrying, which holds canned fruit and beans, as well as a few chunks of bread. I dart out from the bushes and continued to make my way to Brooks. Grace, Grace, Grace. No one else matters here in Rochester anymore. Alex is gone, he sacrificed himself to let me escape, to let me live. Hana? Cured - there's nothing I can do. She probably wouldn't remember me in the same way anyways, even if I tried to find her.

 Once I turn onto Brooks, I squint my eyes, scouting out the little girl; Grace Tiddle. I see her peeking out from behind a house. I make my way toward her slowly.

 "Gracie? Gracie, it's me." I hold my arms out to her. Ten feet away. Five.

 "Lena?" Grace's small voice calls out to me.

 "It's me. I brought you some food...can you come here, Grace?" Grace walks forward slowly. Two feet away. She looks up at me, and I look down into her pale, watery blue eyes. Then she gives me a wide smile and jumps up, hugging me. I envelope her, hoping that my cousin would ignore the fact that I haven't washed myself thoroughly in a week, thanks to hiding out at a makeshift camp in the Wilds.

 I place my hand on Grace's shoulder.

 "Gracie, listen. Do you like it here? With Aunt Carol, and Uncle William? With Jenny?" I let the sack of food drop to the ground. The fog has cleared almost completely. Grace looks down and shrugs.

 "They don't care, Lena."

I tighten my grip on her shoulders.

 "About what? Who?"

Grace just shrugs again, shaking her head vigorously. I am reminded that she hasn't spoken more than maybe fifty words her whole life. And even then, I was the only one who knew Grace had ever spoken at all, until she shouted out on the night Alex and I tried to escape. I will myself not to cry, picturing his honey colored eyes, the face ringed with hair the color of cinnamon, and the wide, white smile, looking down at me. Alex.

 "Grace." I say, taking a deep breath. "Do you want to come with me?"

 Grace's eyes widen as she shifts, looking up at me again. She nods.

 "Yes?" I whisper. Grace nods again.

 "To the Wilds?"

 "Yes." Grace has a look of determination on her face.

 "Okay. Okay." I hand Grace the sack of food I had brought. "Bring this to Carol and William, okay? Then..meet me outside of 37 Brooks after noon, do you know where that is?"

 I struggle to say this - 37 Brooks is the house where Hana, Alex and I spent our last uncured summer.

Grace nods, grabbing the sack. She runs off, and I stand up, looking after her.

It will be okay. Grace will be with me, the last part of my old life.

I will escape this place once more.

END