Failure of Glory

Chapter 2

Jolie laid down on the bed beside her sister, careful not to wake her. She froze for a moment when her sister began to move.

"Mom?" she used her hand to cover her yawn.

"Try again," Jolie teased.

Aaliyah laughed sleepily. "You brought up the masks again didn't you?" Now it was Jolie's turn to laugh. Aaliyah took her sister's silence as a response. "You know he's never going to agree to that right?"

"He will when we run out of food and water," she huffed. She hated that no one was on her side when it came to these masks. They all claimed to have faith in her invention and yet they were still more than hesitant to let her leave the bunker.

"Yea which won't be for at least another year," Aaliyah fired.

"And you're willing to let that one year countdown to one day. Do you want to die here because that's what's gonna happen. Mom is already sick and I think we both know what happens when you get sick and there are no doctors or medicine to help you," Jolie said.

"Don't say that," Aaliyah whispered.

"Then don't act like we can stay here forever. You need to wake up Liyah. You all do."

Jolie knew she was being harsh but she didn't know how else to get through to her family. That's when the idea first popped into her head. She knew it was risky but she also knew that no one in her family was a particularly light sleeper. If she was quiet enough- if she was careful enough she could slip in and out without her family ever finding out.

She thought about bringing back some medicine and pretending she found it in the storage closet but then second guessed herself knowing that her father would see right through it. She decided it would be better if she confirmed that her mask worked before she began to jump into anything serious.

"Are you going to be fine in here, I want to go work on the mask," Jolie said. Aaliyah responded with the shrug of her shoulders and Jolie made her way to the small room, which she had deemed her creative zone.

It was a small room, barely big enough to fit their living room couch in but Jolie loved it all the same. It was cluttered but that's how she liked it, every spot on the floor covered in scrap metal or spare wires.

She tip-toed through the room, careful not to step on any of her hardware and over to a singular mask under a lamp's light. Jolie looked at it long and hard debating on going over her fathers head. She thought about when he went over her mother's head to pick them up from school early because he believed that it was in the best interest for his family. She concluded that proving the usefulness of her mask was in the best interest for her family. And just like that another so-called similarity between father and daughter came to light.

She grabbed the neck piece that would hold the mask to her face and placed it at the base of her neck while attaching the mouthpiece with the other hand. A small 'click' sounded through the room signalling that the mask was in place. She then pressed down on two buttons on either side of her mouth that caused the mask to light up a neon green.

The mask was breathable but she still hadn't figured out how to make a person speech clear nor had she had any scraps to make an eye piece. For now she had to settle for the duct tape science goggles she found in the storage closet. The real test didn't begin until she stepped outside.

When her mask would either save her family's life or cause them more devastation. She knew there was a chance that her invention could fail but she couldn't let herself think about that, not if she wanted to gain the courage to leave the bunker.

A small knock came to the door that caused her to jump. Jolie tried to ask who it was but it only came out muffled. She began taking off the mask as her father entered the room and closed the door behind him.