Cody felt nothing but regret for leaving his brother behind. He was forced to leave, but he could've saved him. Now he had to go through whatever their parents had planned for both of them.
"What are we going to do now?" Asked Emma. "I'm not sure, but we need to find a place since mom and dad are coming for us." Answered Cody. "I just hope that whatever mom and dad are doing with Justin, I can only hope he'll be ok."
"What's going on? What are mom and dad doing with Justin?" Asked Emma frantically. "I'm not even 100% sure what they're doing. I don't know what their intentions are! All I know is that they can't be trusted and that we need to find a place for the night!" Said Cody.
The two siblings attempted to drive to a restaurant to get some food. Soon enough, they came across a McDonald's and attempted to get into the drive-thru. The only problem was that they didn't have any money.
Thankfully, after searching through the front seat of the vehicle, they managed to find their dad's wallet with a whole lot of money inside. "Let's go, we hit the jackpot Emma I tell you!" Shouted Cody in excitement.
"Hi. Welcome to McDonald's, how may I help you?" Asked a voice through the intercom. "Hi, uhh I would like a cheeseburger with only cheese and ketchup in it," Said Cody. "Uh, what do you want Emma?"
"I'd like a kids meal with chicken tenders and fries with ketchup please." Said Emma. "Alright, your order will be $12.47." Said the employee. Cody rolled up to the window to see a young man in his early twenties. He gave the guy a $15 bill and managed to get away with $2.53 in change. And as soon as they picked up their order, they booked it out of there.
However, as the two siblings were driving away, the employee's coworker couldn't help but feel suspicious of the two. "Hey Josh, don't those two look like they're in a hurry?" She asked. "Now that you mention it Grace, they do look like they have somewhere they want to go, but I guess we can shrug it off." Said Josh. Just then, Josh's cell phone began to ring.
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Cody decided to park away from people so that he and his sister could eat in peace. While eating, he noticed a particularly high traffic area in a specific direction, but he wasn't sure what everyone wanted to get their hands on.
As Cody took a bite of his cheeseburger, he could hear some giggling in the backseat. "Emma what's so funny?" He asked. "Oh nothing, just thinking back to the last time we went to a McDonald's." She said. Cody thought of that day and couldn't help but smirk.
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It was 4 months ago, it had been right after one of Justin's first baseball games of the season. It was really late in the afternoon and his father decided to get something up from McDonald's. When Cody was asked to order, he asked for a simple cheeseburger with fries and ketchup.
After everyone was home, Cody immediately dig into his burger, only to realize that he forgot to ask for no mustard. He immediately spat in disgust and tried everything to get the horrible taste out of his mouth. "Hey buddy you ok?" Asked his father.
Cody was completely traumatized from the taste of the sauce he so dearly hated. Even when his father offered to trade burgers, he declined, never wanting to take a risk of eating mustard ever again.
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"I remember that one time, our mom said it was like you experienced PTSD over a simple bad taste." Said Emma, failing to hold back her laughter. Cody couldn't help but give a small chuckle in response.
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It had been several hours since Cody had managed to escape with his sister from the grasp of his parents. The only thing they needed to worry about was a place for the night.
In a desperate attempt, he found a house within a small neighborhood. He waited for several seconds before the door opened to reveal none other than Mrs. Wyatt herself! "Wait Cody?! What are you doing here!?" She asked in a panic. "We came to seek shelter for the night. Our parents were trying to do something to us and all he is saying is that they can't be trusted and we heard the y were doing something to our brother." Said Emma.
"Alright, I guess I can let you stay even though I'm in a bit of hot water myself." She said. "Thank you so much," said Cody. "But, what do you mean by hot water?"
"Well, since I had to go to my yoga class yesterday and my eldest was at college, I hired a woman to look after my younger daughter and two sons while I was unavailable. In the middle of the practice, my daughter texted me that she thought something was wrong with the hired babysitter. I dropped out of the meeting early and went home and I can't find them and I don't know where they are." She explained.
"Well, if that woman is anything like the current state of our mom and dad, then I'm not 100% sure that your kids are alright." Said Cody. His teacher then looked back at them worried with a look of distress on her face.
But thankfully, the teacher still allowed her student and his sister into the house. "I have a little bit of leftover pasta for you guys that I can spare." She said. After the two had their dinner, they were allowed to sleep together in the guest room upstairs for the night.
That night, Cody couldn't sleep, everything going on around him was a complete mystery. First, his friend's brother was reported missing. Second, his parents went all psycho on him. And now, most of his teacher's family went missing all within the span of a day. At least, he was very grateful for the refuge given to him and his sister.
However, what was about to face him and his sister was about to be far worse.
YOU ARE READING
ROTWOTA: Book 1 - The Beginning of Extinction
Science FictionIt was supposed to be a pleasant few days right before Spring Break. However, Cody has been noticed things going on with his mother and father. Recently, a new power plant has been constructed on the edge of his hometown, and a new kid has joined hi...
