Surge

Chapter 1: Devil

Rumble. Thunder. An explosion.

What happened?

Mother was just cleaning the dishes. The plates shattered on the wooden floor. I was sitting right next to the window playing with my toys as my mother glared directly towards my direction. Her eyes were wide open, I could hear her breath from where I was, which was enough to get my chest pumping. Mother lifted me up and ran outside the house. As we left the entrance a car crashed into the room I had stayed before.

What would've happened if I was still there?

What is happening?

Where was he, my father, I couldn't find him.

She ran.

Where are we running?

Where happened to our house? Where is everyone?

Screams with no faces, where was dad. Mum didn't stop running. Crash.

I wrapped my arms around her neck, my legs resting on her hips. She fell to her back with shock, I think. Somebody was standing in front of us.

Who is he?

Not father. His body was purely white, faceless, father had a face, I think. He ambled towards us and seemingly opened his mouth, rows of teeth.

What was he thinking? What was he going to do? I didn't know, I couldn't know.

Another man ran to us from my right, he had a face, not my father, where was he? He shot the blank person in his head, the blank person disappeared into particles.

Where did he go, is he okay?

All those questions, yet I had no idea whether I was voicing them or not.

The scary man shouted at us to run into an alleyway. Mother was crying.

She never cried.

Only I cry.

She lifted me up once more and sprinted to the alleyway the scary man pointed at. As she ran the man who lives on the streets sat still, staring at me. He was not scared.

Why?

My mother ignored him, just like everyone else does.

We reached a dead end and my mum dropped me. I stared as she turned the opening of a manhole.

Where are we going?

I didn't want to go to the sewers. The sewers smelled bad, like food rotting.

A man stared at us from below with a concerned expression, I heard children crying, maybe my age or older. Below the man were a large cluster of people, shaking, I was shaking as well. I didn't pay attention to what he said but my mother shouted and cried and tried to force me down the manhole.

I don't want to be here mum.

She cried furthermore and howled as the man pushed me back out, I don't think I would be able to fit but...but I saw some space where we could fit, why were they not letting us enter?

I was happy.

I was.

Was I?

Mother was sadder.

Why would I be happy?

What do I have to feel?

Feeling was easy.

But then it wasn't.

Mother dropped on her knees and looked at the closed manhole. Her eyes were dead under those limp eyelids. A tear trickled down her blue cheek and fell down from her hanging chin. Her mouth was open as if she forgot how to close it. I couldn't tell what she was feeling either.