DISCONTINUED ---- Oh, Joy

Part One - Chapter One

I pull out a picnic blanket from my pink backpack, both of which were salvaged from the school that I woke up on. It's a long story for another time. Next that comes out is a radio, salvaged from right outside the school, and I turn it on.

"...Joys are ravaging the world. If possible, head to the nearest military base. If not, stay inside and wait for military assistance. I repeat, head to the nearest military base or stay inside and wait for military assistance. Unidentifiable life forms called Joys are ravaging the world. If possible, head to the nea-" The recording restarts and I turn it off. The same loop, every day. What good would the military do? It's been an entire year of living in this disaster that the world is in. I put away the blanket and the radio, standing up and patting off my shorts.

"Takat! Time to go!" I call out to my cat, watching as she bounds towards me. I scratch the back of her neck, where a small tuft of creamy yellow sticks out of the otherwise sleek fur. We start off again, this time heading north.

—

I frown at the trail of broken twigs and branches leading into the forest, darkened by the trees and even more so by the night. At least it was a sign of life. "What do you think, Takat? Should I follow it?" Takat just meows and bounds after whatever caused the trail, white-tipped tail flicking from side to side. I sigh. Guess that's a yes. As we track the trail, the smell of a fire reaches my nose, along with cooking deer meat. I pick up the pace, curious of who is cooking it.

We walk until the camp comes into sight, a small circle of stones with a fire crackling in the middle with camping tents surrounding it. Right before we head into the clearing, I am stopped by a knife at my throat. Takat has unhelpfully vanished to somewhere, probably hunting a rat or something.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the knife speaks with a female voice threateningly.

"I am me and I am walking here." I respond, none too pleased by the greeting, but no one can be too careful when there are looters around. The knife presses into the skin of my throat, not speaking a word.

"Alright, fine. I'm Lila and... seriously, I'm walking here. But I did smell your fire and decided to come say hi." Yes, my name is Lila, short for Hellila Rose. Pronounced heh-lee-la. Not heh-lai-la. Strange, right? I don't actually know. I don't remember anything except for my name, if you didn't check the book description. But I do have knowledge of the basics and some extraterrestrial stuff, like the biology of a Joy and how to read. Those are my Pre-Memories, or Premos. Anyways, back to the present.

"Just to say hi? That's highly doubtful. Walk slowly to the fire and don't try anything." The knife scoffs and I follow its directions, eventually getting illuminated by the fire. A small group of people who sit around it look up.

"Hey, Urani, what do you have there?" A young Japanese girl with long red dyed hair speaks first.

"This one was coming towards us. Didn't make a single sound, either. You, sit down. Alia, help me tie her up." What the knife said makes sense. As it was a knife, tying something tightly with rope would probably not work very well. I wonder if there are other knives like it.

Alia, the girl who spoke, comes over and ties my hands behind a nearby tree. I feel the blade move away from my throat and... a girl steps out from behind me, holding the knife. I stutter for a moment, before managing, "You're not a knife!"

One of the others sitting burst out laughing after a combined moment of confusion at the same time the kni- the girl holding the knife says, "Uh, no?" It takes 73 seconds for the boy to stop laughing. Yes, I'm counting, albeit annoyed. Why? I have nothing better to do. It takes an additional 8 seconds before anyone speaks. In that time, I observe the rest of the scene.

Including Alia and Not-Knife, there are 8 people in that group, all around my age. Not-Knife has semi-dark skin, with thick black hair braided into a bun, and she looks the most muscular out of the nine. The laughing boy has light tan skin, with short brown hair, and on the leaner side. Not-Knife and another boy seem to be siblings. He is the tallest, and has semi-dark skin, with shoulder length black hair.

There is another girl, light skinned and her white blond hair was longer on one side, almost belly length, the other side ending right below her ear. The last girl has tan skin, with her black hair slightly red at the ends. She is also sleeping. A boy sits next to her, with pale skin and short dark blond hair. Last but not least are twin boys, both having black hair and tan skin. How do I know they are twins? They look exactly like each other.

The 81 seconds have passed, and the uneven blond cut girl ignores everything that just happened, saying, "Okay, so I'm Urani, and the 'knife', as you so kindly called her, is Marin. You heard who Alia is." She continues introducing everyone. Marin's brother is Jeremy, the laughing boy is Alexander, the sleeping girl is Laylan. "And finally the twins, who are-"

"Quine and Tambe." One of them interrupts her, making her glare. "What's your name?"

"Hellila Rose. Just Lila is preferred, though." I respond.

"Okay. Just Lila, how old are you and how long have you been out here?"

"It's Lila. Not Just Lila." I correct him. "I am 12 years old and I have been here for 1 year." I don't add that I don't actually know my real age.

"Have you been on your own the entire time?" He asks, seemingly dumbfounded.

"No, I was with Takat." At this, Marin and Alia quickly scan the surroundings.

"Who's Takat?" Alexander asks.

"The cat."

"That's what I just said. Takat."

"No, Takat is my cat." Realization dawns on the listening members of the group. Laylan continues to sleep.

"And where is Takat?" Alexander looks around.

"Uh... In a tree somewhere?" I say uncertainly, joining his visual search for Takat before abandoning the efforts, assuming that she is enjoying a fresh-caught meal.

"Okay." Alexander pauses. "You want to join us?"

"WHAT?" Urani, Marin, Alia, and one of the twins shout. Laylan somehow stays deep asleep, even as everyones voices get mixed up in rising volume.

"She's someone we don't know we can trust and you want to let her stay with us?"

"A kid the same age as us who has the abilities to survive which can benefit us!"

"A random stranger! Who somehow survives on her own for an entire year!" At this, they all stop talking and turn to me. I shrink under their combined stares.

"Uh... hi?"

"Did you say one year?" Quine or Tambe asks.

"Yes?"

"One year as in the apocalypse has been one year or one year you have been on your own?"

"Both?" I shrink some more.

"Where did you say you're from?" I relax. This I can answer.

"The roof of a school building." Their stares intensify. I recoil again.

"What do you want me to say?" I ask, frustrated. They ignore me and turn to whisper amongst themselves, but I can still hear them as clear as day. Actually, it's night, so clear as night? No, that doesn't sound right either. Anyways, here's what they're saying.

"What in the world is she talking about? Who is she?" That's Jeremy.

"How should I know? She just came here earlier!" Now Alia, with the mastery of whisper-shouting.

"Everyone, shut your blabbering faces!" I have to give some respect to Urani, commanding the group so well. Laylan snores softly. As they talk, my mind wanders off, somehow ending up thinking about the different kinds of green there can be on one tree as I manage to fall asleep.