Apocalypse [will not be finished]

Apocalypse

I could barely see through the blanket of darkness which was constantly strung in the sky. It wasn't night time, but it wasn't day time either. None of us could really tell. The sky was blocked out - the blackness so thick that even the rays of the sun couldn't penetrate it.

I'd learnt of apocalypses at school - it was something you were told about, made stories about, not really thinking it could happen to you. It was like a myth. No one imagined it would be real. When it first happened as just a sort of dark cloud, people started to try get out of the country, to escape it. They soon learnt it covered the entire earth. There was no escape. No matter where you were you were covered in total darkness. Soon more and more electricity was used, and then, all of a sudden, it just turned off. A universal power cut. But unlike normal power cuts it stayed off. Then it was things like food and water that started to run out. Riots started, because nobody could see the culprits, and no one could be bothered to stop it. It was every person for themselves now, in the battle for survival.

The second part couldn't have even been imagined.

The bodies. They appeared from nowhere, it seemed, lying in gutters, tucked away in crevices, hidden in cupboards. Millions of people dropping down dead. But what was worse than that was the fact that they didn't stay dead.

I had experienced it the first few weeks of the apocalypse, with my parents. It was terrible.

We were all upstairs in the attic. It was practically where we lived now, as downstairs wasn't safe from the wandering rioters. We had our stocks of food, our water, and our matresses that we slept on. I always had to look after my little sister Lou, because my parents weren't well enough. My Dad had a constant flu, and my Mum was so weak she could barely lift her head. I guess I should've known that something was up right from then.

It was on a stormy night - it seemed darker than ever, and even the lightning that crashed across the sky couldn't light up outside enough. The thunder rattled our brains and every time it boomed louder than the last. Lou had taken to counting the seconds inbetween the thunder and lightning, to distract herself. There is practically nothing for a little eleven year old to do in an old attic, with two sick adults and a big sister that wouldn't take her eyes off you for a second. The reason I was so protective of her was, because, well, she was my sister, and I loved her more than anybody else. Lou was the most important person in my life, and everybody couldn't help but adore her. She was small, with curly light brown hair down to her elbows, and twinkling green eyes. She always seemed to be optimistic, even at the beginning of the apocalypse when everyone was going crazy.

Anyway, on that night, my parents were worse than ever. The coughing had started a few days before and it scared the life out of me every time they haemorraged and their bodies writhed in pain. It nearly killed me to see them in pain. Then, suddenly, they died. Just like that. On the spot. Chests still, eyes glassy and half open. I couldn't move. Lou was fixed to my side, whimpering. "Dad? Mum?" I'd called wearily. No answer. There were so many things rushing through my mind. My body had come back to life by then and I was clutching Lou and trying to calm her down. She had started a thin, constant wail and she wouldn't stop. Her pain was heart wrenching and I was shaking so badly it was nearly impossible for me to hold her still.

I was so preoccupied with telling my little sister that it was going to be okay that I didn't notice my Mum. The blood pooling in her throat and dripping out of the side of her mouth. Her eyes blinking once, twice, three times. The spots forming underneath her nose, and the pus swimming down her face. Her thin, bony fingers reaching out for Lou's dress hem.

The last thing I remember is my Dad's strong arms pulling me onto the floor, and the echo of my little sisters scream of agony as my head hit the floorboards and my eyes flicked closed.