Fourteen and Counting

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Melissandra stared at Mica as they started walking home. His hair was all askew and his eyes had these weird red rings around them. She looked at his hands which were still shaking violently as an after affect of being tased. "Remember when we first met?" Mel asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Mica laughed. "Yeah. I do."

Melissandra ran down the steps, ecstatic for her first day of Starter year or Kindergarten as it was formerly known. She grabs her gray bag from its spot on the floor and starts jumping up and down waiting for her mom to get ready so she can walk her to school. "Come on!" Melissandra whined. "We're going to be late." Sashara came down the stairs with Melissandra's. four-year old sister, Belleamie in tow. Belle was going to be dropped off at the day care center near the school. This is where all children who weren't in school went because almost all adults worked from 9 to 5 for 5 days a week.

"We're not going to be late, sweetheart," Sashara said, laughing in the same musical way she always did. Her laugh always seemed to comfort Melissandra; it was familiar for her. She bounced Belle rhythmically against her side a few times before grabbing her purse and lightly nudging her eldest daughter towards the door. Sashara looked down at her youngest, who was starting to nod off in her arms. She had curly black hair that cascaded around her small, frail shoulders and brown eyes that always seemed to be full of life. The trio made it to the daycare and Sashara handed Belle to Wendella, the main care-giver at the day care center. "Let's go, Pumpkin," Sashara said, using her pet name for Melissanda. Melissandra didn't quite know what a pumpkin was, but she liked the name; it made her feel special.

Melissandra made it to the playground where there were hundreds of kids running around. They were all attending the Primary school just like her. She recognized some of the kids from her days at Daycare. Sashara bent down and gave her daughter a kiss. "Keep an eye on your sister," she said, pointing to where Belle was on the other side of the fence. Melissandra nodded. "Have a good day."

Melissandra walked over to the fence and looked at her sister. "Can we go into the woods, Melly?" Belle asked, looking up at her with pleading brown eyes.

"I dunno if we should, Belle," Melissandra responded. "We could get in trouble?"

"We used to go with Mommy all the time," Belleamie argued, sticking her lower lip out.

"Fine," Mel gave in, lifting her sister to her side of the fence. The pair walked into the woods and admired the trees. They didn't know they were fake at that age. The government set up fake trees that pump oxygen and take in carbon dioxide when research labs calculated that the lack of trees may cause a lack of oxygen. The trees were sometimes temperamental, just like anything man made. As the girls were walking through, they smelled a strong smell. Their eyes started to water and they didn't know what was causing it. Melissandra turned around to see the trees being devoured by a fierce orange flame. Even though she was young, she had enough instinct to grab her sister's hand and run.

As Melissandra was running, she didn't notice that Belleamie had become separated from her. She reached a spot where a boy was running and that is when she realized. "Belle!" she screamed desperately.

"We have to go," the boy said, grabbing her hand. Melissandra started crying. Her vision was so blurred with smoke and tears that she could barely see anything. Soon everything went black and an unfamiliar calm washed over her.

Melissandra fluttered her eyes open a few hours later. She was in a large gray room but her vision was rather blurry and distorted. Her parents were sitting on the edge of the pod she was in. This wasn't her room though. She heard rhythmic beepings all around her. The only thing that disrupted the beeping was the hopeless wailing of her mother. "Mom?" Melissandra asked in a hoarse voice. "What's wrong? Where's Belle?" Her mother curled up into a ball and began to cry harder. She shook the pod due to the violent shaking that coursed through her body. Her father scootched closer to her, his brown eyes filled with concern.