Prisoners [H.S]

Part 1

Hallie

*2 years ago*

I'd spent the morning with my only two friends, Lawrence and Katie. My 19th birthday had been nothing extraordinary but it'd be nice none the less. We'd met at the coffee shop on the corner of my street and then I'd gone to work at the bakery I spent my weekends in. It was a quiet town, with nothing really interesting to do. I enjoyed the peaceful quiet life I lived, with my small group of friends. Since learning to drive, we had been on countless day trips to pretty seaside towns and cities, blooming with life and activity. 

I only worked weekends and was trying to find a better job since leaving school, but I wasn't getting very far. I had a tiny bit of money thanks to my bakery job but it wasn't enough to move out and leave the two people I called mum and dad. Despite wanting a better job, I quite enjoyed working at the bakery. I liked meeting the variety of customers we served, even if they sometimes were the same faces day in and day out. 

After work I met Lawrence again and we got ready together in my box room and headed out for the evening. I spent the rest of the night drinking until I couldn't spell my own name if I tried.

That's when we heard sirens. Not sirens of a police car or an ambulance as we normally would, but those of a much greater scale. The terrifying waling noise of disaster sirens you only hear in the movies. We only knew to run and the closest place to run to was my house.

I remember the panicked look on my parents faces as if it was yesterday. "Are you okay?" "What's going on?" "Lawrence you should be with your own family, safe." "Hallie, how much have you drank?"

That was the last time I saw Lawrence. A global lockdown was announced the next day.

We'd all seen on our phones the very next morning that there would be an emergency important message from the government on the news at 6pm. Lawrence was taken home by my dad the same morning after I'd given him one last hug. At the time I didn't know it would be the last, but inevitably that's what it came to be. 

At 6pm, I had sat down with my parents in front of our TV. The news channel had been on all day, in hopes some information would be given earlier. But it never came. Dread swirled in my stomach, I hadn't eaten. I didn't want to in fear that it may come back up when whatever we were waiting for was to be announced. 

Our prime minister appeared at 6pm on the dot, as promised. None of us took our eyes of the broadcast as he began to speak, "Good evening, thank you all for joining me tonight for this message. It is with great sadness that I am to announce that we will be locking down the entire country with immediate effect. We will be issuing curfews, rules and rations will have to be issued weekly as a source of sustainable food for each family.

Unfortunate events took place last night. Several bombings took place across Europe, including Paris France, Rome Italy and here in London. War has spread widely and quickly and we can no longer sustain life if we continue this way. All countries have agreed to this, closing down civilisation until we are certain that life can continue as normal.

Relevant agreements shall take place between the leaders of each country, but until we can ensure your safety, we must persist that you follow our rules."

My ears rang at the words being spoken to us, I tuned out. I blocked the rest of the speech from my memory, I'd heard enough. I knew well enough from stories and books that this was going to last longer than anyone would admit. I knew then it was all over. The life I wanted for myself would never happen and I'd be trapped her with my mum and dad. 

Sure enough a list of rules was announced moments after the speech and they were astonishing.

I hated every single one of them and it confirmed my thoughts on lasting longer than necessary. The rules made it evident that this was a long-term plan and there was no mention of how long it would last.