Dead Horizon

Ember

Give it one more day, Emmy. They will come back! Don't worry, everything will be fine.

     It has been three days now and my mother and Sophie have not returned. I don't know where they would have gone, but I know they need our help.

"Hey. Um...Whatcha up to?" Mateo asked with a smile. His smoke covered hands were all black and his hair seemed darker today. I was just sitting there, staring, careless. But I was thinking about something, somethings that I can not live without. Or can I?

"What?" I responded, sounding dumber than ever. I usually have good responses to questions, but not this week. It is not my fault.

"What are you doing, Em?" Em?! Did he just come up with a nick-name for me? I'm normally the first one to do that.

"Nothin'." I totally disregarded him with a lie and sat in my sleeping bag that I found on the side of the cleared out road coming here. I still do not understand why no one else was worried. Worried about where the two good people of our group went, if they are stuck, trapped or even being ripped apart right this second! That is what's hidden under my lie. My mother was strong, she had a gun and knife with her, that is not my main concern. What about Sophie? I miss those mini dark brown eyes staring back at me with inspiration.

"Okay, I will be over there if you need me." He got up off the ground and pointed over to the firewood. Evelynn was taking the small red tent down off of the hilltop and Jackson was sitting with Mateo on the one and only log for burning fire we had left. I looked at Evelynn and asked if she needed help, and being the stubborn blonde that she is, she denied my help.

      I walked slowly over to Mateo and his buddy Jackson, they smiled at me awkwardly. Jackson got up as soon as I sat down and hung up his dart board set that he stole from the shelter basement. He must have stolen it while all of the chaos was roaming through our minds. That's what I like about Jackson, even though he can be a pain, we are family now.

"I need you." I laughed.

"Ya, what for? Going on a run? Need help with your aim?" Mateo replied back with more of his sarcasticness. I think he is one of my best friends, but he does not know that.

"I want to cut my hair."

"Oh, jeez. I'm no hair dresser but I'll surely try." He responded, making me worried and I sure did have my thoughts written on my face.

"This short. I need to have it out of my vision when I'm fighting. Right?" I pointed right below my chin and then switched to above my shoulders

"Right." He seemed nervous. I could honestly care less about what I look like nowadays. Everyone is going to look like they rolled out of a bunker after fifteen years anyways. He took the knife out of his pocket and began to cut my two feet of brown hair.

"Use these, dummy." I gave him the scissors from my hidden pocket inside of my shoe. He looked at me with the one eyebrow up, one eyebrow down type of look.

"Hey! Kiddos. I see someone. Look." Yelled Evelynn from the top part of our site. Mateo dropped the scissors and ran to her. I finished cutting the rest myself. She gave him the binoculars and Jackson helped him. Evelynn trotted over.

"Oh. Not too shabby. It looks good short, Ember."

I know she is lying but she'll be dead soon anyways, I thought. Where were these awful thoughts coming from?

My eyes turned dark green, my hair was shorter than I wanted it with all of these little specks poking out of it. I hadn't washed my body or face for days. I was a wreck. I felt like everyone else was perfect-hygened, well-cleaned, pretty, happy people, while I was sittin' there like a damn fool.