The World I Knew Isn't The Same Anymore

Chapter 1 Everything Changes

Hope for the Youth is silent and no lights emerge from the building. To the outside world this place barely even exists. Every single person here is dead asleep, as it has to be about 2am. There's not a single noise being made except the silent breaths of sleep.

Everything is normal until -

ALERTTTT. ALERTTTTT. ALERTTTT.

And the sounds of sirens and flashing red lights wake up every single person. Bree's eyes swing open and she throws the covers off herself and jolts up from bed. From outside her room she can hear people opening their doors and wildly running down the halls.

Are the doors not locked? What happened?

Quickly she grabs a jacket and shoves her tiny feet into her slides and makes a beeline towards her door. Her hands shake, as if a person tries to leave their door during shut eye hours the knob sends a jolt of electricity out.

Fuck it.

She puts her hand on the knob and her shaking stops. Nothing happened. Then she swings the door open and runs to Ashly's room, as Ashly is much more terrified of pain than she is. Once she makes it to her room, her door is still shut, and once opened she comes face to face with a bugged eyed Ashly standing right in front.

"I think you got your wish of leaving," Bree breaks the silence between them this time and extends her hand toward her friend.

"What the hell is going on?" Ashly takes her hand but has a frantic tone of voice.

"I have no idea."

At this time, all the doors are open and each room is empty. There's no security of supervisors to be found, and everyone is running like a chicken with their head cut off. The red flashing lights illuminate the dark hallways making it have an eerie vibe. Some of the people are in pajamas, while others have gotten dressed and carrying their luggage. They're all running towards the main entrance.

"If you want to leave, this is our chance," Bree says this confidently and surprised herself with how much she actually wants to leave this place.

In a flash Ashly picks up a bag she's packed and drapes it over her shoulder. "Let's go," Ashly grabs Bree's hand again and tightens her grip then leads the way sprinting down the hall.

"Let me grab a quick bag and my cash," Bree shouts and then the two make a very quick stop at her room. The alarm is still blaring and the lights still flashing. The hallways continue to crowd with the 1000s of innocent people in this building.

5 years of this place is coming to an end. A tingly feeling on Bree's face arises and the ends of her lips tug into a smile, is this what hope feels like? The two girls then continue to run hand in hand and it feels like miles, but in reality it's only been five minutes. And in those five minutes the girls are face to face with the bullet proof glass entrance of Hope for the Youth.

"This is it," Ashly squeals.

"Let's fucking go!" Bree is the one to burst them through the glass, as the doors didn't even budge. And outside there's still people running all around, but most of them have escaped into the night.

Breathing the fresh August air feels like a breath from heaven, like a babies first breath of life. You can still smell a hint of flowers and croissants, and the Eiffel Tower is glistening in the distance. The two girls stand in the open field looking back at the building, by now it's nearly empty and the red flashing lights are illuminating the whole sky.

"What do we do now?" And that feeling of hope Bree had is slowly fading, as she has no idea how to live in the real world or where to go.

But luckily for her Ashly has only been here for two years, she was 16 when she came. "Let's find a hotel, and tomorrow we can live a regular day in Paris."