Doomsday

chapter one

September 5th, 1991.

The little blonde boy held his satchel over his shoulder, and his other hand was gripping tightly onto his mother's. Five years old, there was a small pout on his lips and tears brimming in his blue eyes as he stood by the school gates, point blank refusing to go in. His mother sighed, kneeling down so she was his height and so that she could maintain eye contact with him. "Reece, you're a big boy now. You can go to the school and you'll make lots of new friends."

Reece whimpered into his mother's shoulder. "I don't want to leave you." It was an emotion that he only ever really showed around his mother; his father was a different story. He was never very affectionate with Reece or his little sister, Autumn. Reece felt like his father didn't love him or Autumn at all. He could remember going up to him once in the middle of the night, having had a nightmare which had really freaked him out, and his mother was away for the weekend so he had to wake him instead. His father had just shaken him away, told him 'Boys don't cry,' and sent him back to bed.

His mother combed her manicured fingers through Reece's blonde hair. "You're going to have a great time, honey. You'll make lots of new friends and I'll be here to pick you up at the end of the day. And then we'll go home and have chicken nuggets for tea. I'm sure Autumn will like that."

A small smile crept across Reece's face at the mention of his little sister. He gave a soft nod, leaning forward to hug his mother one last time. "I love you," he murmured into her shoulder, her long blonde hair waving in his face. He took a deep breath, inhaling the sweetness of her lavender-scented perfume as she kissed her forehead.

"I love you too," she promised, rubbing her thumb over his hand. "I'll see you at the end of the day."

"Three o'clock?"

"Three o'clock," she reassured, and with the comforting notion that his mother would be there at the end of the day, he walked through the open classroom door where he was welcomed by a friendly-looking woman, who Reece had met before when he had been preparing for his school transition.

"Hello Reece," she said kindly. "I'm Mrs Thompson."

"Hello," he said meekly, looking up at the much taller woman with wide eyes. She chuckled softly and took his school bag from him, and then placed a hand on his back as she guided him through the classroom and into the corridor.

"This is where you can hang your coat and bag. See, on this peg," she pointed a finger to a red-coloured peg with Reece's name on it, "you can hang your belongings."

Reece stared at it and nodded, his eyes lingering on the pegs next to him. On one side was a red peg labelled, 'JACK,' and on the other was a pink peg labelled, 'AMELIA.' He watched as Mrs Thompson hung his school bag onto the peg and then turned back to him. "If you need to know where anything is, don't be afraid to ask, okay? I know it's scary starting a big school."

Reece nodded. He's been here before on a tour with his parents, but that was a while ago now. He knew he'd get lost quickly if he didn't ask for help. Reece followed Mrs Thompson back into the classroom where she led him over to his desk, where a few other children were already sitting. "You sit here," she instructed kindly, gesturing to a seat next to a little girl. Reece slid into the chair, anxiously tapping his fingers against the table. "This will be your table every day."

"Okay," he nodded weakly, watching as she disappeared to go and greet the next child walking into the classroom. The little girl next to him had long brown hair, which fell down her back and covered half the back of her chair. She had silver studs in her ears and little pink clips, clipping back her hair out of her face. Reece tilted his head as he looked at her. Her eyes met his, and for a moment Reece thought that she was going to ask him why she was staring at him, but instead, he was met with a smile. She was missing a tooth.