⋆ ★ REQUIEM FOR THE ACCUSED ⋆ ★

KIDS

"oh, i am just a kid. i never use my brain. i only use my heart and my imagination." - current joys

the childhood of salem adams was nothing more than crucial. she spent most of those years soaking up the georgian sunshine and riding bikes with her friends till her feet were sore. the nights consumed her with anticipation as she curled up beside her mother, waiting for her father to come home. the soft white pillows caught her tears as she heard her father stumble into the house, going straight for the beer in the fridge. while her tears fell her mother would stroke her hair and hum her a soft song. 

salem loved her father, she did, when he wasn't screwing other women or off drinking he was her best friend. which made it even worse when salem's parents sent her to live with her aunt and uncle in virginia once her mother got her diagnosis, she wasn't able to take care of salem the way she needed and neither was her father. salem's aunt and uncle drove her back and forth every weekend for months. as a small five-year-old girl this was earth-shattering.

virginia was a nice home for salem. her cousins treated her as their sibling and they travelled all across the country together, seeing sights and visiting relatives. the day of the outbreak was nothing out of the ordinary for salem. she woke up, made her bed, ate her breakfast, and chased her cousins to the bus. her small legs flew underneath her as she jumped on right as the bus driver was about to close the door. "you need to get here eariler, salem." he says as he does every morning. "sorry, eddie!" salem cheers as she hops down the isle and flops next to her oldest cousin jack. the two children resembled each other remarkably. dark chocolate hair grazed both heads, making their blue eyes glow. the freckles spread across their pale faces like sugar spilled on a table.

jack was five years older than salem, so they said their goodbyes at the school door and salem waddled to her third-grade classroom. pens and markers scattered on her desk and notebooks filled with drawings weigh down salem's bag. the day is colored away and the bell dings, marking the end of the school day. what salem didn't know was this was her last day. once again, after the dismissal bell rang, she ran happily to the bus, skipping down the aisle and flopping beside jack. this time he looked nervous. he sat next to his younger cousin clenching his phone in his hand as he fearfully rang his father. "what's wrong jack?" salem asks, blinded by her young innocence. "people are getting sick and attacking others in the city. it doesn't look too good and my dad isn't answering me." he replies defeatedly and salem is reminded of her uncle's position at the bank in the middle of the city. 

the bus closes the doors and salem looks around noticing only a few other kids riding along with them. parents rush their kids off the bus and back home. salem peers through the window, watching the children run to their cars. "sit down, salem." eddie says from the driver's seat. "do you know what's happening, eddie?" she asks. "it's the end of the world, kid." he replies, puffing out smoke from his cigarette. their house slowly creeps up beside them. hesitantly the two children grab their things and exit the bus. eddie speeds off down the road leaving the kids at the foot of their empty driveway. salem's chest is heavy with fear as she holds jack's hand tightly, scanning the empty street, and reaching the house's front door. jack unlocks the door with his spider-man key and turns the doorknob. the wooden floor creaks underneath them as they call out for their baby cousins and aunt who usually meet them at the bus stop. 

"jack, shut the door and lock it!" salem's aunt jamie shouts from upstairs. jack turns around and flips the lock. "mom, what's going on?" jack shouts back, dropping his backpack at the door. salem does the same and follows him upstairs. their aunt stand in the twin's nursery, throwing things into bags while the twins roll around on their mats. "some outbreak. we are going to georgia to find your dad, salem. hopefully, it's better there." she answers. jamie and her brother—salem's father are two opposite personalities. jamie is nurturing and quiet, she is the soft mothering woman who bakes fresh cookies and mixes up lemonade on a hot day. salem's father lived at the bars or clubs, coming home only to change for work that day or play video games with his friends after they got black out drunk. "i already threw some things together for you too but go make sure it's everything." she adds tucking a loose strand of dark chestnut hair behind her ear. "where's dad? how long are we leaving for?" jack asks his mother and she sighs. 

"your father is on his way home. now go on." she answers calmly turning to the two children. jack turns and walks down the hallway as salem follows behind him. salem's strawberry shortcake backpack sits on her bed, filled with some clothes and toiletries. salem walks over to her dresser and grabs her locket off of it. inside holds a photo of her and her parents when she was born. she clamps the locket around her neck and shoves some other toys into her backpack, ones she cannot bear to leave behind. soon the family all meet outside and salem's uncle john rushes up to them, kissing his wife on the cheek. the family loads their bags into the car and quickly speeds off down the road. 

cars sit backed up for hours, the highways undrivable. the family sits backed up on the freeway, and people have started to get wound up and aggravated. the sky goes dark and cars still sit lining the roads. "mom, i'm hungry." jack whines as he takes off his walkman, setting it down between him and salem. "i know. not too much longer now." his mother replies. "stop telling them that, jamie, they are just going to complain more. kids, we are stuck here and we have no idea where to go or who to talk to." john argues, clearly frustrated. the family goes quiet as they sit there listening to other cars honk. 

suddenly, the familiar sound of planes fly over the highway from every direction, planes almost invisible to the eye because of their pitch-black color. the only thing salem remembers seeing was a a symbol of three white circles before the planes started dropping bombs on virginia beach a couple of blocks away. the buildings that once stood tall now crash down into the roads, crushing whatever was underneath them. salem's uncle quickly turns the car around, driving away from the orange and yellow flames that light up the night sky.