Nothing is happening; nothing has happened for at least an hour.
Is that a good sign? I don't know...
We keep trying to call, but there's no change. No signal, we can't reach family or even the emergency line.
"What are we going to do?" I ask, looking at my parents, hoping for a reassuring answer.
"I'll try to find out what's happening," Dad replies.
"How?"
"I'll look outside, ask the neighbors if they know anything."
"Are you crazy, Dad?" I respond almost shouting. "We shouldn't leave the house. Didn't you read that?"
"George, is that a good idea?" Mom asks worriedly.
"And what else can we do, Abigail? Do we have a choice?"
"I'll go with Dad," my brother suddenly chimes in.
"Not a chance!" Mom and I respond in unison.
"In pairs, we'll be safer; I want to go with Dad."
"And what if there's something in the air? What if the air is poisoned?" I think aloud.
"We'd know by now; it would have come in through the windows anyway..." Dad counters.
He ponders for a moment and continues, "I'll wait until someone walks by the house, okay?"
"Fine, what else is there to do?"
...
About twenty minutes later, we noticed some movement on the porch of the house across the street.
It was our neighbor, hurriedly putting on a light jacket, his eyes vacant and distant.
"That's it, I'm going after him," Dad declared, undaunted.
"Are you sure?" I asked, filled with a terrible fear for him.
"You know we don't have many options. I'll just ask him what he's going to do."
"We could wait a little longer. Maybe someone else will show up; we don't have to approach the first person we see. Maybe everything will be fine soon. You might be risking for nothing," I protested.
"Don't worry, Abby. I'll be safe and I'll take care of all of us, okay?" he said, his voice now completely calm.
"Do you promise, Dad?"
"I promise!"
"We love you, so much," Mom whispered softly.
Georgie asked once more if he really shouldn't go with Dad, but Dad firmly refused. He put on a hoodie and quickly headed down the street, where the neighbor had disappeared from sight just moments before.
YOU ARE READING
Shadows of Tomorrow
Mystery / ThrillerA family consisting of parents, their two adult children, and their cat Berta suddenly finds themselves in a situation where they don't know what's happening. Out of nowhere, a warning about an unknown danger appeared on TV, and since then, the tel...
