One More Time - Part 2 of Forgotten Memories

Chapter 8

Day 5 - 6

As we walk down the road, the morning sky begins to cloud up and darken. Cool rain falls onto our bodies and drench us in its water. When the rain hits my skin, it begins to itch and dry; like eczema. My vision also gets hazy and it is difficult for me to focus. Luckily the shopping center is only a few meters away now. The once-bright orange building has now become faded and trashed, even though it has only been a few days since we last saw it, it looks very different. Jeremy quickly leads us inside the large shopping area. All the sides are blocked off, only with a step to get over the barricade to the other side. "Guys, I am back!" Jeremy yells into what seems to be an empty darkness. He then proceeds to help us over the blockage and inside. I look at the small handful of people that lay before me. They look as if they are slowly dieing inside. Dark bags around their eyes, clothing drooping off of them like clay, and saddened looks plastered on their pale faces. Dan, Cody, Lisa, and Chris are the only ones who seem to be left now.  We may not look the best to them either, our wet clothes are clinging to our bodies, stringy hair , and drooping eyes. Lisa steps forward and gives me a warm hug. Then she wraps her arms around L and hugs him tightly. "Welcome" she says to us. "I'm Lisa. Glad to have you two here...things lately have just gone south. I'm grateful for you to, to come along and brighten up our lives." Lisa says to us, smiling a big smile. "Oh, trust me. It is just the same for us, we are so thankful to have come across this kiddo here." L says, turning to Jeremy. "My name is L and this is Melody." He says to her, and the others. Lisa walks to Jeremy, hugs him and pats his back as the others come up to us. Dan, with his dulling green eyes, walks up to us and hugs us. I was shocked at first. I didn't think he hugged people, except maybe Cody, but that was it. "Welcome to our group, I'm Dan. Make yourselves at home." he says finally, breaking the hug and letting Cody step forward. "Thank you so, so much for coming! I thought it was always going to be sad and depressing around here. Looks like the sunshine is here! I'm Cody. Hey, I'll go get some crayons and we can colour later!" Cody says. He hugs me and whispers in my ear, "Glad you're back." my eyes widen as he bounds off. So he remembers too... Chris is the last to greet us. The shimmer in his eyes have gone and his once-cheerfulness has faded from his appearance. "I-I'm so glad there are more people here, you have no idea how horrible it was...."Chris says, his voice fading as tears form in his eyes. L puts his large hands on his shoulders and pats his back. "It's okay man, we know. I am terribly sorry for whatever has happened." L says as Chris wipes his eyes and nods. The rain outside starts to pour down on the metal roof and it sounds like hammers falling against the roof above. Lightening and room-shaking thunder follows soon after. We gather together in their makeshift sleeping area. Piles of blankets and pillows, we scoot close to conserve body heat. The warmth and rain make my eyelids get heavy and soon close.

I wake in what seems to be the afternoon. Cody is curled up at my side, sleeping soundly. The others aren't laying, but are walking around the room. Searching for whatever they may think is necessary I suppose. I get up, careful not to wake Cody, and head for the bathrooms. The womans room has two rows of stalls lining the walls, a baby-changing station, then sinks and a large mirror. I walk up to the sink and wash off my face. Letting the warm water soothe my stress. I slowly look up at my reflection, the yellow is more appearant in my eyes, and my skin is even paler than normal. The sound of the others yelling draws my attention away from my reflection, and I run out the bathroom.

Ouuh. Cliff-hanger :D Sorry about that, I have run out of time and needed a place to stop. Tell me how you think the story is so far! Thanks.