Crying: A Dystopian Novel

Bleeding: Chapter 1

Hey guys! This is the first chapter of Part 2: Bleeding. I hope you like it! I will probably be doing much more frequent updates for the next week, so keep an eye out.

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++++ Michael ++++

"Michael."

"Go away." I mumble.

"She's okay; you can see her."

"Thanks, John."

I leave my perch at the tree house to go inside. I have been out here for several hours, and now the sun is setting. John follows me into the house and stops at the bedroom door.

"I'll be out here." He says. I walk in and find her sleeping on my bed. Her shoulder has a huge, bloody band-aid on it and her normally tanned face has gone pale.

"Anna?" I say. Just this morning she had said my name the same way. It seemed so much longer ago than that now. Her eyelids flutter and her hazel eyes focus themselves on me.

"I imagined your welcome home party a little differently."

"I don't need that. I need my sister."

"How's your head?" She always does that; she won't let you be concerned about her.

"Don't do that. How are you?" I say.

"I'm fi-ah. Ow." She winces as she sits up. "Have you talked to John?"

"He's outside; I'll get him if you want." I don't know exactly what, but I know something has happened between them.

"Thanks." I go out and send John in.

"Bye Anna." I call from the door.

"No, stay." I glance at John. He shrugs, so I go sit on Laelynn's bed.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm good." That's Anna for you. It doesn't matter what's happening, she won't let attention be drawn to her. John sees the bloody bandage on her shoulder and squeezes his eyes shut. "What is it?" She asks.

"Nothing, nothing." He shakes his head and hugs her. She smiles then shuts her eyes. We start to head out, but get stopped. Anna is shaking so bad that the bed frame is rattling. I run over to her as John goes to find my Grandma Elle.

"Anna, wake up. Wake up!" I try to hold her still, but she starts shaking even more. "Come on, Anna. You can't die on me." Grandma Elle races into the room.

"Go. Shoo, shoo!" She says, dragging me toward the door. "John, take him somewhere. Anywhere." She closes the door and I sink to the ground.

++++ Anna ++++

I'm trying! That's all I can do. One minute I'm perfectly fine and the next, I can't stop my body from shaking. Grandma Elle is fiddling around with a relaxing shot. I could do it easily if I could stop from shaking, but there wouldn't be a point then. I hear sobs from outside. John is trying to get Michael to leave. 'Just get me out of here!' I think. I desperately want to still myself and have Michael come back in, but I can't. As Grandma Elle struggles to put straps around me, I think about what Michael said. So, I hold on, telling myself that I will not die on him. I try to think-sing myself to sleep, but this idea is a failing one. The true meaning of all those child's songs suddenly come to you when you're in a serious situation. They're all about death and trying to help a child mourn, without realizing what it truly means to mourn.

"It's okay, Anna. I'm here." Drew is sitting next to me.

"Am I dead?" I ask.

"No. You're on Michael's bed."

"But is that real? I could be dreaming, or I could be dead."

"You are on Michael's bed. That'sreal, but this, this is a dream."

I wake up to find myself still lying on Michael's bed. Eleise is sitting in the chair across the room, staring at me. She jumps up and runs over when she sees that I'm awake.

"I'm so sorry, Anna. Will you forgive me? How are you?"

I smile. "It's okay. I'm okay now, Eleise."

"Good. I'll go tell the waiting hall." She grins and walks to the door.

I see what she means. Mom, Dad, Michael, Laelynn, and John have all positioned chairs outside the room and are twiddling their thumbs. As soon as the door cracks, their heads all pop up in unison. Mom and Dad start toward the room first, followed by Michael, Laelynn, and then John.

"How you feeling?" Mom asks. Dad's holding her hand. I love all these people, but I hate them all standing over me at once like this.

"Um... pretty good I guess." She and Dad hug me and leave the room. Laelynn runs over and hugs me too.

"I missed you." She smiles and looks to Eleise, and they leave together.

"Hey John?" I say. It doesn't take half a second before he's kneeling beside the bed.

"What's up?" He pushes the hair out of my face.

"Am I still beautiful?" I laugh.

"Absolutely stunning." He grins. Michael walks over to me slowly. I can tell he's been crying, and probably not sleeping. John leaves and I am alone with my brother.

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How'd I do with the alternate POV? Comments, ideas, and theories are very welcome! Please share if you like it.