Taken

Chapter Three--JEREMIAH

The next few days I spent exploring. I had come to three conclusions.  First, to my understanding, there were no adults to be found.  I guessed that they really had taken everyone over eighteen or close enough, but to where, I was still uncertain.

          Secondly, I knew kids still remained.  I had seen many rummaging through empty houses, taking everything they could, so we weren’t the only ones.  I had seen some with huge backpacks on their backs, taken from the abandoned stores probably, setting out on the highway that led away from here and south—to the forests where life would be easily maintained.  I had seen no sign of who had taken the adults though, and that unnerved me.

          “Where are you going?” I had asked a boy, no older than twelve.  He scurried off at the sound of my voice though, and I didn’t feel like chasing after him.  There was little to no chaos, surprisingly.  I tried to ignore the sounds of the babies wailing through the occasional broken window.  I grimaced and kept walking.

          Lastly, Denny had still not come back.  There was no sign of her, but that didn’t mean I was looking.  When Denny wanted to be left alone, Denny was left alone.  And that’s how it always had been, every since we started dating sophomore year. Still, this was lasting longer than usual.  I was getting worried.

          On the fifth day—I’d been counting—since the Disappearance (as I called it), I left my house early in the morning with the intentions of getting more supplies.  I went the route that passed by Denny’s house.  I decided I was going to check on her, whether she liked it or not.

          I opened the front door, not even bothering to knock, thankful it was unlocked.  “Denny?” I called out.  My voice echoed around the silent house.  “Are you here?”

          I looked in the living room and kitchen, but they were empty.  “Cadence?”

          I checked the study, the bathroom, her bedroom.  Nothing.  When I opened her parent’s room, though, there she was.  She was lying in the bed, asleep, curled in a ball. 

          When I approached her, I couldn’t help but let my jaw drop.  She seemed thinner than usual, with a pale-almost-grey complexion.  I didn’t know how that could happen in such little time, but she was already small to begin with.  I guessed it could be the lack of nutrition and sleep that made her look so…terrible.

          I pulled the covers back and stroked her cheek.  “Denny, what are you doing to yourself?”  I knew by the way her eyes were flitting under her eyelids that she was awake.

          “Come on, open your eyes.”

          She pulled the covers over her head, but I yanked them back easily.  She was weak.  I pulled her into a sitting position, her head resting on my shoulder.  It wasn’t long before the sleeve of my shirt was soaked with her tears.

          “I just miss them so much,” she sobbed. 

          I smoothed down her hair, rubbed her back, anything to soothe her.  “I know you do.  Let’s get you something to eat.”

          She shook her head, but I took her hand and she let me lead her to the kitchen.  “Now what do you want.”

          She wouldn’t answer, so I made her eggs—her favorite. I sat and watched her until she finished and then I washed the dishes.  She seemed to calm down a bit and the color was returning to her cheeks. 

          “So what about you?” she asked.  “Aren’t you taking this rough?”

          “I’ve been too busy to take it rough.”

          Silence for a second, and then in a quieter tone she added, “Have you figured anything out?”

          I shook my head.  “Just that they took all the adults and left all the kids.  Abandoned stores, everyone running wild in the streets.”

          “Wild?” she asked with wide eyes.

          “Well, especially rampant,” I turned to wink at her, and she smirked.  “But I think they are just scared.”

          “I’m scared, too, Jeremiah.”  No more smile.

          Neither of us said anything for a long while.  I just stared out the window above the sink at the seemingly deserted world. “I believe once some order starts to come about, the older ones will take charge.  But the city is growing more and more dangerous.  I just don’t know what to expect anymore.  You’ve got the kids who think they are high and mighty who pick on the weak, and you have the scared ones who are constantly checking over their shoulder and running away at the snap of a branch.”

          “Then what are we?”

          I glanced at her.  “Undecided still.”

          That faint smile again.  So faint I could have missed it.

          I let the water drain.  It was a thought that had crossed my mind many times in the last week.  It was a lot of responsibility, true, and I had no idea where to start, but we needed a leader.  Another thing that crossed my mind, though, was that the adults didn’t just disappear into thin air, somebody took them.  Somebody with a lot of power and an intention.  And anybody who rose up to take the role of leader of everyone who was left behind automatically had a huge target plastered on their back.        A target I didn’t need.  No matter how much I felt like taking initiative, I couldn’t do it.  Not if it would put everyone I loved into danger. 

          “We need to find Grady,” I finally said.