Smile

Chapter One

I look up at the giant grey sign. Safe Territory is written on it in weathered yellow letters. And then I see the line stamped below it. Days until last attack: 70.

Attack doesn’t seem like the right word- that would imply us having any form of defence. Massacre. That’s the word.

Then I see the fat, bald man position a ladder against the sign. He removes the 70 and slides the number 1 in its place.

As if people would need to read the sign to see that there had been an attack yesterday. The living area near the eastern fences of the Safe Territory is in ruins. Houses are smashed in, still crumbling, and the landscape is covered in rubble.

Rescue teams are combing the area for the bodies of the deceased as well as searching for anything valuable to salvage.

Someone touches my shoulder. I look around and into Sephan’s muddy green eyes. “Let’s get back.”

I smile sadly and nod. Then I follow him through the broken parts of Living Area B, where my mother’s body was found a few hours ago. She worked at the school in B.

I stop in front of the only thing still intact: the school’s bright red seesaw. Just behind it is where my mother’s class used to be. It’s only a knee-high faded blue wall now.

I don’t start crying or screaming or even get angry. Instead, everything starts to blur and I go numb. Nothing else exists and this is not real.

Sephan’s voice brings me back to reality. “Alysia, are you alright?”

I shake my head, recovering. “Sorry.”

“We’re all going to miss her.”

I start walking again. “I don’t want to talk about it.” So we walk up to his house in silence.

His mother opens the old brown door before we even knock. Tears are rolling down her cheeks and she embraces me, almost knocking me to the ground.

She doesn’t speak, but I know what she wants to say. She’s not crying because of my mother’s death, she’s crying because I’m an orphan now.

Then she suddenly recovers, sniffing and standing up. “I made some stew and I prepared a room for you.”

I nod. “Thank you, Mrs Gates.”

“Call me Sera.” I just nod and follow her into the house. After the Evolution, all houses were bulldozed and smaller houses were built to make room for all the survivors.

Sera disappears into the kitchen and Sephan leads me up the dodgy stairs to the first door on my right. He stops in front of it and now it’s his turn to be sad. This was Lexie, his elder sister’s room. Both she and his father died in a previous attack a year ago.

He opens the door with a sad expression on his tan face. “Well, here’s your room. You know I’m right next door if you need anything.”

I do know his house very well, since Sephan and I have been friends since age five. That was twelve years ago- seems much longer. Since then, both of us have lost parents and siblings and figured out that we live in a terrifying, fight-for-survival world.

He starts to leave, but I grab his hand. It’s warm, despite the icy weather. “Thank you, Sephan.”

He just nods sadly and leaves. This isn’t how we usually interact, but neither one of us really knows how to comfort one another in these situations. So, we wait until the worst of the tragedy is over and then go on as usual.