Broken World

Chapter 10

       "Um, can I have your attention please?" I say semi-loudly. They don't seem to hear me over the noise.

       "Yo everybody shut up! This lady has something to say!" a kid near me screams. I'm glad he has a strong, loud voice or I'd be standing here for a while. I give him a smile that says 'Thank you' and turn to the crowd.

       "Okay, so we are all denying the fact he disappeared. I know you are. Well, the truth is he really did. Now the thing he said 'the dead that walk' part, I have an explanation for that. I was attacked the other day by a human with a ripped, bloodied face, and it was smart. Well, this thing had to be dead because no living thing could be alive with injuries like it had. Now don't go freaking out because I highly doubt there are more of those things. If there are well I doubt they'll come after us. I suggest we all stay calm and go on with our daily lives like we would any other day," I say. Everyone looks at me with shocked expressions.

       "Well, how're we supposed to do that? I mean without the adults," someone calls out.

       "We adapt, and we learn things to survive. If we all turn on each other then we won't live to see tomorrow. We need to stay calm," I say looking around at the faces of these newly abandoned kids.

       "What about food?" another calls out.

       "We make it. We learn to cook. We hunt if we must. We take from stores," I say.

       "How do we get to the food stores? How do we cook?" the same kid calls out.

       "I can drive. Those who can cook raise your hands now and don't be shy. You mean life and death," I say. At least twenty kids raise their hands.

       "You said you can drive, but how? I mean you look like you're only fifteen, and people can't drive 'til they're sixteen," someone calls out.

       "I'm fourteen first of all. Second my dad taught me when I was eleven and thirteen. As for the sixteen year old thing, I don't think it matters because this is a whole new world," I say. At this I'm getting looks of awe.

       "Um, can I come up and say something?" Kasey calls out.

       "Go right ahead my dear friend," I say, and she walks up and takes my place.

       "So, I'm not a very good speaker, but I think we need a leader. By 'we' I mean all the newly abandoned kids. I say we vote for a leader, but before we do that we need some candidates to vote for. If you all call out people I'll write them down and make a ballot," Kasey says.

       "I say the lady who spoke first!" a kid calls out, and Kasey writes my name down.

       "By the way my name's Delilah. Also I say Max should be leader. Max stand up," I say. Max stands up shyly, and I laugh. "Now you know how I felt!"

       "I say Brody should be leader," Kasey says writing down Max's and Brody's names.

       "I say Jeremy!" a kid calls out, and a tall, lanky boy with red hair and brown eyes stands up; Kasey writes his name down.

       "I say Kasey should!" Zoe calls out.

       "I say Zoe!" Max shouts.

       "Okay that's enough. We have," she pauses and counts, "six candidates. Does anyone know where a copy machine is? Also how many kids are here?"

       "I know where the copy machine is, and I'd say there are around three hundred kids here," Max says. Max leads Kasey out, and when they return they pass out the ballots and pencils.

       "When you finish put it in this box here, and candidates, don't vote for yourselves please," Zoe says pointing to a box in front of her. After several minutes everyone has turned their ballot in. Zoe, Brandon, Max, Brody, and Kasey all crowd around to count. After we have counted them Kasey goes back to the front.

       "We have the results. Zoe had three. Max had six. Brody had two. Jeremy had five. I had four. Delilah won with an astounding thirty!" Kasey announces, and everyone cheers. I stand up and smile at the new people I govern.