Moody

FIVE: OPAL

FIVE: OPAL

Tuesday

I was appalled by what Teddy told me. They were going to kill people? Why?

I stared at the phone in horror. I hoped Teddy would be able to save those people, but I had no way of knowing if he could.

My hair was white.

Donut came into the room slowly, rubbed against my leg, then jumped onto my lap and curled up. I petted her while thinking about Teddy and dad.

Was dad a bad person? I knew that sometimes he was very stubborn, and always thought he was right, even when he was actually wrong. But was this going too far? Did he even know these people?

Probably not, if it would be that easy for him to kill them.

And what did they ever to do him?

I sighed. I wish Teddy could have told me why they were killing those people. Maybe then some things would start to make more sense.

I picked up Donut and brought her to eye-level. "What do you think, Donut? Is dad doing the right thing?"

She just squirmed.

I sighed and laid back on my bed, staring at the roof. And I laid there for a while, until mom came to tell me to go to bed.

"You look deep in thought," she commented.

"Yeah. Just wondering what Teddy and dad are up to. By the way, here's the phone." I handed it to her, then sat up to see Domino trekking into my room.

Mom left with the phone, and I went to brush my teeth and change into my pjs before getting into bed.

I had trouble falling asleep. I kept thinking of what Teddy was planning on doing to save those poor people, and why dad would think killing them was a good idea. Then my thoughts drifted to thinking of the eraser Jonah gave me, and I fell asleep to the sweet sound of purring.

***

It was peaceful. There were people all around me, some cooking a delicious smelling deer, some sewing new clothes for their families out of hides, and some were practicing archery. Children ran happily, tagging each other and yelling 'You're it!'

And there was one thing similar about all of them: they had brown and blond hair.

There was no blue, pink, purple, grey, orange, red, or yellow. Just brunets and blonds. I was horrified, but fascinated. Was this...before?

They seemed so happy, and yet they were living fully off the land.

I looked to the horizon to see a great big dust cloud...and the people scattered.

They screamed and ran, and I just stood still as chaos was all around me. And then there was nothing. They had all hidden somewhere, leaving me out in the open, as a truck drove up to me and nearly ran over me. I jumped out of the way and landed on my side, skinning my arm on the rocks.

Two people stepped out of the truck and grabbed my arms.

Dad and Teddy.

'Teddy! Teddy what are you doing?' I screamed. He just looked at me.

Dad on the other hand was putting a pocket knife to my throat.

'Let's get this over with, Ted,' dad said.

'Dad stop! Stop it's Opal!'

Teddy showed a small bit of recognition, but didn't do anything to stop dad from slitting my throat.

'Teddy!'

Then Teddy hit dad, who dropped the knife. Teddy pulled me towards him, and I cowered in a ball, cradling my scraped arm.

'What is wrong with you, Ted! She's one of them! See her hair? It shouldn't be brown!'

'Dad, look, she bleeds, just like I would. She's just like us!' Teddy yelled.

'No, Ted, she isn't. And neither are the others of her kind.'

'We are her kind! She—all of them!—are human!'

I was so frightened I felt tears streaming down my face. Something rough and wet touched my cheek, and I bolted awake.

***

Wednesday

Donut meowed and licked my cheek again. I was actually crying.

I was terrified. Is that what was in store for all those happy people? Was dad really that thick? Of course they were just like us! They just didn't have colour-changing hair. And they seemed so happy there!  They didn't have all of the privileges of cars and the internet, but they made do with what they had and they were surviving.

I laid on the bed for about three hours as these thoughts bounced around in my head. And when my alarm clock beeped me out of my thoughts, I jumped.

I was exhausted. I had woken up at three in the morning. That was a terrible idea. If only I had checked the time.

I scrambled out of bed to get dressed. That should wake me up...I hoped.

I crawled to the light to turn it on, yawning hugely in the process. When the light came on I cowered on the floor, covering my eyes.

"It buuuuurrrnnnnssss!" I complained. A cat rubbed against my arm. I blindly tried to pet it, but failed and groaned for a bit. Then I peeled my other arm from my eyes to see where it was.

Domino sat on the bed, licking her tail. I sighed and got dressed, then brushed my hair and my teeth.

Mom, the lucky sucker that she is, had a dentist appointment, so she didn't have to get up early.

And yet, I walked into the kitchen to see her drinking her coffee on the couch, like usual. At six forty. Watching CMT.

"You got out of bed!" she exclaimed when she saw me scavenge for food. When I turned to face her, she gasped. "But you look terrible Opal! Look at those bags under your eyes!"

I could tell she was worried.

"I had a bad dream last night and couldn't get back to sleep." I poured some rice Krispies into a bowl.

"Aww, do you want to tell me about it?"

I remembered Teddy telling me not to tell anyone about their trip, but did mom count?

I stood awkwardly for a few seconds, rice Krispies crackling in the bowl in my hand.

"I don't remember it," I lied. Surely she wouldn't notice?