Sensor

Chapter 4

"Mum?! What the hell is going on here, why am I covered in bruises?"

My mother gave me a horrifying look that sent shivers down my spine. 

"Put down the weapon, sweetheart. Go into your room and pack everything essential."

What? Pack everything essential? Before I done anything, I only needed an explanation. I've just been attacked, almost impaled from glass, ready to shoot someone and I don't even get a simple explanation? 

"Mum, what is going on? Who attacked me? Why did you smack the phone from my hand? I need an explanation before I do anything."

My mother just looked me into the eye. Everytime I'd do something to upset her, she'd give me this certain look that would just drive me crazy. Her lips were terribly dry, the skin was practically peeling off. Her face was pale, and she grimaced at me. She looked as if she had just escaped from some sort of mental asylum. 

Finally, after about 30 seconds of intense staring, her parched mouth slowly opened.

"Something has happened and we have no time for discussion. I need you to do EVERYTHING I say when I say it. Clear?"

After she had said that, I glanced behind me to the window to check if I wasn't being pranked and there was no camera crew recording this ridiculousness.  To my surprise, there was nothing. Just the window that looked out onto the isolated, ominous street. I turned back around to see my mother had disappeared. I squinted my eyes and began to plod gradually to the kitchen. There she was, packing a backpack with canned food and bottles of water. Everything was happening too quickly, I put my head into my hands and let out a moderate sigh.  Whatever is going on, is definitely driving me crazy, because I swear I didn't see my mother packing kitchen knives into the bag - Did I? 

"Mum, why do you need knives?" I asked cautiously. 

"Look, I told you already. Go pack your bag before it's too late."

Maybe she was right, I should just go and pack my bags like she told me to. I sauntered into my room and observed the cluttered mess. My room looked like a hovel. I scanned the room, squinting my eyes, and found the backpack I was looking for. The backpack had a galaxy theme, with an array of different constellations. It was my favorite backpack, it goes way back to when I was a little girl. It was also very spacious, might I add. I grasped a hold of the backpack, unzipped it and shoved my bitter hand into it, feeling for anything I could have left in it since I last used it.

 I clasped something in my hands and pulled it out. It was the teddy bear my gran had gave to me during my time in the hospital. I'd had it for about 5 years now, it was all rags and ripped - but that didn't phase me. I still loved it as much as I did when I received it. My Gran had passed away 2 years after giving it to me, and I will always remember it. It's my keepsake. I held the teddy bear in my hands, trying to warm it up. I unzipped a small pocket that was inside the bag, and gently pushed the bear into it with care. I zipped it back up and ran my icy fingers over the top of it. I brought myself to my feet and began raking through the mess to try and find my water bottle. I had eventually found it, but in the process, I found a few other things. I found the pendant my father had given me when I was born. It was tatty and ruined but I put it around my neck anyway, I love my father and I'm never throwing it away. I also found my mobile, which was totally irrelevant at the moment. I switched it on to see if I had received any messages. 

I looked at the blank screen, asking why I hadn't received any new messages. Why weren't my friends concerned about why I was off? Didn't they care? Probably not, I've been off before and I didn't get any messages. It was just strange. The empty streets, no signal, no messages. I felt like I was the only one left in the world along with my mother.