Wonderland | The 5th Wave

Freya

Being me sucks.

You'd think that after almost a month of living out in the wild like a caveman, I'd have at least developed some hunting skills. But nooo.

The Gods of bad aiming decide to unleash their freaking bad aiming powers onto some poor sixteen-year-old girl stuck in the middle of nowhere. Like, hey, how's it going? You wanna shoot some deer? Too bad, now you got sucky aiming! Good luck on getting to the safe haven! Hope you die!

I swear I can almost hear their laughter from the heavens above.

At least up there, they're safe and sound. Down here on Earth, life sucks. I honestly have no idea how the heck I've gotten this far without dying.

I lower my M16 in frustration as I fire my fourth shot, with no luck. Great. Now I'll die before even reaching the safe haven. Be optimistic, I chide myself. It's what mum and dad would've wanted you to do. My heart aches at the thought of them.

As I set up a campfire, my mind wanders back to the night my long journey began.
Go two hundred miles west, the memory of Colonel Vosch's words send a chill down my spine. Well, now I've just gotta trust my instincts and hopefully, hopefully, I'll find the safe haven. Better in one piece, that is.

And if I can decide whether or not to trust Vosch.

You may as well be humanity's last hope. Yeah, I dunno about that.

A sudden rustle in the trees snaps me out of my trance. I'm on my feet in an instant, hefting my assault rifle onto one shoulder. My finger hovers over the trigger, ready to shoot on a second's notice. Through my peripheral vision, I spot a small figure dart between the branches of the towering tree a few metres ahead.
An owl. Strange. The owl regards me for a moment with those big, luminous eyes.
I stare back, determined not to make a sound. Unexpectedly, it tilts its head and I have the Feeling again.
Gasping, I stumble, fetching a against a tree for support. I squeeze my eyes shut. Not real, this is not happening again.

"What the hell do you want?" I shout up at the tree. The owl remains perched on its branch, unmoving. Unblinking.

"Go away!" Several minutes pass until the owl finally flies away. Wise choice, considering I'd almost shot the godforsaken creature.

I have a feeling that it would be better if I had.

Almost a month has passed since the first wave. Since the Others invaded and destroyed our home. I will never forget the moment when the EMP took out the power. No one knew why. I was at school when it happened. It was just another normal, boring afternoon of math.

"Frey," My best friend Chloe hissed from her desk behind me.

I turned, rolling my eyes. "Chloe, really? You know Ms Thompson's gonna give you extra homework! Or even worse - detention!"

"Do you think I should ask Dylan if he likes gelato? You know I only date guys who like a decent ice cream!" Chloe, being the energetic bean she always is, clapped her hands together and let out a small shriek.

Every head was turned in her direction, but she didn't appear ashamed.

"Chlo-" I start. That's when it happened.

First the lights went out. Then the entire radio transmission tower built beside our school's main building collapsed. You can probably guess what happened next. You got it: Chaos. Students and teachers alike rushed out of each classroom, gathering at the hall's few windows, desperate to take a look outside. Heck, we were frightened, but little did we know that it was the beginning of an apocalypse.

That was the last day I saw Chloe. It was also the last normal day of my life.

Soon after, things went bad fast. Those who survived the first brutal attack were forced to flee. My parents were killed in a car crash the night of the invasion.

The first wave was upon us. I still have no way of knowing if it's ended, or whether or not the second wave had begun.

But I know that it's coming. I just have to brace myself.

Sighing, I set up camp and douse the fire. I fall asleep to the sound of cicadas, one hand resting against my M16.