Lost But Not Forgotten (NaNoWriMo 2013)

12. An Alternative Reality

I have finally reached my half way point! Well, a little over half way. I have no written over 11,000 words! This is the most I have written ever in my entire life! When I get close to my target, I will probably up it to 30,000. I am planning to do lots of writing over the weeked! Here is the next chapter (spoiler- why do I keep having to my main character nearly die all the time!!!!!). Byee :)

I didn't realize it but I had fallen asleep on Cameron's arms, he cradled me until Jesse came back half an hour later. The slow crunch of snow under his walking boots woke me up. Cameron had been watching me the whole time, he said that he did occasionally get up to add some more wood to keep the fire going but preferred to stay and let me sleep on him. It makes my heart melt like marshmallows when I hear about how much he cares for me.

When Jesse approached, my eyelids fluttered open; I yawned and stretched until I felt as awake as I do in the morning. It was about eight pm now and I was actually about to drop off. Most of the kids had drifted off while I snored like a pig except for Andy who lay quietly crying while pretending to be asleep but it was quite obvious o the rest of us that he wasn't.

I guess Andy had a lot of things to be sad about, much of his family resided in the town as they were actually one of the first to find it log before I arrived six years ago. He had three older brothers and tens of relatives; so many that I couldn't count. I felt bad for him but was glad that I didn't have much of a big family to care about.

Jesse came back with a solemn look on his face which only meant one thing.

There were no survivors.

The three of us (Cameron, Jesse and I) walked for about five minutes before coming to a stop in a deserted area where we could speak in private but could still see the glow of the fire and the kids who were asleep. We didn't want the others to hear the bad news and panic, they were only kids after all.

Jesse took my arm while Cameron took the other. I braced myself for the bad news, I can survive it.

"The whole place is deserted. Destroyed completely" Jesse said.

I started sweating and my palms were as wet as the ocean "What do you mean by destroyed?" I asked nervously.

"April" He gripped my hand tighter, squeezing it and stopping the blood from flowing, it soon became numb "The whole town is now just a big crater... I'm sorry, there's nothing left".

He looked away and unwrapped his hand from mine. I immediately turned toward Cameron and buried my face in his chest, sobbing so loudly the children could hear but I didn't care. Everyone I love, everyone who cared for me, they were my friends, my family. They were all dead. I bawled and bawled into Cameron until his coat was soaked in my sorrowful tears. He patted my silently on the back, all I could hear was the quiet thump... thump... thump... of Cameron's hand against my back and the crackling of the fire, fighting against the bitter wind of the air, trying to survive but was slowly fading out. The fire kind of represented the lot of us. We were trying to survive in a word that was a no longer our own.

All of a sudden I heard a high-pitched scream, Bethany! I shoved Cameron and ran for my life to save my sister. He went tumbling down the hill behind him but at that moment, I didn't care about anything except getting towards my little girl. Jesse followed closely behind me, shooting worried glances in my direction. I heard the slow moans of Cameron but I knew he could handle himself, he was strong but Beth was not, she needed my help.

My heart thumped hard and we sprinted for our lives through countless trees, they looked all the same, no change. My head was spinning as we made our way through the forest, hundreds of branches were coming in my direction but I dodged them easily like it was nothing.

We got back to camp in a matter of seconds as we were pretty fit. I glanced to where Beth was sitting; her expression was frozen in a terrified look. I could barely see the sliver flicker of a knife being held to her throat, it pressed in slightly, realising beads of blood down her throat while she cried as silent as she could waiting for rescue.

A black coated figure was holding the so called knife; I couldn't see his face or anything really, just the silhouette of his tall body. I was completely terrified but mad with rage at the same time. Who was this guy?! How could he try and hurt such an innocent girl?!

I was about to charge full force at the mysterious figure but Jesse put his hand out to stop me. He reached into his bag and out he pulled put two identical guns, we had a large supply of them in the village, just in case we had some trouble; I had never been allowed to use them, let alone touch them. The rule was that you had to be at least eighteen to be allowed to handle such dangerous weapons. He placed one of them into my shaking hands, it felt so slick and smooth in them like I had all the power in the world but I felt so scared of having such a powerful item in my possession, I had no idea what to do with it too.

Jesse pressed his index finger onto his lips, signalling me to be quiet. Okay, I could do that. I stepped back a little to get a better view but being the unlucky person I am, I stepped straight on a branch and the deafening crack echoed through the trees. The figure looked up and towards our direction, I could finally see his face clearly; his head was rounded so he looked slightly obese, his nose protruded far from his face while his eyes looked so old and crooked, it made me feel sympathetic for the guy. Wrinkles from age invaded his face, he looked a lot like my grandpa who I never saw again after evacuating, he was stubborn and had chosen to stay in his small apartment and die honourably by fighting. We all had tried convincing him, I even begged him with my heart but there was no chance he would come with us; I loved him so much and it created one of the many holes in my heart that could never heal.

He knew that someone was nearby; he seemed to be one of those people who could just feel the presence of others without actually seeing them.

"If anyone is out there, you'd better come out or I slice this pretty little neck" He spoke in a gruff voice scared form years of war, he sounded so much like my grandpa that I had actually started to believe it myself. But no, he can't be, my grandpa died and that is that. I can't trust this guy, not if I don't know if he is still human. After all, this man- old man could be one of those robot spies that are sent to review the after math of the bombing.

Before Cameron could stop me, I emerged from the shadows and let him see me, the guy wasn't bluffing and he obviously had the guts to kill, I didn't want Bethany to die or I would never be a complete person again.

As soon as the man took a proper glance of my face, his frown slowly turned into a smile and he retracted the silver knife form Beth's bleeding neck. I was so confused I was forced to hold my gun out, the guy stepped back a bit and raised his hands above his head, dropping the knife onto the ground.

"April? April, my dear? I thought I would never see you again!" when he spoke with a kind, cosy tone I immediately knew it was my grandpa. He had escaped, how? I let my gun fall and I ran towards him, my arms outstretched.

"Grandpa!" But before I could get close to him, he quickly picked up his knife and held it out as I ran straight into it, I could feel the sharp blade slice into my chest and puncture my stomach. His expression turned evil and the fire burned in his eyes. He was not my grandpa. How could I have been so stupid? He was a replica of my once beloved grandpa, the creature was actually a robot designed to lure me in so they could kill me.

His voice turned robotic and cold as he pulled out the object from my stomach, it was coated in thick crimson blood, my blood "You silly girl, you think your grandpa is still alive? Ha!"

I quickly collapsed to the ground, coughing, choking; tears welled up in my eyes. The pain was so excruciating that it was worse than dying, I could feel everything slowly go numb and I start to lose control of myself, slipping in and out of consciousness every few seconds. I heard Jesse coming out from behind me yelling out words I could not make out.

Bang I heard a gunshot then a body slump to the ground before my whole world faded into darkness, a deep abyss of sleep where nightmares would wreak havoc in my head.