Scorched

Prologue

     It has been a month since the sun almost engulfed our precious planet earth with its blazing flames. For years it has been extending, almost licking the surface of earth with its red fire. A mysterious force has been pulling us away from the star ever since it started to grow, saving us from incinerating.

     It has been pretty crazy around here. Everyone is going around yelling, "The end is near!" and other people are just yelling at them, "No dip!" Stores are crumbling and looters are everywhere. Including me of course. Everyone has a family to look after so you're kind of forced into it. So most people don't make it for very long if they don't. Especially because if you're not in good health, you'll get struck by the epidemic. People get infected and collapse. Gradually their skin tissue tears, black liquid would start oozing out, hardening and eventually they have four extra arms and razor sharp teeth cutting through half their face. They get a second pair of eyes below the normal ones which are completely black and filled with sorrow from their past life that they no longer have. When the ooze grows too large the person dies, their skin torn to shreds and the virus finds someone else.

     All of our food and water is safely stored underground and if you know to trade, you can get good deals for a large family like mine. My name is Brenna, I am 14, have no parents and 9 brothers. I used to have 10, but the youngest caught the virus and we were forced to abandon him in the fields. The fields are the closest thing we have to a cemetery. It's a scorched field that has multiple piles of bodies. It broke my heart to abandon a little two year old who was crying from all the pain there. I couldn't abandon him. I couldn't leave him in pain. So I sent my brothers home with my twin, Heath. Then I said my last good-bye and put him out of his misery. That is the reason why I am trying to find a cure. So that no one else has to keep going through this pain.