Beyond

Chapter 3 - Year 9576

Sorry this chapter's short.  I tried my best on it. :)     

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     Zoe hurried down the hallway, clutching his books in her hand.

     Today was the day for final exams, and that meant that Zoe would never have to go to school again. And soon, she would get an assignment and work a job. If there was an apartment open, she might even settle down with a husband have children.

     So, Zoe went the shortest way possible to her Reading and Writing class which was taught by Mrs. Linda.

      Zoe reflected for a moment as she trained her gaze on her feet as she scurried down the hall.

     She had often wondered what her last name was. In her Origins class, they had learned that The Ancients (as they were told) were started by two people. A man and a woman. So these two people had children and their children had children. But each child had their own last name and this meant everybody was special.

     Here, if there was another Zoe, there would be no way to tell the difference between the two, except digitally. They just called the teachers and high officials "Mr." or "Mrs.". But no one else was referred to by such names.

     Zoe pushed that away. That didn't matter.

     She didn't want a last name.

     She didn't want to see the odd visions.

     She wanted to be normal.

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     After Zoe's Reading and Writing exam, she ran down the hallway to get back to her parent's apartment.

     Their apartment was much bigger than most people's because their father was a doctor. But that meant that he had hundreds of books and a littered desk full of paperwork.

     Despite its age, Zoe was quite impressed with their apartment's condition. Their family had lived there for about twenty years and none of their furniture was broken. Soon, though, Zoe's parents would move off into another house with other aging adults. That meant that the house would go up for auction and the person who paid the most would be able to own it.

      So, Zoe quite absorbed in her thoughts, forgot to pick up the groceries for her mother. She rushed past the marketplace and turned a few corners before she bumped right into someone.

      Zoe looked up and noticed that she was standing face-to-face with Annette. She was truly an odd girl, but Zoe just muttered her apology and rushed on.

      Annette has always been an odd girl, Zoe reflected, always thinking.

      Annette had never paid any attention in class and never sat with anyone at lunch or anything. Zoe had always thought that Annette was rather stuck-up. Thinking that she was better than everyone else and she didn't need to talk to anyone.

      Pushing that away, Zoe turned a corner and made her way over to her apartment. She opened the door slowly, grasping the doorknob in her hand.

      "Mom?" She called.

      No answer.

      "Dad?"

        Nothing.
         Zoe hurriedly put her backpack down on the counter and went over to her parent's door. She stared at the faded wood of it before slowly pushing the door.

       What she saw next was something she never wished to see.

       It was her parents.  And they were dead.