Systematic Hearts

{ 24 }

2 months later

My parents, busy with everyday tasks, Charlie. And then the fog would hit. Charlie's pained cries. My parents silence was worse. Huddled together. Saying goodbye.

I woke with a start. After the cams two months ago, I haven't slept. Nothing has happened yet, but everyone is saying the fogs will come anyway. Most say they will come tomorrow, when we will leave. But what if they come today? I should be there.

I look at the clock on the simple dresser full of matching uniforms. I really should leave. I should go now. I step out of the covered bed, pull open the dresser door all silently. No need to wake Burk, but staring at his face, I can't leave without a kiss. I walk over to his bedside and kiss his lips. "Bye," I whisper.

I pull the same outfit that I do everyday on. The clunk of the boots follows me out the door to the cam room.

...

The cam room only has one man in it. Someone I don't know. I walk over to the empty computer and type in my street and house color. The house pops up...

So do sirens.

Sirens in the speakers. Everywhere. Everyone is bunkering down. The fogs are coming today. The fogs are coming

I can't stop them alone. I run through the doorway screaming, "ALICE! THEY'RE COMING! ALICE!" After running around five more corners screaming, Alice runs to me.

"What's coming? Calm down, what's coming?" She grabs my arms to calm me down.

"T-t-the fogs. Mom. Dad. Ch-Charlie." I can feel the tears coming. Alice yells at me to get to the cars. She grabs a card and screams at him to get more people. Something about a rebellion. But I stopped listening, I ran to my room, tears staining my cheeks. I ran and ran. Everything was a haze. A tear stained haze: Yelling at my Burk to get up. Yelling at Caron and Carlin to start moving. The waves of troops headed towards the city. The fog alarms growing closer and closer as we approached the city in the car I left it.

...

I had a gun slung around my shoulders. We got message that the Cams had been eliminated. No security footage was rolling. The System shut their cameras off in the city. Apparently, they didn't want to see the death of hundreds of people. But, I guess thats okay, it makes it a lot easier to invade the city and get the people of the System out.

Burk and Carson got out a while back. Carlin is going to her compact to get her parents out. Im going to mine with Alice.

Alice stopes the car, jerking me forward, and immediately gets out followed by Carlin. Breath, take a deep breath, and then I follow. I sprint to the house, neck and neck with Alice. Open the door and walk to the only other room in the compact. My parents aren,t here. I run to the bedroom praying they are there.

It's just like my dreams, except no fog as hit yet. My mom is huddled under my Dad's arms holding Charlie. Silent tears come from my mother. My dad looks up, "Alice! There here." I call. I run to my dad's side and hug him.

"We missed you, my brave girl." He whispers, "I knew you would come back," he says.

I smile, look over my shoulder, about to yell to Alice again, but she is already in the doorway. "Hi mom, dad." Alice says in a shaky voice. Dad smiles and Mom gets up from her crouched position, still tightly embracing Charlie.

"Alice." she says in disbelief. "Alice, you came?"

"You knew she wasn't dead?" I asked.

My mom shakes her head, "I just found out, your father, he told me everything when you had gone." My dad was on this too?

The sirens suddenly stop. No. Nononono. They didn't give us enough time. Nononono. "Alice lets go. Mom, dad go. Come on, we need to get you out of the city limits! Go!" Alice and I rush them past the door onto the street. My mom is still holding Charlie. But she isn't fast enough with him. I take him out of her arms and start running along side her. Charlie isn't as heavy as I remember. Maybe it's just me getting stronger.

The clouds have already changed color to a grayish yellow. There are soldiers and civilians herding the streets. Hundreds, Some too old or too young to run and being carried by rebels. Carlin runs out of her house with her parents in front of her. We run two blocks, "Mom, come on, just two more, you have to go. Come on. Come on. We can make it. We are almost out." She looks at me nods and starts to run again.

The screams a few blocks away haunt me. They are the last words of many. I close my eyes and trudge on. One more block. Just one more.

one more

just one.

There are so many people behind us. "Mom you have to go, just keep going, okay? Don't stop until you get far from the limits, keep going. Okay? I will meet you soon. Go! Run!" She shakes her head. I shake mine and hand Charlie to her. "I love you, but too many people will die if i keep going. Mom, they need someone, so does Charlie, please go." Tears roll down her cheeks. She stops running, kisses my cheek and follows dad down the street. Without me. Alice look back at me over her shoulder and nods. Thanking me. She will take care of them. I nod back, shoving the tears back down my throat.

I start running again. Away from the city limits. I can already see the blanket of fog rolling over the buildings. The screams are being shoved in my ears. A little girl is crying on the side of the street, only ten feet from the fog. I sprint over to her. Her yellow hair is matted to her cheeks with tears. "Where are your parents?" She points toward the fog. I gasp. It's not pretend anymore. The fog just killed her parents. I pick her up and start running again. Shouting at people to run. People are tripping and falling as the fog hits them. I pull a boy, strong, no older than me and tell him to get the kids and get them out of here. He complies. Along with others that heard me he grabs kids and puts the on his shoulders and back and starts running.

The blonde haired girl is still clinging to my shoulder. I see another kid running alone, he doesn't know where to go. No more kids are left except for him. "Hey! Come here!" He runs towards me. "Can you run really fast and keep up with me?" I ask him hurriedly. The fog is now closer then five feet from us. He nods quickly. I push him ahead of me and run with my free hand on his shoulder, he starts to slow so I sling him onto my other hip and run the four blocks as fast as I can.

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