Reckless

Chapter 1

"There's a little corner store about a mile down the road remember?" I ask my 8 year old brother Jacob and his twin sister Emily. The black hair blued eyed kids stare back at me.
"Yeah." Em finally says.
"Good." I say.
"How long will you be gone?" Asks Em.
"Not long only a couple of hours at the longest." I say.
"Amber, I'm scared." Jacob says.
"Hey you don't need to be scared." I say, "Do you want to know why?" Both of the small children nod, "Mommy and Daddy's angel is watching over you." I say.
"I miss them." Jacob says.
"So do I," I say.
"I love you Amber." Says Jacob hugging me.
"I love you two kids so much." I hug them both.
"I want the Christmas closet!" Em says. Emily loves the Christmas closet, but Jacob doesn't.
"Remember the rules, don't get out of your hiding place for any reason. You can play with the little toys I gave you but if you hear someone in the house you are not allowed to make any noise at all. And the most important one if one of you is found don't tell them about the other. Do you understand me?" I ask.
"Yes." They both say. I hide Jacob first. I walk into my parents bedroom and into there closets. Then I slide some old boxes out of the way and sit the small boy into the crack I made. Emily is a bit more difficult. I take her up into our room and into our dark closet. I slide the piece of dry wood out of the way.
"Here's your flashlight." I say.
"Pinky promise your coming home soon." She says.
"I pinky promise." I say. I walk down the stairs and out of the house. I always have the problem of should I look the door. If I lock the door people will know someone lives here, or is in there. If I don't lock the door some random stranger can just walk in. I take a deep breath, lock the door and pray that it was the right choice. It's been three years since it happened. It was a civil war...sorta. It was an attack that started with a virus. It spread so quickly and it wasn't just in West Virginia, or the United States. People went crazy. Killing there neighbors or themselves. Within 3 years there is only a third of the people living on earth as there was before this all happened. Just everything we knew is gone. Now I'm a 16 year old trying to raise two 8 year old on my own.
I run down the steep hill and make a grab my bandanas off the tree limb and tie it over my nose and mouth. I'm the only thing these kids have. I never told them the whole story about how my mom and dad died. I wish I had but I couldn't tell them that some mean person that made a sickness that medicine can't treat. So Daddy had to take Mommy out into the woods with a gun and two bullets, but both weren't for her......
I reach the store. Securing the two blue bandannas around both of my hands I open the door. You can't ever be to careful. If the sickness hasn't killed you yet your more than likely to be killed by the people.
I walk into the dusty store. Among the mist of debris from the walls, shelves, wrappers from food, water bottles, and maybe a few drops of blood I find a can of corn. It's a good start. I normally have to dig around the the mess and risk getting who knows what kind of germs from cutting myself on sharp metal.
After about an hour of looking I find 3 cans of green beans, 2 cans of corn, a pack of spaghetti, 2 cans of spaghetti sauce, 12 bottles of water, and probably my best find of the day 3 squished twinkles. I'm excited to show the twins the cakes when I hear not one but several cars driving. I dive to my stomach and scoot to the glass for of the store to look out. Cars, trucks, vans, and what looks like a supply trucks greet my eyes. The supply trucks stop along with everything else. I crawl under desk space where the cashier could keep there personal belongings.
"Yeah I'll look around in here then meet you guys on the turnpike. This places looks like it's been cleaned out." The man walks in making enough noise to cover my breathing. If only it would cover the cock of the small pistol I have in my waist band....
The other cars pull away and I wait gun in hand for the right time. I normally hate to kill, but on occasions it can't be avoided. I move slower than cold molasses, but right now it's survival. I step on glass.
"What the.." The gun fire cuts off the rest if the sentence as the man hits the floor I run out of the store. And onto the road. I can't take the road all the was so I run. To the tress that are on the side of the hill. Up over the hill to the top where my house is and see cars parked.
"Let me go!" Jacob screams. I grab at the pistol. Five of them one of me. Not good odds. So I let them take my baby brother down the road right passed me. I look at the license plate that says: California.