uninvited

chapter two

uncontrollable

       Boy, she hated it when she was right.  No, really.  She was a pessimistic bitch.  The day she started being right all the time, believe her, we're screwed. 

       In the next three days, they lost Mrs. Cross and now Rue was sick.  Aunt Sarah wasn't handling it well.  First her son and now her baby.  Her husband was barely hanging on.  Her grief was uncontrollable, and they were having to take care of her as much as they were having to take care of the sick. 

       Julian was here, he was helping, but he wasn't really here.  He was lost in his own grief.

       News no longer stayed on the air continually.  Now they only received reports every few days.  The last they heard the president was dead.  The vice president was dead.  She didn't know who was in control now, but she hoped someone did.

       With no tv, no radio, they were completely on their own.

       Mom said they should be thankful the lights were still working.  They should be thankful the kitchen was stocked.  When they ran out, they even had Julian's house they could ransack.

       Police no longer came around trying to keep the peace.  There was no one around causing trouble.  At least not around here.

       Everything was quiet.  Too quiet.

       That was freaking driving her insane.

       Julian looking so lost and holding that damn remote was driving her insane.

       She looked away from him before she could do something bad and hit him.

       Mel was watching her.  They were sitting at the coffee table in the living room coloring pictures.  Her sister was pretty good at drawing.  She had a nice sunny day with flowers and a rainbow.

       Jess looked at her own picture, a backyard full of graves.

       Which one of them needed mental help?  She'd say the one who still thought there were rainbows in the sky.

       She could be wrong though.

       She tucked her picture under some other papers and hoped her sister hadn't noticed it.  "What's up, Booger?"

       "Can we go outside today?  I don't like being inside all the time."

       Mel was a tomboy.  She was happiest covered in dirt or up a tree, but outside wasn't a place to play anymore.  There were graves, not only in their yard but others as well.  There were fires everywhere because some chose not to bury their dead.

       Old man Carson was across the street right now burning someone.  His wife or the grandson he was raising.  That's the kind of world they lived in now.  Someone's body burning on the front lawn.

       "Jess, can we go out?"

       "We can play a game."  She would rather not but she offered, anyway.  It was one thing for all of them to sit around in a haze of fear and loss, but Mel still thought things could get better. 

       It was only right that someone was still left who clung to hope.

       "I have a better idea."  Her mom was leaning in the doorway watching them.  "You three come with me."

       She and her mom shared the same brown hair, her mom just wore it a little shorter.  Now she had beautiful eyes.  Dark green and full of life.  She was even shorter than her eldest daughter, not even much bigger than her seven-year-old.