The Price of Humanity

Chapter One

Chapter One

"The Government has issued a warning, everyone in and around London should stay inside. The Prime Minister is taking action and trying to get this situation under control, do not try and travel just stay inside and lock your doors."

"Bullshit." Zane complains next to me, he continues shouting at the TV despite my questioning gaze. "The Prime Minister isn't doing anything, he's probably halfway to his private island by now."

He huffs and sinks back into the couch, crossing his arms, and looking pissed.

"Zane, go with your father and do something useful." My mother calls from the kitchen, fed up with his constant shouting. He rolls his eyes, but gives me a smile, and gets up, heading out the door, to the right and then out the front door.

I reach over, to the coffee table, almost falling off the couch since my legs are propped up on the seat. I pick up the remote and turn off the TV.

I don't fancy seeing any more 'breaking news' of the angry, violent people who police are shooting down in the streets. The news has been showing videos from people near the riots.

People convulsing on the floor, getting up and running at people, attacking them. The police attacking them, shooting them. Only they stand back up again.

I push myself up on the couch and swing my legs over the back. I head into the kitchen; my mother is there making lunch as if it's any other day and London isn't going to shit.

"Do you think people will start acting up here?" I ask her, sitting on the counter top. She shoos me to the side so she can get into the cupboard at my head height.

"Honey, you have nothing to worry about." She reassures, resting the food on the counter and stroking my cheek gently. "The government and the police will get everything under control. I promise you, we'll be fine."

She gives me a tight hug, with one hand, and returns to making the food. She picks up three Tupperware boxes, although she'll only need two, and brings them back to the counter with our lunches on.

"But do we still have to go to school if people are rioting?" I ask hopeful. She chuckles and nods. "If I was on my deathbed you would still make me go to school, wouldn't you?" I ask in disbelief.

"If I have to go, you have to go." She smiles, handing me the boxes. I hop off the counter and head back through to the lounge, which leads to the hallway.

"You could always get a different job." I shout back to her, whilst walking through the living room. I place the lunches on the coffee table, ready to collect them later.

"Then I wouldn't be able to embarrass you in class, would I?" She yells back as I enter the hallway and walk up the stairs to my room.

392 days and...14 hours. That's how long ago that was. The time we first heard about what was happening.

We never 'prepped' for an apocalypse, we were never really worried about any of that sort of thing. We lived in a small town and led regular, ordinary lives – nothing interesting happened in our town. We never thought it would reach us, never even considered the possibility. Oh, how wrong we were.

We thought it was like any other day, like nothing bad was going to happen to our small little town in south England. We were in denial.

We had a couple of days.

I come back downstairs with my bag slung over my shoulder and Zane's bag in my hand. I walk into the living room and sit back down on the sofa, taking two of the lunches.

I place one box in Zane's bag, and one in mine. The noise of a car in the distance comes closer, heading onto our road.

The car drives up our driveway and parks itself there. I run to the window with hope, what I see is both of my brothers hoping out of the car and my dad already at the front door.

Jumping over the coffee table, I surprisingly land on my feet effortlessly, and run into the hallway. My dad walks up to me, giving me a kiss on my forehead before going to see my mum in the kitchen.

"You find him?" My mother asks with worry, in a split-second decision I begin to eavesdrop on their conversation, before my brothers come through the door.

"Yeah, Kailey's bathroom, lying in a pool of his own sick." Mum makes a sound that seems very much like she's going to punch something, but I stop listening then because Zane comes in.

Following behind him is Gale, his twin. My other older brother.

Gale has definitely seen better days. His dark hair is scrunched up and messy, not standing to attention like it usually is. I guess Kailey didn't have any hair gel in her bathroom.

"How you doing my little Ninja." Gale greets me, messing up my hair with his fingertips. I glare at him.

He calls me Ninja because I'm always climbing things, not because I'm always picking fights. But if I had the chance to fight like a Ninja, I would definitely move mountains to.

However, he doesn't have that right at the moment.

"No, you don't get to call me your Ninja when you've had us all worried again. You need to stop this." He chuckles deeply and brings me into a hug.

He still stinks of alcohol and puke. It makes me sick just being near him.

"Why would I stop something that makes me feel better?" Zane smacks him on the back of his head and comes to stand next to me.

"She's right man, you got to stop this, you're not only hurting yourself but I don't think mum can put up with this anymore. She's gonna send you to rehab soon." Gale chuckles again and shoves past the barrier of siblings.