Grips

Chapter 3- To all who are alive

Bam! I sat up from my bed, panting. It's just a dream, I reminded myself, just a dream... I wiped my sweat away with my arm. It was always the same one. The same nightmare where everyone I loved died, and I watched, helpless to do anything about it. It was the third time it came, but each time, it was more terrifying than the last.

I reluctantly got up to get a midnight snack when I thought against it. We needed to save food not waste it. I dropped back on the bed. It was hard not to drop bad habits. Even though I was home, it didn't feel like it. Instead, every passing corner brought back painful memories.

"Can't sleep either?" I heard from the other side of the room.

"Nope," I answered back. At the park, I had found Maya injured physically, with a sprained ankle, and mentally, with a broken heart. Both of her parents had died along with her older brother, while she had miraculously escaped. She felt guilty. Survivor's guilt. We'd been staying at my house for the last two days, saving our food and water preciously.

I'd also been making round trips to Trader Joes to stock up on food..., but I really didn't know how long we could keep this up.

"Do you think things will ever be normal again?" Maya questioned expressly.

"I think normal doesn't exist anymore," I responded glumly. She stayed silent. It was true anyway. What did she want to me to say? She probably wanted to hear that it was going to be alright and that life was going to go back to rainbows and butterflies. It was a lie. An illusion. Before, life hadn't been perfect but it was as good as it got. We were happy, and before now, I had never valued that.

That's what we'd been doing for the last two days. Reflecting on what we use to have and what we've lost. But nothing could prepare us for the battle that was coming next.

***

The eeriness of what was once my hometown had already worn off. Now, it was just a town upon recognition. It was gone. Just like everything in my life. I thought of my sister, my mom, and everyone else. I was still trying to convince myself they were dead and trying to let go of the hope that still reigned within me. As much as brain wanted to, my heart wouldn't cooperate.

Sure, I was glad Maya was with me, but it wasn't the same. As much as she wished, I couldn't pretend it was just a normal day, in my average life. If she wanted to lie to herself, be my guest, but I wasn't going to.

        Everyone always told me I was a pessimist, but I never saw myself as one. I was a realistic and in these situations, it might save my life.

       Lost in my thoughts, I passed an ice cream shop, and stopped, staring at the window.

"Christina!" A pretty little girl calls. "Please, please, please, can we stop for ice cream?"

A girl in her early teen years laughs, "I don't know. Ask mom. But are you seriously going to get an ice cream at ten o'clock in the morning?"

"She'll say yes. I know she will. But if we go, you'll be late for your track meet," she pleaded, ignoring the last comment.

Looking at those pleading eyes, the teen had no choice but to say yes. "Ok, fine. But be quick," she replied, a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

"Thanks, I love you, Chris," the child said, bouncing happily. She instantly ran to the shop.

Laughing and shaking her head, the older girl yelled while catching up, "Don't call me Chris, you know I don't like it."

"K. What flavor do you want? I want strawberry," she told her sister.

Once again, the teenager laughed, "Of course you do. You always do. Get me vanilla please."

"I love you," I whisper. I heard them often now. The voices and the visions. I was going crazy, but I didn't care as long as I saw her in some way. Not knowing was worse than knowing they... They were dead, I completed. I had to face it. The huge possibility that I desperately didn't want to face.

I kept walking. It was getting late. My watch read 7:56. The light of the day was almost gone, leaving an eternal trail of darkness behind. I hurried up. If there was anything creepier than abandoned Boston, it was eerie Boston at night. Unlike others, I found comfort in noise. The silence was what scared me. When you heard the crunch underneath your shoe and the emptiness of a city without civilization.

I was so indulged into my pool of thoughts that at first, I hardly noticed it. The buzzing and roar of a machine that soared across the sky. When I finally pointed it out to myself, I instantaneously broke into a run across Gloucester street, nearing my destination.

        What the...? There were small planes, like nothing I had ever seen before, hovering above the whole dormant city. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I had a misgiving about the whole situation.

Unless this was some miraculous rescue- which I highly doubted- this meant trouble. For some unknown reason, the United States' attackers were back.

***

I knew they couldn't see me but I couldn't help myself from feeling in danger. I had always been paranoid but my instinct was frequently right. I let my mind drift yet the first thing that came to mind was: Why were they back?

Maybe they want to kill the rest of the survivors? I considered. No, what's the point? There are probably survivors all across the US. But why Boston? I scoffed. In my opinion, they should probably look to the matter of hand: the rest of the world. Unless the world doesn't know. No, the world has to know. I hadn't really thought of this, but there were big chances that World War 3 was erupting out there.

Maybe, I wasn't that unlucky... at least, compared to the rest of the world. I stopped jogging and started walking again. I needed to save the stamina I had left. Unless they were dropping bombs, I was fine for the moment.

I arrived at my destination while the sun was setting. I crawled through a small hole someone had made in the window that led to the inside of the supermarket. Just in case, I took out my flashlight. I walked down the electric stairs that were now out of power. Once inside, I stocked up on supplies. As I was reaching for some bread, a flag of the United States caught my eye.

If the country even exists anymore, I thought glumly. I will never be able to explain why I felt the sudden impulse to grab it, but I did. I found tears sneaking into my eyes, threatening to spill out. It was incredible all a flag could represent. Liberty. Freedom. Happiness. The United States- my home country. They were all gone. Just like everything else.

I passed my fingers over the stripes, counting each and every one of them. The thirteen colonies were all gone by now. All destroyed. I was about to put it back when my finger got stuck on the back of the flag.

Confused, I turned it over. There a note. My eyes skimmed through it, and opened in shock. No, this wasn't possible. But my heart hoped. No matter what I did, the hope was still there. The hope that what was on this note was true...

The note read:

Survivors
To all who are alive,
Stay together, be strong, fight back
You are not the only people left
We are in hiding
Do not be fooled, they will come back