Alone, Together

Chapter 1

~Zariah~

The day started out as normal as it's been for years and then everything in town gets very quiet. Outside of my house the route that's always busy has no cars from either end. Over the last couple of years a plague slowly killed billions of people. We all called it the torch because it makes your skin burn, blister and swell. I knew that the day would come when I would be all alone in the world, but I chose not to believe it. That is until the one person that truly for me died.

Sister Diane was part of the staff at the christian orphanage I lived in. At three months old my mother thought it would be best if I were raised by someone else. I'm glad she did or I wouldn't have met Diane. She was an old lady, about 60-70 years old, and she needed lots of help getting around but the jokes with her were never ending. On a bad day she would tell me the funniest things and everything turned okay again. Now that she is gone it is going to be tough to keep a clear mind.

So far I have not found anyone else that has survived but I'm sure I'll find someone. I'm going to drive all around the country to look for someone else. Considering I'm all alone I am going to have some fun with the trip. I have an RV packed with junk food and a disco ball hanging on the ceiling. The stereo is playing Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, my all time favorite song.

My fingers are drumming on the steering wheel and my long blond hair is blowing in the wind. The one picture I found of my mother shows her having short blond hair and hazel eyes just like mine. I always wondered what she was like but I guess I will never be able to know.

Five hundred miles and I'll be in Seattle. Just about 7 more hours of Billie Jean and Twinkies. I've never drove for so long that my foot becomes numb and my arms get tired. I have a brilliant idea to solve all my problems though, it involves a shopping mall. I park the RV and walk inside to get supplies. Forever 21 has many useful things in it. I grab one of their mannequins from the showcase and rip the clothes on it. Next, I rip the arms like if I were in a horror movie. I smirk and walk over to the purse section with the mannequin arms dangling from my hands.

A loud thud catches my attention. It came from the front of the store near the cash register so I make my way there. Wonder if it's another person. It's probably not, but I still lifted one of the arms as defense. Who knows what's out there. Slowly, I creep toward the register.

"Ah!" I scream as loud as I can when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn quickly and see a guy with his hands up in surrender.

"Who are you?"
"Who are you?"
"I asked first." He smirks and puts his hands on his hips. "I'm Zariah. Your turn." I keep the mannequin arm in my hand like a baseball bat. "I'm Dean. I must say that plastic arm looks good on you." I just stumbled on a creep. I turn to walk back out the mall because I would rather my foot hurts than stay in a store with a creep. "God really did send me an angel." I hear from the hall by K Jewelers. "No Satan sent you a devil."

~Lesley~

Three weeks have gone by since the torch wiped out my hometown. It's been the same amount of time that I have been searching for my twin brother. He left for University in New York years ago and hasn't been back since. If anyone else were around they would probably tell me he is dead but I know better than to believe that. Mikey would have been prepared for the disease long before it hit. That's how he has always been, one step ahead. In surprised he didn't come back home to look for me though because he promised to come back when something bad happened.

Growing up Mikey made me carry a walkie talkie wherever I went so he could never loose me. It came in handy a couple of times through my teenage years. I recall one time I was walking home from school and a guy followed me. I was terrified he was going to something so I used the walkie talkies to tell Mikey. Not even two minutes later he was there with his car giving devil looks to the guy. Mikey was a big flirt and scored a date with almost any girl he wanted. I, on the other hand, and the complete opposite. No boy liked me and no girl wanted to be me. Every one of my grades were A's so I was labeled as nerd. The good thing about having no one else alive is that no one is around to not like me. My brother has always been one for respect even though he has the ability to make any girl u comfortable. I never really understood him, but I know he is out there somewhere so I will have many years to learn about him.