The most precious substance

The last chance

'There's nothing else for it we have to go back! ' Ella whispered, her voice quivering in fear.

'No it has to be here. It has to- It's our last chance'

Her thoughts shifted to her mother- solemnly lying on her bed on the brink of death. Her mother was infected last year like most other people. Ever since the symptoms of the disease – deliria nervosa- sprouting up one by one: eyes red, filled with glowing lava, spasmodic twitches, rotting nails, craters with filled with a white toxic liquid were strewn all over her skin. Her mother had become unrecognizable within a few months. Her soft gentle caress, her commanding voice no longer there to guide her and her sister.

'We're going to be caught and we'll be dead before we know it!' Ella warned for the hundredth time.

'We won't trust me' I grabbed her shoulders and shook them gently trying to shake the fear out her.

Ella was my younger sister. She was always quiet and kept to herself. Her long golden hair clashed with my unruly, short black hair. She reminded my of the princesses in fairy tales with slender figures, sapphire eyes that glistened if you looked deep enough and sun kissed skin that shimmered like Christmas lights. She had never tried doing anything this reckless, until my mother collapsed last week, her body fully paralyzed. This was the final stage before death.

My eyes scanned the labels as fast as I could but it wasn't here. I've double-checked, triple checked and still no sign of the cure. My heart began to pound, hammering down my ribs, knocking the air out of me.

The government has made the cure unavailable to all the common public. They couldn't produce any more so now it was available to only the richest, most important, most famous members of the society. Riots larger than ever broke out, but soon the disease wiped away most of the people and people retreated to hide. The disease spread like wildfire. A gentle touch was enough. We always wore stolen safety suits when we treated our mom. We'd no longer need to do that if we found the cure.

'it's definitely here . We've tried everywhere else'

I paced around the room trying to think of where it could be.

'I don't know B.... We have to go' her soft voice pleaded me but I couldn't give in. I was never the one to give up. Ella was also soft, she stayed at home to cook, clean and watch after mother while I joined the children's army to earn money. I almost always did the dirty work. But ever since mother grew weaker and stopped moving, Ella somehow summoned the courage to face the harsh world and put her own battle against it. I was proud of her.

My foot slipped as I didn't notice a small book on the floor and my foot was caught in between the ridge throwing me of my balance. My shoulders slung drawing a loop in the air as the room blurred into a swirl. My back hit the gelid stone and my forehead bounced off the floor as my neck contorted backwards. A painful fire surged within me dulling my senses. I slowly craned my neck as my vision started to unfade. I noticed a minuscule box that I swear hadn't been there before. I gawked at it- it seemed so familiar- I felt like I had been stabbed in the gut as the realization attacked me visciously.

'OH NOOOO! Someone must have heard that! Let's get out of here'

I instantly rose to my feet and took the glistening metallic box in my arms. In every province one vial of the cure was hidden. I found out possible locations and managed to steal the key during my service in the army. I've searched for more than six months and the thing I most desired lay in front of me. It seemed rather plain and meager in my eyes now.

Not wanting to waste time, I slipped the box into my pocket and ran out signaling Ella to follow.

'It's in this box Ella. We're going to save mom. She's not going to die'

A sense of accomplishment and joy in the fact that I am going to save my mothers life flooded me. I ran out through the doors, no longer feeling the pain from my fall or the dull ache, or the longing I have always felt. I felt light as if all my organs had been removed. Scenes of a happy life, a happy family, my mother embracing Ella and I flashed across my mind. For the first time in many years, a smile had forced its way onto my face.

I opened the door that lead to the abandoned streets and the wave of fresh hit me like a ginormous waves of a tsunami.

'Well, well well.... We've been watching you two for a very long time now and seems like you two have been up to some mischief. It's good to see you again Sophie.'

Sophie stared up to see her commanders blazing eyes staring into hers triumphantly.

'For attempt of theft of the most precious and valuable substance on earth, I sentence you Ms sophie and Ms Ella to immediate death'

The sound of gunshot was the last thing I heard.