The Awake

Chapter One

I started awake at the blaring of my alarm, rising in volume with every beep. Groaning, I slapped my hand down on top of it, searching blindly for the saving grace of the morning- the snooze button. I sighed and rolled over, only to remember that it was Tuesday, family breakfast day. Stifling another groan, I rolled out of bed onto the plush carpet by my bedside. I shoved my feet into my favourite blue slippers after pulling on a grey hoodie and leggings and made my way to the staircase.

At the top of the stairs I was momentarily confused. There were no lights on. Mom and dad were always up early on Tuesdays. This had been a Tuesday morning ritual for as long as I could remember, and my parents would usually have steaming plates of bacon, eggs, hashbrowns ready for when my brother and I decided to join the land of the living again. Neither Cole or I were really morning people.

Flipping the light switch, something in my peripherals caught my attention. Cole still had his door wide open. He was paranoid about sleeping with his door shut but always made sure to close it during the day so the cat wouldn't go on his bed and shed everywhere. I crossed the hallway and peered into his room, surprised to see a 16 year-old sized lump burrowed in the covers. Even though we didn't like mornings, Cole and I always raced each other to the table because we had made a deal- last one to the table on Tuesdays had to do the vacuuming that week. Unsurprisingly as teenagers, we both hated that too.

"Cole! Get your lazy butt out of bed and come help me. Mom and dad must not be feeling well cause they're still asleep. I'll do the bacon and eggs, you do toast and hasbrowns." I called. Cole didn't move.

I took large steps to stand beside his bed and shook him. He still didn't move a muscle or make a sound. Momentarily panicking, I groped for his wrist to check his pulse. Sighing when I felt the steady thrum, I released his wrist and tried waking him up again. Ten minutes later with no results, I decided it was time to get my parents, because something had to be really wrong if Cole wouldn't wake up.

"Mom? Dad? Something is wrong. Cole won't wake up. He's still breathing but I can't get him to open his eyes. You need to do something!"

Neither of them answered. My blood ran cold. Not them too, I thought. What the hell is going on??

Acting on pure adrenaline rush, I pulled my cell out of my sweater pocket and dialled 911. All I could hear was my blood rushing through my ears until the connection was made and my phone started ringing. Once. Twice. Oh my god. Three times. Four. Five. What the hell is happening? Why isn't 911 answering? That's their job! To answer phones in emergencies, that's the whole friggen point of 911!

I couldn't think straight. The idea of fresh air passed through my mind and I practically ran through my house to get out. When I had gone through the front door, I stopped hard in my tracks. No other lights in the neighbourhood were on. We were a pretty early rising street; by this time there were usually dog walkers and joggers on the streets, maybe a guy or two watering their obnoxiously green and perfect suburban yards. But today was different. The sun was coming up over the trees to the east, casting shadows on everything it touched. Normally I loved watching the sun rise when I was up early enough to, but today the shadows seemed eerie. Something was definitely wrong and I didn't know what to do.

Pulling the front door shut behind me, I headed to the kitchen. May as well eat something. Guess it doesn't matter if we have bacon because I'm the only one in this house that's awake! I grabbed the container of Rice Krispie squares that mom and I had made the day before and cut a huge chunk. If I was going to deal with this shit, I was going to need sugar.More out of habit than anything else, I pulled out my phone and clicked on Reddit. I tapped on the trending feed and gasped at what I saw.

* Anyone else awake? Comment if you are- this is getting friggen weird. *

The post had three comments from three different users. Three users, plus the poster, plus me made five. Did that mean there were only five of us awake? What was happening? My thumbs flew over the keyboard as I frantically typed a comment in.

* I'm awake too! What's going on? Why is everyone asleep?? I'm getting scared.. *

The seconds went by agonizingly slowly as I waited for a reply, hoping for another sign of someone else being awake too. I hit refresh for the umpteenth time and felt the blood drain from my face. My stomach churning, I reread the newest comment on the post.

* To the Awake:You have been kept awake for a certain purpose. Do your task well, and I will ensure your family is jarred from their slumber once again. Refuse and, well, you don't really want to do that, do you? Don't you feel special? Should you choose to accept this challenge, simply comment "I accept" and you will be sent instructions. You have 1 hour to decide- choose wisely, or you may never see your family again. *