Surviving The Haze ☑️

The Beginning

When the Haze first started, all we could see were blue lights filling the sky.

But the lights kept getting closer, and closer, and closer.

We didn't realize the danger until they were on top of us, and we barely had time to scream.

***

I was sprawled out on my bed, playing a game on my laptop when I heard a faint humming noise from outside. I quickly parted my green curtains to see what was going on.

Blue dots covered the orange sky, the colors clashing across the setting sun. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, curious about these strange lights. What were they?

I backed away from the window, my eyes not moving from the blue blobs in the sky that were slowly getting closer and closer. I hit my bedroom wall, which was next to my door. I whipped the door open quickly and raced down the stairs.

"Mom?" I called out, searching the living room quickly.

"In here, M," she called back to me, her soft voice floating from the kitchen.

I pushed the door that leads to the kitchen open and saw my mother cutting up cucumber slices on her cutting board, a salad bowl filled with greens sitting next to her.

"Mom, what are those lights outside?" I asked, wrinkling my nose at the smell of the cucumbers.

She gave me a goofy look. "What are you talking about, Maia?"

I walked around the counter and pulled back the curtains that hung above the sink. The lights were still there, but they were closer than they were a few minutes ago. Hundreds of the blue hazes filled the darkening sky. I noticed our neighbors stepping outside, staring at the sky in confusion. Many scratched their heads and looked all around baffled. Some were getting furious. Others were crying and screaming, saying the world was ending.

I grabbed my mother's arm and yanked her to the open window. As she looked towards the sky, her expression immediately went from smiling to fearful.

She quickly drew the curtains together and grabbed me by the shoulders. "Maia, go get Lucy. We're packing everything up and leaving."

I stared up at her in shock. "Wha- why? What about Dad? Where are we going?"

She simply shook her head. "Your dad will be fine. He's smart enough to know what to do. And we're going to the sewers, underground where those things can't get us. Now go tell Lucy to pack and get back down here as soon as you can!"

She shoved me out of the kitchen, putting two trash bags in my hands. "Put your clothes in one and tell Lucy to put hers in the other. Hurry!"

She whirled around after that, leaving me alone in the living room. I rushed up the stairs and whipped Lucy's door open.

My twin was lounging on her bed, ear buds in her ears and a book in front of her, reading intensely. Hearing the door open, she glanced up. "Yes?"

I threw the trash bag at her. "Mom said to put your clothes in that bag. Once your finished, go downstairs. We're leaving."

My sister put her book down quickly, giving me a worried look. "Why? What is it?"

I shook my head. "Just look outside. I'll meet you downstairs."

I raced into my room, throwing my dresser's drawers open and shoving clothes into the trash bag. Once my drawers were empty, I whipped open

my closet door and put more clothes in my bag, making sure not to grab any of my dresses. I grabbed some shoes from the bottom of my closet, stuffing them into the bag as well. I also grabbed my three sketch pads, my five boxes of pencils, and the two pencil sharpeners I had hidden underneath my bedside table and tossed them in the bag.