The Grieving

Chapter 2

We had spent all afternoon avoiding father. We took a walk, went to neighbors houses, but eventually the guards came out to enforce curfew so we were forced to return home. After a near sleepless night filled with night terrors, the warm morning sun shone through my small box window onto my skin.

My legs were sore and my back achy. I stretched my arms and legs out and my feet hung off the end of the bed. I sat up and slid out of bed. I stood up too fast and the room spun. I sat back down and tried again. This time the room remained still and I shuffled to the vanity mirror. I looked utterly horrible. I was wearing the same clothes as the day before; a wrinkled t-shirt with a patchwork jacket and mud encrusted jeans. In the background of the mirror I could see Peter sleeping peacefully in the background. I smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever. I gently pulled open the drawer under the vanity, pulled out my brush, and attempted to tame my dirt brown rat nest hair.

After continuous pulling and tugging of my hair, I finally wrestled it into a messy bun. I pulled out my other pair of jeans and slipped them on. Same with my shirt, and I just tied my jacket around my waist. I took one last look at Peter and stepped out of the room and into the living/kitchen area. I wanted to make sure Peter got some breakfast, so I just had a cup of coffee instead. As I was pouring my coffee into the mug, I could see father passed out on the bed him and my mother used to share. I sat down with my coffee and looked out the window. I stared up at the sky longingly. I wanted to be free one day. I wanted to fly away and never come back. In the distance, I saw a small black dot. It kept getting bigger and bigger. It looked like a jet or a plane of some sort.

No one had seen one since the Third World War when they were wiped out along with most countries. My parents used to tell me I was lucky to be born In a community. That some people had nothing to call their own. Nowhere to go. No family or memories left. I never thought I was lucky though. I always felt guilty for taking a place in a community that I didn't even want to be in. The plane was close now. Really close. It was almost directly over us when it happened. The devastating blow that Everyone knew would have to happen eventually. The plane's cargo hatch opened and about 20 men jumped out with parachutes. And they had guns. Lots of guns. Communities weren't allowed or have any guns, not even the protectors. All they had were stun guns. They packed a punch, but not enough to kill or stun for very long.

My eyes widened and everything moved in slow motion. My mug was suddenly shattering on the ground and I was scrambling up and dashing into my room. Peter was still asleep so I just covered his mouth with my hand and squeezed him in my arms. His eyes flew opened and he started panicking but I quickly shushed him and gave him a serious look. He understood and stayed quiet. As quickly as I could, I went to the couch and woke mama up. I put my finger to my lips and pointed out of the window. Peter looked too and he started to tremble in my arms. Outside there were gunshots and screams. The protectors did their best, but there was nothing they could do against the guns. Mama rushed to her feet and ushered us into me and peters room. She yanked the mirror off my wall and there was a dark hole that continued that I never even knew about. "Mama, what's happening?" I whispered. She didn't answer right away. First she took Peter from my arms and told him to go into the tunnels and that we would be right behind him. Then she turned to me and said "the end is near. Those men out there, are the
resistance. They were against the formation of the communities. Those that agreed with them went and formed their own community."

"But I thought you said they were against the communities?"

"Yes, but this is a different community. It's run like countries used to run. There's no food lines or curfews. And can do and go where ever or when ever you want." She was starting to talk fast now because the screams were getting closer and closer.

"Then Why are they killing us mama?" I couldn't help it anymore. Tears started to rush down my cheeks like waterfalls. One after the other, and they didn't slow down. "They are killing us because-" and then she froze. Her eyes swiveled to the window just over my shoulder.

I knew what was going to be there without even looking, but I slowly turned my head and saw a man covered in black clothing and armor with a gun pointing right at mama's head. Everything was moving in  slow motion again. I looked at my mother's face, memorizing every last detail of it because I knew we would both be dead in a matter of seconds. All I could do was look at her and remember everything she had ever done for us. The times she comforted us when we had rough days. When she didn't eat so we could. When she protected us and fed us and did everything father couldn't do. I knew she was doing the same, but about me. Remembering the times I would make her laugh, or when I would help her carry the food packages home.

She smiled despite the situation and the seconds seems to stretch into minutes. She mouthed "I love you, Laura." And then I heard it. The sound I had been dreading these past few long seconds. The gun shot. It was as if he had shot me instead. I doubled over screaming in internal pain. Time resumed to a normal pace once more and I held her face in my hands. It was a direct hit. She was gone and I knew that, but I refused to believe it. She couldn't be dead. After all this, she had to be alive somewhere in there. "No, no" I whispered, my voice getting more frantic. "No! NO! NO!! Mama! MAMA!!" I started sobbing and the pain inside my chest was unbearable. I sat there crying and waiting for it to be my turn. Every second that went by, I just imagined hearing the shot and everything going dark. But it never came.

Almost a minute had past and I knew I should be dead by now, but I wasn't. I slowly turned my body to look at the killer and he was still there at the now broken window. The gun was pointed right at me, but his trigger finger was shaking. Even though I couldn't see his face, I knew he didn't want to kill me. "Please..." I whispered weakly. He just stared at me and eventually slowly lowered his gun. His hand reached into his pocket and came out with a small ball. He tossed it through the window and the moment it hit the tile floor, it started to spit out mist. Immediately my vision started to fade and I couldn't feel my arms. I started panicking inside and the last thing I saw was his masked face looking at me through the mist. The room started to spin and before I knew it, my head hit the floor and everything went black.