The Uleten

Chapter 1: The Outbreak

One Week Earlier...

"Eat your breakfast and then pack your things." Mom said, handing me the sandwich that she prepared.

"I'm not really that hungry, but maybe I can give it to Annalise. She loves to eat." I smiled and looked down at my little sister. She looked up at me with her light brown eyes, chomping on her donut, which she wasn't supposed to eat.

"Annalise is too busy eating her donut, which I prepared for lunch." My Mom grabbed the donut from her small hands and placed it inside a clear plastic bag. Annalise looked up at me as if she expected me to defend her. She smiled as she secretly grabbed the donut from the bag while Mom faced the other way, preparing what I really hope wasn't another sandwich.

"You might be six, but you're still really sneaky when it comes to stealing" I whispered in her ears. She cheered up so quickly as if I had given her a supply of junk food. Mom turned around and looked down at the table, noticing that the donut was missing.

"It's the last day of school, Mom. Just let her eat the donut, either way she's going to eat her sandwich and the other snacks you prepared. Plus, as a soon-to-be doctor, my studies show me that if a child under the age of twelve eats a donut for breakfast, it's a ninety ni-"

"Okay, fine." Mom sighed in defeat.

"Annalise can eat her donut. I don't need your doctor's knowledge to tell me the science behind everything. But either way, you have to eat the sandwich I prepared for you." She placed the sandwich inside another plastic bag, sealing it tight. The bread was soggy, and the lettuce and meat looked unfresh. How. . . delicious.

"Deal." I grab the sandwich and stuff it into my lunch bag.

"Listen, you girls need to go to school, and I have to get to work. Sabrina, make sure that after school, you pick up Annalise and come straight home. I want to introduce you to one of my co-workers, and your dad wants you to meet someone special." She said, looking back and forwards at both Annalise and I. Meet someone? I'm not a fan of making conversation with people I don't know. But since Mom and Dad trust them enough to bring them into our homes, I guess it would be okay to strike up a conversation or two. I'm surprised she's even talking about work. Mom and Dad are usually pretty weird when it comes to talking about what they do for a living. I don't question it, and neither does Annalise.

"Okay. I'll see you later, Mom." I responded. I grabbed Annalise's hand and we walked out the door. As soon as I took a step outside, the fresh air filled my nose as the wind blew on my face. I looked around me, spotting several cars parked on the side of the street. Each car had a different design, and I could tell by their exquisite, unique color and shape, that they were all self-driving cars. My parents can afford something like a self-driving car, but they always seem to save their money for something else. I dismissed the thought and headed to the direction of Annalise's school.

We walked a couple of minutes before stumbling to a Missing paper. It was a man who looked like he was in his early twenties. He had a shade of brown hair that looked similar to the color of peanut butter. Peanut butter or light brown hair. Either or, they looked like they were the same shade but that was probably just my hungry stomach making me see things. HIs hair was combed to the side, and yet it still looked messy, but it was a good kind of messy. His hair matched with the trimmed beard that went around his neckline. The name written in bold was Caden. The sudden thought of how many times I've seen a Missing paper popped in my head. There's been so many people going missing these past few months. The worst part of all is that no one even knows why this is happening. The police have no leads or trace marks to find out who's doing this. I hope those people manage to escape from whoever is holding them captive. I look at Annalise. No one's ever going to take her away from me. Even though sometimes she's annoying, she's my sister. I love her and I would do anything to protect her.