Blood

Tremor

"Wake up."

"No."

"Yes."

"No. Mom, I don't feel like school today. Come back later..."

There was a rustling noise at the foot of my bed, and then tugging on my legs. THUMP. Then I was on the floor.

"This house is not a democracy Max, and the Dictator says you're going to school."

I watched my mom slam the door. The darkness of my room was only interrupted by a small ray of light through my window now. I could sleep. No, I couldn't.
Guess I have to get up now.

The frigid shower water flowed into the warmth of my winter clothing. The tapping of my feet matched my slow heartbeat. Five minutes. All I needed was five minutes to wake up and organize myself. Five minutes later I was walking downstairs, skateboard in hand.

The kitchen was empty, and the Television was broadcasting the news.

"Here we bring you footage of the unprecedented devastation from China." said the anchor. The screen changed to reveal footage of a helicopter circling an enormous blast zone. The ground was torn and scarred. Buildings toppled and black ash flew through the air.

The scene was replaced by the view of a coast somewhere. The water was filled with what looked like tar, and the air was so dark I could barely see through it. The ground was littered with corpses. So many present, so few intact.

I slid my bread in the toaster, and pressed the button. I inhaled, the scent of lavender filling my nostrils.

"This is the view of the new coast of China. The weapon, a nuclear bomb of some sort, has blown India into the Pacific ocean. Extreme seismic activity is expected, and the remaining populace is being evacuated."

The news anchor held his head, chuckling. The laugh lines on his face rippled. "I hope they can swim." He said.

Disgusting.

I shut off the TV, shoved a piece of cold toast in my mouth and walked outside.

"Here, Scarlet." My albino husky padded over to me, laying at my feet in the grass. Clear, blue eyes stared up at me, waiting, wanting. I threw her the remainder of my toast. "Sorry girl, that's all the breakfast you get."

I leashed her up, got on my board and started rolling.

"Run."

The wind whipped past my face, stinging my eyes. The cool morning breeze made my jacket flutter, and my heart did the same.

Today is the day I ask her.

We ran out of sidewalk, swerving onto the black tarmac. My wheels kicked up sparks as we caught a corner. A yellow flash cut us off, and I skidded to a halt.

"Go."

Scarlet picked up speed, running in a full on sprint to catch the bus. I should've paid attention to it, but something made me look at the nearby lawns.

All neatly manicured, all the houses the same. High fences abound. My community is small, but there's no real neighborly attitude. Everyone keeps to themselves. The houses were dark, not unusual for this time of day.

The bridge which separated our small community from the rest of town, lay over a ravine which stretched out miles in either direction. It was the only way out of town, and it was up by eight.

It was 7:47.

As we drew abreast to the bus, I heard shouting from inside. People screaming things like 'you can do it' and 'almost there'.