The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (CONTINUATION)

1

This is the only chapter, sorry! 

3rd Person P.O.V.

The villagers crowd around the square, ready to throw their stones towards the unlucky victim.

"It ain't fair!" Tessie screams at no one in particular. The crowd advances toward her, and she is quick to make an escape. Luckily for her, the villagers are not quick to notice her disappearance.

Tessie's P.O.V.

Just gotta keep runnin. That's how I can get through this. I don't dare to make a sound, as someone'll probably hear me. Tears escape from my eyes, but I just need to run. That is until I come across this... very large village?

"What in the world is this..." I mutter to myself. A man dressed in some sort of... fancy outfit comes up to me.

"Excuse me, you're in my way," He tells me.

"Sorry, but can I ask you a quick question?" I ask him. The man looks at me with his sky blue eyes, and brushes a piece of dark brown hair out of his face.

"Yes...?" He asks.

"What's that you have in your hand, and what are ya wearin?" I ask. He looks at me before speaking once again.

"I could ask you the same thing. Nobody dresses like that in 2014, lady. Name's Gray Kaneko, and this here is an iPhone. I'm just wearing a t-shirt and shorts, mkay?" He says.

"...Where am I...?" I ponder aloud.

"Tokyo, Japan," He answers my question. People around us are in brightly colored clothing, ranging from poofy lookin' dresses to I don't even know what. "Look, I have a friend who would be happy to take you in. All I ask is that you wear something more modern."

"A-Alright," I agree cautiously.

It's been about an hour, and we've arrived at his friends' house. It looks like a mansion. I mean, how rich are these people?!?! This looks like all of my neighbors' houses put together into a big ol' house!

The door opens to reveal a man that strangely resembles my husband Bill. The resemblance is uncanny I tell ya. But over the years, I've learned to keep my mouth shut for the greater good.

"Gray, who's she?" The man asks.

Gray responds with a brief explanation of how he found me, and he keep saying how strange I speak and dress. The man agrees to let me stay, and calls the rest of his family down to meet me. Apparently, his name is Nat Sato, and his family consists of him, his wife Eva, and their four children- there's Kai, Aki, Annya, and Yuki. Aki is the oldest, and is apparently only visiting for the holidays. Then there's Kai, who's got the same build as my oldest son. Then comes Annya, who has the same personality as Nancy. And last but not least, there's Yuki, who's just as cute as Davy.

"Come on Tessie, I'll help you change into something more fitting," Aki offers, leading me up to her room. She finally decides on a cream colored sweater with some oddly tight pants that I believe she called 'leggings'.

It's been a few years now, and Aki has decided to move into an apartment nearby, and has offered me to stay with her. I kindly accept, as she's become my favorite over the years. Maybe I'm just trying to grasp onto what resembles my oldest daughter the most, but maybe I just have a strong connection with Aki.

I'm returning home from my job at the local animation studio when I smell something faintly in the air. Oh my god. That smell... it's human blood. I race to the front door, and open it only to be met with the bodies of my hosts. Yuki... he was so young, this shouldn't be his last day to live. What sick people did this to them? Where's Aki? I should check up on her in the apartment. My blood boils with anger once I come face to face with scraps of a wooden box. Not just any wooden box, though. This box was beaten and battered, used for years and years. But most importantly, it was black. The air may reek with blood, but, it also smells of betrayal. Before I know it tears are streaming down my face, and I can't bear to look at this scene anymore.

I rush out of the house, and before I know it, I'm lost. There's no reception, and I can't make out any signs of civilization nearby. That is until, I hear shouting. Adrenaline kicks in, and before I know it, I'm racing out towards the cries of this unknown group of individuals.

I arrive at a familiar village, and there I see it. A beaten and battered black box, right in front of my face. My eyes go wide as I realize what this means. What I had worked so hard to escape will now become my reality. I worked TIRELESSLY to create a decent life for me and my hosts, only to be laid at death's door once again. My shock turns into hysteria as the crowd of people bring me into Old Man Warner's basement, where I'm locked up until morning.

I wake up to be greeted by the banging of the basement door, and to my surprise, it's Bill.

"Come on stranger, it's a time for the stonin," He tells me.

How can my own husband not recognize me? To be fair, we were never properly married. People in the village were matched up according to the piece of paper they picked from a matching brown box, and nobody thought anything of it. Technically, I'm still single, then. But what about the kids? What do they mean? My pondering is interrupted when I realize the gravity of my situation. I have to get out of here. I've been training a lot lately since Nat said my sedentary job was really getting to me. Ever since then, I've been going on mile long runs every morning, which slowly increased each time I went out. Glad to see it will finally pay off. But, I never get an opportunity to make my escape. That is until, when everyone has a stone in their hand, Bill steps in front of me. I watch in terror as the pelt him with stones, and I run until my legs give out. I see a young man approach me, and I immediately know who it is.

"Gray," I say in between breaths. "I finally made it back." I collapse into him, and he takes me back to my old apartment where there I'm greeted by a bruised and beaten Aki. I'm just glad she's alive.

Two years later, I'm happily married to Gray Kaneko and we have two kids, a girl named Kioko and a boy named Rin. I couldn't have asked for a better family, could I?