RUN - Mars Express

Chapter 2

The last thing Serafina remembered was that everything had gone black and she was in extreme pain. She began opening her eyes and felt her ears ringing. The sound was deafening and she wanted it to stop so badly. Someone had to make it stop. Her head felt like it was going to explode at any moment, almost as if the ringing was a countdown for the bomb ticking in her brain. Once she fully opened her eyes, she made out four people looking down at her. "Adults..." she thought. "No, wait. Teenagers". They were all wide-eyed and curiously looking at Serafina. This made her feel like she was some type of experiment. She looked around and saw that she was in a hospital room, lying on a bed. This hospital seemed much more dimly lit than other hospitals she'd been to. The only source of light was from a window next to the bed. There were some thin curtains draped upon the window, so Serafina was not able to see what was happening outside. 

When she finally got the courage to talk, she tried to ask what was going on, but only a cough came out, followed by a squeaky gasp. "Don't worry," said someone at the side of the bed Serafina was laying on. "It might take a few hours for you to get your voice back fully," they said. Serafina looked over at the person speaking. They had short, wavy brown hair. Their eyes, like the rest of the people looking down at Serafina, were a flaming red and sparkled like rubies. "My name's London, I'm 14. I go by they/them, by the way," they said. Serafina nodded comprehensively.  "That's Anabelle, 16. Goes by she/her," said London, pointing at a girl with long blonde hair. "And those are Gaten and Thomas. They go by he/him and they're both 18," London said, pointing at the two boys. "You're probably very confused right now, but we'll explain everything once you can talk back to us," said Anabelle. Her voice didn't quite match her face when Serafina first heard her. Anabelle seemed a little lost in her own thoughts. It didn't look like she enjoyed talking. "I think you should rest now," she said smiling. Reluctantly, Serafina shut her eyes once again. The ringing had gone away, but her head still hurt a bit. She wanted to know what was going on so badly. Why did all these kids have red eyes? Were they going to hurt her? What did they want? Then the most intense question dawned on Serafina. What had happened to her family, and to her? The questions flooded her mind and she felt as if her thoughts were being tossed around throughout her head. This made her head hurt even more than before. She wanted the thoughts to stop so she could rest in peace. Finally, the thoughts were drowned out as Serafina drifted away to sleep.

Serafina woke up for the second time that day, although her head no longer hurt and she felt very refreshed. She saw London sitting on a chair across the room. They had a concentrated look on their face and were flicking through some old book. The window was no longer providing the light it had earlier. On the contrary, it seemed as if it was completely dark outside. "Did I sleep till nighttime?" Serafina thought. The source of light was now only a couple of flashlights in the room. Serafina attempted to speak once again. "Wha-," she stopped so she could cough. "What happened?" she asked with a raspy voice. "Oh, you've recovered! Woohoo!" London exclaimed. "I'm going to tell you what I know," London said. Serafina nodded. "You were in a car accident about a week ago. We know this because a file was left at the foot of your bed. Anyway, you fell into a coma but Thomas looked through your MRIs and it looks like you don't have any brain damage. Yay, you! Thomas' dad, is, well, was, a doctor." "Was?" Serafina asked. "That's what I'm getting to. Everyone has disappeared except for us. We all found each other in this same hospital. I was getting a check-up when everything went black. Anabelle was doing volunteer work and both Gaten and Thomas were here to visit family members. When we woke up, everyone was gone except for us. We have no idea why. And, before you ask, yes, we checked everywhere for other people, and no, we don't know who did this." Serafina wanted to ask more questions, but she felt as if London answered them all. "Ok. Can I get up?" she asked. "Yes, but you might need these," London said while handing Serafina some crutches. She looked down and noticed her leg was injured. 

Serafina and London headed out of the room, with London aiding Serafina and helping her move. Serafina didn't want this. Yes, she was in pain, but she wanted to show London that she could be tough and move on her own. She thought London seemed like someone she wanted to be friends with, and she wanted their approval. They went through a hall and arrived at what used to be a waiting room. Like Serafina's room, it was also dimly lit. Gaten, Anabelle, and Thomas were sitting on some rusty blue chairs. Anabelle was picking at the skin on her fingers. Her fingers looked like they had been hurt because of this habit. Gaten and Thomas were playing chess with a deteriorated chess set. The box for the chess set was labeled "Chief Chuckle's Chess for Chaps". "That's a funny name," said Serafina. "Yeah, we found it in a storage closet," said Gaten while looking up at Serafina. His eyes shone even more like a ruby than they did before. "I almost forgot to ask! Why do you all have red eyes?" Serafina said. The question had slipped away from her mind when she was speaking with London. "We have no idea, but, you have red eyes too, you know," Anabelle said, handing Serafina a mirror. "¡Mierda! I liked my eyes before," said Serafina. "You speak Spanish?" asked Thomas. "Yeah, my parents are, well, were Uruguayan," she answered. Serafina hated saying what her parents "were". It made her feel so distant. It made her feel like they were dead. "They're not dead. They're not dead. They're not dead," she told herself in her head. Her worry must've reflected on her face because London started talking quickly. "Want to go check out that storage closet. Maybe we'll find something for you," they said. "Yeah, okay," Serafina answered. 

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