Chapter 2: The Red Tribe

Chapter 2: The Red Tribe

I woke up to the smell of burning. I opened my eyes to see my room covered in thick, black smoke. This couldn’t be good. I jumped out of bed, flung my bedroom door open and ran down the hallway to my sister’s room through the thick smoke. I went to grab the door knob, but as soon as I touched it my hand was burning with pain. I kicked the door down, and soon realised this is where the smoke was coming from. Zoe’s bed and wardrobe was on fire, Zoe curled up in the corner, crying and scared. I ran over to her, picked her up and fought my way out of the room. I ran down the hallway feeling the heat burning my face. Zoe hid her teary face on my shoulder; I stopped at the stairs and turned around only to see the whole of upstairs on fire, including my parent’s bedroom. Now there were two confused girls crying. With Zoe on my back, I ran down the stairs, tears running down my cheeks and smoke clouding my eyesight. The fire was chasing me down the stairs, I had nowhere else to go but outside. I could feel flames tailing me, I finally made it to the front door, and without hesitation I busted through it, the house bursting into flames and crumbling as I jumped over the front-steps. I let Zoe down onto the grass carefully, and she took my hand as we watched a home full of memories burn to the ground.

“It was the night light.” Zoe whispered. “It got too hot, then it caught on fire, and I didn’t realise until my teddy bear caught fire. I’m sorry.” I crouched down on the lawn in front of Zoe, hugged her tight and whispered in her ear. “No Baby, it’s not your fault.” Zoe tightened her grip on my hand, and at the same time we both walked towards the front-gate, leaving the flaming house behind. Before I stepped out of the yard, I pulled two red roses off a nearby bush, and gave one to Zoe. We brought the roses up to our noses, took in the scent, and then let the rose go in the wind. We watched all the petals fly away, over the house. Zoe looked up at me, her lip stiff.

“Tess. What now?”

I looked down into her icy blue eyes, and then around the abandoned street.

“I don’t know Zoe.”

 She sighed, but I knew she understood.

“Left or Right?” I asked Zoe.

She looked both ways, then back at me.

“I think left. Mum always said if nothing goes right, go left.”

I smiled at her. She took my hand, and we began walking down the broken pathway. I heard a slight rustling in the bushes behind me, I stopped and stood in front of Zoe protecting her, but then I dropped my arms by my sides and laughed.

“Zoe, I think someone wants to come with us.”

Zoe looked confused at first, but she soon understood. Mitsy came running out of a thick bush covered in black soot, then jumped into Zoe’s arms.

“Mitsy!” Zoe buried her face in the kitten’s dirty fur. Mitsy shook her whole body, and now Zoe’s face was covered in soot. We both giggled, and then continued to walk down the footpath.

Walking down the path knowing that we’d never be returning down this street again, was scarily taunting. We walked past many bodies, those of our neighbours mostly. I tried ignoring them, but it was hard walking past a lifeless body with cold eyes staring at you as you ignore them. Zoe was taking it pretty well. She wasn’t crying, she seemed to be pretty content actually. Zoe could be very mature when she wanted to be, and that’s what I liked about her. Most other girls her age were dependant on others, but Zoe was fine. As I looked around the neighbourhood, I noticed that a lot of other houses had been burnt to the ground. Something was telling me we weren’t the only ones, and it wasn’t always accidental… Suddenly Zoe stopped.

“What about Adam?” she whispered.

I bit my lip. Adam… How could I forget about Adam?

“He’s at his friend’s house, right?” I asked Zoe.

“Yeah, that’s what Mum said.”

“Do you know which friend”?

“Ethan I think.”

“He lives in Raglan Parade, yeah?”

“Err…”

“Sorry, forgot you weren’t good with directions.”

“Hey! I know the way to Maccas and the ice-cream parlour thank-you very much.”

I laughed and took her hand as we continued walking. As Zoe was telling me about her visit to the pool with the school last week, I couldn’t help but feel we were being watched. I shrugged off the feeling and patted Mitsy, who was snug in Zoe’s arms. We reached the end of the street and I had to stop and think for a few seconds. Raglan Parade was near the library… Ah, the library. I use to go there to escape angry parents. Angry parents… I wish they were still angry at me, because that would mean they would be here with me, taking away my phone or my laptop for a week. Of course they’d give in before the week was up; they just loved me too much. Before I got too deep in my thoughts, I pulled Zoe’s hand towards the library, keeping focussed on Raglan Parade, and Adam.

We had to walk in the middle of the road now, as the footpaths were cracked, smashed, broken and littered with many curious items. As we walked past burnt cars and motorcycles, we noticed something rather peculiar. There seemed to be a black, blue, red or white pieces of cloth tied to all the burnt cars. We stopped in front of an ash-black Lamborghini, which seemed to be as if it was blown apart. There was a piece of black cloth tied to the antenna, flying in the wind. I stepped closer to the blown-apart vehicle, and then noticed I’d stood on a pile of ripped up and blood-stained white cloth. Did these pieces of cloth actually mean anything or were they irrelevant and random? I had a strong feeling I’d find out sooner or later.

Zoe skipped along the road not far in front of me, until we eventually reached Raglan Parade. We stood at the end of the street both disappointed, curious and in pain. Every single house in this street had been burnt down to the ground. On top of every house, there was a black piece of cloth attached to the TV antennas and satellite dishes. All along the fronts of the houses and on the road, spray painted in black, were the words; “WHITE TRIBE: BEWARE”. I felt sick. Had they taken Adam, My only brother? Had he been burnt in these house fires? I couldn’t face the street anymore.

 I now knew we weren’t alone, and that these pieces of cloth meant something much more than just a colour.

It was obvious there is still life here in Bridgeport, and lots of it. Where were we going to go next? We’d basically been walking since lunchtime, after we’d closely escape the house fire. It was beginning to get dark, and we needed a place to sleep; a safe place. We were searching the streets for somewhere to sleep, when we became too exhausted to even walk anymore. It was probably 9pm now, and I was feeling horrible that I couldn’t provide a safe, warm place for Zoe and even Mitsy to sleep. I was almost drifting off to sleep, when I could see a huge crowd, carrying big flaming sticks. I stared in awe, until I felt a strong arm pull me into a dark alleyway along with Zoe. I couldn’t see properly as half of the arm, which appeared to belong to a boy, was covering my eyes. I struggled for freedom until he kicked me and told me to shut up. When he finally let go of me, I turned around confused. He was a little taller than me, with brunette hair and chocolate brown eyes. He had lots of piercings and it seemed he had a tattoo on his arm, before I could finish examining him he started to whisper violently.

“What do you think you’re doing?! You’ll get yourself killed woman!”

“Excuse me?! You practically just kidnapped and abused me!”

“That was for your own good!”

“Who are you anyway?”

“That doesn’t matter!”

I glared at him.

He clicked his fingers in front of my face.
“Are you going to answer me?!”

I was staring at the red cloth tied around his wrist. He noticed me looking at it, and then quickly hid his hand behind his back.

“What’s that?” I asked, more quietly now.

“You really shouldn’t be out here.”

“Why?”

I sounded so stupid, so naïve. I hated being the weaker one in the situation.

“I’ll explain later, okay? You just need to come with me. I’m guessing she’s with you?” He gestured towards Zoe.

“Yeah she is, what’s it to you? Why should I come with you anyway? You kicked me before!”

“Again, that was for your own good.”

I sighed, and I knew inside this boy was my only hope, however arrogant he was. I took Zoe’s hand and stood stiffly.

“Fine, can you at least tell me where we’re going?”

He simply shrugged and said, “No.” He walked off down the alleyway not looking back at me. Going against my gut instincts, I tightened my grip on Zoe’s hand and followed the mysterious boy down the dark alleyway.

We had to climb over lots of boxes, car tyres and other things to get to where the boy was taking us. It was hard seeing in the dark, so every minute or so I’d make Zoe was still close by. We reached our mystery destination, which appeared to be an old abandoned warehouse; typical. We entered in one of the back doors, trying to be very quiet. When we were inside safely, he took his finger to his mouth to gesture us to be quiet, and then he used his hand to tell us to stay here. He disappeared around the corner for a second and we could hear violent whispering. Zoe and I were quiet as a mouse, trying to listen to what the boy and the unknown person or people were saying. We could hear sorts of words scattered throughout their quickened conversation.

“They don’t understand the rules!”

“They don’t need to! Just let them stay here the night.”

“Fine, but if they’re staying here tonight they have to join the tribe tomorrow, officially. I will not have traitors or spies. You know that we are in enough trouble with the Black Tribe as it is.”

“I know Z, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine; just make sure they’re legit.”

“Will do.”

We could no longer hear talking, but footsteps. The boy and another guy came around the corner, stopping in front of us. The new stranger was taller than the first boy, and he had dark hair and a nasty scar on his face. He had a red cloth tied around his head like a headband, and a similar piece around his wrist. From their conversation, we had gathered his name was ‘Z’. He spoke to us.

“What are your names?”

“I’m Tess, and this is Zoe.”

“How old are you?”

“I am 15, almost 16, and Zoe is 8.” Z grimaced as I said Zoe’s age, and I bit my lip.

“You are going to join our tribe; The Red Tribe. You don’t understand what this means yet but we’ll explain tomorrow after you’ve slept.”

Z marched off grumpily, mumbling something about ‘newbies’. I have never felt so child-like in my whole life. I can’t imagine how Zoe would be feeling. The boy with the piercings gestured for us to follow him. I took Zoe’s hand once more and let the boy lead the way. We weaved through garbage, boxes, barrels, ship containers and more boxes, until we found ourselves at a secluded area, with a big mattress, blankets and pillows. Mitsy jumped down from Zoe’s grip and made herself comfy on the bed. The boy groaned, and then turned to us.

“This is where you will sleep for now.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re Welcome.” He turned to walk off, but I grabbed his arm, stopping him. He looked at me, apparently waiting for an answer as to why I stopped him. I bit my lip.

“Well, aren’t you going to tell us your name?” I asked curiously.

The boy sighed, and itched at his arm.

He simply replied; “Jake.”

He disappeared from sight and I figured we were going to be alone for the rest of the night. I turned back to the pile of pillows and blankets, and immediately noticed that Zoe and Mitsy were snug in the bed, ready for sleep. I smiled, and climbed in next to Zoe. The warehouse was kind of dark, but there were a few candles around that lit up the walkways and the area we were meant to sleep in. As I closed my eyes ready for sleep, I heard Zoe whisper into my ear.

“Is Adam okay?” Truthfully, I didn’t know the answer to this question.

“I’m sure he is honey; let’s just try to worry about us for now.”

“Do we need to worry about us?”

This was a very good question; I didn’t know how to answer because my thoughts were flooded with the same question. Were we safe? I bit my lip and ignored her, a habit of mine. She didn’t seem to notice my absence of speech as she snuggled into my back, and apparently fell asleep. I too shut my eyes, quickly falling asleep; thinking about what might happen tomorrow, and whether Adam was okay or not.

Chapter 1: Society is no more

Chapter 1: Society is no more   

Usually rolling over in my king size bed on a Saturday morning to see the sun rising was a beautiful thing. But today was different.

I opened my dreary eyes to find two blue eyes staring into mine, those that belonged to a white, fluffy Persian kitten. I pushed her aside, rubbed my eyes and heard a voice calling out through the hallway. “Mitsy, Where are you!?” I groaned and swung my legs out of the covers and landed my feet on the floor. I picked up the furry feline and opened my bedroom door, to find my little sister, Zoe, looking rather curious. “Tess! You found Mitsy!” I handed the squirming kitten into Zoe’s arms. “I think she found me, actually.” I whispered back. “Zoe, why are you up so early anyway?” “Mum and Dad said that when you woke up I was meant to tell you that they’d gone to the shops to buy some more milk. Mitsy drank it all again.” I groaned. “Don’t tell me you put her in the fridge again?” “But she likes it in there!” I was already regretting getting out of bed in the first place. Zoe skipped off down the hallway with Mitsy. I’m beginning to wonder why Dad bought her that fur ball in the first place. I shuffled back into my room, sat down on my bed and rubbed my eyes. I looked over at my alarm clock regretfully. 8:29AM. Great, now I won’t even be able to go back to sleep. Early bird gets the worm, I suppose. I picked a pair of trackies off the floor, and pulled them on. I picked up the rest of my dirty laundry, and threw it into the laundry basket, pretending to be a professional basketball player. I slid across the hardwood floor over to my calendar, and began counting the days until the date that was highlighted in a fluorescent green. 9^th of July. Only 14 days until my 16^th birthday. My room was beginning to seem a little dark, so I trudged over to the blinds, and opened them up.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Out on the streets there were about 10 car pile-ups in sight, there was bodies lying all over the street. Buildings were on fire, people screaming and running past all the chaotic mayhem. What was going on? I jumped for the remote on my bedside table and turned my TV on. I found a news channel, and my ears were searching for answers. A female woman in sweats came on, and was talking very quickly. “A deadly chemical has been unleashed into the whole of Australia, having killed millions already. Hundreds of people are dropping dead by the minute. It seems to be that only people aged 20 and above are being affected by this deadly chemical. We strongly recommend for all people, no matter what age, to stay in your houses, and close all doors and windows tightly. It is believed that anyone over the age of 20 exposed to this chemical will die almost instantly. The chemical has spread to almost all of Australia, the only currently unaffected area being Tasmania. All ways out of the country are now blocked off, other countries and continents afraid of the chemical that has been exposed. Again, we strongly advise- The newswoman started gargling, foaming from the mouth, and then she fell to the floor, apparently dead. The channel cut out, and all that came up on the screen was ‘We are experiencing technical difficulties, we are sorry for an inconvenience.’ My jaw dropped. Was today actually April fool’s day? I hoped to god it was. I ran back over to my window and gaped at the chaos. It was all real… What would happen to me? What would happen to Zoe? Where were Mum and Dad? Were they safe… alive? I knew my questions couldn’t be answered. Not right now, anyway. I had to make sure Zoe was safe.

I ran out of my bedroom door in search for the little blonde girl that was my 8 year old sister. I found her sitting on her bedroom floor, playing with her Barbie dolls. I was about to say something to her, but what? What was my brilliant plan? How would I keep us safe? According to the news, staying in your house was the safest thing to do right now. I knelt down next to Zoe, and whispered to her. “Zoe, stay in your room. Okay? Don’t open the window; don’t even look out of it… Mum and Dad probably won’t be coming home, Zoe.” “What? Why?” “I think you’re too young to understand, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be told. Zoe, do you remember that horror movie we watched last week, when I was babysitting you and you were meant to be in bed?” “Yes… did you tell Mum?! Is that why she isn’t coming back? Tess, you’ve doomed us!” “No Zoe, just listen for a sec, okay? Well do you remember how the Zombies took over, and a lot of people died? Well it’s kind of like that.” “You mean Earth had a zombie apoca-pocca-apocloopse?” “You mean an apocalypse, right?” “Yeah! One of them thingies!” “Well, no not a zombie apocalypse, but something similar I think… Zoe we have to be strong. Mum and Dad will go to heaven, and we’ll stay behind. Do you understand?” “I think so… can I keep playing Barbies though?” I laughed. At a time like this, my sister finds the little humour left in the world and throws it at me. “Yeah, you can play with Barbies all you like honey.” I stood up and moved over to her window, pulling the curtains shut, and then pushing her wardrobe in front of it.  Zoe didn’t say anything; she just glanced at me then kept playing with her Barbies. 

I tip-toed downstairs, not understanding why I was being so quiet. Outside I could hear many different things, most of which I was trying to block out. I locked the front door, and closed all the curtains in the house. I trudged into the kitchen, only to notice a piece of paper with my name written on it. I picked it up, turned it over and began reading the familiar handwriting.

‘Tess, your father and I have gone out to get more milk, as Mitsy has drank it all again. We should be home at 10. I have left pancakes in the fridge, so that you can eat them when you and Zoe get hungry. Love Mummy, xoxo P.S Please feed Mitsy.’

I folded up the piece of paper, and slid it into my pocket somehow knowing that this was probably the last note I’d receive from Mum, ever. I opened the fridge, looked down at the container that had the last thing my mum would ever cook inside it. Feeling sick, I closed the fridge and opened a cupboard door, taking out Mitsy’s cat food. I opened the box and poured the dry cat food into a bright pink, diamond studded bowl that sat on the floor next to the fridge.

 I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen. It’s not like I could just go ask someone for advice. I mean, how many times has an unknown chemical wiped out half of the human race? Well, half of Australia anyway… hopefully it won’t spread. How long would we live? How would we collect food? I have a little sister to care for. Do I even have a heart? I’m thinking of plans how to survive when my parents could be out there, dead, left for some mangy animal to eat. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I wiped away the tears, and went back upstairs, to my parents’ bedroom. I opened the door delicately, as if any amount of pressure would shatter it completely, along with their existence. I stared into the immaculately clean room. It smelled like mum’s perfume, and dad’s aftershave. Everything was spotless, the work of mum, of course. I sat down on their huge bed, and I could feel the comfort seeping in through my skin.  I remember crawling into their bed when I was little, after having a bad dream. When I was 13, I would come in here and cry to mum about boys. Only last year was I sitting in here getting “the talk” from mum and dad. I remember laughing about it days afterwards with my friends. I walked over to mums dresser, opened the top drawer and took out her favourite sweater. It was a woollen, red, green and white jumper that Grandma had knitted her for Christmas the year before she passed away. Mum was hysterical at her funeral. I hugged the jumper close, taking in the smell of mums perfume mixed with Grandmas musty scent. I could feel tears welling up so I folded the jumper and put it back in the drawer, afraid of damaging it, although I’m pretty sure mums clothes have soaked up an ocean of my tears. I walked over to the door, took the door knob in one hand and looked around the bedroom for the last time. I sniffed the last of my emotions away, and closed the door. I walked to the end of the hallway and peered through the window blinds, seeing out onto King Street. Everything was still as chaotic as before, only seeming more destroyed and abandoned. My every last bit of hope was crushed. I turned away from the window, pacing up and down the hallway. I was going to have to make a plan, or a routine, on how Zoe and I could live. We’d have to make it to the shops, without being endangered. Somehow I didn’t think the streets were safe, even if the chemical didn’t affect people under the age of 20. I stood at the door of Zoe’s room quietly, trying not to bring my presence to her attention. Unfortunately I stood on a rather small piece of Lego, only to find myself yelp in pain. Zoe turned around only to smile at me and say, “I stood on one of them earlier. They hurt a lot, don’t they?” She turned back to her dollhouse, continuing to dress Barbie in glamorous clothes. My sister really is a bucket of sunshine at times like these. I sat down with her, picked up a Ken doll and began playing with her. She seemed to enjoy it, being naïve to the whole situation. After all, ignorance is bliss.

We played all sorts of games in her room, and all through the house until about 10pm. I think in my mind I was hoping on the letter mum wrote to me, that she meant 10pm, not 10am. And that she’d come home with all these new ideas for a new nutritious recipe she’d like to try, only for me and Zoe to stick our tongues out and ask for ice-cream. Mum never really minded much, she liked making us sweet desserts because it’d put big smiles on our faces. I ran my sister a bath, going through the effort of putting bubble-bath in, and getting all her favourite bath toys out of the cupboard. After her bath, I read her a bed time story, to which she fell asleep when ‘Curious George’ was on his quest for bananas. I giggled a bit at her love for the little monkey named George. I remember when I was little I used to enjoy similar stories. Childhood really is the best part of life. The only thing you’d have to worry about is who stole your red crayon, or making sure no-one knocks over your sandcastle. I was afraid Zoe’s childhood was about to be taken away from her, so I was trying to give her the best until the situation got so bad that we’d have to act as adults. I’m not sure how she’ll handle it, but I hope for the best. I kissed Zoe on the forehead, tucking her in for the night. I turned off her light, and then walked over to her bedside table to turn on her pink nightlight remembering she’s scared of the dark. I went to my own room, and climbed into my bed. I shut my eyes knowing that soon enough Zoe and I would have to venture out onto the streets. We had to prepare for whatever was coming our way. But what was coming our way? I had a strong feeling it couldn’t be anything good. 

I drifted off into sleep, hoping that all of today was a nightmare, but knowing in fact that it was all very, very real.