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.