Chapter One

Today is November first. That day may seem insignificant now but I want you to keep it in mind as I tell you the story of the end of the world as we knew it.

Yesterday was October thirty-first, another seemingly unimportant fact but it's because of this fact that countless people are dead.

Starting at seven a.m., newscasters and radio announcers started to warn people to stay inside, prepare for the worst. They refused to elaborate on what the 'worst' could be. They didn't even tell us why we needed to stay inside.

Naturally, we're human and so without evidence, we refused to believe that anything was wrong. That we had ruined ourselves by creating something so...detrimental.

I was at Emmett Rivers, my best friend’s, house. I feel like that day was centuries ago even though it was only yesterday. We were talking about something so trivial; a failed math grade.

"She's going to kill me!" I said as I grabbed another handful of popcorn from the bowl on the coffee table in front of us.

Emmett and I were sitting on the couch in the large living room. The room was larger, big enough to fit a sofa and a loveseat, with soft grey-blue walls. The hardwood floors were always shining even though they were only cleaned once a month and the guys in the house always tracking in dirt. The windows were large and let in enough natural light so that lights weren’t really necessary until the moon started to set. I couldn’t tell you how many hours I’d spent in this room, just talking or laughing or sitting in silence occasionally with Emmett. The large flat screen sat directly across from us, the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ playing on the tv even though we weren’t really paying attention.

Emmett had had his typical smirk gracing his face. He was tall like everyone else in his family with the same barrel chest and broad shoulders. He was slim but had a toned look to him. He had longer brown hair that he always pushed up and away from his face. His eyes were the color of dark chocolate, deep and rich.

“You’re right but my parents won’t care.”

I knew this was true. His parents were very laid back people. He’d once gotten detention for breaking a table and his parents had signed the slip without a word.

My aunt, on the other hand, would be pissed. I’d most likely be grounded for the next month with the exclusion of my birthday. She was the complete opposite of the Rivers. Where she was uptight, they were relaxed. Where she was easily angered, they would have a calm conversation to find out what had gone wrong.

“Rub it in Emmett,” I said with a small smile on my face. “Hey, you excited about Seb’s party?” I asked changing the subject.

Seb, otherwise known as Sebastian, was our other friend. He was a few inches shorter than Emmett and not as broad. He had dark golden brown hair and eyes that were the color of hickory. We’d been planning the party, Seb and I, since the summer when we’d been floating on tubes on the lake near his house.

“Yeah, his parties are always awesome.”

Seb threw four parties every year: his birthday, a back to school party, end of school, and a Halloween party. They were always insane and the talk of the school for months afterward.

We sat in silence then, enjoying the movie and each other’s company, our last normal moment of contentment.

“Your costume is amazing.” I said as Emmett locked his front door behind him. He was dressed as the devil in a red suit and tie with a black dress shirt and shoes. A red hat sat on top of his gelled hair.

He’d come up with the idea after I’d told him mine. He’d taken the joint costume seriously, even going so far as to help me pick out a white dress for my costume.

My dress was shorter, going to my mid-thigh, and pure white. The entire dress was made of silk and soft to the touch. The bodice was covered in small sequins that caught the light whenever I turned. Huge, elaborate wings rested on my shoulders, wrapping across my chest in a cross. The wings were lighter than air despite their bulk. White heels finished off my costume, making me almost eye level with Emmett. I had curled my long brown hair but hadn’t put on any make-up other than my favorite cake batter chapstick.

A smirk played on his lips as he looked over my costume.

“Nice dress. Who helped you pick it out?” His mocha eyes held a hint of mischief.

“Some guy I know.” I leaned in conspiratorially. “Between you and me, he’s not all there.” I laughed, tapping my temple.

He shoved me away and laughed when I fell onto the railing of the porch. I stuck my tongue out at him and we walked down the stairs to my car.

My forest green Jeep Wrangler stood inconspicuously at the end of the Rivers’ driveway. The car had been a present to me on my last birthday and I spent nearly every spare moment washing it and making sure that it was always pristine. I had a strict no eating policy in my car but Emmett usually ignored it.

As we slid into the seats and buckled, I asked him what he wanted for dinner.

“We should get something quick. We don’t want to be late.”

Even though Seb usually had food at his party, Emmett and I tended to eat before we went there, not trusting what our classmates might’ve done to the food before we got there.

“Well, there’s Burger King, McDonald’s, Taco Bell…” I drifted off at the mention of Taco Bell.

“Burger King.” He grinned. “Remember what happened the last time we ate tacos?”

I laughed as I remembered the Cinco de Mayo party we’d had in Spanish class in eighth grade, just two short years ago.

Someone had convinced their parents to buy the entire class tacos from Taco Bell to help celebrate. They were the only one who’d brought decent food so everyone munched on tacos. Everything went well, we spent the short forty-minute class having fun but it had all gone downhill when the entire class ended up getting sick. Everyone from that class now avoided tacos like the plague.

“Burger King it is.”

I turned the key and pulled onto the road. Emmett told me his order, a Whopper with a large fry and a root beer.

“I don’t know how you can drink that.” I wrinkled my nose. “It’s the worst drink ever!”

“I demand you take that back!” He said indignantly. 

"I shan't!" I laughed, trying to keep my attention on the road.

"You shall or I will make you pay for dinner!"

"That's fine. It's my turn to pay anyways!"

He sighed and slumped down in defeat. He leaned forward and turned on the radio, switching stations until he found the one he wanted. 'Hello' by Adele starting blasting through the speakers. He immediately started to the sing the words dramatically.

"Hello, it's me, I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet, to go over everything, they say that time's supposed to heal ya, but I ain't done much healing."

I started to sing along with him, both of our off-key voices mixing in the air. I rolled down the windows, a grin forming on my face.

It quickly fell through when I noticed…something… hobbling down the street. My heart stopped as our eyes connected.

“E-Eme-”

I felt my face go ashen. Emmett must’ve noticed because he turned down the music and rested his hand on my arm.

“Em, you okay? You’re really pale.”

“I-I…” I couldn’t tell him what I’d seen. He’d brush it off and say it was just a costume.

“Did something scare you?” He asked, concern still in those dark eyes of his, although now there was a bit of humor in them. I nodded my head and he laughed.

“Emery, it’s Halloween. It was probably a decoration or even a kid in a costume.”

“But it- it looked so real.” I whispered.

“Hey, are you seriously okay? Do you want me to drive?

I shook my head and gripped the steering wheel tighter in my hands.

“I’m okay.” I said a fake smile on my face. Emmett looked like he was about to argue with me for a second but we had pulled into the drive through already. I ordered our dinner and pulled to the window. I paid her and she handed me the food.

“Thank you.” I smiled and handed the food to Emmett. I slowly pulled away and found a spot in the parking lot for us to sit and eat. Emmett handed me my food without a word.

I unwrapped my burger and took a bite of it. I glanced over at Emmett to see him staring at me. I looked down at my dress and back at him.

“What’s wrong? Do I have something on my face?” I wiped around my mouth and he smiled.

“No there’s nothing on your face it’s just…”

“Just what?”

“I…are you sure you’ll be okay at Seb’s? I don’t want you to get too scared, especially after what happened earlier. You looked like a ghost.”

“I’ll be fine.” I tried to reassure him with a smile but he didn’t fall for it.

“We don’t have to go you know.”

“I know but I said I would and I don’t want to back out. It’ll be fine.” I grinned at him and slapped his hand. “Now hurry up and eat. We don’t want to be late.”

When we reached Seb’s house, the party was in full swing. He lived in a three-floor house with a meticulously kept lawn. The house itself was a soft beige and a pristine white door.

I parked as close to the door as I could and then Emmett and I walked side by side up the stone pathway. We were on the porch about to open the door when it whipped open. A drunken boy stumbled out of the door and gave us a cheeky grin.

“Emmett! Emery! You’re here!” Ralph, the last person in our small group, stumbled closer and attempted to pat Emmett on the shoulder but almost pitched himself over the railing but Emmett caught him and righted him.

“Good to see you too buddy.” Emmett laughed. He wrapped his arm around Ralph’s shoulders and gave me a goofy grin.

I rolled my eyes and followed them inside, the smell of booze overwhelming me.

As a personal rule, I never drank or did any of the things that were passed around. I hated them and what they did to you. It sickened me the fact that people did those but I never said anything about it.

I passed the living room, decorated with cobwebs and creepy photos, and settled down in the kitchen on one of the stools by the island. The entire kitchen was empty, giving me a small reprieve. It gave me a chance to finally be alone for the first time all day.

I pressed my cheek against the cool marble and closed my eyes, wondering what I’d seen earlier.

It had been real, hadn’t it? Yes, I couldn’t have imagined it. There had really been someone there and it was not a costume or decoration. Emmett hadn’t seen it or the look of total hunger on its face, a hunger that nobody could fake.

Oh, who was I kidding? I raised my head from the island. I spent way too much time watching scary movies with Emmett. I had just make sure that I looked decent when Seb ran into the room, his brown curls a mess around his face.

“Hey, Seb.” Grinning, I stood up to give him a hug but paused when I noticed the crazed look in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“You’ll never guess what I just saw.”