Untitled Draft

I bet his voice echoes, still. Stuck-- skipping through the halls on repeat, his words… probably entombed in that school.

It’s been two years.

I recall it more clearly than my most favored songs. Deep-- and chilled to the bone with regret, the newsman voiced:

“This interruption is an emergency alert. We have received a biological threat that we deem credible. Public officials have been dispatched to schools and community areas. Please stay indoors. Prepare immediately for possible evacuation. For your protection, no further information will be given. Listen for instructions from local authorities and follow them quickly and carefully.”

It was in the moment just before the school bell was to ring-- signaling the end of a very long school day-- that the last broadcast was aired.

That day, I woke up from a dreamless sleep, remembering it was my birthday. I come from a poor family, so I knew that I shouldn’t expect much. Both parents were very often busy in the garden, as rations seemed fewer and fewer each time. A guard knocked twice on our door, and dropped a lonely box of food-- supposed to last a family of seven for two weeks.

The school where my sister, brother and I spent our days would soon be inoperable, but that morning, Gwen, Allan and I, were escorted to school by bus, guarded by 2 officers in the front seats. Like any other day, the sun shined and the crops were still bent over, bowing to it. Just as the clouds continued hanging, dark in the sky over the last few months, the 3 of us continued going to school. We’d file off of the bus, and then into the school building, all while being completely, and constantly, surrounded by adults, most of which were armed and wore face masks. We went to school hungry most days, and so did our teachers.

The first attack was in April of this year. A bomb exploded over Virginia-- a state bordering the Atlantic Ocean-- North East from us, and we were soon trapped-- somewhere between carriages pulled by horses and the jet-planes that cut gills into the sky, letting it breathe.

The attack left us frozen in time and weak. Towards the North, the sky was red and out country was cold, and planes could no longer fly through the fall out, so travel by flight, on this side of the nation, was banned as it would risk the lives of each passenger. All of them trying to escape the uncertainty: just as skinny as the crops, and thinner than branches of the old fruit trees.

I was born October 19th, 2029. After they took down Virginia, and our nations’ capital, things grew very still. Winter was finally fading into Spring, yet, our country remained shook. There were very few people on the streets and no cars. Coffee shops, where teenagers stared at tablets and businesswomen and men would stop on their way to the office, were empty. It was as if a constant funeral presided over my city.

Author's Note

Any thoughts are always appreciated!

Reviews

[T. Adams]

Why are there guards at the schools? Is that something new in the future, for protection for students? Food is rationed? I'm anxious to read more about what is happening in this story.

[Karen Zimmer]

Thank you so much for reading!! So exited to keep writing!! Will post more once I draft something good enough!