Fallen

Nobody can prepare for what fate or the future holds in their hands. To a child, they can be oblivious to the world breaking. For Maya, she doesn't notice that anything is wrong, until it is too late.

 

July 28, 20xx. Two years, zero days left

            It was beautiful outside. Not a single, puffy cloud was in the sky. In the sky, I can see the yellow sun shine down on the ground, making it glow. The flowers and trees shined their bright colors against the light. I let the warmth seep into my skin as I sat on the church’s stairs, tapping my feet against them. I can just imagine a day like this in one of my storybooks.

            A light tap on my shoulder made me stop my daydreaming. I looked up to see one of Mom’s friends, giving me a friendly smile. Her dress was as bright as her eyes.

            “Come on, little one.” She told me. “Your mother and sister are waiting inside for you.”

            “Okay.” I said, and reluctantly followed her inside. The flowers would have to wait.

            Mom’s friend guided me into one of the side rooms. Inside, I could see her other friends rushing to get ready. Make up was strewn about, and other beauty stuff laid out. Saige, though, was already prepared, and was helping Mom with her veil. As she worked on it, I could see Mom staring at her reflection in the mirror. It made me smile to see how happy she looked in her white dress. Careful of the train, I walked over and lightly tugged on her skirt.

            “You look very pretty.”

            My observation caught her off guard. Saige chuckled at her surprise, then went back to finishing up her hair. When she looked down and spotted me, she grinned wide and stroked my cheek.

            “Thank you, baby cakes. You look gorgeous too. I’m glad that you convinced me to get it for you.”

            I smiled, and my cheeks went pink under her hand.

            “Do you need help with anything?” I asked. Mom shook her head.

            “I’m good, honey. Your sister’s got it covered. I just needed you here because the ceremony’s starting soon. I’m afraid that you’re going to wait.” She said. I was a bit sad by that, but I didn’t let it show. Like what Mom said: ‘Tantrums don’t help anything.’. 

I waited in one of the chairs in the corner of the room. From there, I can look out the window and see the flowers again. I let myself drift off again until the ceremony begun.

Everyone was lively after the ceremony. On the dance floor, Mom was dancing with my new dad and other people. Nearby, Saige was talking and laughing with our cousins. All the guests seem to be having a good time too. I was so caught up in the moment, I didn’t notice Saige sitting down beside me.

“Hey, you having fun?” She asked me. I snapped myself out of it and turned my head towards her, nodding.

“The place is nice-looking, and the music is very upbeat.” I answered, but it made Saige shake her head.

“No, you little doofus. I asked if you were having fun, not if the venue is pretty. You looked a bit lonely there.”

“I’m doing okay. It’s kind of boring though.”

“Well, you’re ten. It’s understandable. I’m beginning to get a little bored too.”

We talked for a little more, then let the comfortable silence in between us. We watched Mom and Richard dance more on the floor. It’s good to see them enjoying themselves together.

“Do you think Richard will make mom happy?” I asked, breaking the silence. I heard Saige ‘Hmm’ and she turned her attention back to me.

“I believe so. He’s been nothing but compassionate and loving towards her. He’s been very dedicated, he’s even excited to have us as his step-kids. To me, that’s everything Mom could hope for.”

I twiddled my thumbs.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Were you doubting him?”

“No.”

“Then why’d you ask that?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to hear it from you.”

Saige hummed again, resting her elbow against the table.

“Well, what I know for sure is that he won’t screw it up. He’s a good guy. He cares about us, just as much as Dad did.”

“Do you think Dad would’ve liked Richard?”

Saige bit her lip. It looked like she’s thinking of what to say. I was about to drop it when she opened her mouth again.

“I think Dad and Richard would’ve been good friends.” She said. To think that Dad and Richard would’ve been friends made me smile.

“Thanks, Saige.”

She returned the smile and ruffled my hair, earning a grumble from me. It only served to make her giggle. She stood up, smoothing down her dress.

“Alright, that’s enough serious talk for me. Let’s join Mom on the dancefloor!”

She extended a hand to me. She noticed my hesitation and pouted.

“Come on, Maya! Don’t be a little stick in the mud, you deserve to have some fun! I never see you like this at other parties.”

I understood her concern. I guess I was being more quiet than usual. I tried to shake out of it as I took her hand.

“Sorry, I was a bit distracted.”

“Distracted about what?”

I shrugged.

“I don’t know.”

“You’ve been saying that a lot. Is something bothering you?”

“No.” I said, shaking my head. “Just a weird feeling is all.”

“A weird feeling? Maybe some time away from here will do you good.”

I nodded my head, and let her guide me to the dancefloor.

 

August 25^th, 20xx. One year, 337 days left.

            “Maya! Hurry up, you’re going to be late for school!”

            “I’m coming, I’m coming!”

            With one final brush to my hair, I ran as fast as I could down the stairs and into the kitchen. Mom quickly came to slow me down when I almost tripped over one of the stools.

            “Woah, easy there! Don’t keel over!”

            “Sorry, Mom.” I said as I hung my head, but I still giggled at her remark and settled myself on the stool. She left me for a moment, then came back with toast slathered with jam and eggs. I bounced in my seat excitedly at the sight of it.

            “Eat up, sweetie. I got to get ready for work, your backpack’s by the door.”

            “Can do!” I beamed and began to shove the toast into my mouth. I didn’t leave much time for chewing. I’m definitely going to regret that later.

            After I finished eating, Richard came into the kitchen. He seemed to be listening to something on his phone. He looked thoughtful, but I didn’t bother him with questions. Hopping down from the stool, I took the plate and set in down in the sink. As I washed it, I heard Mom come back into the room.

            “Hey Honey, is everything okay?” She asked. She sounded worried.

            “Yeah. Yeah, just stressed about work is all.” He reassured, pecking her cheek. She released a long sigh. “Is Saige not up yet?”

            “She drove back to her dorm last night.”

            “Ah, I see. Didn’t have a chance to say goodbye. Oh well.” There was a pause. “I got to get going. I’ll see you later.”

            “Alright. Have a good day at the station.”

            “I will. Love you.”

“Love you too.” She called, walking to the front door.

I put the plate back in its place in the cupboard and walked around them to my backpack. Richard noticed and waved to get my attention.

“Have a good day at school, sweetie. Be safe.”

“Okay, I will.”

He smiled and hugged me tight before leaving me be. I wanted to ask why he was worried, but the sound of the bus prevented that. I quickly slipped my shoes on and ran out, getting there just in time before it left.

 

October 5^th, 20xx. Two years, 296 days left.

It was nice watching the leaves slowly fall from the trees. I always liked it when they turned from their bright green to different shades of reds, oranges and yellows. I count them off one by one as they let go of the trees and slowly float to the ground beneath them. One leaf was a soft shade of orange, and its large wings helped it fly in the wind. I watched it go by, then it finally settled itself in Mom’s dried out garden. At least the plants get a visitor while they get better.

 Shifting my gaze, I watch the neighbors across the street set up their Halloween decorations. Their dog danced with the leaves as they pushed fake tombstones and arms and legs into the ground. It’s weird that they chose to put zombies into their yard. They’ve never really scared me; they just give me a strange feeling. It’s a lot creepier than it is scary.

Maybe Saige would like them more. I’d catch her sometimes watching that movie with a guy waking up in a hospital and was completely surrounded by a lot of them. I also remember her saying that she was dressing up as one with her boyfriend for a party. She could stand to be a bit more creative with her costumes.

I got up and stretched to get the little pain out of my back. I made my way towards the fridge to grab something to eat before starting my homework.

 

December 18^th, 20xx. One year, 222 days left

Saige is home for her break. It made me happy to know that she wanted to spend time with Mom, Richard, and me instead of her friends. I asked her why her boyfriend wasn’t there with her. She shrugged and said that he and his parents flew down to Brazil to be with his family.

We were all getting the house ready for Christmas. Mom loved to decorate everything with tinsel and wreaths. It drove Richard crazy, but that only encouraged Mom to decorate the house with even more shiny things.

While he was outside hanging up the lights, the three of us took a break by the fireplace. Saige was texting someone while Mom went to make us drinks.

“Who are you talking to?”

“Tess.” She didn’t look up when she answered.

“Oh. How’s she doing?”

“She’s doing fine. We’re trying to arrange for her to celebrate Christmas with us.”

“She’s going to be with us? Doesn’t she have her own family to celebrate it with?”

Saige bit her lip. Her thumbs paused on the screen before continuing to type a response.

“She does…but it’s complicated. She had a fight with them. She wanted some time away to give them space.”

I tilted my head.

“What were they fighting about?”

Saige shook her head.

“It’s not in my place to say. It’s a personal matter to her, sorry.”

“It’s okay, I’ll just ask her.”

“No, you won’t.” Saige scolded, looking up from her phone to me. “Please don’t ask her. She wouldn’t answer you anyway.”

I felt my face flush. She never uses that tone unless she’s trying to protect something. I turned my gaze down to my hands, fiddling with my fingers.

“Okay, I won’t.”

“Promise?”

I nodded.

“I promise.”

“Hey.”

I picked my head up. Instead of seeing Saige angry, I saw her giving me a warm smile.

“Thanks, and I’m sorry. Tess is stressed enough, and I want to make this fun for her. You can help me do that, right?”

I smiled back and nodded my head again.

“Yeah. I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will.”

Mom came back into the family room, a cup of hot chocolate in each hand. She gave one to Saige and me, then went back to the kitchen to get hers. When she came back, she left one more on the coffee table for Richard. She flipped on the television, and changed to the news channel.

I saw people in long, white coats. They were staring at stuff in tubes and had goggles on them. The lady on the news was talking about a research on something with tiny living things.

“What’re they doing?” I asked Mom.

“Oh,” She paused and listened to the story. “they’re experimenting on certain types of bacteria. They believe that it can be the cure to many deadly diseases. My coworkers have been talking nonstop about it.”

“Yeah, I heard Ellie talking about it too.” Saige added. “She’s convinced that it can actually cure all those diseases.”

“Can it?” I asked her. She gave me another shrug and checked her phone, before responding to my question.

“I don’t know. Maybe it can. It kind of sounds too good to be true, though. A cure for everything doesn’t just pop up like that. In my opinion, it’s going to end up not doing anything and they’ll move on to some other miracle project.”

“At least they’re trying.” I told her. “You can’t give up on something until you try it first.”

“She has a point.” Mom chimed in. “We’ll never know unless we try.”

“Jeez, you two and the lecturing again. I feel like I’m back in school.” Saige complained, but she had a small grin nonetheless. “Yeah, yeah. We’ll never know unless we try.”

 

December 25^th, 20xx. One year, 215 days left.

Tess came over the night before. She was quiet when we had dinner together. I tried to keep her included in our conversations, so that she doesn’t feel left out. She was appreciative, but she assured us that she was content with listening to us. She went with Saige up to her room after we were done eating.

In the morning, we all gathered around the tree and opened presents. When I opened mine, I beamed when I got the new Barbie set I wanted. A ton of candy was in my stocking. I also got white hoes with a little butterfly clip on the straps. My favorite present was the pink bike resting behind the tree.

“Wow! Thank you guys! I love them!” I hugged Mom and Richard and sat back down on the floor.

When Saige opened hers, she didn’t get any toys. What she got were clothes, some make up, a little candy, and school supplies. They were boring gifts. She was happy with them, so I didn’t say anything.

“Thanks, you two.” She said, hugging them after me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed another present under the tree, unopened. I leaned over and stretched, grabbing onto it and setting it in front of me.

The present was pretty. It was wrapped in shiny blue paper and had a white bow on top. Snowflakes were scattered all over the paper too. Mom and Richard didn’t seem to remember putting it there either.

“Whose is that? I don’t remember putting that there.” Richard asked.

I looked at the name tag.

“It’s for Tess.”

Tess straightened up. She was just as much surprised by it as us.

“It’s for me? Really?” She questioned. I nodded and handed over the wrapped box. She inspected it in her lap.

“It’s from me.” Saige said. We all looked at her, then back at the gift. I couldn’t control the curiosity and started to bounce in place.

“Open it! I wanna see what’s inside!”

“Oh, alright.” She had red on her cheeks as she gently removed the wrapping paper.

It was a black box. On it was the picture of a laptop. Tess’s eyes widened, and her mouth dropped when she saw the glossy computer inside.

“Saige, you got me this?” Tess was still shocked when she carefully took the laptop out.

“Yep. You told be a long time ago that you broke your computer, so I thought you should get a new one.”

Tess gaped at her.

“But this must’ve cost a fortune! You really shouldn’t have done this…”

Saige waved her off.

“A few paychecks won’t kill me. Besides, your old computer was a dinosaur anyway. You needed a new one pronto.”

Tess said nothing. She gazed at each of us, then down at the gift, then back at Saige. With a burst of laughter, Tess dragged Saige into a big hug. She hid her face in her shoulder, her hug tightening.

“Thank you. This is the best gift anyone’s given me.” She said, releasing her hold and wiping at her eyes. I went over and gave her a hug too. She hugged back and laughed again. Mom got up to get her tissues. She accepted them with a ‘thank you’ and dried her eyes. Richard walked over and stroked her back, just like he did when I cry. I didn’t understand why she was crying over it, but I remembered what Saige said about Tess being stressed by her family. I hope she works things out with them.

 

January 16, 20xx. One year, 193 days left.

It began to rain once school ended. The fat beads of water banged themselves against every surface, leaving dark circles on the cement. Soon enough, the cement was dark and wet. I can hear my classmates complaining about the water ruining their clothes or hair. The ones who were complaining also didn’t bring any rain gear.

            I zipped up my raincoat and flipped the hood over my head before walking outside. My boots squeaked at every step I took. Every now and again, rain would get into my hood and soak parts of my hair. It felt nice.

Something moved out of the corner of my eye. I looked around to see what it was, but I saw nothing. I continued my walk back home until I saw it again. I looked again. This time, I saw it dart and hide under a park bench.

Curious, I went closer to the bench. Once I got there, I carefully crouched down to search what was under it. I was small enough to crawl under the bench, though the water was beginning to soak my knees.

The thing moved again, followed by a soft ‘murp’. It then lifted its head, staring at me with large, green eyes. The tiny body was covered with wet tufts of fur, and its tail was tucked between its hind legs. Pointy ears were flicking, trying shake some water off. The poor thing was shaking all over from the cold.

I stretched out my hand to it.

“Hey there little guy.” I cooed to it. “What’re you doing out here?”

The little kitten was hesitant to get near me. I stayed where I was, not moving even a muscle.

“It’s okay. I’m friendly.”

After a few moments, the kitten slowly inched its way toward me. It was still scared, but it sniffed the tips of my fingers. I gently took my hand away and went to scratch behind its ear. The kitten shied away, but didn’t step back. Swiftly, I scooped the tiny cat up. It meowed in protest in my hands, so I gave it a few seconds to adjust. Once it calmed down, I unbuttoned the top part of my raincoat, set it inside, and buttoned it back up again. I left enough room for it to peek its tiny head out. I slid out from the bench, careful of my new companion, and made my way back home.

“Where were you? You were almost a half hour late!” I heard Mom call out to me as I came through the front door. She was turned away from her computer, and she did not look very happy.

“I was at the park.” I said. She gave me a once-over, then sighed.

“Alright, but please don’t do that again. I was starting to get worried sick.”

“Okay. I’m sorry.” I hung my head down, slipping my boots off.

“It’s alright, but don’t…” The lump under my coat moved. “Maya, what’s under your coat.”

The lump moved again, then a head popped out. It murped at her.

“I made a new friend today.”

She glanced down at the cat, then back to me.

“A new friend? What’s his name?”

“I don’t know. I found it under a bench.”

Another glance.

“Really? He doesn’t have an owner? No collar or anything?”

I shook my head, taking the kitten out of its spot to hang my raincoat. It was getting my shirt wet, but I didn’t really care.

“No. It was alone. There was no one around when I found it.”

“Why’re you calling him ‘it’?”

“Because I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet.”

She raised her eyebrow at me. With a small chuckle, she closed her computer before getting up and walking over to me, holding out her hands. I reluctantly handed the cat over to her. She raised it so that it was face to face with her. Mom was looking at its belly.

“It’s a boy.” She said, giving the kitten back to me.

“Okay. I’ll think of a boy name for him.”

Mom paused.

“Are you sure he doesn’t have an owner? That you found him alone?”

I nodded. The kitten began to climb over my shoulder.

“Yes. Can he stay here? I promise I’ll take good care of him.”

Mom paused again.

“Well, I guess there’s no harm in him staying. I still have to ask your dad, though.”

“Oh, Richard wouldn’t mind! He loves cats!”

She was still uncertain, but she smiled and raised her arms in surrender.

“Fine, you win. You can keep him.” She saw me grin wide.  “You’re taking care of him, right? No ‘getting tired and leaving Mom to do it’?”

“Yes, yes! I promise!” I cuddled the cat closer. “I’ll take the best care of him! He’ll be warm and happy and well fed here!”

Mom put her hands on my shoulders to stop my bouncing.

“Hey now, before you go off to play with that cat, at least dry him off first. You got to name him, too.”

“I know! I’ll do it right now!”

She released her hold on me.

“Go have fun.”

Right after those words let her mouth, I was already dashing up the steps to my room. Mom stopped herself at the bottom of the steps to call out to me once more.

“Maya, make sure to do your homework first before you play with that cat!”

 

 

 

February 14, 20xx. One year, 164 days left.

“Today was so much fun! I got so much candy today, and I got three valentines today!”

“Oh, boy! Three?” Mom asked with a laugh. “Someone’s getting popular.”

I laughed along with her, nodding eagerly.

“It was so sweet! I didn’t know who to choose, though, so I said no to all of them.”

That only made Mom laugh even harder.

“Aww, those poor boys. Did you at least say thank you to them?”

“Yeah, of course I did! It’d be rude of me not to!”

“That’s good to hear, hun.” Mom shifted her look to the decorated box on the table. “So, you up for sharing?”

“Hmm…” I put my hands on my hips, pretending to be in thought. “Okay…You can have one.”

“Just one?” She gasped, resting her hand on her chest as if she was hurt. “What a cruel, cruel world I live in!”

I stuck out my tongue at her. She copied me and reached into my valentine’s box. I pouted, then feigned a dramatic sigh.

“Fine, I guess I’ll be nice enough to share. You can have the peanut butter cups. I never liked them anyway.”

She gleamed and dug her hand into my candy box. She was sorting out all of the peanut butter cups. She made a pile of them in front of her before digging into the candy again. I had to bat her hand away from getting into my favorite candy. She pouted at me, but surrendered and went back to her little pile of peanut butter cups.

The front door opened. We both turned around to see Richard in his uniform. He was trying to balance three flower bouquets in his arms.

“I’m home. How’re my favorite girls doing?” He grinned, slipping his shoes off. He joined us at the table and placed the bouquets down. Mom and I gazed at the pretty flowers.

“Honey, what’s all this.” Mom asked. Richard’s smile grew wider.

“Well, I thought I should treat my girls today.” He gave the biggest one to Mom, while he gave one of the smaller ones to me.

“Wha…I…These are beautiful!” Mom really looked surprised. “You remembered my favorite flowers?”

“Orchids and peonies, how could I forget?” He pointed to my bouquet. “And I didn’t know yours, sadly, but I knew you liked the color yellow. I hope that’s okay.”

I looked at the flowers in my hands. I recognized the marigolds and daffodils. I don’t know the others’ names, but they were all just as pretty. The flowers were tied together with a big yellow ribbon as well.

“Yeah, it’s okay. I really like it.”

Richard smiled at that.

“I’m glad you like it.” He said, and I hugged him as a ‘thank you’. I pointed at the third bouquet on the table.

“Is that one for Saige?”

“Yeah.” He picked it up. “Do you know where she is?”

“She’s picking up Tess and Mia.” Mom chimed in. Richard turned to look at her.

“Really? She’s not spending the day with Nate?”

She shrugged, continuing to type on her computer.

“She said she already celebrated it with him. They probably didn’t plan to spend the whole day together. It’s not really my place to question what she does in her relationships, anyway.”

“Alright. I’ll go put this in water until she comes back.”

He went over to one of the cupboards and grabbed an empty vase, then went over to the sink to fill it with water. He put the flowers inside it and went back over to us, his hand resting on the back of Mom’s chair.

“Hey, at least we can get Saige and her friends to look after you now.”

I smiled and nodded.

“Yeah.”

“You sure you’re okay with us going out for the night?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? You two can stand for a break from us once in a while.”

Richard and Mom chuckled. He went over and put a hand on my shoulder, shaking it gently.

“Thanks for understanding, honey. Though, I wouldn’t put it into words like that.” He checked the time on his watch. “Our reservation is soon. That means you…” He turned to Mom. “…have to take a break from your laptop and get ready.”

“I will, just as soon as I get this last piece of code finished.”

“No, that’s what you always say. We have to be there within the hour so we don’t miss it.”

She groaned and rolled her eyes before closing her laptop. She got up from her chair and made her way upstairs, grumbling the whole way about how ‘it wouldn’t take long’. Richard put the laptop back in its sleeve, putting it back inside Mom’s messenger bag.

“I swear; she acts like a kid when she gets separated from her work.” He said, turning his attention back towards me. “I’m going to head up and get ready as well. We’ll be back down to say goodbye before we go.”

“Okay.”

The two of them strolled back down into the room about twenty minutes later. Richard was out of his police uniform, and was dressed in a charcoal colored suit with a crisp rose toned tie. His hair was coifed back with a bit of gel. Mom herself was wrapped in a beautiful white dress, its skirt covered by a glittery lace fabric, the stark color of the material made her chocolate skin glow. The small amount of jewelry she adorned were gifts I had given to her years ago for Christmas, her heels booted her average stature, making her almost as tall as Richard.

They hugged and kissed me goodbye. Once they were gone, I had some time to myself before Saige and her friends came back. I took my candy box and retreated to the family room, getting myself comfortable on the plushy couch. Popping a piece of chocolate in my mouth, I turned on the TV and got my homework out of my bag.

A while after I had finished my work, I heard the front door open, and with it, sounds of talk and loud laughter. I didn’t look up to know who was digging into my candy.

“Hey Maya! How’s it going?” Saige asked, unwrapping one of my lollipops. When I finally turned my attention to her, she was sliding her shoes off and pushing them halfway under the couch.

“I’m doing good, thanks. How was your day?” I replied.

“It’s been great. Nate took me out to breakfast downtown. After that, we hung out for a bit. You know, doing stuff couples do. Then I spent the last two hours picking up these losers up.” She punctuated it by pointing her thumb behind her, gesturing to Tess and Mia standing in the doorway. Tess scoffed while Mia threw her sandals at Saige.

“If we’re losers, then why are you hanging out with us?” Mia said with a smirk.

“Because somebody has to. And I’m willing to sacrifice myself for that.” My sister argued, throwing the sandals back at Mia. “You have to put your sandals away, not throw them at me.”

“I can do whatever I want with my sandals!”

“Oh I’m sure you can. But you’re paying if you break anything with them.”

The friendly argument was over by then. At least Mia didn’t break anything with her sandals, Mom would’ve had a fit.

The four of us sat together in the family room. Saige sat by my side, while Tess and Mia sat at the loveseat on the other side of the room. The TV was showing some kind of romantic comedy, but I didn’t know what it was. The three of them weren’t even paying attention to it.

“So, you asked me how my day went. How was yours?” Saige asked me.

“It was fun. My class had a party, and we gave out candy to each other. I also got three valentines.”

Her eyebrow shot up. Tess was smiling while Mia was giggling behind her hand.

“Three? Wow, someone’s getting popular.” Saige said. I couldn’t help the nod in triumph.

“Yeah, I know. That’s what Mom said too.”

Saige shifted in her seat.

“What did you say to them? Did you say yes?”

I shook my head.

“I said no to all of them. It wouldn’t be fair if I said yes to only one.”

They all giggled again.

“You do have a point.” Mia agreed. “I would’ve said no to all of them, too.”

“That’d be because you don’t like boys, Mia. Not because it’d be nice of you.” It was Tess who pointed it out.

Mia glared at her.

“Killjoy.”

Saige got up from her spot and settled herself in between her friends. The two of them grumbled as they stared at her.

“Alright guys, stop it. My sister’s right here.”

“Ugh…fine. But just so you know, she started it.” Mia said and gestured to Tess, who was gloating in her spot.

“See, this is why I’m the ‘mom friend’. I have to keep you two in line.”

More grumbles and gloating. Saige ignored them.

“As I was saying. So Sis, besides dumping three valentines, did it all go well?”

“Yeah.” I turned my attention to the girls on each side of Saige.  “Did you two get any valentines?”

“I got one! She was so sweet!” Mia said, ignoring the way Tess chuckled.

“I didn’t know you made your mother your valentine!” She was covering her face with a hand as she giggled. Mia didn’t like that very much.

“Hey, at least I got one!”

“Girls, girls! You’re both pretty! You can shut up now!” Saige laid her body across them, stopping her friends from bickering.

I looked at Tess.

“You don’t have a valentine?”

Tess paused for a moment before shaking her head.

“Nope. Valentines are overrated, anyway. I don’t really care.” She poked at Saige’s legs draped on her.

I pursed my lips together. That was pretty sad to hear. Just then, I remembered about my unused card. I leapt from the couch and walked over to my bag. Unzipping the first pocket, I reached in, took out what I wanted, then dashed back to where the three girls were sitting. Saige and Mia watched on as I offered my Valentines card to Tess.

“I was supposed to save this card for my valentine at school, but I didn’t have one.” I confessed.

Tess took the card from me, opening it and reading what’s inside. I stayed where I was until I saw Tess blushing and the other girls giggling.

“You want me to be your valentine?” Tess asked, setting the card down beside her. Saige and Mia were now watching with rapt attention, but I didn’t let it get to me.

“Yes!” I said with an affirmative nod. Tess joined in on the giggling, but untangled herself from Saige’s legs to give me a hug.

“Alright, M, I’ll be your valentine.”

“Okay, good.” I smiled and hugged her back. “Now you have a valentine.”

Mia was making whooping noises, which caused Saige to smack her in her chest.

 

July 12^th, 20xx. One Year, 16 days left.

It became routine for all of us to sit together in the family room every morning. Richard was making everyone coffee while Mom turned the TV on to the news again. That ‘all-curing bacteria’ was on the frontlines again, the newsman saying that tests on cancer-ridden animals had positive results.

“I can’t believe it…” Saige was shaking her head. “It actually worked? What kind of stuff did they do to it?”

“They were genetically modifying the bacteria to attack the cancer cells. The next tests have been approved to be on human subjects afflicted with it.”

Both Saige and I stared at her in wonder. She just rolled her eyes at us.

“I’ve been keeping track of this story. It’s pretty ground-breaking, if you didn’t get that already.”

Both of us leaned back in shock this time.

“Mom, did you just sass us?” Saige said, her hand on her chest.

“Where did you think you got yours from?”

“Woah! I’ve been gone for five minutes, and you two are bickering again?”

Richard came into the room with a tray of drinks. Even though he was complaining, he was smiling as he set the tray down and handed us our coffees. The little fight stopped, but Mom couldn’t help the protest that came from her when she saw him handing over my drink.

“Is it healthy for her to drink coffee? She’s pretty young to be…”

“Come on, Elisa. Maya’s a big girl, she can take caffeine.” He reasoned.

Mom didn’t appear to argue any further. Instead she muttered a “Okay.” And sipped from hers. After he gave Saige her cup, he sat down beside her on the couch, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She didn’t shoo him away, instead scooting herself closer to him. We all continued to watch the news story, sipping on our coffee in the process.

 

November 18^th, 20xx. 252 days left

“Miss Faulkner, you still with us?”

Mr. Lawrence’s voice made me snap my head towards the front of the room. The teacher was waiting for me while the other kids were looking at me or staring into space.

“Oh, uh, Y-Yeah. Sorry.” I can already tell that he’s annoyed with me.

“It’s fine, but please pay attention.”

I nodded, resuming my notes, but I slowly began to drift to the clock again.

I sat at my desk, staring at the thing as it ticked each second away. Mr. Lawrence kept reminding me to pay attention, but I couldn’t bother to look back at the board. It’s the end of the day, and the creative writing teacher still decides to keep on teaching? Checking the clock again, there was only five minutes left. Glanced back at the board: boring poetry. Somehow, the teacher covered a whole unit of metaphors within a span of ten minutes. What? That’s just sorcery right there.

“Alright, class. Can you tell me the difference between�"“

The bell rang.

Everyone began to rile up and pack their things. He tried to talk over the sound of them shouting and running, but gave up in favor of sitting back down. I took my chance to flee with all the others outside, where Cassie is waiting.

It took some time, but I finally found her waiting with Jessica by the parking lot. They were sitting against the only tree near the lot, exchanging something on their phones. Once the two saw me, they waved their hands up.

“Hey! You ready to work on the project?” Cassie asked as she tucked her phone inside her pocket.

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Are we still doing it at your place?”

“Yeah, I got Jess here to help us with the crafting. She’s gonna give us a few pointers, if that’s okay with you.”

Jess gave a little wave, and I returned it with a smile.

“That’s fine by me. Let’s go then.”

The weather was nice and cool as we walked along the sidewalk. It wasn’t too cold, thankfully. While going to Cassie’s place, we were talking about what we should do about our art project, with Jess making some cool suggestions on which styles to go with. The conversation quickly evolved to fun gossip between us. Cassie always had dirt on that girl from science class.

“No way! That can’t be true!” I said. Cassie was quick to be offended.

“It is, I swear! She was saying that right in front of everyone!”

“Victoria’s very reserved, though. There’s no way she could’ve said that, in front of a foreign exchange student, no less.”

“It’s the truth!”

“No, it’s not!”

“Yes, it is!”

“Hey, guys…”

Jess’s interruption paused our chattering. We turned to where Jess was standing behind us. She was stopped dead in her tracks, and her look was pensive. Her glasses were glinting in the sun, shielding her eyes from us.

“…What is it?” Cassie asked. Jess answered her with a point of her finger.

“There’s someone over there…”

We followed to where she was pointing, and what we saw made us hold our breath.

She was right, there was someone standing in the middle of the street, but no one was around. His blond hair was messed up, and he was wearing clothes that’s seen better days. Other than that, there wasn’t anything else odd about him…

Cassie pulled at my jacket sleeve.

“What’s he doing?” She asked me. I couldn’t answer any more than a shrug of my shoulders. Her guess was as good as mine.

“He’s not doing anything, just…sitting there.”

“Maybe we should keep walking.” Jess offered, stepping up to stand by our sides. “He’s probably just looking for something.”

“Good idea.” I agreed. “Let’s go to my house, it’s closer from here. My step-dad should be home, too.”

Cassie and Jess wordlessly nodded, beginning to lag slightly behind me. I kept an eye out for the man while Cassie and Jess kept close to me. When we were at the end of the street, I checked one more time to see if the guy tailed us. He was still in the same place. Good. It’d be easier from here.

“My house shouldn’t be far now. We can take the right on Alex Court.”

“Maya,” Jess whispered. “he’s staring at us…”

“What?” I looked over to where I was now face to face with the stranger. I’m not sure if he’s looking at us, there was nothing but black in his eyes. His skin was almost transparent, his teeth were rotted, and there was something dark leaking out of his mouth…

Then he began charging full force at us.

“Maya!” Cassie’s panicked cry reached my ears.

“Run! Get to my house! Now!”

It was all I could yell before we all ran as fast as we could. I heard Jess’s pants to my right, Cass’s screaming trailing me, and the grunts of the man chasing us. Everything was whirling past me in a blur. My legs were stinging from the exertion, andI could barely see what was in front of me.

My house finally came into view.

I kept running as fast as my legs can allow. I saw Jess eventually run past me and to the porch. She was banging at the door by the time I met up with her. We were pounding the door before we heard our friend’s pained cry behind us.”

“Jessica! Maya!”

Just as we’ve turned around, the man was grabbing Cassie by the waist, causing her to fall under him. She kicked and wailed as the man above her scratched and bit anywhere he could reach.

“Get off of her!” I howled, and, with all the strength I had, shoved him off of Cassie. It gave her enough time to get away from, but with one glance at me, he snarled and leapt, pinning me to the ground. My head swam at the force of his leap. It was until he began tearing away my jacket when I regained me senses and started to fight back again. I remembered what Mom told me, and I locked my arms straight to prevent him from biting me, but I knew that it’d be a matter of time before I lose all my strength to him.

A figure rushed past me and into the man above me. Everything was going by in a blur again as I felt something haul me up by my arms. I was being ushered inside, that much I knew. Jess and Cassie were crying and huddling each other. I was on the floor, and there was arms around me. I didn’t realize that I was crying too, streams cascading down my cheeks. Warm hands gingerly touched my cheeks, wiping the tears away.

“Maya, hey, shh. It’s okay.” Saige’s voice soothed me as she held me tight, gently petting my hair.

Behind me, Richard was wrestling with the man. Not long after, a gunshot fired.

 

 

December 1^st, 20xx. 239 days left.

Saige and I stood still in the shooting range, a 9mm pistol in our hands. They were an early Christmas gift from Richard. Not far from us, he was loading up his own weapon, and cocked it at a target before turning back to face us.

“I know this must be scary for the both of you,” He began, his expression somber. “but you have to know that this is necessary. You girls need to learn how to protect yourselves when things go bad. I can’t afford to lose my daughters by the hands of madmen.”

Saige didn’t say anything through the whole lesson. She did everything he said to do: She cocked the gun, aimed, and shot. She reloaded, then repeated.

I didn’t like this. It felt wrong. I wish I didn’t have to do this.

I aimed my gun at the target and shot.

 

July 1st, 20xx. 27 days left.

Oh God. Everything is so wrong. Everyone’s living in fear.

The news said that the bacteria would make everyone better. They promised us a better life.

Mom watches in horror as the death toll rises. Saige worries about Tess in the hospital. Richard locked us all inside our house, no one goes in or out. Jessica moved away. I don’t know what happened to Cassie. I don’t know what happened to Mia or Ellie.

I just want this to be over. I want my old life back.

 

July 28^th, 20xx. Zero days left.

“Maya, I need you to listen to me.”

“Saige…”

“I need you to lock yourself in your room and hide in the closet. Don’t come out until I say so.”

“Saige, What’s going on? What happened to Mom and Richard?”

Soft hands wiped my tears away.

“It’ll be okay. Please, lock yourself in your room and hide in the closet. I got this handled.”

I nodded and did what she said. I couldn’t bear to hear what was happening. The crashes, the screaming, the gunshot…

After an eternity, there was a knock at my door. I left the sanctity of my closet and opened the door. My sister stood in front of me, her expression blank and her clothes soaked in red.

“Come on, we need to get out of here.”

I didn’t like what she was saying. I want this all to end.

“But…Richard said…”

“I know what Richard said!” She snapped, her face darkening.

Her yell made me recoil, taking a step back from her and into the safety of my room. My sister realized what she did, her eyes widening and her face softening. She forced herself to calm down, then offered a blood-free hand.

“I’m sorry, Maya, but our house isn’t safe anymore. We have to get out of here.”

I stayed where I was. In here, I can be safe. I can hide in the closet and wait for everything to be over. But, once I looked Saige in the eyes, there was comfort in it. She promised my safety.

I took her hand, and we left the house together.

Author's Note

I apologize for any mistakes in the story. I wrote this as a part of my graduation project for my high school. I wrote this for practice and handling my anxiety. However, if you'd like to leave me any advice or opinion of the story, I'd be more than happy to read what you've written.