Chapter Three-12 Days Ago

End of the world, mixed with goverment conspiracy, a flu, and aliens

Chapter Three

12 Days Ago-Sunday, June 4^th

            Last night as Heather was leaving for home, I got a call from my friend, Jocelyn, inviting Heather and I for a trip to Nantucket Beach the next day.  Of course, Heather and I readily agreed, because I was all for another vain attempt at tanning.  With a promise to pick Heather up the next morning at nine (her mustang did not do well with long distance traveling), she pranced down the front steps, got in her mustang, and drove home.  Going to bed last night, I only had pleasant thoughts only to have them replaced by my dream.

            I woke up gasping for breath the next morning at 7 o’clock sharp.  Again, I had been drifting in space, before my alarm had gone off saving me from the helpless fear.  For a few minutes, I just sat there clutching my pillow to my chest while I tried to catch my breath.  Never before have I had the dream two nights in a row; they were more irregular than that.  Inhaling and exhaling two more big breaths helped to steady my shaky nerves.  This was not how I wanted to start the day; forcing the dream in a remote corner in my mind, I jumped off the bed and began my daily rituals.       

            I went through my morning routine of showering, dressing, hairstyling, and face painting rather quickly, because I wanted to be able to have the whole day to spend at the beach.  Plus, I figured my hair and makeup would get ruined by the water and sand, so why put in the extra effort?  I gathered up my bikini, towel, extra change of clothes, sun block, and flip flops and I tossed them all into my oversized Prada bag.  Hmmm…I thought looking around my room to see if there was anything else I needed for my beach day excursion.  Deciding that I had everything, I grabbed my bag, purse, and phone and bounced down the grand staircase.  The excitement for this day was coursing through my system like a caffeine buzz.

            Even though I was anxious to leave, food was required for the long drive.  I headed to the kitchen, when I heard the delightful sound of my mother already cooking.  No, cereal or power bars for me this morning!  The heavenly aroma of bacon sizzling in the pan caught my attention as I sat at the island, waiting for my mom to feed me. “Mmmm!  Smells so good!”  All right I admit I was practically drooling in anticipation for the bacon and the rest of the food that my mother was cooking.  I can attest to the fact, with my 10/12 dress size, that my mom is a very talented cook.  Food Network was an addiction of my mom, who tried a different recipe on my father, brothers, and me almost every night"some with highly favorable ravings, others not so much.

            A sweet laughter escaped my mother, who stood there looking radiant and albeit a little pale, she said, “Well, you will have to wait…”  My mother coughed before going on, “Sorry. Allergies have come early this year. Darn them! Anyway, I want us to eat breakfast as a family.  Now, do not give me that look Lexxie-girl, your brothers and father will be here as soon as the scent of food hits their noses.”  No sooner had my mother said those words when Jared and Caleb and my father walked into the kitchen.  Before turning back to the pan of bacon, my mom remarked in her mom-knows-everything way, “See!”  Caleb and Jared were both rubbing the sleep out of their eyes as they both took seats at the counter.  My father came into the kitchen and gave my mom a quick peck on the cheek, and then took his normal seat at the small dinette table.

            “Geez dad, you look like crap,” my not-so-subtle-or-smart younger brother, Caleb, pointed out.  “Did you get into a fight with a heavy weight champ?”  Wow, my brother has absolute no tact, so I elbowed him in the ribs.  “Ow! What was that for Lex?”  Nudging my head in the direction of our obviously sick father, Caleb took the hint and remained quiet. 

A closer examination of my dad revealed dark under eye circles, pale skin, and bloodshot eyes.  Caleb was right he looked like he took a one, two punch in the boxing ring.  “Hey, dad, are you feeling well?”

            My dad stopped watching the news and gave me a weak smile.  “No, my Lexxie girl, I am most certainly not feeling well.  It is those darn allergies; it has affected your mom as well.”  Another quick look at my mom revealed she was pale, but not as sick as my dad.

            “Oh, I know hunny…you will feel fine in a couple of days.  I called Dr. Hamlin to make a house call, so we can get some much needed allergy meds,” said my mother as she placed a plate filled with scrambled eggs, a few strips of bacon, and buttered and jellied toast in front of me.  Then she took a seat next to my dad and both began to eat as they watched the daily news. “Oh, wow!  The government is requesting that everyone get the flu shot. Hun, it is a good thing we already got ours!”  I heard my mother say and my dad grunt in the affirmative in the background; those two always had to get their daily fix of the news like it was a coffee addiction.  Personally, I hate the news; I think the anchors are paid off from reporting the truth. 

Today was not the day for news or flus, so I grabbed some juice from the fridge and sat back down to enjoy my food.  Ok, I like food, so I dug right in at the same speed my brothers were eating.  Finished in ten minutes tops, I kissed my parents good-bye and “I hope you feel better” and I was out the door.

#

            It was one of those sunny days where you feel like everything was right with the world and nothing could ruin your happy day.  I sat in a lounge chair, my friend, Greg, was so thoughtful to bring.  The sun was shining so bright that it was almost blinding and I was sincerely grateful that I had remembered to bring my sunglasses with me.  I loved the beach; the sound of the waves lapping the shore was so soothing to my nerves that had been so up and down this week.  Dropping one of my feet onto the sand, I squished the sand between my toes loving the gritty texture, which I learned from my mom was great for pedicures. Heather and I had gone swimming for a few hours and not we were just relaxing and reveling in the peace and quiet.  Sitting back deep into the chair, I allowed the sun full access to my body; even though, I knew I would get no color from them.  Heather was sound asleep beside me, when Isaac came over and dumped a kid’s pail of water onto her.  Screaming in outrage and issuing threats, Heather’s pixie frame shot up and out of the chair and after Isaac, who genuinely looked terrified.  Isaac was dodging Heather left and right, but my friends (Greg, Jocelyn, Olivia), and I had a wager that Heather would catch him and then torture mercilessly.  Heather’s idea of torture was to lather her body with tanning lotion and to fan her; I know does not sound much like torture, but in Heather’s world it was.  Personally, I think it was Isaac’s plan to get Heather to “torture” (I say pleasure, but what did I know?) him; everyone knew he fancied her. 

            A large, looming shadow towered over me blocking out the sun, I was about to sit up and tell the person a piece of my mind, when the figure spoke, “Well, well, well! Ryan! Zack! Look who we managed to bump into!”  A groan escaped my lips as Luke Tremblay’s voice crept over my skin causing me to shiver in disgust.  At the moment, I was grateful that I had my shades on so Luke could not see my eyes narrow at him with daggers.  “Hey Lexxie!”  Without so much as invitation, Luke plopped his steroid-pumped body next to my chair.  His two friends, Zack and Ryan, went to go hit on Olivia and Jocelyn; both girls fell over themselves in girlish giggles when the two boys approached them.  I rolled my eyes at my friends’ obsession with boys; even Greg, who was gay, did not act like them.  Glancing around for Greg, I spotted him talking to the big, hunky lifeguard and stroking his arm.  Great, I had no one to rescue me from Luke.  I was on my own.  “I had no idea that you would be here today.  What a coincidence!”  Geez, imagine that…a coincidence.  I had a feeling Jocelyn had informed Luke, the most popular guy in school, that we would all be here.  As much as I loved Jocelyn, she was trying to hook me up with this sleaze ball, who was now sitting beside me.  I am sure the pot was sweetened when Luke said he would come, because Jocelyn knew he never goes anywhere without his two football team cronies. 

            “Yeah, you’re right Luke. What a coincidence,” I muttered in a voice that clearly stated “Please do not talk to me unless it is a life or death situation.”  Luke was not that deep to read between the lines, so he bantered on about his new car and exercising workout.  What is it about men and working out?  Since I am pretty good at blocking out bullshit, I did not hear the question Luke asked me. “So what do you think?”

            Living up to my 3.90 GPA, I smartly responded, “Huh?”

            “I asked you, ‘what do you think about my biceps?’ They are full two inches bigger than last month! Check them out!”  In all truth, I could not believe what I was seeing.  Luke stood up from his spot beside me and began posing.  Flexing his muscles like Mr. Universe, Luke made a complete fool out of himself.  My mouth dropped open in complete astonishment.  “Do you like what you see, Lexxie?”

            How do you respond to that?  What you say when a gorilla goes around posing?  “Oh yeah, I like what I see,” I stumbled for words, “…your muscles are so…so huge…and big,” I said, my voice was dripped in sarcasm, but Look seemed pleased and sat back down. 

For the next half hour, a long and torturous half hour it was, I listened to Luke prattle on and on about different football games he singlehandedly won.  My friends had gathered around us, but they were all paired off, so I did not hear someone suggest that we go shopping on the boardwalk.  Once I realized what was happening, I saw Heather jump into Isaac’s car and speed off towards the shops.  Thanks bestie for leaving me with caveman Luke.  “Hey, Lexxie do you mind that I ride with you?”  Nodding in the positive confirmation, I went to grab my things, but Luke got to them first and carried them to my car.  “Have I told you what a nice car this is?”

            “Yeah, you have Luke.  I think about…”  I paused and counted in my head. “12 times. Just get in Luke.  I want to get some shopping in before Heather and Jocelyn and Olivia buy all the good stuff.” 

The short drive to the shops was more bearable than I thought it would be.  Luke talked mostly about himself and when he did ask a question, he answered it for me.  “You look great by the way… Mmmm, you should definitely wear short shorts more often…”  I slammed on the brakes and Luke hit his head on the dashboard, which gave me brief satisfaction.  “Whoa! What happened?”  Could he really be that dumb"was it possible? 

In my best valley girl voice, I gushed, “Oh Luke I am so sorry!  I saw this cute, white fluffy rabbit on the road and I just could not run it over! Oh…”  Then I broke up into Oscar-worthy crocodile tears, leaving Luke speechless.

“It’s ok, Lex. Just give me a warning next time.”

“Really you are not mad?”  Moments like these, I wish I could capture on film, because I swear I would have won best actress. 

“No, I could never be mad at such a beautiful girl.” 

With a winning smile that left Luke in drooling-over-hot-girl mode, I sped off to catch up with the rest of my friends.  Heather would pay dearly for leaving me with this airhead jock.

I pulled up to the curb of a boutique named, Love and Mysteria, where all my friends’ cars were parked.  From the road, it looked like a cool new-age shoppe with lots of glitter and dazzling beads and mystery.  I left Luke in the dust as I walked in to see Heather and Olivia gushing over a head scarf that a fortune teller gypsy would wear.  I did not see any of the guys in here, so I assumed they were off consuming food or playing sports.  The whole shoppe was filled with a hazy cloud of incense that surprisingly did not make me want to gag.  There were a few mannequins wearing those belly dancing outfits with the jingles on them (sorry, I do not know the proper term for them), but I had always wanted one of them.  It was a little girl fantasy of mine to be one of those belly dancers in a maharajah’s palace with decorative scarf-like material everywhere.  In one corner of the store, there were racks upon racks of books.  Jocelyn was looking intently in a few of the books.  If you knew this girl, you would think finding her with a book and actually reading it would be like finding Bigfoot or the loch ness monster.  Sidling up to Jocelyn’s side (mainly to get away from the creeping Tremblay), I noticed what had caught Jocelyn’s attention.  She was reading spell books having to do with love potions and incantations.  Not one for the superstitions or magic, I decided to browse through the glass case displays of exotic jewelry.  The gypsy-like woman at the counter smiled at me and pointed me to some jewelry that she believed I would like.  A few of the pieces of jewelry were vintage and Victorian and I heart me some Victorian jewelry.  I picked out a few necklaces, rings, and a dangly pair of earrings and paid the woman.  The scent of muscles and too much cologne wafted around me and I knew Luke was too close for comfort.  In an effort to ditch him (again!), I made my way over to Heather and Olivia who were still debating on what to buy.  They would be here for a few more hours, so I told Heather I would be at the bakery across the street; she barely nodded before going back to an argument with Olivia over which was more comfortable: thong or g-string.  Oh brother! 

Stepping out of Love and Mysteria, I took a long breath to un-cloud my senses of the incense that had begun to make me feel a little woozy.  There was no traffic today; everyone was out strolling around and having a grand ole time.  I saw children and parents walking hand in handing trying to eat ice cream from a cone at the same time.  An elderly couple was just sitting in a bench enjoying the weather and each other’s company.  The elderly couple exchanged gentle looks of love and I wished I would be able to find that special someone that I would want to spend the rest of my life with.  Their love was endearing and I just smiled at them as I jogged across the street to get to the bakery. 

Stepping inside the small, yet homey bakery was like stepping into an oven.  I knew I would be sweating soon.  You cannot even imagine the wonderfully aromatic smells that my lucky nose got the chance to smell.  Compared to Love and Mysteria, White’s Bakery was bright and effervescent and open.  The place smelled of happiness and home; I wish they could bottle that smell, because I would bring it everywhere.  White’s Bakery was designed to make you feel like you were at your grandparents’ home; I adored the homey feel.  Besides the standard tables, there were several love-seats place strategically facing the windows, so the occupants could enjoy the scenery.  Small two-seater tables lined the wall and a few bigger tables were scattered throughout the bakery.  I got in line to grab a whoopie pie, when again Luke’s scent washed over me.  Would I not escape this male chauvinist jock today?  Remind me to thank Jocelyn later. 

“This place smells good, almost as good as you.”  What a pathetic pick up line, which I ignored by the way.

My turn was next and I ordered two whoopie pies.  The woman smiled at me and asked, “And what would your boyfriend like?”  I sputtered like a fool as Luke put his arm around me and ordered three ham and egg croissants.  Once he got his food, I disentangled myself from his possessive embrace.

 I chose a window table to sit at and guess who joined me?  That is right, Luke.  “Luke, if you ever, ever put your arm around me without my permission again I will be forced to use pepper spray on you.”

“Hahaha!  You are funny Lex!”  Luke exclaimed heartily as he stuffed his face with the croissants.

“I am not joking Luke.  I am not your girlfriend, nor do I want to be.  You are an arrogant prick, who picks on those weaker than him.  I could not be with someone like that.”   

A spark of anger flashed in Luke’s eyes for a moment. When I blinked, the anger was gone, so I thought I might have imagined it.  In a voice that was unlike him, Luke said, “Lexxie girl, it is evolution that says we are meant to be together.  Alpha male mates with the alpha female, evolution proves it.”  At the word “mates”, I stood up and walked out; I had enough of this guy today.  There would be no way in hell I would mate with that meathead.  Higher power help me if I ever wanted to mate with him; our poor children would only have half an IQ.  Getting in my car seemed the best thing to do, so I decided I would wait there.  I sent a quick text to Heather to know that I wanted to leave immediately and I would fill her in on the details later.  Just then I saw Luke leave the bakery and jog towards me.  “Lex! I am sorry! Okay I didn’t mean we had to mate right now!”  Did he really just say that?

“Your right! There is no…Let me make this clear even for someone with a low IQ like you…There is no, and I mean no, way in hell I would even think about  mating or anything else that goes along with that with you.  Do you understand?”

“Yeah, I do.  It is just hard to concentrate when you have those shorts and that halter top on…You are hard to resist.”  Luke was bent over leaning into the driver’s side window, when without warning he planted his lips on mine.  I was too in shock to even react, but when his tongue tried to slip in my mouth, I pushed away.  I opened my car door and slammed it into his family-making machine.  Let’s just say he promptly fell to the ground in agony, which gave me a small amount of satisfaction.

“Luke, never do that again and you better find a ride with someone else back to your car.”  Seething with anger, I stormed away, not knowing where I was going.  Never before had I been so violated.  I knew there was nothing wrong with what I was wearing; my mother would not let me leave the house if I was wearing something risqué.  Luke had let his lust overrule the few brain cells that he had.  Anger filled my vision, I only saw red, and so I took a left and wound up in a dark alley.  Great on top of everything that happened today, I got myself lost. 

The alley was filthy beyond words.  There were several of those big dumpsters that lined the building’s walls.  Whoever dumped trash here did not do a very good job; despite the fact that they had those huge dumpsters, they just let garbage pile up all over the place.  This was not a place where I wanted to be, so I backed up and turned to leave the alley.  In front of me blocking my way out was a strange girl, who looked around my age.  The girl had messy brown hair and she was wearing nondescript clothes and sunglasses. Considering the dirty alley we were in, I would have thought she was a homeless person; however, she was clean, as well as her clothes.  I do not know why I did not just walk past her, but there was this strange feeling or aura pouring off of her that stated: Do not mess with me.  I stepped to the side to go past her, but she mimicked my movements. “I am sorry. I am a bit lost, so could you give me directions back to White’s Bakery?”  In a flash, faster than humanly possible, the girl stood in front of me and held a scrawny hand up to my mouth.  I had not been afraid before of this small stick-like girl, but now I was.  Fear was burgeoning in the pit of my stomach; I was more scared of this girl than I had been of Luke"overly muscled Luke. 

Her hand covered my mouth, preventing me from screaming properly.  “Do not talk, Alexia Montgomery.  I am not here to hurt you, but to warn you.  They are coming; they know who you are.  Be careful…when the time comes get out…get out of the city.”  Once she finished talking, she took her hand from my mouth and stepped away from me.  You know how people always tell you not to run from dogs, because they can smell your fear and will attack you?  Well, it took every ounce of my will power to walk normally out of the alley way.  I turned back to look at the girl, who was standing there watching me.  With a cat-like reflex, she took off her glasses.  I gasped and the fear that had been building inside me forced me to run out of the alley knocking me straight into my bestie.

“Damn, Lexxie! I got your text! I have been looking all over for you for a half hour! Luke slinked away with his buddies when we came out of the shoppe.  What happened with him?”  Heather stopped talking when she noticed how pale and shaky I was.  “Lex, did Luke hurt you?”  I shook my head, but I could still see the concern etched on Heather’s face.  “All right. Let’s go, we can talk on the ride back.”  Heather placed an arm around my waist to lead me away from the dark alley.  Before the alley was out of my line of sight, I glanced back looking for the girl, but she was gone.  I have never been more scared in my life…she knew my name and she had those eyes.  The girl in the alley had the same vivid green eyes as the boy in my dream.

 

Author's Note

Let me know what you think! If anything is worded awkwardly let me know! Hope you enjoy! Made a few updates, so the chapter would not feel rush! Thank you everyone!

Reviews

[SheWhoWillNotBeNamed]

"“Your right! There is no…" it should be You're right, instead.
You kind of confused me. Was Lexxie in the car when she got kissed? Because if she was, why was she then on foot, trying to walk past that weird girl? If she wasn't... why would she just leave her car in front of the Bakery? And how come Heather was just.. near?!
It's getting interesting!

[melissa]

You are one of my favorite writers I love the book and can't stop reading the book it is that good

[Jim]

Good chapter. The plot moves along, as now we know that her parents are getting sick, Luke is definitely showing us why surviving boys is a problem, and the girl with the green eyes makes an ominous appearance. I particularly like the ending--it's extremely strong and dramatic.

One suggestion is that you might consider cutting down or condensing some parts that don't seem to move the action forward that much. I remember reading somewhere that when writing a scene, you ought to "get in late, and leave early." In other words, start out the scene with the important action, and leave the scene when the important action is over. You don't have to show characters going from room to room, that sort of thing. For intance, a lot of the third paragraph, in which Lexxie is gathering her towel, bikini, etc., and not putting on makeup or doing her hair seems unnecessary. It doesn't really move the plot forward, and it just feels like it slows the pace of the story down. We can infer that she would do those things, and it doesn't really tell us anything important.

Here are a few nit-picky little things:

"I got a call from my friend, Jocelyn, inviting Heather and (I) for a trip to Nantucket Beach the next day." Should be "me," because she's the object.

"Of course, Heather and I readily agreed, because I was all for another vain attempt at tanning." This sentence seems odd because Lexxie says "Heather and I" agreed, because "I" (Lexxie) wanted another vain attempt at tanning, but she doesn't say why Heather agreed.

"Nudging my head in the direction of our obviously sick father, Caleb took the hint and (remained quiet)." "Remained quiet" feels a little stilted. Just "shut up" would probably be better.

"I did not see any of the guys in here, so I assumed they were off (consuming food) or playing sports." "Consuming food" feels stilted and a bit vague too. "Chowing down on [specific food--hot dogs, burgers, etc.]" would probably be better.

"The girl had messy brown hair and she was wearing (nondescript clothes) and sunglasses." It does seem like you ought to describe the nondescript clothes, even if they are nondescript. Just, "blue jeans and a white T-shirt" would probably work. It's one of those show versus tell sorts of things.

[Amanda Naomi]

first of all, your a little off about seaonal things, if "allergies are early this year" and its june you must be up north where its still cold..like too cold, like the kids wouldn't be out swimming becasue its not warm enough yet.....

so intead of saying they are early, say they are bad this year...also where does this story take place??


ooooohhhh! that little girl is creepy, and i get the sense that this is more than just an end of the world story!!!

[snopadelic]

This an excellent chapter, the dialog is great (dialog is hard to do i think persnoally) and now we are getting the signs of the flu epecdemi starating

[MR_BERG]

I felt the story start to take on a pace The first chapter was breathless, the next felt labored, but this one breezed right along; a good combo of dialogue and plot development. Reread it aloud and dig out a few of those clunky sentences.

[halflives]

"Going to bed last night, I only had pleasant thoughts only to have them replaced by my dream." (Since this takes place days ago, I'd change this) ; "No() cereal or power bars for me this morning!" ; "'Really(,) you are not mad'"
You're getting better and better each time, 'cause there are a ton of less grammar troubles than the past chapters. This chapter is very good, especially since it's relying on dialouge. Very good plot development. Thanks for sharing this with us :D

[Gone]

I like Luke, so funny. This is enjoyable to read!

[Blue Moon Ice Cream]

The plot thickens...this was enjoyable. Just watch your commas--sometimes they're inserted in weird places ("No, cereal or power bars for me this morning") and sometimes they're missing ("An elderly couple was just sitting in the bench enjoying the weather and each other's company").

[Coyote Poetry]

The story is amazing. I like how you are setting up the rest of the story. The storyline had my attention. I like this chapter. Some character building to strengthen the story. A excellent chapter.
Coyote