Lacy Adam

We sit in silence. I have my top down on my Cadillac on the request of James. Music is blaring out of the speakers on some pop station as I drive toward the city. I remembered the exact words my parents told me when I was little,

"If you ever need help, and we are not around you go find Mr. Hayden. Ok?" As a child I looked up at them wondering what could ever go wrong that they wouldn't be around. Now I know. A voice snaps me out of my thoughts,

"Are we almost there?" James asked.

"Yeah we are." We've been driving in the city for at least fifteen minuets now. I had to remember the building. I just had too. Finally I rounded a corner and I see it. The building. It was the prettiest building in the city if you ask me. It was one of those old types of architecture style buildings that you couldn't believe someone could build, especial back in the day. I actually found a parking spot near it too! I grabbed my back pack and put it on. I put the top up on my car, and grabbed James' hand. I left the dog in the car. Before we walked in I stopped, and looked up. The building was so big and beautiful. Taking a deep breath we walk through the doors. I haven't been here since I was five. My mom couldn't find a babysitter for me, and I came with her. The sectary at the front desk was the same lady; she aged well. She was still pretty for being her age with blond curls, and she didn't have any wrinkles. The security guys at the front doors were new though. I guess they probably added them after 9-11. They gave me a quick nod of their heads as we walked pass. I went straight for the secretary. She looked up.

"Lacy!?! Is that you?" She said with a big smile.

"Yeah it's me."

"Is this your kid?"

"No! I'm only eighteen! He's a brother of my..." What do I call Metias? Bestfriend? Dead? I don't even know anymore. "I looked back at the lady. "Is Mr. Hayden here?" I asked her.

"Yes he his, I'll call him and tell him your coming up."

"Thanks." I turned around, still holding James' hand, and walked towards the elevators. More security guards were there.

"So, your Mr. Adams daughter huh?" He said with a charming smile. "I'm Danny." He held out his hand. I looked at him. He was young, and handsome. I couldn't believe a man like this would talk to me! Then again he's probably trying to get on my good side so he'll look good, and my dad will give him a raise or something.

"I'm sorry, I would love to chat, but I can't right now. America is under attack, and my best friend is dead, and so is my parents! So get out of my way!" I started to yell at him without meaning to.

"What did you just say! Your parents are dead!?"

"Yes, now please move." James and I then walked into the elevator. I remembered the floor Mr. Hayden worked on, the seventh. We waited listening to the elevator music. Ding. The elevator stopped and opened. We then walked out toward room five hundred and three. We got there and I knocked. "Come in!" Someone said beyond the door. We walked in. I've never actually been in Mr. Hayden's office before. It was big, and modern looking. The walls are white, the furniture is white, even his suit is white. Weird. A man in his fifties smiled at us. He looked like a veteran of some war long ago. Big, scary, and mean.

"Come sit down." He said with a smile. But he wasn't any of those things. James ran ahead and sat down.

"Are you going to help us?" He asked. "My brother is dead, and so is my parents. My only family is Lacy now, and she doesn't even have her mom or dad now." After finally telling someone about everything that had happened he broke. The tears came, and they didn't stop. I ran up to him and hugged him.

"It's going to be fine, ok?" I quietly told him. Then I looked up at Mr. Hayden.

"You need to help us. America's small towns are under attack including the one I live in."

"What?" He said questioningly.

"Check the news." Is all I said. He pulled out his phone and checked the news on it.

"Oh my gosh!" He whispered. Then he grabbed his office phone, and dialled someone.

"Lock down the building and all the others corporations!" He yelled into it. He got up and ran to his big, white door.

"Hey! What about us I yelled at him."

"The country is under attack, stop being selfish!" I looked at him astonished that he just told me that. Then he ran out of the building. James looked at me. I smiled. Guess my parents were wrong about him.

“Come on, let's get out of here." Once again I grabbed his hand. Then all of a sudden there was a loud boom like noise outside. We ran over to the window. We saw several explosions go off in the city. Buildings were on fire. Now I was scared. James had stopped crying but he started again after he saw that. I pulled James and myself from the window. Not taking the chance of the elevator breaking on us we took the stairs. Then the power went out. I have to admit it was scary. We kept running down the stairs. After a good two minuets of stairs we made it outside. That's when I realised the guards were gone. Well all but one. I see him first. He's on the ground outside the building holding his arm and it's bleeding. Why was he bleeding? Well duh, he obviously was wounded. Before James saw him thought I turned him toward the car, and got him buckled in, even though he was in the seventh grade. I turned around, I was the only other person on the street besides the security guard. He was lying on the ground about ten feet away from me. I walked over to him.

"Help me!" He said with worry in his voice. "I think I'm bleeding out." That's when I realized that his arm wasn't the thing bleeding, it was his chest. It was a cut that ran across his chest. He was so pale. Once again that nurse/babysitter's teachings popped into my head.

"I'm going to help you ok."I told him, and I was too. I was not going to let another person die because of my lack of medical help. I checked for my phone but it was gone. Shoot.

"I can help." A voice whispered. I turned around and James was standing there. "I went to a camp this summer and I learned how to save people's lives in different scenarios. He pulled off his belt, and handed it to me. Of course! It was a smart idea but it wasn't long enough. "Good thinking!" I said to James. He looked like a zombie with his eyes dark from crying so much. He looked so much like Metias. With my mind back on the security guard I remembered my backpack was on my back, I took it off. My gym close was in there and so was a water bottle. I removed the man's hand from the wound.

“James can you put his head in your lap and make him drink some water?" I asked.

"Sure." He grabbed the water bottle and did what I asked. I on the other hand ripped my clothes into shreds and pressed them on his wound. I tried to cover it up. To stop the bleeding. I looked back into my bag for anything. That's when I see it, the roll of bandages. I must of shoved it in here when we got back to the car after...after Metias died. I looked up to see how James was doing. He was actually doing pretty good.

“Ok now we are going to make him sit up ok?" James then pushed him up. I had to get this man's top off. I didn't want to, but it needed to be done. I grabbed the sides of his shirt and pulled outward. It ripped in half. Thank goodness. I grabbed the bandages and started to wrap it around his chest the best I could. When I was done I had James get the car door. Good thing I have a boat of a car to place this man in. He was not skinny or small in any matter. He was way more muscular than Metias was, and I was not us  to it. Plus he was shirtless. Metias always wore a shirt, even swimming. It was sine insecurity he had. The dog jumped to the front seat wagging his tail as fast as he could waking me from my daydream of Metias. When we got the security guard into the car we jumped in and I was driving again. Where were we going to go? The realisation that I had three beings to take care of, feed, and keep alive weighed on my shoulders. I saw James curl up in a ball next to the door and fall asleep. The dog fell asleep next to him, and the man in the back of the car was finally asleep. Well I hoped he wasn't dead. I noticed he had blond hair. Nothing like Metias at all, I thought.

  I kept an eye out for a gas station that wasn't being looted to badly as I left town. Finally after swerving some hitchhikers standing in the middle of the road, I found a gas station kinda hidden in some trees. Only a couple of cars were there. I pulled in. Was the city under evacuation? I couldn't think about that now though. I looked over at James sleeping. He was the splitting image of Metias. Dark hair, pale skin, lean even at his age. I didn't want to leave James in the car with the stranger, but the dog was here so he could protect him. So I ran inside the building real quick. I grabbed some plastic bags and started to fill them up with food and beverages. I grabbed some toiletries for all of us, and I even found some shirts in the back of the store. I hoped they were big enough for the guy in my back seat. I noticed the others in the store was grabbing everything they needed too. I hurried up to the counter to pay, but there was a sign that read, no need to pay. What will I do with money at the end of the world? I still felt guilty for not paying so I shoved a twenty on the glass counter top. I walked outside and placed the stuff in my trunk. Then I got gas. I used the emergency credit card I received from my parents. I felt this was a good enough moment to use it. After all that stuff was done I hopped into the car and took off.

I noticed more cars were pulling into the gas station we just left. Thank goodness we just left! I drove, and drove, until there was nobody else on the road anymore. We were too far in the country where there were only fields upon fields for miles. I then realised the guard had woken up, as he placed his hand over my mouth blocking my only two ways to breath. I jeered the car off the road, and into an empty field. He had a gun to my head.