Six Months Previously

''Oh my god, you won't believe who just asked me to prom!'' Zara's best friend Zoey weaved through the crowded school corridor and bounced towards her, almost knocking her off her feet.

''Woah Zo, slow down'' Zara giggled, closing her locker as she turned to face her friend. ''Who?!''

''Jake from my Spanish class. You know the cute one with the skateboard and floppy hair?'' She beamed. ''Let's go dress shopping after school yeah?''

Zara hugged her friend as they split at the end of the corridor, heading to their separate classes ''Sure, I'll meet you outside the gates!''

After a successful afternoon shopping, Zara felt sad to be going home to an empty house. Only the housekeeper was there on weekdays, so she usually ate an early dinner at the breakfast bar and spent the evening in her room. Her parents worked away all week and most of the weekends throughout the year, so they were barely around. Her father, Hayden, was the founder of 'Quinn Pharmaceuticals' the biggest medication manufacturers in the world. He had set up the company when Zara was three and had spent all his time in the office ever since. With offices all over the world, it was usually another country every week. Her mother, Vivien was there more when Zara was growing up, but she now was a partner for a charity that gave aid to children in Africa, so she was out of the country most of the time as well. Most people at school were in awe at Zara, whispering about how lucky she was for having a big expensive mansion, a brand-new car each year and perfectly highlighted hair and manicured nails. What they didn't realise is she would happily trade places with any one of them, to have a normal, conventional family.

Zara sighed as she closed the front door behind her. She dumped her school bag in the hallway, hung the long white bag holding her prom dress over the bannister and wandered through to the large open kitchen. As she rounded the corner she stopped suddenly at seeing her parents both casually drinking coffee, leant against the kitchen counter. It was a rare sight these days to see them in the same room, together. They both stared as she walked in, her father's expression becoming serious and her mother's eyes dropped to the floor, her face worried.

'What are you guys doing here? It's a Tuesday.'' Zara stated, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Her father cleared his throat, but her mother spoke first ''Honey we wanted to come home to discuss something with you''.

'Oh god...' Zara thought to herself, 'They're finally getting a divorce' She lowered herself onto one of the bar stools.

Hayden glanced at his wife then continued for her ''As you have heard on the news, there has been a recent outbreak of a rare virus in China.'' He paused, looking at his daughter expectantly.

''Yeah, I've heard about it, we were told about it at school as well'' Zara nodded slowly.

''Well my company has been working on a new vaccine for the past year in anticipation of an outbreak like this and we have finally come up with one which is completely effective. It hasn't been released by the news to the public yet but there is going to be an announcement in the morning. Mandatory vaccinations are going to take place on Thursday.'' He finished.

Zara frowned ''Why are they mandatory?''

Her father folded his arms ''Because we want to make sure we eradicate the virus. If the whole world population is vaccinated, the virus itself will die out. We are going to vaccinate everyone at the same time, it may have some side effects, nausea and weakness. Our government will be putting a curfew in place, so the people will be in their homes before 7pm and not allowed to leave again until the morning. This is for everyone's safety.''

''Well I guess that's good news then, well done Dad for fixing the problem'' Zara muttered.

Her mother spoke ''Sweetie all your friends will be given their vaccine at school on Thursday, but we would prefer you to stay at home and a doctor will come out to us.''

Zara jumped out of her seat ''That is so not fair! Why do I have to do it differently to all my friends?! I'm not-''

Her father interrupted her ''You will do as you're told, Zara. It's only one day and that's final'' The warning tone in his voice made her not want to argue the matter further.

''Fine'' Zara mumbled, stalking out of the kitchen. She waved a hand in the air as she passed her parents ''Fine.''

The hallways were full of nervous chatter the next day at school. Zara could hear snippets of hushed conversations as she walked down the corridor to first period.

''Apparently, the vaccine makes you REALLY ill''

''My mum says even the homeless are being given the vaccine, no one is allowed to refuse it''

''I bet you'll be ARRESTED if you get caught out after curfew''

Zara shook her head she pushed through the crowded hallway and spotted Zoey up ahead, just walking into Math.

''Hey gorg. Did you hear about these injections? She rolled her eyes ''We're going to miss dance in PE''. Zoey was an amazing dancer; her mum was in the Royal Ballet, so she inherited a passion for it.

''My parents are keeping me home to have the vaccine'' Zoey said quietly. ''Dads company produced it, so he wants to check it's administered properly, I think. It sucks.''

Zoey laughed, ''Well at least you'll get a lie in!'' Zara pulled a grimace back before turning away to find her seat.

The rest of the day was uneventful, although Zara found she could barely concentrate on her lessons. She was so annoyed with her parents, yet again giving the other kids an excuse to whisper behind her back. This also meant losing a day of lessons, her parents didn't care much for her education as they did not care for most things, but Zara was desperate to get into a good University, so her school work mattered. Her dreams of going to Uni as far away from London as possible were getting closer now.

She waved her friends goodbye at the gates before heading home. Her parents were out, she discovered with relief. Marguerite stood over the stove, stirring a big saucepan of chilli, Zara's favourite and smiled as she plated a huge bowl up for her. Zara's parents wouldn't be back for dinner, they wouldn't enjoy such a dinner.

After wolfing down her dinner, Zara spent the rest of the evening catching up on homework and lounging in bed listening to MTV. Her parents arrived home late, and she could hear their hushed arguing in the hallway, a normal occurrence. She heard her the click of her door opening quietly, she pretended to be asleep as she felt her mother peep in before pulling the door closed again. Rolling over, Zara rolled her eyes and let herself fall into a troubled sleep.

The next day, Zara slept until noon. When she finally dragged herself out of bed and pulled a large jumper over her pyjamas, she padded along the long hallway to the top of the stairs. As she walked past her parent's master suite she noticed her mum packing one of her many suitcases. She stopped and walked into the large bedroom. ''Are you going away again?'' she asked quietly.

Her mum looked up startled ''Oh morning sweetheart, just packing a bag just in case I'm needed anywhere. Don't worry, I'll be here for the vaccinations'' She looked flustered. Zara noticed her father's suitcases and briefcase were also neatly packed by the wardrobe.

Zara shrugged her shoulders, leaving her mum to it and headed downstairs for breakfast.

Marguerite had prepared quite a spread. She couldn't speak much English but out of all the housekeepers they'd had, she was definitely the best cook. Zara sat down and piled her plate high with eggs, bacon and toast. She was about to dig in when her father walked in, his suit jacket crumpled like it had been slept in and dark circles formed under his eyes. His hair seemed to be greyer and he looked older, she observed. ''Good morning Zara or should I say afternoon.'' He loosened his tie ''Well it's good you have rested and make sure to have a big breakfast, you need your strength''.

Before Zara had a chance to question why, he grabbed a glass of orange juice and marched into his study, closing the door behind him. She shrugged her shoulders and tucked into her breakfast, pondering her parent's erratic behaviour.

After spending the day pacing the house, Zara couldn't face waiting any longer, so she headed downstairs. She walked into the kitchen, where her parents were both huddled around a laptop. They both jumped as she walked into the room.

''So what time are we being vaccinated? Everyone at school was given theirs at lunchtime. I tried to call Zoey, but I couldn't get through.'' Zara waited patiently for a reply, hands on her hips.

Her mother stood up shakily ''Zara you, well we, won't be having the vaccine''

Zara's mouth dropped open ''Huh? Why not? I thought it was mandatory and I don't want to get sick'' She panicked.

Her father cleared his throat ''Zara there is no virus, there never was''.

Zara backed away from her parents slowly ''i-i-i don't under-st-and''.

Her mother spoke ''Zara it was the world's governments who joined together and instructed your father's company to produce the vaccine. Our planet has been suffering for a long time, humanity has caused all kinds of environmental problems and there are just too many people for it to sustain. The government had to step in and act, for the planet.''

Zara rocked on the spot, her eyes wide ''So what are you saying? What does this vaccine do?'' Not wanting to hear the answer she knew was coming.

''Zara our governments have agreed the best way to maintain the survival of the planet and our race, is to eliminate a percentage of the population in the most humane way as possible. The people who have been given the vaccine, they won't feel a thing, I promise. It'll be like going to sleep''

Zara couldn't believe what she was hearing. ''How could you do this? It's murder! How many people Dad?'' She glared at her father, feeling sick.

''The majority of the population Zara. There are ten thousand people who have not been vaccinated and will survive. They are specialists and skilled people from around the world. They are being relocated as we speak, to-''

''People with money you mean? I know how this society works. They've paid for their ticket to live! So have you... It's so wrong!'' Zara spat.

Her mother's eyes brimmed with tears as she held her hands out to her daughter 'Honey, please. I need you to pack a bag, we are taking a helicopter in half an hour to-''

''I'm going anywhere with either of you.'' Zara's eyes glinted with rage. She ran towards the front door before shouting behind her ''I won't be a part of this'' Just before she slammed the door behind her, she heard her mother's sob.

Authors note

Thankyou again for reading. I hope this clears up a few questions you may have about what's happened to everyone!

The next chapter will go up tomorrow evening, below is a picture I found which matches how I see Zara in my mind!