After everyone saw the man on stage take the vial, and once they were sure that he wasn't dead, half of them decided that this serum was exactly what they needed. They brought the wounded up to the hospital where the serum was being produced and handed out, and they took some themselves as a safety precaution. But my family and I stayed behind, not daring to trust the president.
But, Dad was hurt. He had been out caring for the wounded when a bomb struck, and his leg was blown off. He tied it in a tourniquet, but we knew he was losing to much blood to live any longer.
This was when the soldiers came in and started firing. Dad was weak, and was shot before he could even get off the couch. Mom tried to run, but only made it to the hallway. Jonah and I wee hiding on the staircase when they came in, because we had seen them come through the upstairs window. But we weren't given enough time to warn our parents.
We fled out the back door, running to the woods just behind our house and hiding in the bushes. We saw them leave, walking like robots, showing no emotion. But I suppose when your body is forced to hand over control to someone else like theirs had been forced to, there is no longer any need for emotion.
As soon as they left, we returned to find our parents and beloved dog Lenny dead. Glass shattered, memories broken, and lives changed. Jonah and I were at first unsure of what to do, but soon it became clear that we needed to move, and we needed to move fast. We collected everything and fled our home to Manhattan, since we lived just outside of the city.
It was empty. No one was there.
Well, I suppose that isn't really true. That preppy McDonald's lady? She was there, but she was dead. That rude librarian? She was here too, dead in the stacks of books.
That teacher that you hated because they always picked on you? He was dead too, with a broken coffee mug in his hand and blood on his new white shirt.
They were all there, but dead.
I even found Dina, the merciless bully from school. She was in the park, and when she was shot, she fell into the river, along with what looked like her Chihuahua. I found them because her dog's sparkling diamond collar caught my eye. I hated Dina, but I never wanted her dead.
Jonah also found a lot of his friends from school dead too. He broke down into sobs, and there were many nights when he cried himself to sleep. But as much as I wanted to cry as well, I couldn't. I had to stay strong and show him that everything would be alright.
But I couldn't tell him that, because I was never one for lies. I had no proof that everything would be okay, and I had no reason to believe that everything would be okay. Every night I would pray to God for help, and I did occasionally get some, but nothing was magically fixed like I wanted it to.
I stopped grieving and started to look for ways to keep us alive. I was a good shot- I could kill animals for food, but we were in Manhattan at the moment, so there was none to practice on.
So instead I focused on raiding the shops, taking the food we needed, and taking the things we might need in the future. I wanted to be prepared for the day when we would have to leave the cit unexpectedly.
That day has yet to come, but I have a feeling deep down that it is coming soon.