The Abnormal

Chapter Thirty Two

I walk outside and my mother is waiting for me, "We suspected that not everything was how it seemed so we built an underground bunker in case The Capital tried something. It has some weapons we managed to make and steal from when soldiers came, the bunker is behind the factory so why don't you get John and meet us there?" She walks off in the direction of the factory and I go back into the house to see John walking around, "Jamila! Where were you? I thought you had left me behind!" He looked really worried but also like he didn't remember anything that he said, "Oh my mum was telling me to meet them in a secret bunker behind the factory. Also, do you remember anything that you said earlier? Or is it just blurry?" He thinks for a moment and then says with a laugh, "Yeah I told you all about my weird dream about being a dog right? I'm so sorry!"

"I meant about how you told me about the girl you want to marry and then said that you love me". I keep my head down during all of this because I feel a bit embarrassed, "What did you mean by that? Like a sister or....?" I bring up my head to look at him and he's staring right at me. He looks a bit shocked at my question, he swallows and says, "I meant that I'm in love with you Jamila. You're the girl, you always have been. I've loved you since the first day I saw you. Your brown hair was wavy and glowed in the sunlight, your skin was so tanned it almost looked brown which is why I was so surprised to see your eyes, oh your eyes! Electric blue! My favourite thing about your appearance is your eyes. Most of the time they are electric blue but sometimes in the sun, they look a bit green. When you are excited they sparkle and you can tell when you're angry because they look like the sky when there's a thunderstorm. So no. Not like a sister. I love you Jamila". And then he had the audacity to walk away! I just stand in the room for a few minutes trying to absorb the information that had just been given to me. Once I had processed it I walked out to the factory. I couldn't see anything when I first got there but upon further inspection, I saw a small wooden trap door behind the factory; when I pulled it open I saw a staircase. At the bottom of the stairs, John was waiting for the lift to come. When it came we got in, in silence, and rode to the bottom. When the lift got to the bottom I was surprised once again, this wasn't just some simple bunker, it had a sleeping area, bathrooms, a bulletproof door and a weapons rack. They had obviously been planning this for a long time, they had protective clothing, all sorts of guns, grenades, bombs and other materials that could be useful for fighting against Jack. I use the bathroom to clean myself because I'm still covered in blood and dirt, my mother gave me some protective clothes in my size and I am relieved that they fit perfectly. John is still avoiding me and I am feeling a bit weird, everytime I look at him, I feel a strange sensation in my stomach and I feel a bit lightheaded so I decide to ask my dad what might be the problem because he also knows a lot about medicine. "Dad? If someone started feeling like their stomach had just flipped over and were really lightheaded every time they were around certain people, what would be wrong with them? Could it be anxiety or is it normal?" My father looks at me like I have just asked the most simple question in the world. He says with a laugh, "They would be in love Jamila! Or they could have food poisoning but are most likely in love. Give me a harder one next time, eh?" He walks off laughing and leaving me more confused than before.

"Okay, I know that everyone is wondering what is going to happen so let me tell you. A man called Jack has been training the children that get taken by The Capital. They are now ruthless killers who have been taught what the fastest way to destroy this town is. The children have also been brainwashed, they believe that they are getting revenge on their parents because their parents abandoned them and are the reason they have scars and injuries. They are tortured and tested on and then brainwashed again into thinking it was all done by their parents. They will want to kill you. The serum didn't work on me which is why I was able to figure out what they were doing. I was then able to create the antidote to the serum which I accidentally used on John so now he remembers too. I turned the antidote into a gas form so that we can spray it over the kids and then they will remember and will not try and attack us anymore. If that doesn't work though we are going to have to fight them. If you would all like to not fight your children then we could have only the children of the town fight to make it a more even playing field. Does anyone have any other ideas they think we could use to stop the children from taking over our town?" The whole room is silent for a while until one woman stands up, I recognise her as the woman who is well known for making weird scientific serums without the government finding out which is strange because she is very famous within the town. "I have been trying to develop an anti-ageing serum for people's skin but it has not been working, instead I am left with what used to be a puppy and is now a dog. It makes things get older by at least ten years, sometimes more! We could use it to make it........ Easier?" She looks like she is about to throw up after saying the last sentence but I nod my head and say that it is a good idea. She goes off to work on it and the rest of us start preparing for the worst-case scenario. Little did we know it would be so much worse than we could ever anticipate...