Narrator's pov:
So far, they were having an excellent day. The rest of their family arrived around noon and as soon as everyone was there, they begun to eat their lunch.
The pancakes got eaten quickly in the morning after Lizzy went to see Olivia to tell her to hurry up and get ready. As expected, they were delicious and everybody enjoyed them.
The family was now posing for a picture so that there would be a good souvenir of that special day.
"Smile for the picture!", Emma says.
"CHEESE!", the Smith and San Diego family shout.
The children couldn't stay put since the twin's big birthday present had just been revealed: a trip to the most famous theme park... Disneyland! It was a great occasion for the whole family to go out on a trip all together so the fact of it being gifted to Sam and O was really just an excuse. But it didn't take away the greatness of the present!
When the twin's mother had finished with the pictures all the kids went running back into the house to put their shoes on so that they were ready to go. Their enthusiasm was funny and nice to see, although that's what the parents thought.
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After buying all sorts of Disney souvenirs they came back to the twin's house. The youngest of the children were starting to fall asleep so they got put to bed in a guest room where all the kids were going to sleep as there wasn't enough space in each of Sam's or Olivia's bedroom. As it was getting a little bit late the remaining of the children went to bed too.
"What a great birthday day!", the twins thought. And they fell asleep, nearly simultaneously.
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"Sam..."
"Sam!"
"SAM! Wake up!"
Her brother finally opened his eyes, waking up after she tried over and over again, starting to make her panic.
"It was only a dream" he thought, looking at his sister and realising that she wasn't ten and they weren't in a guest room in their parent's house.
"Well, it's about damn time you woke up!", she says with a worried expression, "You were crying in your sleep... What did you dream of? The Teletubbies?", she asks joking but at the same time concerned about her twin.
And that's when he felt the tears on his cheeks, they were a little bit dry but he had definitely been crying. Was it because of the dream he just had about their childhood before the world was turned into a nuclear dustbin?
He wipes his tears and responds with a small and not very convincing smile:
"Nothing. You don't have to worry about me, I'm fine, really". It must've been the fact that they saw the state of their neighbourhood that triggered the comeback of his memories.
"If you say so...!", O says, not very impressed by his little act but decides to let it pass since she's not dumb and concluded that the day before is one of the causes of his crying.
"Anyway, what do you want to do today?", the brother asks, trying to change the topic of the conversation.
"I don't really know... Maybe, go back to the surface?", she answers with an unsure look and a glimpse of hope.
Her twin looks at her with an uncertain look to see if she's serious and finally asks:
"Are you sure? I mean, with what happened yesterday, do you really think it's a good idea?".
"To be honest, I'm not really sure but I still want to try again!", she says with a determined look.
"Okay... If that's what you want then fine, but first let's have breakfast, I'm starving!", Sam says while getting up.
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As planned, they got ready to leave and packed a backpack each with a flashlight, some food, two bottles of water, a map of what used to be their neighbourhood, a raincoat each and weapons. Now, when I say weapons, I really mean weapons, such as two handguns given to them by their father before they went in the bunker. He was ex-military so he had a few guns with him in the house. All the ammunition the twins needed was already in the bunker so they didn't need to worry about running out of it.
Unfortunately, they didn't know how to use them properly, they only ever saw their dad demonstrate but never got to try. They also had baseball bats in case they didn't want use the guns.
While they were emerging from the bunker, they got blindsided again but this time by the sun that was right in front of them. Obviously, the day had just begun and what was presented before their eyes made them speechless. The sky was a mix of pink, orange and yellow. Those very fairylike colours in combination with the clouds made them look like cotton candy coming straight from the machines in the theme parks. You would think you're in a fairy tale, in a world filled with magic and fairies as well as all sorts of other creatures. The ruins reminded them of an abandoned village or castle in a land far, far away. The view was just amazing. Sam and O were both wondering how something so beautiful still existed in this now destroyed planet, filled with nothing but ruins and destruction.
"What a beautiful sunrise! I wish mom could see it...", Olivia says, thinking out loud.
Their mother was a photographer and a big fan of landscapes and the sky. She passed on her passion to her daughter who became as passionate as her. They had a room dedicated to their material and work. Every day, whenever the twins came back from school, Emma would be outside taking pictures and surely O would join her even though she had homework to do.
Such beautiful memories...
They had so much fun when the four of them (the twins and their parents) went landscape hunting. It was usually every Saturday and during their holidays. They would walk in the woods, along a river or the seaside.
"I miss them so much...", the sister says, trying not to cry.
"Yeah, me too...", her brother responds his voice shaking a little.
They both looked at each other seeking for comfort in the other one's eyes. Unfortunately, they were both as sad as the other so the only comfort they found was having each other.
Sam continued his way out of the bunker helping his sister going up the ladder once he was on the ground. They walked on the side of the road heading inside their town. As they were moving forward, they were looking around, all senses alert. There wasn't a single sign of life. All they could see were debris left from the bombs. There weren't any trees nor grass.
There was truly nothing...
The twins were beginning to lose hope of finding anything interesting when they arrived near the inner-city. But, against all expectations, as they went pass what was once a grocery store according to the map, they saw a tiny patch of grass, yellowish and straw-like, but its roots were turning back to green.
Surprised by that sudden sign of life, their hope of there being anything left alive came back. So, they continued their "hunt" of life in their demolished planet.
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And here's chapter 2! I'm so excited to read your comments and what you think about this..!
I really hope you enjoyed it...
Have a nice day (or night)! <3
YOU ARE READING
The Survivors
General Fiction"We're alone in this world O, there's nothing we can do about that..." "And what if you're not?"
