Hidden Files

Minors (One)

Charlie

I woke up, surprised that my alarm didn't go off. Then I remembered that it is Saturday.

I roll out of bed, and head to the kitchen. Nothing like waffles to fill my aching stomach on a weekend.

"Mom?" I call out, surprised she isn't up yet. She always makes breakfast for Frank.

I start to get worried. He better not have done something to her. I rush over to their room, but no one is there. I call her phone, but the dial tone rings immeadietly. I don't have service. That's strange.

Unsure of what to do next, I walk over to my neighbor's house to see if she is home. Maggie is a sweet old woman, she always gave me strawberries when my mom and stepdad fought.

Maggie didn't answer. Then I went two doors down, where a girl from school lived. I don't know her name, but she's always bringing cookies around. My mom loves her.

"H-hello?" She asks, stuttering.

"Hi, I'm Charlie, I live two doors down. I came because my mom and stepdad are gone, same with Maggie. Have you seen them?" I respond.

"No, I haven't. I can't find my parents either. My little brother and I are the only ones home," she says, sighing, "I'm Alex, by the way."

"Should we go around, door to door?" I ask.

"That's a good idea. Let me get Tyler first."

Alex disappears, leaving the door wide open. She comes back a minute late with a three year old boy in her arms.

"Where's mommy and daddy?" Tyler asks.

"They went out," Alex replies, smiling weakly.

Alex shuts the door behind her, and leads the way. Like said, we went from door to door. Next to Alex's house was a young couple, but we only found the infant.

"That's weird, who would leave a baby all by itself?" She asks, setting Tyler down so she could pick it up. Wooden letters on the wall told me her name was Brianna.

"Alex, uppie!" Tyler cries, stretching his hands up to her.

"I have to carry the baby," she replies, patting his head.

"Want me to carry you?" I offer.

Tyler tilts his head at me for a second, but nods and raises his hands to me. I pick him up, and I'm glad for it. Alex is better off carrying the lighter kid.

The next house we visited consists of an older couple, but both were gone.

Eventually, we made it through the entire neighborhood, but all we found were kids.

"All the adults are gone. We can't take care of all these kids," Alex says, sounding exasperated. She is carrying Brianna and holding a little girl name Ashley's hand while I'm carrying Tyler and his friend Marco.

"Should we take them somewhere?" I suggest. My arms are starting to hurt.

"We have to. And we need to find everyone else from school. There are other little kids in the city."

Fortunately, Alex's mom works at the school, so she was able to steal her key. We used their wagon to pull some of the kids there.

"We have to get into contact with others," Alex says, opening the front door.

"There's no cell reception," I tell her.

"We could take a map and go neighborhood to neighborhood, recruiting people to help."

I have to hand it to her. For such a peculiar situation, Alex was doing incredibly well. If she wasn't here, I probably would be at home, eatting food, and not caring.

A map of the city was posted outside the office. Alex, not wanting it to be damaged, insisted on making a copy of it instead of using the original. I'm surprised the electricity is working.

While we planned our attempt, the oldest kid we found, Cally, was told to keep the kids busy. She is only thirteen, but she was still old enough to watch even the infant.

Checking my watch, it's only ten in the morning. Alex and I decided to go back and get our bikes so we didn't have to walk everywhere.

As Alex propped the door open, in case anyone else came, one kid spoke up. "I'm hungry."

Our faces went pale. We need to get food first.

"Alright, new plan. Take all the perishable foods first, then some non perishables. We can always come back for more later," she says. I guess Alex is unofficially in charge.

We both jog/ran back to our houses. I went into mine while she went to hers. I pull my school backpack out of my closet to fill with food.

My mom usually kept bananas around, so I grab those, along with water bottles, juice boxes, cheese sticks, lunch meat, and bread. Maybe we can eat sandwiches for lunch.

Finding my backpack to be full, I take my bike out of the garage. Alex is waiting at the end of her driveway.

"Why didn't we just drive?" I ask, "we're already seventeen."

"What happens when we run out of gas?" That shut me up.

We arrive back to the school, dropping our bikes by the door. Someone else was here, in the gym.

Three boys had joined the group. I recognize one as a senior, like Alex and me, and the other two as his younger siblings.

"Josh?" I ask, walking over to him. He was holding Brianna, letting her drink out of a juice box.

"Charlie? Alex? Thank God you guys are here," he says, grinning.

"All the adults are missing," Alex replies, "we brought the kids here. Can you help us?"

"Sure. What can I do?"

"First of all, we need to find more people. Charlie and I have a map of the city, along with different routes to make finding them easier. Also, we should always have an older person here to watch the kids. And, we need to stock up on food." It's as if this was a normal thing for her.

"I can get people with Charlie, if you want."

"Sounds good. I can manage children. My bike is in front."

Next thing I know, Alex is giving me the map, and Josh and I are getting on the bikes, going off to get more people.