64 Hours

The First Epiphany

~128 hours earlier~ 

"We'd beaten the odds. We'd stared into the face of Death, and Death blinked first. You'd think that would make us feel brave and invincible. But it didn't." - The Fifth Wave, Rick Yancey.

My life changed in a flash.

One word to describe the sudden event is unforeseen. It was one of those normal days of sitting lazily on my couch, flipping through the channels, and occasionally letting my eyes stray to the window. It was raining, as always, and the sound of rain pattering against the glass encouraged my thoughts drown away.

My ten year old niece, Bella, was flopped beside me. Although she had a bowl of burned popcorn on her lap, she was nibbling on her nails absently. Her eyes were directed towards the TV, but even a blind man could sense that she wasn't paying attention.

Beside Bella was my sister Aria. Aria had her arm slung around her daughter's shoulders, but her head was lolled backwards, eyes shut, obviously in a haze of sleep. After twelve hours of work she was bound to be tired, with dark circles under her eyes, commenting her pale face.

It was just us in the house. Ever since Aria got divorced she had no where to stay, so in the meantime she was staying in my apartment. It was barely big enough to fit the three of us, but we compensated by Aria sleeping with Bella in my room, while I managed on the couch. As long as my family felt comfortable, I wouldn't mind spending my nights on the cold floor.

I had a normal life after I went to the military force. A boring life. I just pushed aside everything I learned with the army and sagged onto this pathetic excuse of a life.

But then everything changed.

I was pondering pensively about finding a proper job when my phone rang out a notification alert.

Frowning, I reached to my phone. It was late, and I wasn't expecting to meet anyone. Besides, I didn't have many contacts on my new phone.

I unlocked my phone and tapped on the messages icon. I had one new message from an unknown number. I lost interest immediately, thinking that it was probably a text from a restaurant I ate in, or a shop announcing new offers. I didn't think it was important until my eyes registered the words 'lose' and 'love.'

I knew one thing for sure: promotions and sales offers did not include those words.

I tapped on the message, feeling my heart ache. My eyes flickered over the message.

Unknown —11:59 PM: Do you know how it feels to lose someone you love?

Feeling puzzled, I knitted my eyebrows in confusion, rereading the text. What kind of a question was that? And at 12 AM? Was this a prank message?

Instead of attacking this unknown person with questions, I asked the simplest of them all.

You — 12:00 AM: Who is this?

I glanced at the TV to pass time. Top Gear was playing on the screen. I looked over at Bella, who was now blankly stirring the popcorn in the bowl. Abruptly my phone rang again, and I checked the chat.

Unknown — 12:00 AM: You're so lucky to have your family in a whole. But not for long. How much do you love Bella Cara and Aria Cara, Adam?

I froze. My fingers were centimeteres above the keypad, my jaw already hanging to the floor. How did this unknown know my name, let alone Bella and Aria's? What kind of a warning was this? My eyes swept back down to the screen as another message popped up.