Dark Wave

Prologue

The Outburst

"Come on, we have to move!" The voice was heavily female and full of guilt, and barely penetrating the noise filling the room. The crash of a glass vase hitting the floor that followed snapped a nerve. "Everybody, stop! Now!" A dozen eyes focused on her face, and she went lax, her mouth opened then closed again, everything went out of her head.

"Okay, okay, everyone, we need to focus. If we run around we'll hurt ourselves and be in danger of getting caught. We need to calm down." She waited, watching the rise and fall of their chests, until a young man spoke.

"What do we do now, then?" He spoke with the courage of a thousand lions, and yet he was only 15. Her heart broke a bit.

"We need to get out of here, quietly and quickly. We need to split ourselves into small groups of say three or four and head separate ways. Can you put your hand up if you have a phone in here?" Five hands shot up, and she clutched the phone she had in her left jeans pocket.

"Okay, I suppose that's good enough. We need three groups of three and one group of four which I will be leading, please make sure you have someone in your group with a phone. Yes, I have one." She added when she received a concerned glance.

Moments later the four groups were formed; the woman who spoke stood at the front of a group along with the 15 year old, a mother and her child.

I sat with my arms wrapped around my legs and my head resting on my knee, my back against the sharply coloured, yellow pantry walls. The gun lay on the ground next to me.

"Hey you." His voice cut my silence, I know his voice. I turned my head to look up at him, tears stained my face where they had run from my bright green, pleading eyes.

"I don't want to go without you, daddy." My voice a whimper, glazed with the need of a young daughter. I was 15, and they pulled us apart.

"Libby." He said it with a strong voice, masking his fear. "It's going to be okay, we're only going to be apart until we get to the stronghold, that's where mummy is, and that's where you'll wait for me. OK?" I looked into his eyes, the same green as mine, weary with tiredness and filled with fear. My lip quivered.

"It's not fair!" I wailed as I launched myself into his strong shoulders, his hard skin beneath the soft, dark green cotton. He put his hand on my back, and the other in my hair, stroking it, making soothing noises. Until the monster came.

"Mr Patrick, your cart is here now. It's time to go."

"Libby--"

"No!" My voice cutting the air, "No, you can't go! Daddy, please tell them, tell them you can't." I looked into his eyes, the trickle of a tear threatening to fall, "Daddy? Tell them." My voice broke.

"Goodbye Libby, I'll see you soon." He said as he brushed his arms out of my hair and shot me a short smile as he walked away, my heart crumbled. Then the slow motion started, my vision blurring as I started up after him, screaming his name. Screaming daddy. Daddy, don't go. The arms around me holding me back, stopping me, hurting me. I screamed again, trying to get loose.

Daddy didn't look back.