uninvited

chapter one

unshed

      The end of the world.  Who hasn't wondered how it will all end?  Books.  Movies.  Blockbusters that show us how it could be.  There are many guesses.  Who hasn't wondered about it from time to time?

      Angels of the apocalypse carrying out the wrath of God?  Zombies?  There is much speculation among us. 

      Will we go the same way the dinosaurs did?  Will it be an earthquake that sends us all to the bottom of the sea?  Nasty little aliens that want what we have?

      Some worry about our own sun taking us out.  Could the animals around us turn on us?  That would be messy.

      If you would have asked her a week ago, she would have said that we'd probably end ourselves.  War.  Nuclear weapons.  Who hasn't seen that coming for years?

      Nothing lasts forever.  We know that.  We just didn't know how or when.

       We knew it would happen one day but the thing about us, we never thought it would happen to us.  It was supposed to happen one day.  Another day.  To somebody else.

      No matter what tried to snuff us out, we thought we could handle it.  We're fighters.  Give us something to fight.  Hell, most of us walk around looking for something to fight. 

      She'd kill for something to fight right now. 

       "Jess, it's starting to rain.  We should go in now."

       She couldn't answer.  She was too pissed off.

       There were three graves in front of her.  The dirt, fresh and dark.  They had no flowers to toss, so instead, they left keepsakes and cherished objects laying in the fresh dirt.

      An army of green, plastic soldiers laid in the center of her brother's.

      He hadn't played with them in years.  He'd been too old for that, but they had meant something to him.  He never said why but she knew.  Those toy soldiers were like her pocket watch.  All they had left of the man who walked out on them.

      Now there, was somebody she'd like to get her hands on.  The bastard.  His son laid here in a grave and he'd never even know it.

      Wrong or not, she hoped he was in his own grave by now.  He probably was.  The news last night had reported that almost half of us were gone now.  Half of the world.  In less than a month.

      How was that possible?  Do you know how many graves that equaled?

      She didn't mind the rain that was coming down.  She wasn't able to shed any tears but why shouldn't the heavens?                       

      It was the end of the world, after all.

      Her brother, her cousin Michael, and Julian's dad laid here but they would only be the first.

      Inside Julian's mom was doing bad.  She wouldn't be able to hang on for much longer.  Her uncle Chad was sick now too.

      A fucking virus.

       There was nothing they could do but sit around and watch everyone around them die.  It fucking sucked. 

       She bent down and snatched up one of the soldiers.

       Danny hadn't been like normal thirteen-year-old boys.  Quiet.  Sad.  That's what happens when your father, your idol runs out on you.  But he was only that way when Michael wasn't around.  That little shit hadn't just been Danny's cousin, they'd been best friends.  Michael had brought the boy out in Danny.  Got him into trouble every chance he got.