Malignant [h.s]

Forty One

FLASHBACK

I open my eyes to a decrepit bang coming from the other room. My heart instantly starts to race and my brain becomes red alert. I'm not sure what time it is since the power has been out for a week now but I can see between my boarded windows that it's dark out.

My body shoots out of bed and slowly tiptoe across my small room, grabbing the baseball bat against the wall. Is someone breaking in?

I open my bedroom door very slowly, making sure I can scan every area of the hallway before I step into it. I hear the same noise and it makes my stomach drop another notch; it's coming from Adrian's room.

I creep down the small hallway in my bare feet towards Adrian's closed door. My heart beats so aggressively against my chest like it's trying to break out. I reach his door and quietly wrap my clammy hand on the handle, cautiously opening it and looking into his dark bedroom.

Before my eyes is Adrian, ripping off the boards of his windows as quietly as possible. I suddenly go from terrified to confused in a matter of seconds by looking at him strip the window down to it's original state.

"Adrian?" I put the bat down to my side.

He quickly turns his head back at me with wide eyes and a piece of wood in his fingertips.

"Amelia what are you doing awake?" He whispers eagerly while quietly leaning the wood against the wall with the others.

"I heard a noise. What are you doing? We are suppose to keep those on there for protection." I mumble, still confused by his actions.

"We need food, so I'm going to go get some." He bluntly whispers while prying off the last piece of wood.

"No! Are you crazy?" I shout but he instantly turns around.

"Shh! Don't wake mom and dad. We will starve like this Amelia. Mom and dad weren't going to let me go so I'll have to do it without them knowing." He argues while placing the last board on the floor.

"Adrian you will get killed out there. For once mom and dad are right, you can't go out there. The Johnson's next door owned their soup company and they have a huge supply that they will share with us." I say while getting worked up. He can't go, I can't let him go.

"We can't just live off of them for ever, they need to survive too." He says while cracking open the window as quietly as he can- hoping not to wake out parents up. He opens the window enough that he can fit through.

"Adrian you step out that window and I'm yelling for dad." I say in plead as he crouched down to tie up his ugly old green sneakers.

"I'm going to be fine okay. The grocery store is only a few blocks away. I haven't even seen anyone walk down the street tonight. I will grab just a few things, enough stuff to last us the next couple days at least." He says as the cold October night air breezes through the window. He grabs the grey backpack off of the ground and puts it on his back. His black hoodie gets brought up on his head to disguise him more.

"But what if you run into one of them? Just please wait till morning at least, it's too dangerous and you know it." I throw the bat on his bed as my palms sweat immensely and tears start to brim my eyes.