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JUNE 1957
Jane could feel her legs begin to give out as she ran, the busy streets of late 1950's New York whizzed past her as she struggled to dodge the pedestrians crowding the street. Her father was just a boy when he enlisted in the military in 1941 and a man when he was called back to fight in 1955 and because of this, Jane never got the chance to meet her real father. Her mother had told her the most amazing stories about the stranger overseas but Jane couldn't bring herself to see him as all of those wonderful things. Ever since his honorable discharge in 1956 just a year after being deployed he almost always had a bottle of juice by his side. In her mind, Jane would often refer to him as a 'juice head' but stopped knowing the consequences that might come with it.
Jane raced her way to her grandfather's auto shop hoping she'd get there before her father got to her. Her vision became fuzzier as she neared the street corner and she stopped for a second to catch her breath. Her mother was dead. Murdered. Jane prayed to God that her father hadn't gotten Yvonne too. Without a second thought, Jane turned the corner. Time slowed as her body collided with a woman in what looked like a black dress. Jane fell back and hit the ground. No one seemed to notice the young girl disappear because the streets continued their loud busy ways.
She hadn't seen him do it. But she knew he had something to do with her mother lying dead on the kitchen floor. Where they had shared so many special memories together.
When she awoke her throat felt as if it were on fire, her eyes were heavy but sudden darkness over her caused her eyes to snap open. When they adjusted to the dark she could make out a boy of her age standing over her. She only looked away from him to cough as dust seemed to fill her lungs. It felt like someone had shoved a cotton sweater up her nose.
"Who are you?" He looked about as shocked as she was. She stopped for a second taking in the fact that there was no noise. No yelling, no car horns, nothing. That frightened her.
"I'm Five. Five Hargreeves." He extends his hand and she gratefully takes it. She sits up to take in her surroundings, or lack thereof. There was nothing. They knew at that moment they would have to stick together if they wanted to survive this wasteland, a promise they would keep and improve on during their many, many years together.
"Jane Clark."
MARCH 24, 2019
"We survived on scraps. Canned food, cockroaches, anything we could find. You know that rumor that Twinkies have an endless shelf life? Well, it's total bullshit." To be fair, Jane told him that it probably wasn't the best idea. She was still surprised that Twinkies were still a thing. They were a thing even before she was born.
"I can't even imagine." Jane could understand what Vanya was going through. A long time ago, she would never be able to wrap her head around what's happened to her now. Five wasn't as understanding. He was stressed and agitated.
