35th Piece

This is the third post to the first NEW IDEA.

I turned away from my parents and decided to try to look for a way outside. I was never the kind of person to wait and have someone do something first. I was the leader, not the follower. I walked around the cave with my right hand pressed against the wall. It was smooth except for the occasional crack that usually had the width of my hand and was the length of me or higher. It was dead silent in the cave; the only sound was my breathing. After what felt like hours, but might have been only thirty minutes, I came across a sliver of light. I just stared at it for a couple minutes trying to figure out if I was imagining it or not. Tiny bits of dust circled around. They seemed happy to perform the spirals and jumps for their new guest. I decided that it was real and move bodies out of the way with my shoe to get closer to the light. It was a hole in the wall that was covered by a wooden plank. The wood was leaning on its side letting that sliver of light get through. I try to move the makeshift door but it wouldn't budge. I put my eye up to the crack and looked outside. Crap. There was a huge drop off about thirty feet away from our “safe” house. If I listened closely I could hear the sound of waves breaking against a shore. The strange thing about that was we lived about 190 miles away from the beach. There were rocks everywhere ranging in size from a pebble to huge boulders. I try the door again and after running into it a couple times it moved an inch, then two then three. I moved bodies and cans out of the way to make a path. When I backed up about twenty feet it looked like a runway. I rammed my shoulder into the door and it opened enough for me to squeeze through. Freedom.

34th Piece

This is the second post to the first NEW IDEA.

My family and I were on our way to a cave with a bunch of other families. The television had told us that meteorites were heading towards Earth. One of them was about the size of Texas. My mother had been brushing my hair for a party that was happening later in the afternoon, when it said that we should go to the caves that had been built for a situation like this. They said something about the sixth mass extinction. It was supposed to be humans as a whole and global warming that killed us slowly not a meteorite like the dinosaurs. My mom’s hand stopped mid stroke and I heard her gasp softly. She told me to pack a backpack with food and that she was going to talk to Dad.  I just shrugged and went to the kitchen. I didn't realize what a big deal it was at the time. Call me stupid but I trusted my mom and dad to take care of me. After I was finished I walked out and saw my family with backpacks like mine.  I was about to ask if we were going to the party early until I saw my mom’s face. The fear in her usually calm eyes made me nervous. My dad put his hand around my arm and said that it was time to go. I didn't find out where I was going until the cave came into view. When we got in I found out that it was big enough to fit a few trucks! Almost everyone in my neighborhood was there. We just sat there waiting for the Hit.  My mom and dad had their arms around me and each other. After about two hours we heard a boom which was followed closely by a whizzing sound, the first of many. That’s when the memory stops. I let out a breath that I didn't realize I was holding. Everyone was gone. I let out a shorter breath. I’m all alone. I start to hyperventilate but the thoughts keep coming. I don’t have a family. No mom or dad. Black spots start to cloud my vision. No best friend or any friends at all. I stumble past the bodies that I now recognize as my neighbors, friends, and stop beside my mom and dad. I drop to the ground scraping my hands and knees and reopening cuts I didn't know I had. My dad’s body was flung across my mom’s and there was an open space that must have been where I was passed out. His usual dark brown hair had a layer of dirt on it turning it a lighter shade. His green shirt was covered in dirt and blood that was probably his, but might be my mom’s, or even mine. I reached out to touch the soft fabric. It reminded me of when I was about to go to bed and he would hug me good night. I look at my parents together and whisper “I love you guys.” 

33rd Piece

This is the first post to the first NEW IDEA. Which means there will be more!

I survived. That was my first thought. If you don’t count OW! Then it was my second thought. But what did I survive from? All I remembered was my name. Ayira, it means chosen. Chosen for what, I don’t know.  I did a mental checklist to see what condition my body was in. Everything seemed to be all right except for my left arm. It was bending the wrong way and had a purple coloring to it. It must have been like that for a while though, because it no longer hurt. I looked around and saw that I was sitting in a huge puddle of blood. Like any sane person I screamed my head off and stood up struggling to wipe off the red ooze that covered my body. My vision blurred and I stumbled over bodies and, me being my graceful self, tripped. Once I woke up again I was face to face with my mom. “Mom?” I whispered. She didn't answer and just stared into my eyes. There was a red streak across her forehead. I looked at it confused. How did it get there? My mother was always pristine and would never let such a thing happen. I stared at it for about ten minutes until I realized that she hadn't blinked at all. “Mom?” I asked weakly, trying to raise my right arm to wave in front of her face. “Mom?” I asked again a little louder. She didn't reply, just looked at me with empty eyes. I bolt up into a sitting position only stopping for a couple seconds to hold my head which was throbbing in disagreement at the sudden movement. I leaned over my mother and shook her shoulder with my good hand, first softly but harder and harder after she didn't respond. “Mom!” I was screaming then, tears had been making their way down my muddy and blood splattered cheeks. I gave up after my screaming turned to choking and gagging and let her body slump to the ground. I turned around and put my back against a cool hard surface and took in the scene. The things that I noticed first were all of the bodies. Once I got over that I saw a pile of backpacks and cans that used to hold food scattered across the room. My stomach growled angrily at me. I wanted to snarl back at it but then I would have looked crazy. I see a can near me and make a reach for it. I lifted up my right arm and held it out wiggling my fingers. I was still a couple inches short. I sighed loudly and bent over so that I was almost lying on my side but still sitting. My fingers skimmed the edge of the plastic container. I grunt and shuffled my body closer. I grabbed the can and sat back up with a smile on my face that screamed pride in my accomplishment. I ripped off the top with my teeth and looked inside excitedly. Mush. I made a huge effort, for a can of mush. I groaned and looked at the label. Might as well know what kind of mush it is. It was peas. I could now see the green tint to it. I looked at it with revulsion. I hate peas. Hunger won in the end, however, and I ate those smashed peas. When I was finished my stomach had stopped making so much noise and I was searching the room for something that would jolt my memory. It was dark which meant that there were either no lights or they had been broken from The Hit. The Hit. It all came back to me.