DanielleCheri
Synopsis
The world is low on resources. People are growing tired of how the world is being run. Everything is being strictly rationed, even electricity.
A young man, Paul, starts to gather followers to his anti-government cause, some ideas more radical that others.
His niece Lucy and her best friend Henry see his faults. They know is just spouting lies. But how can they make others believe when Paul is slandering them to his followers? And can Lucy reveal the truth about The Voice in her head that keeps guiding her in her way?
Excerpt
“Never understood this life
And you’re right, I don’t deserve
But you know I’m not the only one”
The Only One by Evanescence
Prologue
I feel like I’ve been sick forever. I’m hot and then I’m cold. I see my mom’s face floating above me, her eyes soft and kind. She’s such a contrast to me. Her blue eyes shine with unshed tears. Her golden curls are pinned back from her face. She smiles a strained smile as she mops at my feverish forehead.
Days pass and I feel a little better. But the next day I’m bad again, my body burning with the fever. I stumbled to the bathroom in the middle of the night and heard my mother through the wall crying and praying.
Am I going to die? Is Paul? What would happen to Mom if we did?
We’ve got this strain of the flu. A lot of people have been catching it. A lot of people have died from it. They said on the news, when we get the news, that it’s the worst pandemic since the Spanish Flu outbreak of the early 1900s. You know? Like the one that killed Edward’s parents? This one really doesn’t have a name. Some people are calling it Super Flu. Like it’s supposed to be a good thing. Like some magical super hero.
“Super flu will save us!”
Some seem to think this is a good thing, cleansing the world of the useless people. Others are saying it’s the End Times and we’re all going to die. I sure hope not.
They’re rationing everything. Fuel is the most strictly rationed. They told us that if we lived in a city and can get somewhere by walking, then we should keep our cars locked away for emergencies. Or ride bikes, but I never learned how. My dad was going to teach me, but he died before he got around to it.
The power is shut off for hours every few days too. Mom got frustrated at this because they want us to boil our water before we drink it. Our stove is electric, so when they shut off the power, we have no way of boiling any water we need if we run out. When the power comes back on, we fill every pot and pan we have and stock up.
I’m slowly starting to feel better. Mom say is Paul is too. I’m still so weak.
Paul is my uncle. He’s only a few years older than me. His parents, Mom’s parents, had him later in life. He was a bit of a surprise, I guess. He looks a lot like Mom with his blonde hair, blue eyes, and ivory skin.
About the time my dad died, so did my grandparents. Mom was the only family Paul had, so he came to live with us. He’s been more of a brother than an uncle. We fight like cats and dogs.
All that death so close together must have been hard on Mom. I can only imagine what would happen if Paul and I died.
I think I hear Mom coughing in her room. Please, God, not her. We don’t have enough medicine to keep her well. She used it almost all up on us.
