Before The Darkest Hour

Two

Maggie

"What the fuck are you doing?"

I turn, the high pitched voice of Jezebel breaking any sense of calm that I had mustered while my head was stuck in the freezer.

"Nothing, just looking for something to eat."

I open the freezer door wide again, this time actually searching for something to cook up. We're out of pretty much everything, of course. Frozen broccoli it is.

"Hey, girls, we're out of chips! Anyone want steamed broccoli?" I shout, my voice echoing through the kitchen. Jezebel pays me no mind as she opens one of the cabinets and pulls out a rice cake.

"Yes!" Lyra shouts from the living room.

The people have spoken, and broccoli it is. I pop the bag into the microwave and lean against the counter, my eyes narrowing as they land on Jezebel. She's texting and eating at the same time, crumbs from her cake falling to the floor.

"I can't believe I got stuck in this shithole. I should be at the Delta house right now, living it up with the other girls. Can you believe they're having a party right now?"

I roll my eyes. "No, Jezebel, I so can't believe it. Why don't you go join them?" I ask, my voice mockingly high pitched.

Jezebel snorts. "I would if I didn't think I'd get thrown in jail. They've got police on the streets now. Mark got taken in last night."

My back straightens. "Really?"

Jezebel nods, smiling now that she had something to gossip about. "He live-streamed it on Instagram last night. They cuffed him and everything."

A tingle creeps up my spine. This was all too much, all too quickly.

The microwave beeps, and I jump at the noise. Maybe I'm not handling this situation as well as I had thought.

I plate the food and scoot past Jezebel, carrying five entrees as well as any waitress would at a five-star restaurant.

"Food is ready!"

The girls all turn their heads to me, and Evelyn claps her hands.

"It's hot," I say, passing the plates out to each girl.

Jezebel moves through the living room as she exits the kitchen and heads down the hallway to the only bathroom.

"Hey, don't be in there forever! There are five other girls who live here, you know," Evelyn shouts over her shoulder.

Jezebel doesn't reply, just continues to saunter away, her pencil skirt swishing against her thighs.

I collapse back down onto the couch between Evelyn and Lyra. The news anchor returns to the screen, this time wearing an even more distressing expression.

"God, can't we change this to something else? I'm sick of hearing about the same stuff, over and over," I complain.

"No, wait," Evelyn says, leaning forward and turning up the volume even louder. "Something's happening."

I turn back to the screen, waiting for the new information to unfold with butterflies in my stomach.

"Reports coming out of Detroit and now Columbus, Ohio claim that people are getting attacked inside of their homes. Please, everyone, stay inside. This seems to be some sort of terrorist attack, and the accused are said to have superhuman strength. Frank, am I hearing this right? This can't be right-"