in her footsteps

Chapter One: Nina

I feel the hot sun beating down on my face, the sweat coming down my forehead. I could tell my exact location based on the shrubs; I've walked up and down this road so much. I know it better than the alphabet, half a mile away from the well. I can almost feel the disease entering my body, every step feeling like my last. Yep, It was one of those days the more I think about it the more it seems like a joke. We walk all this way to get water to where we need to drink the water in order to keep ourselves from getting dehydrated.

"Hey, Nina hold up!" Chase yells.

"You scared me," I said.

"Well, whats life without a bit of excitement?" Chase smirked. I could tell that he was drinking a bit.

"This place," I responded.

"Well," he said like he completely scripted out our conversation "you know its Avia's birthday coming up soon." He already knew what I was going to say so he continued "C'mon Nina, Avia would be so disappointed if you weren't there."

"Chase, does drinking until your blue in the face ever get old?" I asked. I knew somehow I was going to get dragged into this thing anyways but its fun to mess with Chase.

"What makes you think Avia doesn't want a classy dinner party?" Chase admits. "Ok fine, but it's not like we have much else to do here Nina, I mean we aren't all born with perfect pitch"

"And how else am I suppose to keep my pitch perfect if I drink as much as you do?"

Chase gets defensive, "I know my limits alright."

"Ring!" That sound led eternal silence. You could feel the vibration from the bell hit you; you could see the desert sand rise and fall again. Every time anyone tries to forget, it's there to remind us of our condition, our life, or at least what we have left of it.

"It was probably me," Chase blurted finally. "I mean the ring, my mom isn't doing so well. Jai is there with her right now. They say Merica has got her bad, and that she won't make it to the end of the year"

"Are you okay?" I try to be endearing.

"No one can say that they are not used to it, family, friends, neighbors it seems like they are all just dying left and right," Chase said. "Mercia will get the better of all of us. Within the next 10 years we will all be gone, too. And that stupid bell will be the only left , reminding us whose dead and when " This quick errand feels like a medieval torture device, with every step comes more awkwardness and depression.

"Chase!" Jai screams finally breaking the silence between us. We turn around and see Jai running to catch up to us. "Is it her?" Chase asks, even though he already knew the answer. "It was heroine that killed her. I left for one second to go to the bathroom and next thing you know she's dead." I can tell he was blaming himself for this, and Chase got the same message.

"Well," Chase began, "We knew it was going to happen. It was always just you and me, and now it's really just you and me."

Then, before my brain could even comprehend I was on the floor. I had my an okay hold on my consciousness, but my balance was non-existent. " Whoa Nina, Nina," Jai broke my fall, and within a minute he began carrying me to the hospital bridal style. Chase began asking me questions, but it was all just gibberish to me. My brain was going a million miles an hour, but still just not even comprehending the concept of breathing. I could feel myself mentally getting ready for it, I could feel my hands loosing feeling. I could feel my eyes getting heavier and heavier, and I could see myself falling asleep.

I could hear us entering the hospital, but I knew I was too late. We would have to wait in line for a doctor. It can take up to an hour. I could feel myself loosing feeling, loosing hope, loosing care and finally I gave in.

I woke up in a hospital bed with a million things wrapped around me. A few minutes later Dr. Page leaves my room. That explains it, Avia's dad always takes his friends and family before anyone else. The twins come in. "Well...?" Jai asks.

"He says I was really close, it targeted my lungs, and I am going to be one of the next 50 to die." I could tell that they wanted to say something, but just didn't know how. "It's okay, I mean we all know it was going to happen." I continued. After that there was a silence.

"The bell rang 3 times while you were asleep! We kept freaking out!" Chase worried. "We were rushing to the list, and guess how many died today, 20." 20 people! Thats a lot!

"So whose left?" I asked.

Jai said, "1051 people left in the city." I get up from my hospital bed trying to walk around

"Is your mom on the list of the dead yet?" I ask

"Yep, she was within the hour she died," Chase said. I began to walk around and regain my balance slowly. He was still hurt by the news.

As we left the hospital it started to rain. It wasn't a lot, but it did offer a nice change from the dry desert heat.

Again, their was silence. It almost seems like the days are rolling together into one. We are all into our own thoughts when June walked by. She is about 60 now, and one of the oldest in Dry Valley. You can see her coming from 20 feet away in the evenings, her etire always surprises.

"Hey little men and woman," she said. She was wearing an 80's prom dress and she was definitely drinking. "Why are you all so serious? Guess what I just thought of? So you know how there is like a big wall up now. Well back when it wasn't up, when I was a showgirl in Vegas we used to pay this game called for... free for 100 or for 1000 and... we would get so into it that we would have to actually do the thing ..because why not? We are only young once right." I uderstood more of what she said today than I did yesterday. Then she walks away.

"On that drunken choppy note, we should probably head home," said Chase.

He began walking away. I think it now hit him that his mother is truly gone.
Then I yelled, "Ohh, hey Chase when is the party?"

"Really Nina, like you might actually come, It's tomorrow at 9pm," Chase said excitedly.

Jai gave me a disapproving look. "What, like June said you are only young once and besides I could die any day now and if I can't be a vegas show girl. At least let me get hungover once before I die" I said.

"You actually understand what June is saying?" Jai questions me

"Really" this is what he asks.

Okay but its not all it's cracked up to be." Jai warned me. It's not like he had any room to talk about drinking or anyone else in the city for that matter.

We part into our own ways. I enter my empty house, take off my clothes to shower then I realize that I had forgotten to get water from the well.