The Walls that Separate our Worlds

Lights Out

I remember running home to mum still with the note in my hand. I shoved it in my mums face and started to cry. Once she read the note I snatched it back and put it in a small notepad.
After that everyone soon figured out what had happened, it wasn't the nicest thing either...

Suddenly A rat bolted past my boot. I tried kicking it but I was too slow. I hated rats. They eat the food we need to survive... 'I wonder if they think the same thing about us.'
Something whistled past my ear, splitting the air with its sharp cry. I sunk into the shadows of a building. As I heard the clatter of a knife hitting the ground, it seemed to echo through the streets. I look around the pool of shadow I was standing in for something I can use to protect myself. All I could see was shards of glass and an old rubbish can, I didn't feel like facing whoever was out there so I grabbed a shard of glass and ran down the alley way taking a sharp turn away from my house, because I didn't want whoever through that knife to follow me to the one place that I feel safe.
Half an hour passed as I made it to my back fence panting and looking for some breath. I jumped over it watching out for the trip wires I had placed. As I crawl through the smashed back window of the laundry I search the room, I finally remembered were I hid the key and made my way over to the old washing machine, I bent down and snatched the key from the very centre of under it. I walked to the laundry basket shoved it to one side to reveal a trap door. I unlock it and then go down the steps to find my little sister asleep in a bundle of dirty sheets my mother lay beside Imogen stroking her hair. Mums face was filled with wrinkles and creases, her blue eyes shone in the darkness like stars. As I came towards my mother she stood up and hugged me.
I love my mum, I really do, but when everything changed she had like a meltdown thing, she didn't want to go out side and see the lights from inside the wall shining bright while the rest of the city had plunged into darkness. She wouldn't go and get vegies from the vegie garden. She didn't even cook. but the thing that got me so furious was how irresponsible she was, she fell pregnant when we didn't even have enough food for 3 of us let lone 4 I was surprised she didn't die from child birth because the only form of medicine we had was Panadol and dads leather belt. Dad ended up running off on us when Imogen was born, the filthy coward. So I was left looking after Imogen, scavenging for food, and keeping the house safe. Imogen was only 3 and didn't really understand the concept of 'the government left us to starve and die off while they live the good life'. And I wanted to keep it like that, I wanted her to have somewhat of a child hood, because I know I lost mine at 15.
The first thing my mother said to me was 'do you have any food'. Jesse thanks mum. 
In the dim light of our basement I went over to the little kitchen area that I had set up and went to our food previsions. It was pretty poor. A can of tuna, a tin of fruit and a few baby potatoes. I had to go get some more food soon, but not right now.