Extinct

2

Mom quickly rushed us out the door. "Lets go to the market, see what we can find." This was clearly a mistake, because billions of people had the same idea. It felt like we were surrounded by a mob of panicky Christmas Eve shoppers. "Oh Lord." Mom groaned. "Stay together."
It was insane. People were pushing each other, babies screaming. To my left, three ladies were wrestling each other for a loaf of bread. The mayor stood on top of the stairs. "Ladies and gentleman, please!" He pleaded. His voice was drowned out among the crowd. More starved citizens tried to push through, knocking Reed over. "Reed!" I helped my brother scramble to his feet before he got trampled.
Someone let out a high pitched whistle that stood out among the crowd. The tone fell to a whisper, a buzz or a hum. The crowd would not calm down. Another whistle let out. The mayor pulled a girl up by her arm. She stood level with him, and whistled for a third time. "Excuse me!" He screamed. The crowd then remained mostly silent. "Please, please do not fight over the food. This will be handled the proper way, and the food will be split into even portions!" Mayor Paul yelled to everyone. Mayor Paul called my mother. "Cynthia Simons, will you please come up? Make way, people."
A line parted in the crowd for Mom to walk through. My mother, Cynthia Simons, was the town's baker. "Thank you, Cynthia. I need you to gather all the supplies and cook what you can with what we have. Take my book of recipes. Ladies and gentleman, give Mrs.Simons a hand!" Cheers, whistles, hoots, and claps could be heard thoughout the store. Mom blushed, then got to work in the bakery section of the store. She bowed a bit before disappearing behind an empty shelf that once held endless stocks of food.
The mayor called out, "Johanna Simons?Reed Simons? Come here please." Reed and I carefully made our way to the stairs where Mayor Paul stood. "Your mother wanted me to tell you to go on home, she will be there soon." He told us. Reed smiled reassuringly at me. "It'll be fine. Don't worry. Mom could make a gourmet meal out of plastic and sewer water."
I faked a smile to make Reed feel better, but in reality, the letters outside kept popping up in my head.
Who would write that, and why?