Alienated

Decision to leave our tree

Ann's Point.Of.View

Those words hit me like a bullet. We're family. I've never had a family. No husband no children. But these..these kids. They felt like family. No matter what they did or said, I would NEVER leave them helpless. Also no matter what i did or said, nothing would change my mind. "Honey. I didn't mean what i meant. About leaving. I would never do that." I said quickly.  I heard Will laugh, "Ann. I know you wouldn't do that!" He said. I could tell he believed me, but his laugh was sure fake!

Sarah wiggled beside me and cleared her throat, "Maybe we should just go. We've stayed in this tree for a day. We need to get to that tunnel. And fast!" It hit me when she said that. We were spending our time like we had ALL the time in the world when we didn't. Plus Sarah and Will already waited for 6 years. I was afraid that her parents weren't human anymore. "Sarah. Will. I need to talk to 'bout something," I said slowly. Will and Sarah shrugged and urged me on to ask what i needed to. I took a deep breath.

"When your parents were taken away, you were five.." I pointed to Sarah. "...and your were around 7..." i pointed to Will. They nodded and I continued, " Well ever since then it's been six years." I said.  Sarah looked at me awkwardly. "Well. Yeaaa!" She said matter-o'-factly. Will laughed. I cleared my throat and continued, "Well. That means they got a shot full of that alienation medicine. And it's been six years. They may not be alive...well if they are they might be aliens. And that's not what i would call ALIVE!" Just fully realizing this Sarah leaned into my arms.

"No. NO! They have to be alive!!! We can't come all this way to find them eatin or alienated. My parents were strong!" She started to shake and i felt tears seep through my almost dry clothes. "Honey. They ARE strong. I know that. But now it's your turn to be strong. For me...for them," I embraced her and buried my nose in her hair. "We'll find them. And they will be normal. I promise." Her sobbing hardened and i knew i was about to get a full-on shower.

Will patted Sarah's back as i rocked her back and forth. 'Thank you.' I mouthed to Will. He nodded, but i could tell he was sad, too. After a couple minutesi pulled Sarah away from me and cupped her chin so her eyes directed to me. "Be strong." I commanded in a gentle voice. She nodded. I took Will's hand and held it tight. "We should go. Maybe we'll have a chance to finding them. Since they're taking over the WHOLE world then there's probably a big line to get alienated. I bet they have a sign that says 'Get your alienation shots TODAY and never feel anything, AGAIN!"

Finally, i saw a small smile appear from Sarah's lips.