Yellow death

Chapter 5- Lily. The past

I slowly opened my eyes as the sun fought its way through my purple curtains. The glows from the window filled the room. I pulled the cover over my head to block out the light. I laid there for a few moments in the dark. Sleep didn't return. I forced myself out of bed and wondered downstairs for breakfast. It had been a few months now since dad's cancer had been cured, everyone was happy and life had returned back to normal. The news had heard about his and other people's recovery, the government decided to make the cure accessible to every cancer patient, once the news story got out.

I entered the living room, my family were sat on the sofa watching the news. Mam looked concerned and dad was talking to Lucy. I sat on the cream sofa next to mam in front of the tv, that was placed in the right corner of the living room.

"What's wrong mam?" I asked her.

"Someone just randomly started attacking people about 20 miles from here, a lot of people are seriously injured, and they can't find the person that done it." Mam replied.

"That's awful. I'm sure they will find the person that's responsible." I reassured her. We spent the rest of the morning watching TV and enjoying our time together as a family.

Life was pretty much the same over the next two years. I had left school and college, and was starting my first year of university after the summer break. I was going to a university close to home, so I didn't have to live in student accommodation. Lucy was preparing to start her last year of College. Dad didn't get ill again, however he had a check up once a year to make sure. Random attacks started to happen more often but the news didn't really go that much into detail, and hospitals were getting over ran with a new disease that no one really knew what it was or how to treat it. People's skin started to turn yellow and their aggression levels would increase, but that's all the information the news gave out. All of the attacks and the disease made mam panic, so me and Lucy weren't allowed to leave the house alone. The government had set a curfew to make sure everyone stayed in after 9pm as most of the attacks were happening at night. Sirens would fill the streets, blue and red lights replaced the orange glow of the street lights, every night from 9pm. We all thought it was strange that we weren't allowed out after 9pm but mam was happy because she knew we were all safe at home.

I woke up to a loud blood curdling scream and an orange glow flowing from the living room window. In a daze I pushed myself off the cream sofa, stumbled towards the window while rubbing my right eye. I peaked out of the gap in the curtains. Flames rose from the house across the street. Men wearing only black clothing with their faces covered dragged our neighbours out of their house. The men kept hold of the older male and pushed him towards a black van, the older males skin had turned a pale yellow colour, his wife and child were sat on the side of the road, their golden brown skin covered in black marks from the fire.

"We only need him." One of the men told the other two men.

"So are we just going to leave the wife and daughter here?" A shorter man said that was stood behind the girls.

"We can't do that." He pushed my neighbour into the van, slammed the doors shut. With a stride he walked over to the girls pulling a gun out. With one swoop move the child was dead. Crimson red blood painted her light blonde hair and the road below her, the mother let out a scream but within seconds she was gone too. A scream started to escape my lips, I pushed my hands over my mouth to muffle it. Eyes darted in my direction, I quickly ducked down below the window, hysterically shaking and tears running down my face. I sat with my arms wrapped around my legs. Footsteps echoed around the front of my house I sat there silently for a moment. A warm hand touched my shoulder, I turned around. The familiar thick brown hair and greens eyes of my father comforted me. He put his finger to his lip signalling me to be quiet and led me upstairs.

We ran into my room.

"Dad, what's going on?" My voice still shaking. He wiped the tear from my cheek as he said "I have no idea but it's been happening every night for the past few months, no news reports or police reports are ever made, a few of my friends have noticed it happening. I think it's something to do with the new disease."

I think they saw me." I said still crying in shock.

"They didn't, if they did we would all be dead. Try get some sleep and don't look out the windows." Dad hugged me, shut my curtains over and left the room. I laid in bed for hours trying to forget what I saw. Screams echoed around in my head, images of the mothers face haunted me every time I shut my eyes. As if this has been happening for ages and no one is trying to stop it.

The rising sun sent orange glows rushing through my room. Fear covered my entire body like a blanket, I flung myself out of the bed and towards the window, throwing the curtains open. Nothing was happening, the house across the street was still burnt down but no signs of the murders that had occurred, no body's, no blood, there was no sign of the mother and daughter. I took in a deep breath and went downstairs. My family were sat in the living room watching the news. I headed towards the kitchen until a news story about the fire across the street came on. I sat on the sofa staring at the TV. The reporter was saying how a fire was started killing the mother and daughter but there was no sign of the father. The reporter went on to say that the police believe that the father set the house on fire and then left.

"Lily, go upstairs with your sister, I need to talk to your father." Mother said with a stern voice.

"Cassie, she saw what happened last night." My father told her with sadness in his voice. My mother looked over at me while I was sat staring out the window.

"Lily.... Lily..... LILY." She said my name a few times before I noticed. I turned and looked at her. "Are you OK? Did you see everything?" I nodded, as a single tear fell down my face.