When They Came

The Beginnings ~ Chapter 1

I walk back into the hotel-like hospital room while wheezing heavily. My sister, Ray looks at me very concerned, I can tell because her brow is furrowed and her facial expressions just support the fact. I sound like someone whos been smoking for forty years. I feel a large pain and tightness in my chest, and then an overwhelming pressure develops in the same area. I cough out a dry, sickly cough, like someone who hasn't had a glass of water in a few weeks. I try and take a deep breath but my state prevents it. Ray stands up and begins to walk over to me. My throat hurts like all hell. The coughing drains me of so much energy I fall down to my knees on the cold tile floor. Ray catches me and she scrambles for a water bottle. I grab it and suck the liquid out of the plastic container. After a few moments, my coughing slowly subsides and my wheezing becomes more like breathing. I lean against the wall and drink the water periodically until the fit becomes regular breathing. I still feel pain in my chest, however, so I instinctively hold my hand on my chest.

"JC, what was that?" I shake my head as I rest against the hospital room wall. A long silence falls over the room. She shakily gets up and closes the door. Afterward, she walks back over and plops down right next to me. She leans against the wall and takes a long deep breath.

"I don't know..." I shakily mutter, while I interlock my fingers and squeeze my hands. I'm actually terrified. Coughing and wheezing that much isn't healthy. I hope I'm not sick. I can't be sick. I look at the floor, distraught.

"I'm not going to lie. That looked really bad." Ray barely utters. Its so quiet and wavering, I can barely hear it. I lean my head on her shoulder and we take a deep breath almost in unison.

"We need to stay on the move. Our allowance is almost over and I want to get back to Washington D.C." I quietly complain. I feel her nod and then I hear someone walking down the halls yelling loudly.

"Lights out! We are shutting down the interior generators in five minutes!" A feminine voice yells out. Ray and I exchange glances and she stands up. I sigh and slowly push myself up. I wobble at first when I am standing on my feet, but Ray catches me and helps me to one of two hospital beds in the room. I sit on it and take off my boots. I lay down and Ray flicks off our light. I hear her go over to her bed and I pull my thin quilt up to my chin.

"I love you." I break the silence, tiredly. I hear Ray chuckle and respond.

"I love you too."

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So, maybe I should give some background to our situation.

My name is Cassandra Jean. I am fifteen, and I live in a horror movie.

Yeah, yeah, that sounds cliche, but its true.

So, cheesy time. Back when I was twelve, in 2026, I was a seventh grader. My life was fine. I had straight A's, I had a sister setting her sights on the biomedical field, and my parents were as loving as ever. Then, They came. They took my parents and my life.

Really, nobody knows what they really are. They are these big, sickly figures with pointed, long fingers and distorted faces with razor sharp teeth. They look like something out of a Nightmare on Elm Street movie. They travel in packs of five or six, and they take people away. Every night screams from far off, ring in the air. Only very few things are known about them. One, they burn in the sunlight or any light in general. Two, they can only hear, and even their hearing isn't very good. If, or rather, when they find you, you better run for your life.

My sister, Ray and I are what you call wanderers. Wanderers are considered the police in the world, along with the Army. We travel the world, stopping at colonies, full of people, and we stay there two or three days before moving on. People don't think well of us, but we don't really care. We're kinda like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. All wanderers have homes in Washington D.C, but we are in Colorado right now on call.