World Wide Crisis

Chapter 1

It was dark when Gina heard the sound of the patrol car coming down the street. Her eyes shot open and her arm automatically reached out behind her for her sister. Gina breathed a sigh of relief as she felt her sister’s small warm hand. Her relief was short lived, however, as she heard the sound of the patrol car getting closer.

“Kaitlyn,” she whispers nudging her.

 A soft mumble was her reply. She didn’t try again for the waste of time it would be. She quickly got out of the bed and pulled her sister to the freezer in the back of the room.

“Sorry,” she mumbled before putting her sister in and climbing in after her.

She waits counting her breaths as the sirens stop.

‘1...2…3…4,’ she starts.

She hears the crunch of gravel as the car approaches.

‘5…6…7…8,’ she counts squeezing her eyes shut and holding her sister closer to her.

She feels rather then sees the green light of the heat detection scanner pass over the freezer. She holds her breath and continues to count.

‘9…10…11,’ she stops when she hears the sound of footsteps outside.

Her eyes widen in fear and she knows counting won’t help her calm down now. The footsteps are closer now and she lets out the breath she was holding.

‘Don’t come over here! Don’t come over here!’ she prays in her mind.

 The footsteps pause and she hears a rustling along with a mutter muted by the freezer walls. Tears start to form in her eyes but she wills them away turning to her sister. Kaitlyn was still sleeping but shivering slightly- a sign that she would wake up soon.

‘Please, whatever being is up there,’ Gina pleads, ‘don’t let us get caught.’

She shivered as well and resorts to counting again to keep herself distracted. She gets to thirteen when she hears shouting.

“Get the boy!” someone shouts.

She squeezes her eyes shut and puts her hands over her sister’s ears. The footsteps fade away as whoever it is chases a boy. The slam of a car door echoes through the night and soon the sirens and shouts fade as well. Gina breathes a sigh of relief and counts to ten before she slowly raises the freezer lid. She pulls her sister back out and puts her in the bed tucking her in tight. She finally notices that her hands were shaking. The hot tears roll down her cheek before she can stop them.  She kneels beside the bed and lets the full overwhelming feeling of fear wash over her.

‘I could have died,’ she thought crying.

Somewhere in a logical part of her mind-or as logical as a twelve year old girl can get- wonders about why there had been a person this time.

‘They’re getting more careful,’ she thinks as soon as her crying fit is over. ‘We have to leave.’

She looks at her sister who had resumed to sleeping peacefully. She didn’t have the heart to tell her that she locks her in a freezer every night since their parents died. She didn’t have the heart to tell her why they keep moving to different places every day. The thought of her sister knowing she isn’t supposed to be alive frightens her.  She shudders and reaches under the bed to get their sneakers. She dresses her sister while she was still sleeping and then climbs back into bed trying to get back to sleep. She counts slowly and eventually falls asleep.

                                                                          *   *   *   *   *

Gina flinches awake as the golden rays hit her face. Though the sun was hitting them directly she did not feel an ounce of warmth. Partly because she had to get back in the freezer twice that night, and partly because of her reoccurring nightmares.

"Kaitlyn," she calls shaking her sisters shoulder.

Her sister mumbles and shivers but doesn't wake up. Gina sighs and reaches under the bed to get the backpacks. She puts Kaitlyn's coat on and then her tiny beat up sponge bob backpack. Gina puts her pack on her front as the make room for Kaitlyn on her back. Once they're set she pulls Kaitlyn off the bad and onto her back. 

She pulls a tiny metal ball and throws it onto the bed. It immediately begins to flash blue and roll all over the room.

"That should take care of any finger prints we left behind," she mumbles as she leaves the building.

She reaches a ditch beside the road and slides into it. The ditch is barely taller than her but she considers it sufficient cover. She begins to walk until the soon is high over head. She pauses along the side of the road and puts Kaitlyn down who finally begins to show signs of life.

"Are you awake?" Gina asks.

"Mmmm," Kaitlyn mumbles her answer.

She blinks twice and looks around with sleepy eyes. "Where's the house?"

"We had to move," Gina says her eyes full of concern.

"Oh," Kaitlyn responds.

"Would you like something to eat?" Gina asks trying to change the subject.

"No."

The silence stretches forever and soon they begin walking again. Kaitlyn sings as they walk and Gina's heart slowly begins to calm as she listens to her sister's lullaby- one of their mother's favorites. Gina almost cried but she held it in  and they kept walking towards their new home.