REBEL

Slaughter-Towns

Hey, guys! Thanks for all of you that have been reading this so far! Please vote and comment; I'd like to know what you think!

Also, I've been thinking about picking a cast for the story...Any suggestions?

Here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the lyrics in this chapter.

Chapter 6

Oct 13 2163

Adelina Morgan

Location: County 4

Jay and I make our way to one of the abandoned houses in the middle of the town. The house we decide for our temporary shelter is dilapidated and run-down, like all the other houses, but it seems the sturdiest and the biggest – not that we’re really looking for a spacious area or anything. The wooden boards that construct the house are painted a light pink – faded with age – and the windows are boarded shut with shutters. The door opens easily – we don’t even need to turn the doorknob before pushing it – and it refuses to close completely.

            Jay makes his way to the kitchen, assuming that it is probably working...but it’s not. The kitchen area is burnt down, with ashes spread out across the wall, black and smoky. The stove area isn’t even distinguishable; it lays broken on the floor. “I...think I will just set up a fire outside,” Jay points to the yard that consists of dead hay-grass. I nod, following him out. He holds the dead squirrel out in front of him at arm’s length, the odor starting to diffuse through the air.

            And then it hits me.

            It’s silent.

            Completely, utterly, eerily silent.

            Dad and I are returning from the market. He’s laughing lightly at me, as I skip ahead of him, humming a song. He jogs to catch up to me, before we reach our hometown. But something’s different about it: no noise, extra darkness. There’s no tweet of angry birds, no whistle of the wind, even though it blows, no rustle of tree leaves. Even the skies cloud over with black. Immediately, Dad tenses up. I stop humming. I can sense that something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong. “What’s going on, Dad?” I whisper.

            “What’s wrong, Violet?” Jay breaks me out of my trance.

            “I’m fine,” I say stiffly. He doesn’t look entirely convinced as he bends down and starts twisting and rubbing together tree branches and sticks to initiate a fire. I walk over and drop down next to him, pulling my knees to my chest, watching him. Miraculously, his fire pulls through after mere minutes. It takes me way longer than that to start a fire. He then effortlessly prepares the squirrel for cooking and begins the task of placing it carefully over the fire. The flames heighten and burn the creature, like it’s trying to bring it closer and closer to Hell...

            Jay yanks the squirrel out of the fire, blowing on it. “Whoops,” he says, taking a bite out of it, “I guess this one’s for me.” The edge of my lips quirk up barely into a shadow of a smile. Before he places the other piece he cut up into the fire, I snatch it out of his hand and cook it myself. The meat fries quickly, as the flames seem attracted to the squirrel, but I pull it out, just in time, showing him the perfect cook on the meat. “Showoff,” He mutters, but I can tell he’s just teasing me.