Find Us

Chapter 2

I quickly grabbed both of my back pockets in search of my key. When I found my keys, I made my way inside the house, placing his car seat on the couch. I put down the diaper bag and unbuckled Bryson. I picked him up gently, aware of him sleeping not wanting to wake him up and worrying about the crying again. "Yessi," I jumped from the sound of my name. I got up from the couch, cradling Bryson as he was wiggling around.

I opened the front door and saw my neighbor Kyle. "Are you okay?" Slightly confused, i stare back at him blanky. It's basically the end of the world right now and he's asking me if I'm okay. I nodded my head, not wanting to get into all the details with him. "Whose baby?" He continued to question. We both looked down at Bryson, who wasn't asleep anymore but instead staring at me. "I honestly have no clue." I said as Kyle stepped passed me and walked inside.

"Come in, I guess..." I mumbled under my breath, not wanting to be rude but also not wanting to be bothered. "Where's your mom? I can't find mine and I know they talk all the time?" Shit. I forgot no adults equals no parents, meaning there are a lot of children out there, lost and confused. I attempted to lay Bryson back down in his car seat, but he started screaming. I started to rock him back and forth. "What's the matter?" I asked in a soothing voice. Maybe something bad happened to him before I found him by himself in that car. I sat down on the couch and laid him across my lap.

"Umm, hello? Are you going to answer the question about your mom?" Kyle snapped at me. I looked up at him and rolled my eyes. "If you haven't noticed, there's not one damn adult around. And on top of that, there's no power, so I can't help you. As you can see, I have a lot going on right now, so you can either help me or leave." I lash out at him, and he looked at me in shock. To be honest, I would react the same way. We never talk, just an occasional "good morning" when we pass each other on our way to school.

He sat down hesitantly on the couch and my attention went back to Bryson. I unbuttoned his shirts and checked over his body for anything unusual but found nothing. "Wait, look at this" I looked at where Kyle was pointing on Bryson's arm, there was a star. I rubbed my fingers over it, and it wasnt etched in but on the surface of his skin, permanent like a tattoo. Would his parents abuse him like this? What do I do about it? I can't do anything, he's not even my baby and i don't know a damn thing about babies past the basics. He's nobody's baby now.. at least not till we figure out what's going on.

4 weeks later

I hurry through the gate and up to the front door. I have been contemplating for a long time if this was the right thing to do, but I can't keep letting time slip away. I knock on the door, and it sounds more like banging, I didn't expect the door to be so light. He answers, seeming annoyed as usual. "Can I help you?" He didn't even bother to look at me. "I needed to talk to you about some ideas I had about the power." He starts to close the door, but I stop him before he could fully close it. "You and I both know I'm the only one who really understands this." He studies me for a minute before opening the door.

I push past him and walk until I come across the dining room table, papers scattered across the length of the entire table. "Does anyone know you're here?" I glare over at him then walk over to him and grab the collar of his shirt. "If you tell anyone, you'll regret it." I looked into his eyes then felt myself getting dizzy.

*Flashback*

I was back outside of the house. I knocked on the door but no answer. I waited a few seconds but still nothing. I twisted the doorknob and it opened. "Hello?!" I yelled. I walked inside and heard crying. I kept walking in until I saw Harry on the ground crying with something in his arms.

*Flashback Over*

"Are you okay?" I was brought back by Harry shaking me. I get out of his grip and start walking around. "Can I help you with something?" I keep walking around until I find the bulletin board, listing the names and faces of everyone with gifts on it. "I found some notes in my dad's study about making a generator.." I trail off, continuing to look through everyone's gifts until I found who I was looking for. I finally found her- Amanda Mose, gift: electrification. "Where can I find her?" I question Harry while still looking at her picture. "Maybe if I knew what was going on, I could help you." I turn to him and give him the nastiest glare I can muster up

Back to the Present

"Well, we can't just sit here." I push my curly hair back from my face and put it in a bun. "You think I don't know that?" I snap at Kyle. He looks at me as if I hurt his feelings. "Can I just get a minute to process?" I thought about everything that has happened until now and it just doesn't make sense. "Do you think this is the government?" I looked up at Kyle, and he was looking back at me as if I'm crazy. "Like a sort of test..?" I stand up from the couch and make my way to my dad's study. He died when I was young, but I remember him studying about the government and the way they work. It never seemed right to him. I start to look through all the papers on the desk, and it is a mess. Neither my mom or I have been in here since he died so everything was how he left it. I hear Kyle come in, starting to look through papers too. "Check this out" I whip around quickly and saw him holding up a drawn up map of the town with x's and circles around certain buildings. "What do you think it means?" I took the paper from him and saw there was a 1 next to school thinking was this only the beginning.