R I S E N

Chapter 16

Shelly

The world is such a fucked up place, more than it ever has been. Ever since this sickness started spreading, things have been going wrong, horribly wrong. I took a walk outside one day, just to get fresh air. I needed to clear my thoughts and try to make sense of things. I saw a mob of people robbing a local store. It wasn't even a big business, just a small family owned one. They smashed all the windows. The family didn't fight back. Their child stood there with their hands covering their ears, crying for the intruders to stop. The intruders just laughed in the dad's face while the mother shielded the boy. The police even drove by and did nothing.

Curfew was supposed to be enforced but of course no one was following it. The world was obviously ending so why did rules even matter anymore? Funeral services no longer took place. People were dying left and right. Hospitals were packed and health care workers were overworked. The only reason Elizabeth even had a spot in the ICU was because our parents were able to pull some strings to get her there.

On my way home, I was walking past a bridge when I saw a woman jump. The thought makes my stomach twist. Last night we heard a gunshot come from Mr.Winfrey's house. It was the loudest thing. We weren't the only ones it woke. A few people came outside to see what was going on and ask if anyone knew what was happening.

We buried our sister in the backyard a couple nights ago. After it was done and we put the shovels away, I went back to the front of the house and the lady across the street just looked at me with this look on her face. She was staring at the dirt on my hands and shirt.

I feel like I have this void in my chest. I feel numb. I feel lost. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel or what the future holds for us, or anyone, for that matter. Kaleb has been a mess since coming back from the hospital and seeing Elizabeth laying there in that bed. She feels gone too. How do you cope with losing two people you care so much about? I just wish I could hold them both one last time and have them hold me back, to be able to look into their eyes and they'll look back and smile. I feel so empty.

"She's standing outside again." Ethan suddenly speaks up, breaking the silence.

"What?" I pull out the only ear bud I have in my ears and look up from my journal. Ethan's standing at the window peering out the curtains.

Kaleb's sitting in the reclining chair to my right. He has one leg perched over the edge of the chair and his arm propped on the arm with his head resting in his hand. He drops his phone in his lap, "yeah? What's new?" He mutters, sarcastically. "My data's fucking up again. What am I even paying for?" I roll my eyes, dramatically. It's not like the world just suddenly started ending or anything.

"Hey, what's her name again?" Ethan asks, ignoring Kaleb's comment.

"I don't know, Kim? Kimberly? Does it matter?"

"Yeah, it does. It all matters." Ethan murmurs, distractedly.

"Yeah? Well it doesn't matter to me." Kaleb gets up and sighs deeply, shoving his phone in his sweater pocket.

I watch as he crosses the living room to go grab his jacket from the kitchen. I raise an eyebrow and set my journal down next to me on the couch and follow. "Hey," I place my hand on his shoulder after he throws his denim jacket on. "What are you doing?"

He looks over at me, "what does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to go see my girlfriend. I can't get a signal to save my life and she hasn't answered any of my texts."

"Maybe that's a good thing," I shrug. "Her parents are probably home now and the internet will probably be back up again in an hour."

"That's a lot of probably I'm hearing. And no, something's up with her parents. Yesterday she was talking on the phone to someone and something in her just shifted. She started shutting down and she wouldn't tell me what was wrong."