I OWN NOTHING. STILLLLL.
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"As the seasons change, remember how I used to be."
"Mom?" I ask, shuffling through the drawers. "Hey, mom-" I turn around to see her standing in her bathrobe, tears swiping her face.
She was shaking. "Mom..." She leaps in to hug me. "Jack, Oh, Jack, I'm sorry I haven't been there, I just-" I felt her sobs soaking into my shirt. She was holding me awfully tight, she wasn't much smaller than me, but at the moment, she looked really little. She looked like a little girl, and I was the father. I gulped and let her wipe her face on my shirt. I hushed her and stroked her brown oily hair.
"It'll be okay, mom. I promise." She cried even more. "We're gonna be fine."
She clutched tighter to me, and I held her for a second. What was I doing? Oh yeah, well I thought those batteries could wait.
For the next few hours of that day she slept on the sofa, clutching the television remote, putting it on high for any updates. I sat in front of the screen, staring at the images, waiting for the next report. I'd never really been in the same room with my mom for a while. I couldn't help but glance back at her, slumped on the couch.
"Welcome to Burgess News, the news you can depend on."
I heard as I snapped back to the T.v.
"Welcome to Burgess News, Where we have found a live footage of the outbreak, which has spread across Scotland and numerous parts of Ireland."
I flinched. They showed this lab, with a patient inside. He stood in a small empty room, banging his head on a glass window. His eyes were bloody red, and his clothes were stained with sweat, blood and dirt. He was a hospital patient, his gown ripped at the sides.
It was disgusting. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was on drugs, or just dead. His skin was so unnaturally pale it had faded grey, and he looked like he was trying to scratch his face off.
"Luckily, the Queen, princess, and princes were able to escape in time."
I wasn't even listening to the reporter. I was staring at the gruesome imagery, which made me want to throw up to say the least, but intrieged me. Maybe it was because they looked dead. They looked passed sickness, to me. They looked, gone.
"Sadly, Scotland remains to be the Land of the dead, where those who stayed were infected and left for dead.
Dead?
That was it. Maybe they were taking this too lightly. Far too lightly, even though every channel was making reports about it, an entire country was wiped out. And those who've left in time can never go home.
The Land of the dead.
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"Rapunzel, would you sing for me dear?" she stroked my hair, letting the strands fall between her boney fingers.
"Mom, will you tell me what's happening?" I ask. "About what they say on the news?" Mother only ever let me watch the news. And Lately, the reports were far more drastic.
"What do you mean, dear?" She asked, grabbing a brush and grazing it through seperate strands.
"The infection." I felt the brush stop in the middle of the strand.
"Honey," She finally began, after a long time. "The world is going through some, issues. And you're better off staying home. Now drop the subject."
I debate by saying, "But-" But she hushes me.
"Rapunzel. listen to mother." She says. in a serious tone lingering, her hand tugging on my hair slightly. "It's far more dangerous out there then ever. No one is safe. So I need you to stay in the tower, do you understand me?"
"Mother-" She tugs on my hair again.
"Rapunzel! Do. You. Understand?"
I nod, as she reaches to kiss my head. "Rapunzel, I only want what is best. And the world is in ruins." She grips the brush again and says, "Sing for me, please?"
I sigh. This was exhausting. Singing the same song over and over again, when all I wanted was details. If only my mother would take a moment to tell me why the world was dangerous. I wouldn't have to fght the urge to find out for myself.
I took a deep breath before beginning:
"Flower Gleam and Glow
Let Your power shine
Make the clock reverse
Bring back what once was mine.
Heal what has been hurt,
change the fate's design
save what has been lost,
bring back what once was mine
what once was mine."
She exhaled sharply, "Thank you Rapunzel."
And she left the room. As the door met the hinge, I ran to my window, ripping the drapes back. I leaned my head out the window, where I saw a view of the city. It was a beautiful view, but it was so far away. Well, 4.5 miles, but I could never go out to see it for myself. I was home schooled, and my doctor came to see me. I've never left the house alone, and one day, I plan to do so.
But god damn it I want to now.
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Flash.
Click.
"Merida, stay by me." My mother said, draping her arm across me as I ducked my face beneath my curls. Americans were far more nosy than I'd expected. I felt a camera hit me in the face at one point, where my mother guided me towards a small white van. She opened the door and I'd sat in the back seat, my brothers climbing over me. What was worse, the infected people my mom had spoken about, or the american paparazzi?
The driver beeped loudly, smacking the wheel as the men with big cameras slowly moved out of the path.
"Goodness, I hate New York." She sighs as she turned her body to look at us from the passenger seat. "Are you all alrigh'?" She asked, bags under her eyes. She looked like she'd been crying, now that I looked her in the eyes.
"We're fine." I say, not really wanting to talk. Even the triplets were quiet, sitting in the third row of the van. They hadn't bothered to fiddle with eachother, or play footsies. Only gaze silently out the window as they fell asleep one by one.
"Mum?" I ask, after an hour of driving. "Where are we going?"
'Well," She rubbed her eyes with her palm, "Far away. The safest hotel we can find. Possibly Atlanta, if its safe, but for now, we'll be going to a hotel at the edge of the city.
After a long pause, she leans her head on the window, and I ask, "Mum?" She murmers, so I know she heard me. "Is dad goin' teh be alrigh'?"
She takes a while to answer, when she finally says, "Just go to sleep Merida."
"Mum!" I debate, springing from my seat. "Please answer me." I say, trying to be polite at my mothers fragile state. As much as I could assume, I needed to be sure.
"Merida, be quiet." She says sternly.
"Mum! Tell me!" I throw myself at her, as she furiously turns from her seat.
"NO. YOU'RE FATHER IS NOT FINE." I flinch and sink back down. What? "Scotland is gone. All of it." She sniffles, and says the last part with all she is able to hold together. "You're father stayed. And as far as we know... He went down with his country."
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This chapter lacked Hiccup, I know. But Rapunzel isn't exposed to anything yet, and Hiccup is just sitting there watching Doctor Who on Netflix and reblogging the Big Four posts right now.
I've gotten messages, and All I got was
Mericcup-3
JackPunzel-3
HiJack-1
I like Hijack, but I suck at slash. So sorry :/
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