Chapter One

One day until the purge, this happens every year. The purge is when every crime is legal for 12 continuous hours. All weapons in class 4 and below are allowed, no other weapons above 4 are allowed. Once the siren goes off, chaos begins. I'm Jeffery, and currently getting ready for the purge. This year I will try and help defend my family since last year I didn't have a weapon. 

My whole household looked as if they were stressing out. I tried to ask them what was wrong but no one would answer. I checked outside and the sun had set. The stars twinkled in the moonlight as I watched them. I felt a hand on my shoulder, it was my youngest sister. Her name is Paige and she has been with me forever. She is only 8, looking up to a 19-year-old with her 14-year-old sister by her side. 

Her older sister's name is Rebecca and she has some problems. For example, her boyfriend is very weird and I'm the only other person that knows they are together. Her boyfriend's name is Henry which defines how controlling he is of her. Both Rebecca and Paige seem tired so we all go to our bedrooms for bed. I assume they had fallen asleep since not a sound was heard except for the crickets outside. 

I lay facing the ceiling starting to wonder what life would be like if we didn't purge, if life was normal. I wonder if anyone else felt the same way about this as I do, or at least thought about it. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I woke up like any other day, but nothing felt right. It's the day of the purge, the worst day of the year. It starts at 7 pm and ends at 7 am tomorrow. Time felt like it was flying by fast and it was already 10:47. I rushed out of bed and brushed my teeth, wearing a black shirt with pajama pants. 

Suddenly there is a knocking at my door, it sounds soft but loud enough to hear. There is no time between thoughts and I open my door to see Paige holding her stuffed bear. She runs up and gives me a tight hug. Looking at her, she seemed to have been crying with tears still flowing out of her eyes. "I'm scared..why do we have to purge..?". Her innocent thoughts just leave my heart sunken as I reassure her that everything will be fine.

We both go down for breakfast to see mom and dad talking with Rebecca. Paige looks up and smiles. "Morning sissy, mom, and dad". They all look at her with a smile and say good morning back. I make my plate of waffles and eggs and go to my seat. Just as I sit down, Rebecca comes up to me. "Jeff..can you come with me..". Kind of odd of her to ask but I nod and follow her up to her room.

She swings open her door and invites me to sit on her bed. "What's wrong Becca?" "Henry said he is coming later to talk with our parents" "Well did you tell him not to?" "N..no not quite, I said he could try to talk with them" I look at her and see her hands start shaking. 

I knew this Henry guy would be no good to her. She came in for a hug sniffling, begging for help. "The best I can do for you is to set up a hidden camera and be able to warn mom and dad whenever he tries to leave your room". Rebecca agrees and so we hide a camera in her room and I leave to hook it up to my computer. 

Time has passed and it's 6:58 pm now. Our parents call us downstairs to the family room as we set up all security. Just as we do that the purge alarm goes off. "Commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours. Police, fire, and emergency medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow at 7 a.m. when The Purge concludes. Blessed be our New Founding Fathers and America, a nation reborn. May God be with you all."

The siren goes off and the girls look more worried than ever as we all sit together. Rebecca looks at me and tells our parents that she is going to her room. They let her and she runs off. I take Paige into my room and we watch the camera as Henry appears in the window. He taps a few times on it until Rebecca opens it.

Paige is now laying down in my bed as Henry started talking to Rebecca. The audio is quite fuzzy so it's hard to understand what they're saying when Henry starts walking toward her. He shot an eye to the camera and then walked up to it instead. He had turned it off which sent shivers down my spine. I immediately ran to her room to see what was happening. 

I slam open the door and see him on top of her. Without thinking, I ran up to him and grabbed him by his neck. Holding him up high, I let Rebecca get out of there. Once she was out of the room and the door was shut, I took my chance. I held him down and beat him til the floor had a dark red stain. I get up and look down at him, he is covered in blood and twitching slightly. I dust off myself and leave Rebecca's room.

I meet up with Paige and Rebecca in my room. Paige just now woke up and Rebecca was crying in my chair. I walked up to her and patted her back. "Everything will be alright.." In the middle of my sentence, I get interrupted by gunshots. I told the girls to stay put in my room and if anything to go hide in the closet. 

I sneak downstairs while hearing more gunshots. Not even an hour into the purge and people are already dying. I turn the corner to see my dad dead on the floor and Henry pointing the weapon at my mom. She was trying to face the weapon to the wall but Henry was too strong. Two more gunshots go by and my mom is now on the floor as well. Holding back the tears, I ran upstairs to the girls.