Chapter 2;

Having Lucas at a young age wasn't what I had planned for my life, not in the slightest. Having him at eighteen just right before I was meant to go to university, was not what I had planned. Falling inlove with a seven pound, ten ounce baby boy was not what I had planned. 

Life is not planned.

No matter how much you try, life has its way of throwing curve balls at you. Most of the time those curve balls can be caught, but sometimes life itself spits one out when your back is turned; knocking you down and taking the air from your lungs. 

It isn't a pleasent hit to the back, the fall not long enough to catch yourself before you smack yourself into the concrete below. Hell no. The impact of it all is too consuming, even before you collide with the ground beneath you know the pain it'll cause. So, you prepare yourself.

That still doesn't work, does it? 

You crash. 

Hard.

You know there will be pain, but you still don't know how much.

Life.

Sitting there with Jasper as we finish our pizzas and the radio playing softly beside us, the chill in the night air just right for us. I lose my mind to the light noise from the woods behind the store .

"Clara?" I hear from beside me, looking over to see Jasper handing me a rolled blunt. "Wanna smoke?" 

This is why he is my best friend.

Taking it from his hand I put the right end in my mouth, letting him reach over and light it for me. 

Drown me out.

I take a long drag from it as he takes away his lighter, letting the smoke fill my lungs. 

Finally.

"Thank you. I left mine at home because I had Lucas with me." I say as I breathe the smoke out.

"That's what friends are for. I just expect you to have me next time."

With a slight nod I glance over to him, seeing himself lighting up another for himself. With the cannabis chaos going around, we were on edge at first for our use of it. But, with it being now medically legalized, people are more open to it then you would think.  Considering it has many properties within the plant for medicine, it will be soon that is used everywhere. 

Until then, the federal government believes it doesn't hold these properties, more on the pharmaceutical companies sides. I on the other hand, can contribute to thousands of others who it has helped. 

After Lucas's birth I was in grave pain, the pain pills the doctors have given me not hitting any kind of spot. I tried cannabis for the first time two weeks after his birth. Five years later, here I am; sitting with Jasper on a roof smoking. 

With the time passing and the blunts now almost gone, I decide it's time to call Lucas one more time. I hear the dial tone as I press the phone to my ear. 

"Hello, mommy?" 

"Lucas, baby. Hey." I say softly. "I just want to call and say goodnight. Mommy is thinking of you during her break. I'll see you Sunday, okay sweetie?" 

"Okay mommy. I love you and will see you in sleepy town." 

Click.

A soft sigh leaves my lips as I end the call, a sense of pride washing over me. With the sound of his voice, I knew all would be okay. 

I take another long drag of my blunt, seeing there were only a few inches left of my own. 

"How is he?" I hear from beside me, smoke blowing my way from the light wind. 

"Good. It's bedtime, so he's off to sleep now." I nod lightly, taking a hit from my partially gone blunt. Getting out the rest of the high I can before returning to the chaos below. 

"He's not feeling sick. My father would have told me." I say, letting out the smoke from my lungs.

"Good." Jasper places his roach inside the small ash tray we have on the small table between us, I doing the same. 

Jasper's concern for Lucas has always been present, ever since we became friends during senior year. I was only a few months pregnant when we graduated from Lexington Grove, Harper and Jasper the only friends I really had at that moment in life. Without those two, Lucas and I wouldn't be who we were; we wouldn't be so happy. 

With the few minutes remaining of our break I reach over and flicker on the portable radio, a small broadcast running. 

" -symptoms include vomiting, fever, headaches. We advice you, please seek the nearest hospital for treatment. Cases are now coming in from around the state. Be cautious."

Looking to Jasper, I see the worry on his face. 

"Reports of deaths are now coming in. I advise you, please -" the signal cutting out. Static noise now replacing what was once the female voice of a news reporter. 

"Jasper-" My voice cracking as the connection is lost, noise below diverting our attention. The sound of metal on metal, horns screeching to the point we had to cover our ears. "What the hell?"

We stand from our spots, running to the edge of the roof. The sight of crashed vehicles and bodies on the ground, smoke rising from vehicles that were once running. 

"Clara-" I hear from beside me, but all too distracted by the destructive sight below. Cars still moving as they run over bodies laying on the ground, crashing into whatever is in its path. A loud roaring sound can be heard in the distant night sky, Jasper and I turn to the direction of the loud noise above. Seeing lights blinking from whatever air craft it may be, it was getting lower and lower as it went. 

"Clara?" I hear again, to distraught to look over to him as we watch the plane go down just a few hundred feet from us. An explosion louder than I've ever heard, fire, smoke, everything happening so fast. I couldn't process it all until Jasper and I were crouched down, him covering me. 

"Are you alright?!" He ask me, the words going in one ear and coming out the other. 

"What?" I ask, my eyes finally settling on his face just a few inches above my own. 

"Are you alright Clara? We need to go." His voice more panicked than I've ever heard from him, he was truly scared. 

"Yes, I'm okay." I finally manage to make out the words, as he takes my hand pulling me to the ladder. Jasper helps steady me as I climb over the edge, my feet connecting with the metal ladder. Making my way down, I hear Jasper coming down right above me. 

My feet hit the ground with a thud, glancing up at Jasper seeing him a few feet above on the ladder. Waiting at the bottom as he makes his way to the ground. 

Without a word more we head to the back door, seeing a box in the door way keeping it particularly open. Before I could move Jasper opens the door, the body of one of the truck men laying in the hallway face down. 

"What the hell?" 

"Stay here." He tells me as he holds the door open with his foot, keeping it from closing. 

"What? Hell no!" I say pushing the door open with my hand as I move past him. There was no time for games, not now. 

"Clara! Hang on." Jasper says after I hear him sigh, closing the short distance that I put between us. 

"Just be careful, okay. Stay behind me." With this, I'll agree with him. I move behind him as he steps in front of me, putting distance between whatever may happen. 

"Shh." I hear from Jasper as we move to the end of the hallway, the clear space of the furniture section open. "Come on. This way." I follow, mouth closed as Jasper leads us. 

Stepping quietly through the store, we see bodies in the isles and buggies crashed into displays. Everywhere you stepped, there was a body of an older person, or a child. 

They look like they are sleeping. 

"Jasper.." I speak gently, still not sure of what was taking place. 

"Yeah?" He turns to glance at me, but only for a moment as he moves down an Isle. 

"Where are we going?" 

"To find someone who can help us."

To the looks of it, there was no one left. 

"Jasper, I don't see or hear anyone." I tell him as we step over the bodies that lay on the floor, a knot building in the pit of my stomach. The sight was almost too much for me. 

Scratch that. It is. 

With the feeling of the vile rising in my throat, so does everything else. Leaning over, I vomit on the floor. Pain consuming my abdomen as I let out what I had eaten that day. 

"Clara?!" I can hear Jasper rushing over, his hands pulling back my vomit ridden hair as I continue. 

"Oh my god. Are you okay?" He asks after a moment of me trying to catch my breath. A simple nod is all I can manage. 

"Water.." I say breathlessly, the vile pain still revolting inside me as Jasper returns with a water bottle. 

"Here drink this." He tries to hand it to me, my attention elsewhere as I begin to vomit again. 

"Shit..Clara.." I can hear Jasper from beside me, trying to hold my hair back as I continue to look like a drunken college girl the morning after a huge frat party. It felt like anything but a hangover. 

After a moment of dry heaving my stomach relaxes, the nausea subsiding. I slid down the wall behind me, breathing heavily as Jasper places the bottle of water into my hand. 

"Drink, now." 

And I do. All of it. Well, more of drinking some then spitting it out again. But, it did make me feel a lot better. The pain was now subsiding, and my throat aching like I had just swallowed a quarter. 

"Thank you, Jasper." 

"No problem. You okay?" 

"Yeah, I think so." Nodding gently, I take the last sip from my water bottle. Praying this one would stay in. 

"Do you think you can move?"

"Yeah, I think so." I place the bottle beside me as I go to stand, an arm sliding around my waist to help. 

"Thank you." My breaths are ridged and slow as I stand, trying to not upset my stomach more than it is. 

"No problem. Now, think you can make it to the boss's office?" Looking up to him, my brow raises.

"Why Ms. Sherry's office?" 

"Because, there's a radio in there."

Oh. 

"If she is alive, or anyone for that matter, we can try to find out what the hell happened."

What did happen? 

One moment things were okay, now there are no words for the sight that we had to endure. All the bodies of the women, men, the elderly, even children. With Ms. Sherry's office in sight, I try to move the thoughts aside. Jasper reaches down and turns the knob of the door, pushing it open.

"Well, Ms. Sherry won't be any help." 

"Not that she was anyways.." The words spew out of my mouth before I realized they were being said. 

"I didn't mean that.." I say as Jasper slides his arm out from around my waist, walking over to the desk where Ms. Sherry sat. She was sitting in her chair, slumped over with her eyes closed. 

"Nah, she even knows she wasn't the best boss." He says as he makes his way around the desk to where Ms. Sherry was sitting, rolling her a few feet away from the radio. 

Sitting down in the chair on the other side of the desk, I try to relax my body as Jasper fiddles with the radio, a static noise coming through. 

"I'm trying to pick up any kind of station, someone, doesn't matter." I hear him say as he concentrates on the radio in front of him. 

"If there is anyone feeling these symptoms please -" 

"Damn.. It's repeating the previous podcast." Jasper says in frustration as he looks over to me. 

"Why would they be playing a recording?" 

My shoulders shrug as he stands straight up, glancing to Ms. Sherry then me. 

"Got any ideas?" 

"Yeah, ask the sick one what to do." I try to smile, even if was weak. From my tone of voice you wouldn't have known if I was joking, but Jasper lets out a chuckles.

"Well, any idea counts."