THE THIRD DAY: Chapter IX

"Scoutfield!" I shouted for him.

I turned around to look for him, remembered he was gone, and nearly slapped myself for needing him. I was a strong, independent young lady... who was terrified of sickness.

What was I thinking?

This was my family!

I started pushing my way through the crowd, trying to break out into an open space. Claustrophobia was choking me, and the fear was threatening to drown me under. I broke through the crowd, inhaling a gasp of fresh air, and nearly fell over in relief. I broke into a sprint towards home, praying for safety, for a miracle, for anything.

I felt the wind shoving my hair back, sticking strands to my face.

Wind! Wind could be good!

I watched the cloud blow east. It moved faster than any natural cloud, which was a terrifying thought if one was attempting to escape it. It moved over a hill, finally disappearing over the mountains in the distance.

I cut across to the garden, shouting for my mother and listening for a reply. I turned frantically toward the fruit trees, fear controlling my every move, and then I raced to her favourite flower patch, and there she was. Her blistered face and swollen hands were the first things I noted, and then her pleading eyes, begging me to help her. My face was soaked in sweat and I willed myself not to cry.

Now wasn't the time.

"Nova..."

My heart dropped at my mother's gravely voice and I suddenly remembered my father. My father, who had loved me, appreciated me. Who had actually cared. Where was he? I turned around and raced toward his studio some twenty-five yards away and shoved my way through the door where I fell against the wall, gasping for breath. He was laying on the floor, blistered and red, his eyes confused, blinking tiredly.

Calix!

My brother quickly became my priority and I raced back to the house and burst through the front door, scanning the empty room in seconds. The tablecloth twitched, just once, but I saw it. I sprang forward and jerked it aside to find Echo crouched there, my brother in her arms, his face in her shoulder. I grabbed him and fell to my knees, examining him. My fingers ran over his skin, checking his face, his arms, his feet.

He was completely unharmed.

I let him go and fell back, resting on my heels and trying to catch my breath. Echo stood up and dusted her hands off nervously

"Your mother?" she asked, and her voice was perfectly steady.

"Infected," I said quietly.

"Your father?" she offered carefully.

"Infected." My voice didn't change. "And yours?"

"Died last night," she admitted. "I... figured you had enough to worry about."

There seemed to be a mutual agreement that neither of us would act out of emotions. This was the way things were, and we would deal with it as such.

Echo stood up and moved to the door.

"I'll have your parents moved to the house... but Nova..."

"Don't say it in front of Calix."

Echo nodded curtly and left. I lifted my brother and took him into the sitting room, silently praising Echo's smart and quick thinking. Hiding under the tablecloth must have provided a barrier which, regardless how thin, had kept the infection out of their lungs, thus saving her and my brother's life.

I set Calix down on the couch and turned to leave the room, pausing for a moment as I glanced back at him. I looked him in the eye and told him, "Do not leave this room until I come for you? Okay?"

"'Kay, Nova."

His voice was so sweet, I had to smile as I closed the doors behind me. I turned and re-entered the dining room to see two officials standing, waiting for me. They weren't senators, or even captains, as Scoutfield had been. They were just normal coppers, and I quickly noticed that I'd never seen either before.

They were filtering out security, then. This usually happened when trouble was brewing...

One of them bowed slightly, treating me like the adult I hadn't yet become.

"We apologise for your losses," the taller of the two said. It sounded rehearsed.

"Due to how close you are to being an adult, you may keep your brother, if you wish," the second informed me. "We will see to the burying of your parents. We will return in sixty minutes to collect the bodies."

They both nodded to me before leaving and I raced into the bedroom. My mother's laboured breathing filled the room around me as soon as I entered. I froze for a moment, and then I shook my head, effectively clearing it as I approached the bed. She turned towards the sound of my footsteps.

"Melanin?" she queried, eyes swollen shut. I was so shell shocked I couldn't reply. She managed to open her eyes the smallest bit, and then she frowned. "Oh. Nova... you're not Melanin."

Sorry to disappoint you.

Her final words having been yet another reminder that compared to my sister, I was nothing to her, I stared at her as her lids flickered closed and she breathed out for the last time. Taking a square breath, I moved to my father, whose breathing was nearly nonexistent, but steady. I eased carefully onto the bed beside him and took his hand, feeling him squeeze mine in turn.

"Hey, Dad..." I said quietly. "Mother's gone. Calix, though... he's okay..."

He smiled sadly. It was brief, but I knew he'd communicated with me.

"You think it'll snow soon?" I asked, not expecting an answer. "You won't be able to call me your little girl anymore. I won't be..."

He never would, anyway... but that was beside the point. He nodded slightly, but his breathing skipped. I felt panic building in my chest.

"Dad? No, Dad! Fight it! Don't go yet!"

"Nova..."

It was just a murmur, but I heard it.

"This is my fault..." I whispered. "I should have protected you. Protected the family. That was my job! I failed!"

"I..." it was hard for him to speak, "have always..." he inhaled so that he could keep going, "will always... love you..."

He coughed. A cough that wracked his entire body. His hand grasped at mine again and I squeezed it. He calmed, his eyes fixing firmly on mine. He inhaled, seemingly gauging my response... and then he breathed out.

I carefully stood from the bed and wrapped my arms around my own waist as I stared at the bed: thinking.

My parents were dead. Echo's parents were dead. And this was where we were left. I had a little brother I needed to protect. I needed to make my next move.

How had it come to this?

I loved my parents, and Echo loved her father... how could we face the future with such a strong stance, knowing we'd never meet them again?

I didn't need anyone to answer that question for me: we could because this was the world we lived in.

I nodded, if only to myself, and stepped forward toward the bed. With my thumb and forefinger, I closed his eyes before reaching to wipe my own, but they were dry. Of course they were dry, I thought to myself. I didn't cry... no matter what happened.