Lucas
Day 2

Sometime during the night my mom had taken Tilly out of my room. I could hear the quiet voices coming from the TV in the living room. They must be watching the news again. I think that's the only channel they stay on these days. Ever since the first vaccine trials began, people were sitting on the edge of their seats hopeful that it was the answer to our prayers.

Come to find out...

It wasn't, they gave placebos to a test group and then the virus to the others with counter agents, changing the makeup of the virus entirely. Those who were given the vaccine were dying quicker than the rest of the world. People were becoming more and more hopeless.

I looked at the clock, it was 6 am. Doesn't anyone sleep in this house? I thought, rolling out my bed. Slowly I walked into the living room. Mom had Tilly in her arms rocking back and forth in the recliner, while dad had his legs kicked up on the arm of the couch with a newspaper resting on his chest as he slept soundly.

"Mom is she okay?" I whispered, gesturing to the tiny girl in her lap. My mom shook her head. Gently she turned my sisters head to show that she had white hair on one side.

"Mom?"

She sighed holding Tilly a little tighter. I sat down on the floor next to the chair, reaching up to hold my sister's small fragile hand. She looked so peaceful.

"Another wave hit the city just hours ago..."

"What's going to happen to us mom?" Clearly my 17 year old brain wasn't processing the fact that this could be our last night together.

"I don't know peanut..."

I frowned, staring at the chaos on the TV screen. People have lost their minds. Running through the cities breaking into stores that had to close and setting cars on fire. It's like they didn't know how to deal with it all and went berserk!

What do we do?

——

"Oh no...Tilly wake up sweetie! Come on" I heard mom cry from her room some time later. I'm not sure where the time had gone. None of my friends had responded to me, so I got lost in the world of 'Call of Duty.'

I dropped my controller and ran to my sisters room. Blood was trickling out the side of her mouth, her hair had turned a dull white and she wasn't breathing. Mom kept tapping her cheeks, sobbing into my little sister's chest.

She looked up at me, tears streaming down her face. All I could do was collapse on the floor in my own despair. My dad came running in soon after. Apparently I had made a wailing sound that stirred him from yet another nap.

Guess he was catching up on all the years of no sleep. My dad pulled my mom away from my sister's lifeless body. She screamed and begged him to let her hold her a little longer. But we all knew we needed to get as far away from her as possible. Taking her Doc McStuffins blankie. I did the hardest thing I have ever done. I covered my sister, so that maybe she could sleep in peace.

My mom and dad disappeared to their room, I could just hear their hushed voices and the occasional sob from my mom. My dad seemed almost furious when he spoke to her. Moments later they were quiet, not a sound coming from their room.

Maybe they fell asleep. I shrugged it off giving in to the rumble of hunger in my tummy. Maybe mom restocked the fridge today. We were down to just one egg and some questionable goo that she made out of random ingredients two nights ago.

No such luck... I walked back to the living room and laid down on the couch.
——-

My stomach rumbles again. So hoping that my eyes deceived me the first time, I walked back to the kitchen.

Please, please, please...

When I opened the fridge there were a few new things. Which meant maybe mom had bought some sandwich stuff. I rummaged through the drawer at the bottom.

Jackpot!

Moving about the kitchen I started to make my sandwich when I saw something white move past the doorway and down the hall.

What the hell?

"Tilly?" I called out.

No answer, I laid my knife down on the cutting board and walked towards the door.

"Thirsty..." Tilly's voice said. My heart raced, she was alive. I ran around the corner to see nothing, but an empty hallway.

"Bubba, thirsty." Her voice said again. This time from somewhere in the kitchen.

When I turned around to go in the kitchen, two loud pops went off in my parents room. Fear ran through my body like an ice cold stream.

What was that?

Looking back towards the kitchen I saw her. She was wearing a white nightgown and her hair was white. Mom and dad were sitting at the table smiling while sipping coffee.

"Are you going to get your sister some juice, kiddo?" My dad asked with a smile. He seemed almost too happy. The man hadn't cracked a smile in weeks, let alone talk to me.

"You okay dad?" I ask, cautiously walking toward the fridge to get Tilly some juice.

"Of course champ." His voice sounded a little distorted. I looked at mom who was just chatting away to dad. Like I wasn't just talking to him. Then back towards Tilly, blood was pooling from her mouth once more. But, neither of my parents rushed to her. They just sat there smiling and chatting away.

"Two bubba..."

"What?"

Lucas
Day 3

My eyes fluttered open. It was bright outside, and had to be around noon. I checked my phone. One new message from Avery.

:new message from Avery:
:Mom has locked me in the attic!:

I stared confused, Avery was known for his jokes and it was hard to take him seriously.

:reply: hahaha very funny!

He didn't reply again. Guess I made him mad. First I went to check on Tilly. When I opened the door my heart dropped. There she was in the same spot where we left her.

She was still covered, no sign that she had ever moved. Hot tears ran down my face as I made my way to the living room.

My parents still weren't up yet. Which was weird because yesterday they were up at the crack of dawn with Tilly.

I miss her laugh...

I turned the TV on. The news was broadcasting, showing how the vaccine killed all the volunteers except for one.

That others that thought they received a vaccine received a placebo of sugar water.

People have been rioting outside that clinic for hours now. Aren't we supposed to be staying home?

A scream from outside, I ran to the window to see several people in hazmat suits walking down the street dodging bodies that laid strewn across lawns and sidewalks,

What just happened?

"Another wave just hit" the news broadcaster said answering my question.

Hey that's weird... Mom nor sad came out to see what the commotion was.

I crept down the hallway quietly. If they were sleeping hard through that I don't think my walking would wake them, but.

My hand clasped around the cold door knob. Slowly I turned it and pushed in the door.