Helena Beat

My feet were strong as the bareness of them hopped out of the van. We started at the bookshop, because we all knew that Mark liked to read. We waited five minutes on guard for other rebellions as he took the ones he wanted, rushing out and dumping them into a cart Hollyn had found. We then booked it to a grocery, where we got all of our favourite foods and mashed them into the cart as well. Lastly we travelled into the electronic store. I grabbed a haphazard video game while Mark yelled to Hollyn, "Help me carry this television!"
And to the cart it went.
Laughing, we pushed the cart down the road as it slowly rolled its way to the van again. I jumped on top of the vehicle and pried the trunk door open, Hollyn and Mark threw all of our findings into the back and I climbed through the sunroof into the shotgun seat, belly-laughing as Mark climbed into the driver's seat with a huge grin on his face. Hollyn dove into the back, not bothering to put her seatbelt on before we started driving at full speed.
None of us bothered anymore. What was there to hit?
Whilst Mark's foot was pried to the floor on the gas pedal, I glanced at the city one more time. It was so abandoned, so lonely. Garbage flew everywhere, the streets were covered in random flecks of shattered glass from the store windows. It used to be a great city, one that stood tall and amazed me as I looked up at the tall windows.
That was before the take over.
Now it was just a burning city with flames covering some buildings and trash covering the next. This or that, it was ugly now anyways.
I couldn't even remember what it was called.
When I glanced out the window, I could have sworn to see a short child peaking out of behind a building. I rested my left foot atop the seat I was sitting on, noticing it was bleeding because of a piece of broken glass stuck inside. I picked it out as I told Mark, "I think I just saw a ranger."
I looked over at him, he shrugged. "Too late now. I guess we got out just in time, eh? And with such a jackpot, too." He chuckled. I noticed how Mark's hair was even dustier than the day before, how his knuckles were bleeding and how ratty his clothes looked. He resembled someone homeless.
Then again, not like I looked like a princess.
We drove quickly into the open lands, where bare desert took over. It didn't used to be that way. The take over made it so bare, so ugly. There used to be scattered trees and fields and fields of green grass. And in the winter, there would be snow covering the ground, sometimes the height going taller than you.
I hadn't seen snow in three years.
Hollyn said, "We would've gotten out much faster if we didn't grab that TV. Why do we need it anyway? Like we're going to find electricity."
Mark glanced back at her. "Who knows. Maybe the next motel we stop by will have electricity."
I looked back at Hollyn, who rolled her dark green eyes. I was always jealous of those eyes, ever since back in seventh grade when we met. "Yeah, right." she mumbled.
I looked foreword again and sighed, putting my feet up on the dashboard. I opened the sunglass department and pulled out a purple and yellow bandana. I then wrapped it around my head and tied. Mark took one looked at me and had a side-smile on his face. "Trippy."
I nodded once and closed my eyes.
It all started three to four years ago, but who's really counting? I could barely tell when the seasons started and ended these days, barely even knew when my birthday should have been celebrated.
It didn't happen quickly, the Creator knew to keep the movement of his "master plan" as secret and gradual as possible. Here and there would be reports of dead or missing people, the dead mostly being over twenty years of age and the missing being younger. And then the number of missing or dead grew, but before anyone could do anything about it or even realized what was happening, the take over started. In my small town, I remember, which was far from here. There was screaming and cursing and fire. It all happened so quickly, so quietly. A herd of young teenagers yelling out about the New Age, the apocalypse. They were the missing ones. Reinforcements came in, but nothing could stop them.
Soon, my small town was dead.
The apocalypse of the New Age spread. Adults started to catch on, and they fled. Soon random teens were willing to give into the Creator's master plans because they were all for teens running around wild, filled with angst.
It was a confusing year. And it turned out to be this.
I still didn't understand what had happened exactly. All I knew was that all the adults were either out of the country or in hiding, and no one would help us. All were afraid of the New Age. At first I found it ridiculous, how not even our own country - no, not even our own world would help us with this mess. They only ran away and lived on.
But then I got used to it. And, you know, I loved being as free as I was now. Even if it did mean not seeing my mother. It wasn't like she was out trying to find me. Hell, I didn't even know where she was right then.
I opened my eyes sleepily and looked over at Mark. I remember when I was starting high school and how I looked up to him so much. He was the "cool guy" who did all the drugs and such, but still stayed a good sport and a great kid, not to mention a fantastic friend. He always had a smile on his face and was always ready to put his crap behind all of your crap, ready to listen.
I didn't imagine ever being friends with someone that amazing, but it happened. And after the apocalypse, we stuck together.
And then there was Hollyn. She always had the boys after her, what with her beautifully mean look and her pretty eyes. Not to mention how curvy she was, or how her hair always looked perfect even if we were in the middle of stealing something from an abandoned shop. It used to bug me, but ever since the take over I haven't cared.
Then it happened. It was very sudden, I hadn't expected it at all. Mark hit the breaks so fast that I got the wind knocked out of me. Slamming my hands onto the dashboard as my feet slid off, I felt Hollyn slam her head against the back of my seat. Mark hit his head onto the wheel which made the horn sound. "Shit!" he cursed.
I was dizzy at first, but I soon recovered. No, we didn't crash into anything or skid off of a cliff; but there was, I noticed, a child standing in the middle of the road a couple of feet ahead of us. Not even a child, a young teenager who looked lost. Hollyn snapped, "Ouch! What the phuck, Mark, am I bleeding? What is wrong with you?"
We both didn't reply. "Dumb ass child." I muttered.
"What is he doing?" Mark asked to no one. The child still stood there, still and lost.
Mark honked the horn again. "Hey, get off of the road!"
"Goddamn it, Mark, just go around the kid." Hollyn hissed. "I think I might have broken something."
The kid moved, then. He rose his hand and waved, as if he was signalling that he needed Mark to come out and help him. Mark looked at me. "What the..."
I shrugged and rested my head on the seat. "Just go help him," Hollyn groaned. "And then kill him for making us almost hit him."
Mark took an annoyed breath and climbed out of the van's window. I sat up then, watching as Mark made his way over. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, and he didn't seem like he was dangerous. Who knew, though. Mark met up with the kid and talked to him, though it was inaudible.
Then there was a bang.
Hollyn's eyes went wide. "What was that?"
I looked to the back of the van. "I don't know. Do you think we broke down?" We both were silent as we listened for more sounds, not paying attention to Mark anymore but instead looking at the back. There was another bang, and another. As if... as if someone were walking on top of the van.
I then remembered the sunroof was opened.
Instinct hit me and I slowly looked above me. There was another young teenager, maybe thirteen years old, looking down at me through the sunroof. His eyes were narrow and he had a smirk on his face. He put one finger over his mouth and said, "Shh,"
A rebellion.

_____________________________

shap?
so, how do ya guys like it so far?
i wanted to get it done today,
but it started to get too long:$
so tell me in the comments,
how was da read?
i'm sure it was a bit confusing at first, but i promise you'll understand soon enough;)
well, hope ya liked it.
and i'll be updating soon!
mischiefmanagedandmaytheforcebewithyou.

-fee\nic