4 Days - 8

Day 3 - Early Morning

 

 

              In a blink of an eye, a sudden rush of a dazed sensation hit the boy as he shot up from the couch. Looking outside the window to see that the sky was dark, with a waning moon descending unto the skyline of the city. He had fallen asleep for hours, even though it only felt like a blink. The grogginess of awakening had hit the boy as he raised his hand to stroke his temple, pacing around the room to see that no one had arrived in his sleep. The boy sunk to his knees, coming to the realization that his father didn’t make it. In this situation, the boy knew that this would be where his father would go, but he hadn’t arrived. The idealistic vision of his father returning was shattered and thrown to the ground. The boy rubbed his eyelids, tired and strained. He sighed and stood back up and paced over to the window. Staring out into the black painted city, only to be accompanied by a few strained lights and silence. That silence was all that stretched across the night. It was soothing, yet unwelcome. It was a reminder that nothing was waiting for him out there. He glanced over at the radio, remembering the broadcast. He knew that there were people out there, far away from the city, but no one he knew, no family or friends he knew of to help him. He didn’t even know if he had the energy to get out, the boy felt weak, his legs wobbled under the weight of his own body. He didn’t notice it; his body was pumped with adrenaline from the past two days he didn’t notice he was struggling to keep himself together.

           

            A sudden burst of noise rang throughout the city, echoing around the buildings and against the sky. It sounded familiar to the boy; it was a howl, a canine howl. It sounded like the sister’s pet dog. The boy listened closely, wondering if another would arise. It did, a beagle’s howl resonated across the sky. The boy raised himself from the windowsill, remembering his sister’s dog wasn’t in the car as well. Although hope was lost for his father, the girl may have not returned home, she may have gone back to the park, the boy thought. He raced out of his apartment and down the stairs back to the ground floor. He barreled through the front door to the complex, the loud echoes of the canine continued. The echoes seemed to originate from the direction of the park. The boy sped up towards the howls, filled with a new vigor to find his sister. Passing by more stopped cars, with the drivers head’s reeled back into the seat, eyes wide open, and strained. The boy ignored them, stepping over a body that covered the sidewalk. He weaved through the cars, climbing on top of one to get a better view of the park. The howls continued. Nodding, the boy stepped down and tracked after the park.

            The community building was in sight as the boy raced along the familiar trail up to it. The howls had begun to quiet down. He stepped up to the entrance of the old building, and searched the premises. The howls had stopped; there was no more noise to be heard. The boy didn’t see the spry pup anywhere. There were no traces of him anywhere, no path he could’ve went, no tracks. The boy was puzzled by where the howls came from; he heard a dog making uproar from this spot. He looked around to see that the moon of the night had set to make way for the morning, the sky behind the boy slowly turned from dark blue to a shade of orange. The silence that surrounded the city once again was broken, but not by an animal, a mechanical noise rang. It was much softer noise; it felt nearby. A sudden burst of light shined through the city and a revving noise clanked out. A dark colored van pulled around the building with headlights shining brightly, stinging the boy’s eyes. The van stopped, quickly, once it faced the boy. The van stopped moving, the engine dying down. The passenger side door swung open and a boot came out. The boy stepped forward cautiously. A person wearing HAZMAT gear stepped out and gestured for the boy to step forward.