I lingered on the driveway. “Bye mom.”
She smiled, her white teeth gleaming in the shadow of her hat. She slide her forearm across her head, brushing back her sandy, blonde hair, and wiping a few beads of sweat away. “Love you, sweetheart.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
Then I thought of my father, with his proud childish smile and the way he used to playfully mess up my hair when I’d done something good. Like getting a good report card. “Good job, kiddo,” he’d say as I stood there giggling.
I choked on my sobs. I’d never be able to tell either one of them that I loved them ever again. My memories of them that was all I had left. And my memories weren’t good enough.
I felt like there was a huge gaping hole in my heart. A hole that I knew would never close. An annoying repetitive pain circulated through my lungs and I felt like I was being stung by a hundred bumblebees. I sat up, still sobbing and hugged my chest. “My parents,” I cried, looking at the small blood spots on the concrete.
Owen’s hands slid over my shoulder and he whispered in my ear, “Georgina, we have to go.”
“I can’t,” I mumbled. The spots of blood were all I could look at.
“We have to. The rest of the cannibals will be here any second.
I peered at Owen, with desperation in my eyes. “But my parents.”
“Would want you to get out of here and stay alive.”
Owen helped me up and led me to the ladder. He took both of my sacks out of my hands and I put both of my hands on the rope. One more look, all I wanted was to look at the spot where my parents died one more time.
I glanced over my shoulder for a moment and made a promise to myself. A promise that my parents wouldn’t be disappointed in what became of me. They’d be proud of what I’d accomplished. Proud that I watched over Frankie, with motherly intentions and proud that I survived outside of the colony.And lastly, they’d never be dead to me. Because I’d keep them alive forever, in my heart.
I didn’t know what the future had in store for me and the others. New earth was desolate, terrifying, and barren. A place where surprises lurked around every corner. A place that hated survivors and wasn’t satisfied until their bones lined the covered streets.
New earth reminded me of a monster we learned about mythology class, the Kraken. A massive beast that wasn’t satisfied until he defeated the Titans, and humanity.
New earth consumed people, just like the Kraken, but I knew one thing for certain, it would never consume me or anyone I cared about ever again.
I was strong. I was a survivor. And I would never, no matter how difficult it might have been, go down without a fight.
Owen placed his hand on my back and urged me up the ladder. “Come on.”
Then I climbed up the rope ladder, out of the hole, and out into a vast, dangerous world that could literally eat me alive.
Epilogue: Wasted
The earthly desert was quiet at night. The only visible light was the blazing fire in front of me. The fire snapped and crackled as it burned the fallen debris Owen gathered to make it.
The group decided that while everyone else slept, two of us would take turns and keep watch. I volunteered for the night shift. And so did Colin.
We hadn’t spoken to each other since we left the colony. I liked it that way. I didn’t have anything to say to him nor did I want to say anything to him.
When we fled the colony, he invited himself to come along on our journey to the untouched place. In the heat of the moment, there was too much going on and it hadn’t fully registered with me, that we’d be stuck together. At the time, I figured that we could use as many strong people as possible. Now I regretted being agreeable to him joining us.
We sat with our backs facing each other’s staring, out in opposite directions. Frankie laid at my feet and her soft breathing filled my ears. I brushed my fingertips along her forehead. “It’s just me and you, sis,” I whispered. She moaned and rolled over. I didn’t know how much I longer I should have waited to tell her about our parents. It had only been a few hours since their deaths. Tomorrow, I told myself. I’d tell her tomorrow.
My head whipped around when Colin spoke. “What did you say?” he asked with a low voice.
I glared at him and scowled. “I wasn’t talking to you.”
He looked down at the ground. “Oh.” He paused. “Georgie, listen.”
I cut him off. “Don’t even go there.”
His eyes burned into mine. “You don’t even know what I was going to say?”
I narrowed my eyes. “You were going to apologize, weren’t you?”
“Yeah,” he said quietly.
I harrumphed. “Well, you can save your breath because I don’t want to hear it.”
Closing my eyes, I saw myself again, on the ground screaming for him. My arms were outstretched as I clawed at the dirt and tears filled my eyes as I struggled to get away. Colin was ahead of me, still running, not even glancing back.I shuddered. If Colin thought that me forgiving him was going to be easy, he was out of his mind.
Coming Soon
PRIDE
Beauty is only skin deep.
YA Contemporary – August 30, 2011
At age fifteen, Angela Dunne was plucked out of the crowd at her local mall by modeling agent, Olivia Lennox.
After fighting her way to the top, Angela is catapulted into the world of magazine covers, photo shoots, and runway shows. She’s traveling the globe, modeling for the best designers, and living the life most girls her age could only dream of.
And it doesn’t take long for Angela’s rising stardom to go to her head. Being beautiful has become her obsession and her image is all she ever thinks about. Her family is ashamed of her. Friends don’t know her anymore. People in general can’t stand to be in the same room with her. The new Angela, finds pleasure in belittling those who aren’t as fortunate as her in the beauty department and treats those who aren’t up to her standards like they areinsignificant.
Suddenly, Angela’s modeling career comes to a halt after an accident backstage at a runway show. Now, Angela has to come to terms with the fact that she’s no longer beautiful on the outside. She’s a freak, a monster with a disfigured face. For someone who was once so beautiful on the outside but ugly on the inside, it’s up to Angela to dig deep down within herself and discover what the real meaning of beauty is.
Chapter 1: When I Grow Up
Tears spilled onto my cheeks as I bolted out of The Limited. I pushed my way through the crowd of people, my shoulder brushing against a woman to my left as I picked up speed. “Hey!” she shouted. “Watch where you’re going!”
I didn’t have time to apologize. My mother was gaining on me and the sound of her voice carried down the narrow, mall corridor, “Angela! You get back here this instant!”
I kept running and running. I stopped at the end of the corridor, hunching over to catch my breath. Again, my mother shouted, “Angela Marie Dunne!”
Right now, I didn’t want to be anywhere near her. First, she rushed me out of the house to go school shopping. Then, when I expressed interest in a pair of jeans I actually wanted, she humiliated me in front all the associates in the store.
“Seventy five dollars! Absolutely not!” I said, mocking her shrill high-pitched voice.