CHILDREN OF THE GONE SERIES
Episode #1 “No Entry”
INTRODUCTION
This first episode of the “Children of the Gone” series is called “No Entry.”
PROLOGUE
In the year 2019, a mysterious disease swept over the world. In a matter of weeks all humans over the age of puberty died. Only the young children remain.
Episode 1, No Entry, follows a small group of children trying to figure out what to do now.
Part 1
“Order. Order in the Lunch Room,” said Sam. “I know there has been a lot of talk of wanting to head south right now. I just don’t think we’re ready. It’s only been about 6 weeks since the outbreak. We don’t know what’s out there yet.”
“It’s July now, and we don’t know how long it’s going to take to get south,” said Tim, a tall 10-year-old with golden hair. “I’m going south. I’m going to try and take a bus as far as it will go. Anyone who can fit on the bus can come with me,” said Tim in his loudest voice.
“You can’t just take a bus,” said Sam. “No one here knows how to drive a bus. You’re not tall enough. You don’t even know how to start it.”
“I’m sick of these stupid meetings,” shouted Tim.
“Yeah,” yelled all the kids around Tim.
“We’re almost out of water. All the stores have been searched. There’s none left. I’m not gonna drink that stinky river water,” yelled Tim.
“We need to make a plan,” said Sam, in his loudest, most official voice.
“Fuck plans! Fuck these stupid meetings! No stupid meeting is going to bring our parents back. These stupid meetings are just keeping us stuck in this stupid place. I don’t want to be here anymore, and I don’t have to be,” yelled Tim. “If anybody tries to stop me, I’ll shoot ‘em right in the face.”
Several of the kids had found guns in houses. Tim had found a handgun and holster and wore it everywhere he went. The rumor was that he had shot it once, and the gun had jumped out of his hand. He hadn’t tried to shoot it since. He threatened to shoot someone right in the face at least once a day, and no one dared to test him.
“I’m with Tim,” yelled a little brown haired boy, sitting next to Tim.
“I’m with Tim,” yelled a little girl.
Echoes of “I’m with Tim” erupted from the crowd.
“Let’s go,” yelled Tim, “Let’s go get a bus! I’m driving to Florida!”
A swarm of kids all ran out of the lunchroom and headed to the bus barn of the school.
“They’re never going to get that bus started,” said Sam.
“They don’t even know how to drive a stupid bus,” said Dylan.
“What if they do? What if they get it started and just leave us here?” said Heidi, “Should we go south, too?”
“It’s okay, Heidi,” said Sam. “They’ll never get that bus started.”
“I think they’re going to leave anyway,” said Maddie. “We can’t stop them. They’ve been talking about it for days now.”
“Out of all the kids in this town, I can’t believe that there are only six of us that want to stay here. We grew up here,” said Sam.
“There is nothing left here,” said Maddie. “All of our parents are gone. All of our older brothers and sisters are gone, too.”
“They’re all dead,” said Lillyan.
“Don’t say dead,” said Maddie. “It’s not polite.”
“But they are,” said Lillyan.
“We don’t have a plan,” said Sam. “My family and I are staying here.”
“What are we going to do when it gets cold, Sam?” said Heidi. “What are we going to do for water?”
“Sam will know what to do,” said Dylan. “He’s the man of our family now. He will know what we need to do.”
Of all the kids left in the little Central Wisconsin town, only six remained in the large school lunch room. There was Sam Hamilton, 10, and his two 7-year-old siblings, Dylan and his twin sister, Heidi. Maddie McMealy, a tall 10-year-old girl with dark brown hair. The final two that remained in the lunch room were Greg Merski, 7-year-old best friend of Dylan Hamilton, and his little 4-year-old sister Lillyan.
It was dim in the lunch room. There were no windows, but the doors were propped open to let in the mid-summer afternoon light.
All the children of the town had been gathering daily in the lunch room for the past few weeks to try and make a plan. With such a large group of kids, it was hard to get any sense of order. It was hard to organize anything.
“You’re not a man,” said Heidi. “You’re only 10. All the men are gone.”
“He’s our big brother,” said Dylan.
“We will stay with you guys,” said Greg. “My sister Lill and I will stay with you.”
“You need someone to take care of you guys,” said Maddie. “I’ll stay with you, Sam. I don’t have any siblings. I just helped out with the ones I could.”
“I don’t think they’re ever going to get that bus going,” said Sam.
“I want to watch,” said Dylan.
“Me too,” said Greg.
“Okay,” said Sam, “but stay back.”
The small group walked outside the school. They could see kids all around the buses. Some kids had pried open the doors and had been sleeping on the buses for several weeks now. The buses had nice soft seats, and there were no dead people on them.
Dead people were a problem. Not only did they stink, they were also very scary. Almost everyone died in a bed. Homes were the scary places. Stores and places of business, schools, and libraries, were the places that were safe.
There was no electricity, no running water, and no Internet. All communication had been shut down when the power grid failed because there was no longer anyone to run it.
The kids on the bus had found the keys in the bus barn. They had them in the ignition of a bus and were turning it over. As Sam and his group watched from the distance they could hear the engine turn fast, then slow down a bit, then slow to a “ruurrr rurrr ruuuurrrr”, then stop.
All the kids piled from that bus to the next bus. They must have had the key already because as soon as they piled on they started cranking the motor.
“See they’re never going to get it started,” said Sam.
Just then, the engine fired. They could hear the kids on the bus shout with joy over the sound of the now revving engine. A mechanical grinding could be heard, as the bus was shifted into gear.
The bus lurched and knocked over the post planted in the ground in front of it. The bus reeled and chugged forward. The children inside screamed and howled with joy. It turned left towards the street, hitting bushes on the edge of the lot. It turned slowly right, taking up the whole street. It didn’t stop at the stop sign at the end of the street. It turned right and chugged, then rolled out of sight. As the bus drove away, the screams of joy from the children could be heard long after the sound of the engine as the bus disappeared into the distance.
“What are we going to do, Sam?” said Heidi, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“It’s just us now,” said Sam. “We will be okay.”
“Yeah, we don’t need them anyhow,” said Dylan.
“Should we find a way to leave, too?” said Maddie. “There isn’t any food left at the gas stations. The little grocery store is pretty much empty. The only places left for food are the people’s houses.”
“I will go in the houses for food when we need it,” said Sam.
“I can help,” said Dylan. “I’m not scared.”
“Not me,” said Greg. “There are dead people in the houses. Didn’t you ever hear of ghosts?”
“There are no such things as ghosts,” said Sam.
“My dad didn’t believe in ghosts. He told me they’re not real,” said Dylan. “I believe my dad.”
“Your dad ain’t here,” said Greg. “He’s a ghost.”
“Take it back,” said Dylan, punching Greg right in the face.
“That’s enough,” said Maddie, grabbing both boys by the shirts as they wrestled on the ground.
“Make him take it back,” said Dylan. “Make him take it back about my dad.”
“None of our dads are here,” said Maddie. “We have to learn to deal with that.”
“What about ghosts?” said Greg.
“There is no such thing as ghosts. Just stinky old bodies,” said Sam.
“Where are we gonna live?” said Heidi. “This school is so big and scary with no one else here.”
“We will live in the library for now. The last thing my dad said to me was stay near books. Read as many books as you can. The library has the most books. That’s where we will figure out what to do next.”
The summer sky was turning orange in the late afternoon. It was warm, almost hot still, but a cool breeze swept through the air. It would be getting dark in a few hours.
To Be Continued...
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-Doug