Life at Gray Gables: Write Something.... Day #5

Another Day...Another writing challenge word!

I am so curious to know how everyone is taking to the writing challenge?

How are the words?

Are they getting the creative juices flowing?

Are you writing day by day or a story that goes on?

I am feeling the creative energy flowing through my fingertips. This is a story that I have wanted to write for a long while. It is one that I know is kind of played out with TV and all- but honestly...do you know what you are going to get yet?

I know that all are thinking Zombies...right?

Well, maybe it is....maybe it isn't! (Aren't I a sly one!)

I have no idea where I am going...well OK, I kind of do..but I am letting it flow naturally. I have a loose base that I have in my mind, but what ever is happening on the paper is what it is. (Hopefully that is not a bad thing and I do not end up with something awful!)

But, as always, please don't forget to leave feedback.

Good or bad.

At last..enjoy the story!

OUR WORD OF THE DAY IS:

twi·light

ˈtwīˌlīt/

noun

1.
the soft glowing light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon, caused by the refraction and scattering of the sun's rays from the atmosphere.

synonyms: half-light, semidarkness, gloom

"it was scarcely visible in the twilight"
2.

a period or state of obscurity, ambiguity, or gradual decline.

"he was in the twilight of his career"

synonyms: decline, waning, ebb;

I felt so torn, as we sat there. So helpless. The world as I knew it, before entering my basement, was no longer. I was fighting the urgency to go above ground, to find the sunlight and relinquish in it's rays. I was feeling feverish, boxed in and full of anxiety of the things that I had no knowledge of today.

I urgently tried the weather radio once more. I raised the antenna, as high as I could manage, as high as it would allow. I help the damn radio up, near the only window we had to the outside world. The emptiness was eerily taking over my thoughts about what had happen, or where everyone was. Yesterday, there had been people everywhere. They might not have been in their right minds, but they were still beings.

Johnie came to my side. I am sure he felt my distress, as I was doing everything within my power to hold it suppressed deeply inside.

"Tell me your troubles?" he asked as means of a questions. As if my troubles were not his own.

"I want to go up. I need to see. I need to know." It was the truth and all I could offer. It was pointless to unload about the fear I was holding in, about how scared I was for our children, our families. I also held relief that they were all here. With us. I know that it was not all, but it was a great deal. In this moment, it all came flooding to me, the people that were still out there. To me, they were. I knew of nothing else.

"You can. I need to go check on things this evening, at twilight. Will you came with me?"

"I think I need to. I don't understand what is above here and I am feeling claustrophobic down here."

His eye met mine with that statement. "Kas, you are going to have to get a hold of your claustrophobia. We could be underground, further by tomorrow. We could be down there for as long as our supplies will last."

His face grew cold. His tone was as if steel were cutting into my arm. I knew that he knew more than he would tell, all I had was a promise of what lies above tonight to see for my own eyes what the world was, or what it was to be.

The girls were by our side now. A flash of worry crossed Kayla's stone gray eyes. I, on instinct, grabbed her close, hugged her, rocked her and shushed her gently. I could not let them know. I could not let on what was going on...only I really did not have to, they already knew. They could sense the happenings before it even happened.

I was able to occupy Kayla and Kara, sit with my Mom and Grandma for a few hours and talk about what we were planning on doing in the weeks ahead. It was naive of us to talk about being normal by next week, but it was all we had to hang onto. Call it our hope.

When I had a few minutes to myself, I grabbed my journal and wrote about my day, as uneventful as it had been. I wanted to note that I remember Kayla talking to me on the Thursday before this past week, her last day of school before break. She had mentioned talk at school about the world coming to an end. Bright girl as she was, she wanted to know what it all meant.

Of course, I have no idea.

Twilight was among us. We were making sure the girls were fed, but rationing our inventory above ground, in case we ran low below in the days that were soon to come.

"We have no idea what to expect up there." Johnie said in a hushed voice, so no one in our group could hear. I was noticing that those who came from outside wanted no part in going upstairs. That did not fall blind on me.

I nestled my girls in with my Mom and Dad, as sleepy as they were, the days were growing long for us all. Johnie and I started our descend upstairs.

It was dark. Quiet. Our home was still. Stiller than it had ever been. A part of me imagined that this is what our home once looked like. I could envision those who settled here before us walking about the house with candles burning bright in their hands, as we were doing. Dark shadows appears all around. Johnie did not speak a word.

We headed to the attic. He wanted to make sure we were still secure. The attic was always a place that left me more uneasy than the rest of the space in the house. I walked quietly behind him, allowing him to lead and giving him space in case something went a-rye.

The darkness was a new claustrophobia for me, as if felt as if it were cutting off my air supply, slowly but surely. We made it all the way to the attic, watching our heads with the gabled roof above. I looked out the window. Nothing.

"Can I open the window, I just need some air." I whispered.

Johnie, now on the other side of the attic shouted, "NO!" as he rushed to my side.

I just looked at him, in awe. I had no idea what I had said to get such a dramatic reaction.

"You don't know, do you?" was all he said.

"I don't know, what?" I said.

"What happened to cause this." he said as he motioned to the vast emptiness that surrounded us.

I didn't have to say a word. He knew I did not know.

We hurriedly finished our rounds and headed back to the basement. The group was sound asleep, except for my father in law. He was on watch.

This is when my husband took me to the room with the window. We sat and he had somethings that I needed enlightened with.

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