Chapter 1

Tammy

It was the Memorial Day. A sorrowful dent in the lives of everyone in the city. They'd all gathered round the fire that shot towards the sky like a mangrove shrub, keeping warm while paying tribute to the fallen ones. A canopy of dark shadows them all, displaying a ghoulish dance in the dim light. The guards were already in place, behind the shadows, watching from above the rooftops and ready to keep the order by all means. Tammy thought it unnecessary.

She couldn't recall the last time there was chaos or even the slightest bit of disorder in the city. 

But the guards were a constant in the society, like stars are in the night sky.

The day was beginning to darken and night was fast approaching. There was no breeze but the air carried a familiar chill. Tammy had a shawl draped on her shoulder even though she had on the sweater her grandma made her.

With arms folded, she adopted the same solemn disposition as the body of people gathered around with her.   

 

Rising from the middle of the rather calm flame, a 150ft monument shot towards the sky. The Endless Column looked like it was looking to touch the sky, with its octahedral modules glowing in the flames. The "beads", as everyone calls them, symbolize the funeral stones of all the victims who had perished from the virus.

As Tammy gazed at the length of the monument she couldn't help but marvel at the number of " beads". So many died, so many families affected by the virus and yet there was no cure.

 The virus is said to be ruthless and had spared no race, gender or religion. Her study of the virus had shown that it invades the brain, hijacking its genetic information and driving the host insane and ultimately, brain death. There has never been a survival. It had a 100% mortality rate.

Fortunately, scientists were able to come up with a nano vaccine, L.O.V.E they called it. The way it worked was as an inhibitor, leaving the virus in a kind of artificially induced coma while dampening the stronger emotions of the individual.

A cure was still a distant dream but Tammy was determined to be the one to find it no matter what it takes. This was a fight her parents had begun and she was going to end.

It doesn't take long before the official begins reading the names of the lost ones. His voice is low dull, and has a monotone quality to it. Tammy and her grandmother, Grace, sit in the same spot as they have for the past seventeen years. This time Sesh, her best friend, accompany them. Sesh dons a velvet coal coat that does touches her waist over a body hugging black gown that reaches her ankle. She has a bored expression on her face which was typical of she. Tammy had once taunted her that she only had four expressions: Excited, really excited, bored and really bored. This wasn't how she'd planned  on spend her evening but rules are rules and skipping the Memorial Day was a serious offence and could breed suspicion.

No one had ever been punished or been caught skipping.

Tammy hates this day. If it was up to her she wouldn't have come, but Grace insisted and she would rather be present than to plant the seed of unwanted gossip and suspicion.

When she hears her parents' names two captive tears start gliding over her pale cheeks. She isn't supposed to feel so devastated. She isn't supposed to feel like her heart is ripped apart. Those two stray tears are her liaison with her departed parents and wiping them off would be losing them all over again. The monster inside her tries to break free, exploiting her weakness. She is too broken to fight him off, too exhausted to keep it chained inside the darkest part of her soul. It seems it has been growing stronger, making her vulnerable and an easy target in today`s battle. With the lump in her throat bigger than ever, Tammy starts gasping for air - lungs empty of breath, she can no longer stand. I have to get out of here, she tells herself over and over, afraid she might faint.

 

She slowly backs away, finding her way out of the crowd. Leaving the swinging sea of bodies behind, she starts running, consumed by the tears that had invaded her eyes. Soon the streets merge into each other creating a continuous looping strip of distorted buildings and dense canopies. She runs, blindingly skimming through the abandoned city, until her feet start hurting. 

The park, a flicker of green in the steely barren desert, unveils the beauty of the dark. It looks empty, as she enters the protective blanket of the leafy cover all around. Worn out and beaten, she gives up too tired to fight it anymore. Defeated, she falls to the ground and sets the demon free. With the big, old oak as her guardian, she cries out loud for all those years when she needed to, but couldn't.

"Why can't I be like everyone else?'' She demands, her voice hoarse from sobbing. The nanovaccine should have dulled her empathy receptors. It should have repressed the ache and pain she was feeling deep within her stomach.

It should have dampened her misery over the years but it did not. Unlike the rest of the citizens.

She'd always known she was different. Watching the others go about there day. There was something repressed about there laughter, the way the remained straightfaced on every Memorial day.

 At first, it was a game of keeping secrets, but then, as Tammy grew older, Grace taught her how to hide her feelings, to suppress them deep inside her. Otherwise, the others might get scared and take her away. Her grandma kept telling her she is different, special, just like her parents, although she would give anything to feel numb right now, to stop the pain from flowing through her body. Today, of all days, brings out the worst in her, with her entire defences crushed into pieces. The tables have turned and now she's the one entrapped in her own inner-cell.

Slave to her weak mind, Tammy is too busy fighting for her freedom to hear the light steps coming towards her. An instant later, a dark silhouette appears from behind the statue, one of the founders captured as he greets the passers-by. He passes through the barrier of light still coated in a thick cloak of darkness. Then, he takes a leap further crossing the path into the pitch black. He moves undetected in the stillness of the night, like a predator stalking his prey from the shadows. She doesn't notice him until it's too late, his presence only a few feet away. Terrified, she quickly wipes her tears with the back of her hands thinking that maybe he didn't hear her crying, maybe there is still hope.

Time stands still, as he kneels in front of her, their faces a few inches apart. Half of it is hidden under the hood, however, she will never forget the peculiar ocean eye examining her. She's caught straight in the centre of the storm, unable to swim in the deadly waters. The winds are pushing her into the deep forcing the air to leave her lungs. It is said life starts rolling before one's eyes when the end is near, still, Tammy's wit is held in a mind-game so strong, she can't move. Her heart stops beating as he raises his hand and gently wipes one stray tear with his thumb. He stares at her for what it seems like an eternity, and then, with a smirk on his face, he backs off, disappearing behind the metal sculpture.

Time starts ticking again rupturing the barrier of Tammy's mind and flooding her memory with instances from her temporary blackout. Flashes of her and Grace leaving the house are superseded by images of Sesh meeting them on their way to the Main Square. Then, they get replaced again and the voice of the officer starts reverberating in her head making her feel uneasy once more. She recalls the sharp pain that pierced her heart as her parents' names were read out loud and the crowd hovering over and leaving her breathless. The familiar surroundings soon become clear as she shifts her stare between the iron-grey monument and the thick, luxuriant forest encircling her. Clear, cold waters touch her skin and her entire body shivers at the memory of him. No one, except Grace, knows her secret. Her life is now in the hands of a stranger and she has no clue who he might be. Baffled and with her mind in a complete fog, she slowly gets up, her lip still burning where he had touched. Her fingers follow the same trace as him, welcoming the unfamiliar feeling as it grows stronger. Then, the reality carves its way into her mind, shattering the moment into a million pieces. Alone in the dark, her heart starts beating so fast it could break her chest. This is the end of her and she knows it.

"How could you be so reckless!"' She yells, hating herself for being so weak. She should have known better than to fall prey to this sorrowful night.

With trembling feet, she escapes the inert grassland into the mesh of busy streets. The ceremony had opened its stop gates a while ago, letting the masses flood the city in their return. She merges into the vast stream of people, bumping into them and collecting a few swears on her way. Her behaviour is the least of her concern right now, compared to the consequences she will have to face sooner or later. Her mind, an intricate patchwork of unanswered questions, sets her adrift. She wanders the busy streets, thinking over and over at what has happened. What if the guards are already waiting? What will happen to Grace? Will they take her, too? Breathing heavily, she quickens her steps preparing for the worst.

Still deep in her thoughts and not knowing how she got home, she finds her grandma sitting on the porch, her face spoiled with worry. The lights are out, but she could recognize her silhouette from thousands.

"Where have you been all this time, you, foolish girl? The curfew was half an hour ago!'' Grace jumps off the wooden stairs and hugs her tightly to her chest.

After searching Tammy's body for any injuries, she continues on a much softer tone.

"Thank God you are safe!' She adds, pushing away all the distressing thoughts that were ripping her apart. Then, gently invites her granddaughter inside, away from the prying eyes.

"I needed to be alone.'' Tammy whispers guilty and embarrassed as soon as the door closes behind them.

She's decided not to share with her what had happened in the park, no matter how much her heart aches for that. They've never kept any secrets from each other; however, she doesn't want to worry her grandma more than she already has.

Her few words are more than enough for Grace to understand how much Tammy needed to mourn. She kisses her tenderly on her forehead, knowing too well how greatly she misses her parents. After all, she'd lost her daughter, too.

"I miss them too. There no day that goes by when I don't think of them."

They both hug each with hearts heavy with grief. 

"A good night's sleep tends to calm even the most unsettled of souls.'' She tells her, still holding her to her chest.

Tammy chuckles bitterly, thinking that Grace has always known how to make her feel better, still this time she couldn't be further from the truth.