1

It had been exactly a month since the liar gas was exposed. It all started in a science lab. It was supposed to be kept a secret by the inventors but one of the scientists had been careless enough to allow the release of the dangerous gas into the atmosphere. 

At first, the government tried to conceal this secret, hoping it would go unnoticed by the public. But then, things grew worse. It wasn't even a minute old after a lie when the victim would cough and fall to their knees, then pass away.

Once the citizens noticed, they tried to migrate to other countries, but at a rapid pace, every country in the world was hit.

My first experience was with Sasha Mark, we were all in the school hallway. My friends, Berry, Casey, Jane, and I. Sasha was our school's popular. She liked everyone and got the mutual feeling in return. We were never friends but stopped to say hello, once in a blue moon.

We were all by Casey's locker, talking about her new blue hair. She had dyed it and would not cease to discuss it to the rest of us.

"You guys need to see how Eric kept staring at me!" She rolled a few strand of her curly hair around her pinky. "My hair really brings out my skin tone, don't you think?" She grinned, praising herself for her new look.

Sasha was walking with Tanya, her best friend, innocently heading to the cheerleading unit. "Sash!" Casey beamed, waving humorously at her friend. "What do you think of my new hair color?" Casey twirled so Sasha could see her from every angle.

Sasha gasped in astonishment, "oh my gosh, I love it, it is beautiful!" She sounded so cheery and honest.

Casey flipped her hair with a satisfied smile. "Thank you babe."

Sasha and Tanya moved on, loudly arguing about what girl bands were or were not in vogue.

"What do you guys plan on doing Saturday night?" I asked them, opening my school bag and scanning through its content, in search of my cell phone.

"Well..." Casey began, but we never got to hear her suggestion as a deafening cough from Sasha drew our attention.

"Sasha?!" We heard Tanya call in a worried tone. She wrapped her arms around her friend to support her. 

"I have water!" Berry offered, putting his water bottle forward. My friends and I ran to their side. Sasha's cough grew louder and she beat her chest, her eyes going completely white.

"What is happening to her?" I grew worried. She fell to her knees and a purple like fluid began to drip from the corners of her lips.

Berry tried to force the water down her throat but it was of no use. She was gone. 

"Sasha?!" All of us tried to revive her, panicking in confusion.

Jane pulled her phone out to dial 911. Tanya knelt beside her to check for a pulse, "she is gone." She gasped, seeming unable to process the information.

The fluid did not cease, I felt it with an index finger, drawing the finger up to my nostrils to smell what the warm fluid was like. It had no odour, just a warm sensation to the touch. "What is this?" I rhetorically demanded to know.

"I have no idea." Berry responded.

A few health workers arrived to the scene to investigate the victim. It was only when I got home that night and went through the news that I discovered what was going on. Over a thousand people died that day.

It was a traumatic experience for me. Schools were reopening tomorrow, I had no idea why. The government said it was a permanent fix and life had to go on. I saw no reason to life anymore. I didn't realise how much we lied to save ourselves until now. 

It did not help my anxiety to know these things. I had committed myself to remain mute for the rest of my life.

*

"Ariyah?" My mother called, slightly knocking on my bedroom door before walking in. "Come downstairs, dinner is ready.

I nodded at her so she knew I had acknowledged her presence. She had my baby sister in her arms and with a sigh, when she noticed I was not going to give in to her request, she came to sit beside me on the bed where I had my knees drawn to my chest.

"You know, you can't stop talking forever." She began, putting one hand on my shoulder. She was wrong, I could.

"School starts tomorrow, what will you do when your friends begin to feel ignored?" She asked. That was if they were still alive. I turned to look in the other direction.

"You just have to adapt to what the world has become now, hmm?" She sighed, hoping she sounded as convincing as she willed to. I was lucky to still have my family in one piece. I just hoped it would last forever.

I turned to look at her but met the gaze of my eleven months old sister instead. She had four teeth and sent a wide grin in my direction that warmed my heart.

"I'll try." I said. My mother gasped, taken aback by my words. I had not spoken in three weeks and it honestly felt so foreign. I had thought before saying the words aloud. Was I willing to try? I'd asked my subconscious. I did not want to say words I would only end up regretting.

"I just don't want to die, yet." I leaned in against her shoulder.

"And you won't, if you try." She sounded assuring. I had to believe her. I needed to. 

I had to try.