The Crash

I drove away while we heard gunshots from our house.

I pulled out my phone and dialed 911 but they weren't reachable.

All around us was chaos, I could only think about getting Gemma somewhere safe.

I heard whimpers come out of her mouth and reached over to console her.

"We'll make it through this I swear"

I pulled up Google maps and tried to find the way out the city. I didn't pay enough attention to where I was going.

"Look out!"

Gemma screamed but I was too late. The car rammed into another, causing our car to topple over and roll because of the speed we were at.

My ears were ringing and my vision was blurry. I looked to my side and Gemma was unconscious.

I tried to get out of the car, my body hurt like hell. I manage to wriggle my self outta there and came to my sister's side to pull her out.

I managed to pry the door open and carried her out of there. There was a fabric store not far that seemed mostly untouched.

I picked a rock and broke the glass closest to the handle and unlocked it from the inside. There were a bunch of clothes everywhere and I ripped some to use to bandage and clean some of her wounds.

I put her behind the counter and sat next to her. She was still breathing but she wasn't conscious so I sat next to her until she woke up.

#

I heard groans and opened my eyes to see my sister trying to sit up. I quickly rushed to help her.

"Don't stress yourself, it was a nasty crash"

"How long was I out?"

I pulled out my phone to check. "It's been three hours since this madness started. Is this what it means to purge?"

"Where are we?"

"A fabric store, I'm guessing since there ain't much here but clothing that it was untouched"

She hung her head.

"What are we gonna do?" she whispered.

"I dunno, none of the emergency services are working. I've been calling them for ages now"

"It won't work"

She raised her head to look me in the eye.

"The broadcast said they wouldn't operate during the purge"

"Yes the broadcast, did they say anything about how we can get out of this?"

She squinted her eyes trying to remember.

"I remember them saying that all crimes are legal… including murder" she looked at me when she said that last part. "It also lasts for twelve hours"

"That means we got nine more hours to go"

A silence befell upon us.

"I was thinking that we hide in here until the time is up"

"Then what? Our father is gone. We should have never left the farm"

"You can't put that on him he had to, everything reminded him of mom. He needed a change of scenery"

"I know but-"

I silenced her by wrapping her in a hug and stroking her head.

"I don't know what to do either but… we'll be okay. I'll make sure of that"