The Prescient

|Chapter 1|

My legs pushed forward on their own, moving with as much speed as possible. The sound of my feet hitting the ground faded as I ran. My heartbeat was fast, but steady. Steady, but fast.

It felt as if people were watching, possibly wondering why I was running at five in the morning. I shook off the feeling and pushed on, my ankles burning.

Turning around the corner, I slowed down to a jog. My heartbeat was erratic, but it was a feeling I would get every morning I ran.

My mind raced with the information I had gathered this past week. I've recently found out that the cell towers are being repaired all around the globe, meaning the phones are still going to be out.

The police officers look more rigid than usual. I could see the look of distrust and caution in their eyes every time I saw one.

Something's going to happen, and it's not going to be long until it does.

I could feel one of those migraines coming again. I stopped running altogether, closing my eyes.

Just breathe, Zoey. Breathe.

It slowly started to go away, but I could still feel it. I let out a shaky breath and took off in a sprint towards the house.

Once I got there, I leaned against the post that was on the porch. I blinked, feeling my eyes getting blurry.

I walked ahead, falling against the hardwood door. I closed my eyes, trying to catch my breath.

"Zoe?"

I opened my eyes and saw my little brother in the doorway, his big, blue eyes swimming with worry. I waved him off, groaning.

"I'm fine. Go back to sleep." I said. He grabbed my hand, and I leaned on him for support.

"Thanks." He led me into the house, sitting me at the kitchen table.

"No problem." He mumbled, closing and locking the door. I groaned, pain washing over me in waves.

"Here. Take this."

He held out a pill and a small glass of water. I took it from his hands and threw the pill in my mouth, washing it down with the water.

I downed the whole cup, sighing at the cold liquid flowing down my throat.

"Now," I sat the glass down and gave him a hard look.

"Why are you up? You're supposed to be sleeping." I said.

"I went to the bathroom and checked to see if you were in your room. When you weren't there, I waited at the door for you." He said. I shook my head.

"Don't do that. You have to get all the sleep you can. You need your energy." I said, ruffling his hair. He glared at my hand. I could see color come to his small cheeks.

"I'm fine. I'm full of energy." He said, smiling. I smirked.

"Oh? Do you have enough energy to run around the block at least twice?" I asked. His smile faded and was replaced with a frown.

"No." He mumbled. I smiled.

"Exactly. That's why you need your sleep because that's what we're doing today when you get home." I said, standing up.

I headed up the stairs, his feet moving quickly behind me.

"Really, Zoe?" He groaned.

"I have homework after school. I'm not going to be able to do drills." I rolled my eyes, entering my room.

"If you ask me, homework doesn't matter. Your stamina does." I mumbled under my breath.

"I beg to differ."

I gritted my teeth and turned around. My mother frowned at me from my bedroom door.

"Good morning, mother," I said, digging in my dresser for some clean clothes.

"What are you two doing up?" She asked. I glanced at her, giving her a look. She rolled her eyes.

"Why are you up, Matt?" She asked.

"I waited for Zoe to come back." He said, his cheeks flushed. I chuckled, walking pass them.

"It was almost time for him to get up anyway. He'll be fine." I said, sending him a wink. He smiled.

"Uh-huh. And what's this about stamina is more important than homework?" She asked. I turned around.

"At the moment, it is. We have to work on our running if we want to survive this thing." I said. She frowned at me.

"Go get ready for school, Matt. I'm going to take you today." She said. Matt nodded and walked off into his room. My mother gave me a disapproving look.

"You're still on about this?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. I sighed. Here we go.

"I'm always going to be on about this, mom. Something is going to happen. Something is happening now." I said. She rolled her eyes at me.

"Nothing is happening. Stop making all of these ridiculous assumptions." She said. This time it was me rolling my eyes.

"They aren't assumptions. They are facts. I've been piecing everything together. It matches perfectly. That is why I'm doubling the drills for us." I said.

Matt popped his head out of his room door, groaning.

"Double drills? No way. Ms. Archer make her stop." He said.

I chuckled, shaking my head. A look flashed on my mom's face, causing me to stop laughing.

"Go get ready, Matt." She said, her tone level. I raised a brow. He sighed, going back into his room.

"You have to stop this, Zoey. It's not healthy for Matt." She said. I glared at her.

"Not healthy? Feeding him lies is healthy for you? He deserves to know." I said.

"There is nothing to know. You need to stop all this world coming to an end mess. It's messing with Matt's head, and I promised him that this would be a good home for him." She whispered, keeping her voice low.

I gritted my teeth. How dare she pull the home card on me?

"Please. Denying it is just going to get him killed. I'm trying to keep us alive. When it happens, you'll see." I whispered harshly. She gasped. I turned on my heels and walked to the bathroom.

I closed the door behind me, seething. She just doesn't see it as I do. She doesn't... feel it like I do. I sighed, closing my eyes.

Jesus, it's too early for arguments.

I opened my eyes and looked at myself in the mirror. My brown eyes stared back at me, warning me of the path that awaits. I shook my head and stood up straighter, stretching.

My bones popped, and I sighed in somewhat content. I took down my hair and fluffed it around, blowing a piece out my face.

Why can't she just listen to me? It seems the only person that believes me is Matt.

Matt. The one kid I never thought I would grow a love for. He's my little brother, and I would do anything to protect him.

I still remember when mom proposed the idea of bringing in a foster kid. I was skeptical at first. Not because I didn't want him here, but because I was finding out more and more about the world.

He was so scared when he first came. He was pale and had small freckles across his cheeks. He looked at me and smiled, and that's when my love started to grow. He's been with us for four years.

Every time I look at him, I just get the feeling that I won't be able to protect him.