The World of the Golden Locket

It has been 532 days since this all started. The day was just like any other, or so that's what everyone thought, including me. At first, being only 16 at the time, the end of our world didn't seem so bad. It was freedom. Without the government telling people what you can and can't do, as a 16-year-old girl, all of that just seemed perfect. However, without rules, the new world was complete and utter chaos. Sure, people could do what they want without consequences. Unfortunately, that also meant that stealing what you wanted and fighting to obtain it was also allowed now. Murder, to survive, became a common occurrence. It didn't take long to figure that out for me, everything was a fight. Everyone was at war with everyone else.

The darkest day I had seen was after about 6 moons had passed, 156 days to be exact. It was a bright sunny day that became gloomy quickly. Mom, Dad, and Angelica, my only sister, were sitting for our breakfast and saying the blessings for the meal to God. After this day God seemed more of a fictional being than someone that was going to help us anyway. Mom had this cough for three weeks now but today it was different. She was coughing up black tar-like fleam and she had said over and over it was only allergies to the smoke from the nuclear particles left in the air from the explosion months ago. Today was very much different though. As she handed Angelica her meal, Mom collapsed and fell like the airplanes that once were in the sky.

Later that night Dad called me in to talk to Mom as we all knew she would not make it much longer. Angelica, only the age of 7 right now did not understand what was happening. All she knew was everyone was sad and that Mom would soon go live with God.

As I walked into the cabin's backroom I heard screaming coming from outside. "Make it quick!" Dad explained, "Find Angelica and me at the hiding spot" I didn't know what the banshee-type screaming was out there, but I knew it meant business. I had to talk to Mom quickly and say my goodbyes as fast as I could. She was very weak and didn't seem like my strong mother at all. She held out her hand and handed me something that sparkled like the sun. "This is what they are after," She said in between the coughing, "If it gets into the wrong hands it will be the death of all society."

As tears poured down my cheeks she closed her eyes and said one last thing to me. "Take care of your sister, Brit." She said very quietly, "I warn you, do not let anyone know you have this. it will not only be the death of you, but your fate will be worse than mine was. Now go, run! Find your sister and don't let them catch you"

Running through the dark tunnels that were hidden under the floor of the cabin I was scared, worried, and confused. When I got back out to the surface I heard the screams getting closer and closer to where we were. I ran to the cave that was the "safe space" our hiding place. There I found Angelica crying in the corner, shaking and scared. I knelt down to her and wiped her tears away. "It's okay sissy," I said in a calming voice to try to get her to calm. I had no idea where Dad had gone but I knew at this point it was just us and the world from here on out.

I looked in my hand to see what Mom had given me. It was her locket. She had always collected lockets. This one, however, was a special one. When we all moved to the cabin after the house we had was burnt down by the banshees, as we referred to them by, she had run into the building to grab this one locket. It was completely unscorched when she brought it out of there. It had come from my grandmother years ago. My mom told me then it was very important we kept it. I thought it was just some sentimental reason behind this old vintage golden locket, but I was very wrong. I put it around my neck and I fell asleep, daylight would soon come.

The next morning as I went to warm the fire, Angelica still sleeping in the cave, I looked down at my locket sparkling in the sun. A beam of white light appeared to be coming from the inside of the locket. It was the strangest thing I had yet seen during this apocalyptic time. I opened it and was flooded with memories, but they weren't my own. It was my grandmother. She had been gone for years now so seeing her again was so confusing and I sat there crying. She handed my mom the locket when she was in the hospital laying in that bed. She had said to her, "This is very important to keep, I can't tell you why here but I know you are smart and you will find out."

The memory faded and I was so confused. This locket was a looking glass into the past. This heart-shaped, golden-colored, and old-looking locket just seemed like any ordinary piece. Why would it hold so much danger? Why would this be bad though? Could unraveling the past really be a bad thing? Nobody knows what started this apocalypse, what if this is what the banshees were hiding. What if this is their fault? This made me angry and unknowing of what the future held for us. As I looked back at my sister all I knew was I had to protect her. I was the one to look after her, and myself. At least until we could find Dad.

To be continued...