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INSANIRE

In 2013, the energy prices went up. In 2020, we’re all suffering the consequences.

Chaos. I can never seem to escape it, not when I close my eyes at the dead of night, holding onto my ratty, bitten teddy-bear, with a faded red bow close to my chest, staring up at the ceiling as the darkness embraced me, wide awake. Nor when I sat in the middle of what was left of our living room floor, whispering tales of magic into my sibling’s ears, watching a smile curl onto their lips as we reach the end of the story. They all seemed to have a happy ending: Cinderella married her prince, Rapunzel was finally free from her castle.

We, however, were surrounded by chaos.

"Hailey," I heard a whisper run down my skin, which was drier than my throat on a summer’s day. It was Kye, my little brother, with his hair the colour of the richest chocolate, his hazel eyes like autumn leaves. He usually talked in his sleep, so it was no surprise to me when I found him babbling random sentences that I couldn’t piece together. Sometimes I wonder what he’s dreaming of, so maybe then I would know what he meant and would understand a little better. So whilst we were stranded in this world of nothingness, at least I could tell him that everything was okay, that whatever happiness he found inside his dreams was still there.

Rolling out of bed, I threw on a hoodie that was too big for me, and tattered vans. This was what I usually had to wear when going out to scrounge for food. I knew Kye had not eaten for a while know, his body deteriorating bit by bit. Even when I forced him to eat most of the sandwiches I could find, he would quickly feed them to his younger brothers and sisters when I wasn’t looking. In a way, I admired him for that.

Kissing his forehead with chapped lips, I creeped outside of the house. I didn’t like leaving everyone behind, because they usually worried when they heard the door shut; everyone looked up at me, took me as a mother figure. Our own parents were nowhere to be found.

Ever since the night the power went out.

Walking along the cobbled streets, I kicked little stones onto the sidewalk, hands in pockets, trying to keep warm. All around me, I could only see great heaps of sorrow. They used to be buildings, head quarters of the most famous companies and brands the world has ever seen, ranging from McDonalds to Maybeline. Soon, the energy prices rose, citizens boycotted the transition and thus the electricity was cut. At first, we thought we could manage. There were others ways of running the world, alternatives to what we already did.

But no one had known it would hit us this hard.

So that’s why, when I made out the emerald shine from the corner of my eye, I dashed forward until I had to pause for breath. With my sweaty palms on my knees, I slowly walked forward, breathing heavily, my eyes not moving on the prize. Reaching down, my fingertips had touched the cool skin of it, stroking it gently.

Then sharp teeth had cut into, through my skin too.

Yelping, I leapt back and watched as the shaggy creature chewed on the apple and ran off. This wasn’t fair: I had been searching for days and days to find food to feed the others, especially Kye. I had the apple within my reach just until the dog took it.

It’s amazing how there’s a split second between having it all and losing everything.

I wasn’t going to give up. Through my mind flickered the same hazel eyes that reminded me of autumn, filled with innocence and hunger. Heart hammering against my chest, I wiped the blood against my dirty jeans and sprinted around the corner, hitting shards of glass and cold stones. Despite it cutting through my feet, and the pain was unbearable, I kept running and running and running. Even when tiny droplets of rain had hit my face, even when I slipped and fell over on multiple occasions, grazing my knees in the process.

There he was. Curled up in a ball in a trashcan was the dog, apple in mouth, in the middle of what seemed to be his family. There were all different shapes and sizes, but the had the same colour fur, same skin. He looked up at me with eyes that reminded me of Kye. The poor dog couldn’t help it. All he wanted was food to feed them all, even if it meant being a theif. They just didn’t care.

I started to walk away. “It’s just an apple.” I murmured to myself but it meant so much more to me. I felt something nuzzle against the back of my leg and looked down at the dog, who threw the apple on the ground. I guess he was trying to tell me something, that he understood what I was going through. So I petted his head and gave him half. He didn’t take that either.

Again, he reminded me of Kye. I clenched my fists, not letting the apple out of my sight, spurting back home, running the red. My knees were still bloody, so was the cut the dog had left, but I so desperately wanted to go home and throw the damn apple onto the kitchen counter. I didn’t stop running.

Opening the door, I had found Kye on the staircase. As he looked up, I saw his eyes were puffy and wet with tears and his whole body was shaking. All I did was wrap a worn blanket around him and then I ambled into the kitchen.

"Hailey…" He croaked again, following me into the kitchen. Giving him a warm smile, I found the kitchen knife and started chopping. A gasp had escape his lips and he hid himself with the blanket. Kye was scared of knives, always thought that they’d somehow kill him, even if it was just his dear sister cutting him an apple. But he had saw me do this multiple of times to know I would do no such thing. When he pulled his blanket down, I threw the rotten part of the apple into the bin, which was, quite frankly, most of it. But for the first time ever since they had cut the energy, I had not felt like Hailey anymore, the girl who was out protecting her family.

Kye. I had felt like Kye, the boy who would give up anything to save them, even if it was as scarce as rotten apple.

"Here." I crouched down to his height and let the words come out gentle. He shook his head, nudging the fruit towards me. Swallowing hard, I swooped him up into my arms and carried him back to our bed, which was just a mattress now. The little one had leaned against my shoulder and sighed.

"No sis, take it…" He urged, biting his lip. It made me wonder how he could still feel so guilty, when he had gone for days without any proper food and refused to eat anything I offered. But he knew, when I looked down at him, that he were to take it and enjoy it whilst it lasted.

Whilst chaos was still roaming around the division, waiting to lunge at us again at any second.