"Come on, hurry up! They're leaving!"
"Goodbye, Mom. Goodbye, Dad..."
Hello. My name is Corinne. I'm a cheerful, if somewhat quiet, girl. My family and I live in a quiet, nice neighborhood, neither too big nor too small. But today... everything has changed.
This is the first night I've spent without my parents. They had to leave my younger siblings and me behind. Not only them, but almost every adult left our village for reasons no one really understands.
Recently, chaos has spread throughout the country. Dangerous gangs have escaped from nearby prisons, spreading fear throughout the cities and villages. And now, the adults are gone. All of them.
My little sister Sofia, my cousins Subaru and Katamaru, and I stayed behind at home. That first night, we sat together and decided how to divide up the responsibilities the adults had been handling.
I chose to watch the house. Sofia chose to cook and take care of the children. While Subaru and Katamaru volunteered to be the guards.
"Do I really have to wake up so early every day? The sun hasn't even risen yet..."
Subaru gave me a cold look. "Stop complaining. It's your first day. Either you get used to it, or a thief will come and kill you."
"What?! Okay, okay! Getting up early is better, of course." Corinne replied, trying to get used to what was happening.
Corinne looked around, staring. "Where are the binoculars?"
"The kids were playing with them last night." Subaru said coldly.
"What?!"
Before Corinne could start to panic, Katamaru carelessly tossed the binoculars her way.
The fog was thick in the air. The stars were fading as their golden rays emerged over the horizon. Corrin stood silently, watching the light return to a dark world. She felt...heavy. It was as if dawn carried burdens no one was prepared for.
"Breakfast is ready!" Sophia called from the kitchen, breaking the silence.
After everyone had eaten breakfast, Corinne dropped the kids off at school and then headed to high school with Subaru. Sophia and Katamaru were still in junior high. Everyone felt like their walk had been longer than usual, perhaps because the world suddenly seemed strange.
On the way, Corinne spotted her childhood friend, so she left Subaru outside the school gate and went with her.
"Alice?"
"Yeah!"
"Hey... aren't you feeling weird today?"
"Corinne, seriously? It's exam day and you're talking about weirdness? You weirdo!"
"Hey! Who's calling me a weirdo?"
Alice smirked. "I was talking about myself, now give me the papers!"
"Hmm. Not until you catch me first. You lazy bum!"
We laughed and played as usual, trying to pretend everything was normal for a while.
After school, Corinne and Subaru took the kids and headed home. Katamaru closed the doors while the kids played.
"I'm going to rest for a while, It's been a long day..." Corinne said.
"And who's going to take care of the kids?" Katamaru snapped.
Before she could answer, Subaru spoke, his eyes fixed on his phone. "I'm playing PUBG. Not my problem."
The room fell silent.
Then all eyes turned to Sophia.
With a tired smile, she said, "Okay, okay. I'll play with them."
Corinne then fell into a deep sleep.
Just before dawn, she woke up to strange noises coming from the neighbor's house.
That's when things really started to change.