• When she woke up from her mysterious dream, she stared out the car window. It was almost midnight, so the only thing illuminating the streets was the street lamps, and the millions of headlights. She could see families running on the side of the road, looking for a ride. Sam thought she saw the familiar face of her friend on the sidewalk, but it was gone in a flash. She begged her parents to pull over, but they didn’t respond. Her mother was sleeping, and her father was a reticent statue, with his stone eyes fixed on the road ahead.
    The maroon SUV charged up the street. It came to a sudden halt at a small bungalow. It was an old house, covered with vines, and a small, almost dead garden in the front. It had another car in the driveway, meaning their grandma was home. That wasn’t a big surprise to Sam, because it was 3:30 in the morning.
    Sam nudged her brother, Claude, but his green eyes seemed to flutter, and he fell back to sleep. Claude was Sam’s twin brother. Even though he was born sixteen second before her, Sam still felt superior. They aren’t identical, they don’t have ‘twin telepathy’, and they’re not the best of friends. She gave him one last kick, and he finally woke up. “You’re so stubborn sometimes! Why can’t you leave me to sleep?” Sam shook her head, and pointed towards the ancient house. “We’re here, imbecile. So grab your things, or I’ll be forced to kick you again!” Claude grunted, and obediently got out the car. He grabbed his backpack, and a box full of his old computer junk. Sam followed, grabbing her bag and box. In front of her, Claude’s box broke under the intense pressure, and his computer parts flew on to the floor. Sam exploded in laughter, pointing at her brother.
    They stepped inside the house. It was filled with family pictures, and it was filled with dust. Sam’s mother screamed. “No! She’s dead, she died of the plague!” Suddenly, a wheel chair appeared from the kitchen. “Oh, don’t worry, I just haven’t cleaned in a while” It was an old voice, sounding like someone hasn’t had water for days. Sitting on the chair was an elderly woman. She had white hair, glasses, and many wrinkles. It was Sam’s grandmother. “I’m glad you came, it hit northern California around midnight. I hope your friends made it out ok.” There was along pause. Sam didn’t say goodbye to any of her friends.
    It was only 5 short hours since they moved from California. There was no school, and no one wanted to play outside. They watched the news, waiting for the day it spreads to Ohio. It was already in Colorado. “Because the disease was being spread through the dust is leaves, it gets picked up from the wind and spreads even further. But because the wind blows west, it isn’t going as far. But the direction may change and it will cause great damage.” Sam couldn’t bear to look anymore. She ran into her false room, and turned on her phone. She had 4 new texts from her friends. They were alive! She read them, but she regretted them. It contained last wishes, saying that they were staying. They contained last wishes, any regrets, and any thing they wanted to say. But the last one was they only good one. It was from Sakura. She said that she had moved to New York. It was a flutter of hope in Sam’s heart. She was about to phone her, but the cell died.
    Sam fell asleep at noon. Once again she had the strange dream, but it was more vivid. The setting was the same, but it was sharper. The details made the last ones look like cartoons. She could see the reflections of distant objects on the windows, and she could even see herself. She looked beaten up, exhausted, and she was covered in a gooey red substance. Sam saw a silhouette in the background. She turned, only to see Claude standing there. But it wasn’t him; he was in his late 20s. Then he changed, to 30s, 50s. 70s, then he disappeared. There was an outline of him, but it was made of dust. Sam was horrified, but she ran towards the dust. But she wasn’t running, more like walking. She looked at her hands, only to find wrinkles. She looked around, and then she couldn’t see anything more. She woke up, taking deep breaths. She turned to the bed next to her, but Claude was still there. She took a deep sigh of relief, and looked out the window, and took a huge gasp.