[ P r o l o g u e ]

Bumping this up so you can read it...still making changes to the other chaps, this one didnt have a lot wrong with it so I finished it first. Just a sort of heads up for you, if you really liked the story before [you probably didnt, I didnt like it all that much cept for Chap 2] email me and I'll see what I can do to keep it the way you want it.

Prologue

If you’re reading this right now, I probably have to clarify something for you: You don’t know us. You don’t know who the hell we are, and, as far as you know, we don’t exist. We’re figments of someone’s imagination, we’re holograms for all you care. We aren’t any of those, though. We are real people, just in a different reality.

Time is like one of those jewelry boxes with lots of compartments. Each of those boxes is a different reality, each reality is separate. They don’t mix, just like the jewelry in different compartments don’t mix. What is happening in my reality right now is not your concern, because it doesn’t affect you the slightest. What has happened in my reality has not changed yours. We’re separate people, to you.

It's different for me.

You got it easy compared to us, I mean.

You’ll get what I mean once you keep reading.

The point of this, this message, is like a heads up for you. Just so you know we exist. And that our world, our decisions, are not in our control. They’re in yours. I want you to know this so you don’t do anything stupid and bloody like the Iraq War again, because it'll end up a hundred times worse in our world.

WE are just kids. Charlie’s the oldest, the leader. He’s seventeen. Next is Mark, who’s fourteen and doesn’t talk much. His martial arts make up for it though. Trust me, you do NOT want to get in that kids way. I’ve seen him beat people up. Pretty freaky. Skylar’s fifteen and an amazing singer. I swear one day that kid is going to get a lead in a Broadway production. He’s the Settler of All Arguments. Mindy’s the youngest, she’s only eleven. She can’t talk, not since after the bombings. She’s a sweet kid though, really helpful when you need her. And me? I’m Maggie and I’m sixteen. I get to be the one who writes this instead of Charlie because I’m the one who cares the most.

Most of us are originally from LA. We didn't all live there, some of us were from other places in the US, all severly attacked, and probably still in ruins now. By some strange twist of fate, we all bumped into eachother in LA. I think it was fortunate that we all ended up together. Now, I don’t know how I would’ve survived without Charlie, Mark, Skylar and Mindy. I wouldn’t say they’re my kids, or Charlie and Mark are my siblings. We all grieve our biological families too much to feel that way, I guess. And Charlie’s turning eighteen real soon, so he’ll be a legal adult. We all take care of each other though. We look out for each other. A group I guess, of really close friends.

So, that’s us.

And, as a conclusion, I’ll say what all politicians say to teachers.

Our future is in your hands.

But this time, it actually is.

Signed,

Maggie

Charlie

Mark

Skylar

Mindy