A New Home (Chasing Destiny) by Abigail Denver Page A

at work.  He had pulled the weekend shift at the hospital where he worked in the ER.  “You need to come home.  My daddy just died in a car accident.”
    As soon as he arrived, she explained how everything had happened.  They both stared at their baby, hoping against hope something like this would never happen again.
     

    Chapter One
     
    Hannah dove cleanly into the water.  She was on a local swim team and spent hours every day during the summer training to get faster.  Someday she wanted to be in the Olympics and get more gold medals than Michael Phelps.  She was sure she could do it, too.  She’d already broken some local speed records, and she was only twelve. 
    When she started junior high , in September, she was going to join the swim team at school.  She couldn’t wait.
    She swam hard pushing for her personal best.  She loved swimming.  She could clear her mind, and just concentrate on how it felt to swim through the water.  She’d gone with her parents to Cozumel once, and swam with the dolphins.  Her love of swimming had begun then, and her goal, every time she swam, was to swim as fast as a dolphin.  She knew it was corny, but it really worked for her.
    She was halfway through her first lap when the vision overtook her.  There had been lots of visions over the years.  Each time she’d had one, something terrible had happened.  The first, when she’d lost her Grandpa had been the worst.  She didn’t remember it, but her parents had told her the story enough times she felt like she did.
    This vision was more powerful than all the others combined.  It showed a world torn apart by warring factions.  It showed a small group of survivors, all children and teenagers.  It showed her burying her parents and every other adult in her life.  But most importantly, it showed her how to survive.
    As always, the vision made her lose consciousness.  When she came to, a lifeguard had her on her back, slowly pumping water from her chest.  She rolled to her side and vomited on the pavement, then lay back, panting.   She remembered the vision.  All of it.  And she knew what she had to do.
    *****
    That evening at dinner, her mother, as always, asked about her day.  She took a deep breath, and explained about her vision.  “Everyone over the age of 20 in the entire world is going to die.  We have six years to prepare for it.  We have to start now.”
    Her kid sister, Emily, scoffed at her.  “You’re making this one up.  There’s no way.”
    Hannah shook her head.  “I only wish I was.”  She handed her mother a piece of paper with six numbers written on it.  “Those are the numbers for tomorrow night’s M ega-millions.   Go buy a lottery ticket.  The pot’s over one-hundred-million.  We’ll need the money to ensure the survival of the human race.”
    Leah stared at the paper.  “Are you sure, Hannah?”
    Hannah shrugged.  “As sure as I ever am about these things.  If the numbers aren’t right, then I dreamed it.  If they are?  It’s time to take action.”
    Emily w as the exact opposite of Hannah.  They’d both been adopted, and they looked nothing alike.  Emily was as dark as Hannah was fair.  “You’ve lost it this time, Hannah.”
    Hannah sighed.  “I really hope so, Emily.  If not, we have a lot of work to do, and it’s not going to be fun.”   Hannah knew her words were a huge understatement.  She hoped she was wrong and her sister never found out what an understatement they were.
    *****
    The whole family sat around the TV the following evening watching the numbers being read off.  Their mother clutched the ticket in her hand, her eyes wide.  “7, 18, 32, 49, 63 and 8 is the megaplier.”
    Leah turned to Hannah.  “We just won one-hundred-twenty-five million dollars.  What do we do now?”   Leah felt the tears prick her eyes.  How in the world could a twelve year old coordinate saving the human race?  How could anyone think of asking it of