Lightning slashed across the sky, casting light against the darkness. Ferocious thunder crashed upon the earth, deafening the helpless world. An orchestra of sirens wailed in the background of all the chaos, while the torrential rain mercilessly beat against anything within the open. Every living thing feared to be out in the open, for any exposure was sure to mean certain death. Heavy breathing could be heard just barely throughout the stifling noise, as a girl not just 14 crouched under an abandoned apartment. The people who had inhabited the living space immediately left with their cars, as everyone knew cars would be safe for the rubber protection coating the wheels. The girl's erratic breathing slowed down a little as the storm calmed for a little, and then with sudden flash of light, another giant bolt of forked lightning scarred the greenish black sky. A mix of apprehension, fear, and excitement swirled about the young girl's aqua blue eyes as she watched the terrifying display go on. Memories played about in her mind, as she remembered being with her friends just not hours ago.
"Skylar, catch!" A girl shouted as the neon orange Frisbee flew across the air and toward the other girl, Skylar, with awaiting arms. But the Frisbee was too high to catch, and she turned around to watch the flying object whiz 30 more feet off and land in a bunch of bushes.
"Smooth one," A male's voice announced with a bit of a sarcastic humor to his tone. The voice belonged to a light-skinned teen of about 15, and he had short, dark hair that fell a bit over his mocha brown eyes.
"Oh come on, Raimei threw it too high for me," Skylar groaned with a bit of a laugh.
"Uh huh," Raimei said, who had tanned skin with long, dark brown hair. "So Sky, you gonna get that?" walking over to the two teenagers.
"Fine fine, give me a minute…and Darek, I'm gonna sit the next game out." She replied as she sprinted over to the bushes.
Darek didn't reply, as he was too busy gazing up into the sky, which had turned a dark olive color. Raimei noticed the worry in his eyes and asked, "What's bothering you?" while looking up with him at the sky.
"The sky...It was never green like this before," He replied, and a foreboding rumble of thunder crackled in the distance. Skylar returned soon, Frisbee in hand.
"I think we should get inside," Skylar said anxiously. She had light brown curly hair that reached down to the middle of her back, and electrifying blue eyes. No sooner than that, a rush of light snaked its way down at surprising speed right in the middle of the three. Then everything went black.
The girl, Skylar, gazed back again at her surroundings. A cracked Frisbee lay not too far away, its bright neon orange color now a charcoal gray. Maybe the Frisbee shielded us a little from the lightning…She thought, remembering right before the flash how she was about to hand the object over to Darek. Then again, where were her friends? She had woken up with a limp, painful wrist and just near this shelter. She had dragged herself over to the protection just in time, before another bolt of lightning streaked across the horizon. She hadn't seen any of her two friends, and the feeling of loneliness and panic struck through her again. Any sign of life, even sirens that she couldn't hear anymore, were nowhere near. Holding her electrified wrist, she assumed she was out cold for a while for the pain to not bother her just as much. Skylar loved thunderstorms, but she knew something about this one was plainly off. The danger and wrongness of it all screamed at her at every strike of lightning and boom of thunder. The hail was unimaginably large, like frozen softballs, that weren't soft at all. She had long ago discarded any metal that she had, excluding her cell phone, which she was certain she would need. Flipping open the tiny silver device, she read the time and date in the corner. 4:32 PM, June 2nd
Good…at least it hasn't passed more than 10 hours…She thought, pushing the buttons to lead to her phone book. Reading the names, she decided to first call her mom. Anxious seconds passed, and a lightning strike later, a mechanical feminine voice spoke.
"I'm sorry, the connection has either been lost or there is no such number. Please try again."
Sighing in frustration, she briefly wondered where her mother was. She was the only family alive for Skylar now, as just last summer, her whole family had taken a fun, adventurous cruise…leading into disaster…Shaking her head free of the dark thoughts lingering in her head, she dialed Raimei's number, one she knew by heart. Thunder assaulted her ears, but as soon as the rumbling died down, a ringing was heard in the phone. Skylar desperately pressed the cell phone against her ear and held her breath, hope fluttering in her chest and praying Mei would pick up. The ringing continued, and disappointment welled in her chest as no one picked up.
"S-sky?!" A frantic voice whispered into the phone, as if she spoke any louder the communication would be lost.