The Beginning of The End

An unexpected earthquake

Scarlett

Looking back now it seems weird that I had a routine at all. Other than me (and my granddad apparently) the rest of my family are never organised. They always turn up to things 3 hours early or late because the information they hastily scribbled on some random piece of paper was wrong or has been left floating around somewhere never to be found again. Something very simple but considering the over-organised planning I am forced into at school and when trying to escape from my house these silly mistakes mean more to me than anything else I have to deal with in my family life. But there will be no schedules anymore. No organisation of any kind. Not even the over-planned lessons we learn at school. Our town is plunging rapidly into a chaos that I can't ever imagine passing. But a few weeks ago the only thing I thought I had to worry about was how I was going to juggle more homework and my already crammed to bursting schedule.

***

The next day it was life as usual. Get dressed, have breakfast, brush my teeth, meet Alex and walk to school. Alex is probably my best friend. We've been friends since we were 3. That was when my family first moved into the house situated right next to his. He has dark brown eyes that constantly seem to be smiling. His mind is always wandering, thinking of a new scientific theory about the atom or something like that. (Unless you haven't guessed I'm not that smart.) His hair is a short mess of light brown that adds to his wild, untamed image. His looks contradict his personality and despite the cheeky smile that's normally glued to his face he is a kind, considerate friend. Most of our class call him a geek because he is unnaturally smart but we all love him. He is always the man with the plan. But not this time. No one planned this adventure, it just happened. We were thrown together when we were young and we have been together through every adventure up to this point and as a result, we are now nearly inseparable.

Today, as on any other day, we sauntered to the corner shop where we meet the rest of our friends. It was the same thing each day and we all liked it that way. If you didn't know we were friends you could never have guessed. Our group consists of a strange mix of characters that in any other situation probably wouldn't work but we would risk anything and everything for each other. The 5 of us include me, Alex, Sophia, Hattie and John and for some reason, the strange blend of personalities seem to make us stronger.

Sophia is incredibly shy. Her naturally highlighted brown hair falls neatly to her waist. She has hazel eyes dotted with flecks of gold and amber that are wise beyond her years. Her pale skin is colour with freckles and her limited unflattering wardrobe swamps her frame. The baggy t-shirts, oversized jumpers and flared jeans make her look even smaller than her already petite frame.

Hattie's hair forms a frame of blonde ringlets around her heart-shaped face. Her eyes are sea green and sparkle like polished emeralds in the morning sunshine. Her designer clothes, shoes and handbags a constant reminder of bribes from rich parents with more money than they know what to do with which leads her to believe she is the coolest person in our group and maybe she is. She's the sort of person you would normally expect to attend private school and be head cheerleader or something like that and definitely not the sort of person who hangs around with people like us. Despite all her appearances, she has a really kind heart unlike some most girls in a situation similar to hers who act like spoilt brats. And like every school we definitely have our fair share of those. Being a small town in the middle of nowhere seems to appeal to rich families who think they're better than everyone else.

John suffers from an obsession with being seen as cool. His short ginger hair is always slick with hair gel and spiked to messy perfection. Naturally, he gets through a lot of hair gel normally a tub a week which is probably a world record. His eyes are a muddy, chocolate brown but they always show a caring expression. As usual, he was wearing a black leather jacket over his white shirt and jeans despite the heat. He never really achieves his desired effect but the clothes actually suit him. From the outside, he kind of looks like he is trying to appear menacing but anybody who spends more than 30 seconds with him can tell that he is nothing like that at all.

This Monday morning we were walking down the same streets, along the same route we use every day to get to school. The sun was shining which it normally does on a July morning and casting long shadows across the path. It is cold, windy and raining 9 months a year and we all look forward to the 3 months when we actually suffer heat waves and the lake becomes the central point of the town to the locals. It seemed like any other Monday morning but fate has a way of twisting perfectly normal situations as I found out multiple times in the past few weeks.

We were only about a few minute's walk away from school but my vision was getting more and more blurry. At first, I thought it could be the glare from the bright morning sunshine but the sun was behind me, the shadows it cast pointing in the direction we were travelling. A faint buzzing in my ears which I assumed was just bored flies twisted as the sounds of the summer's day faded to a distant hum. My head was throbbing and spinning. I couldn't form clear thoughts. My head ached with the effort of it. My already blurry vision was spinning with it. It felt like I was on a boat; the ground was moving, rocking out of control. I assumed that was my unclear minds imagination until I heard the confused shouts from my friends and realised I had stopped walking. They too had stopped and from the sounds of their voices, they were huddled around where I stood, unsteady on the shifting ground.

"What's happening?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Is it an earthquake?"

"It can't be. It's only affecting us!"

"Will everyone just calm down for a second so I can try and work this out?"

Their panicked shouts sounded like distant whispers over the beating in my head. I couldn't work out who was saying what. The rocking was overwhelming. My legs felt like they would give way any second. I could see very little; my mind was a foggy, pulsing mess and my hearing was muted. I still had no clue what was happening. Everything seemed alien yet I felt like I should recognise it but didn't. Like when you are certain you know someone's face but you can't quite remember exactly where from.

But the swaying subsided as quickly as it started, my vision cleared and I could hear normally. My mind had calmed but it still throbbed painfully, probably lasting effects from the weird experience that had just happened.