The day the storm began we were all sent home early from school. For weeks we had been warned first hand of the damage the storm could do from our teachers, town officials and even the local news. However preparing for storms is something we were good at in our town.
Set at the bottom of a mountain range, surrounded by miles of empty highways and tropical forests, Elm Haven received a lot of storms. Regardless of this we persisted. Even though we were far away from any cities or even other towns, didn’t mean we were backwards. Instead we had all the modern technology our hearts could desire with the added sense of serenity that only isolation could bring us.
The storm was set to last for seven days, However on the first day only a slight drizzle was projected. So it made perfect sense that I go to the arcade with my friends Mason and Skyler.
Even though we all carried umbrellas, not once did we use them during our walk to the town square. Instead we enjoyed the rain in our, what felt like infinite, youth. Mason had turned thirteen at the beginning of the year, I had just turned thirteen a week ago at the start of July and Skyler had only a short wait as she would turn thirteen in a few days.
We always made jokes about her being the youngest, However more recently I started to admire her presence. Just as I did while we walked today, Her brown hair slightly blowing in the soft wind and her mind swallowed by the deep thoughts that she always had. Most recently she spent time thinking about The number of people who had lived in our town before us and all the experiences they had.
I knew this because She had never been shy about sharing her thoughts with us. Almost every week we would hear about something new that she spent time thinking about, it sometimes got tedious, but it showed the trust she had in us.
The arcade was dimly lit with neon signs and had some of the most recent game releases. We spent most of the day alternating between fighting games and racing games. Which were Skyler’s Favorite.
Mason usually played fighting games like me, However more recently he had been playing racing games. Often agreeing with Skyler when she said we should move on to them. It kind of annoyed that he didn’t agree with me as much as he used to, but all games were fun when we all played together.
By the time the sun started to set, we had been playing games for close to six hours. So we were all in agreement when Skyler decided it was time for us to go home.
Saying our Goodbyes we went our separate ways. Not knowing that this would be the last normal day we had together.
When I got home I ate dinner, watched some television with my parents and than went to bed. Tired and ready to sleep through the night.
I had barely slept for three hour before I awoke to darkness. The rain had gotten heavier and I could hear it hit the roof. Flipping the switch on my dresser I expected the light to illuminate my room, However nothing happened. The strengthening storm must have caused a power cut.
I pulled my phone from the dresser and used it to light up what I could as I stepped out of my bed and made my way downstairs to get a glass of water. With the power gone so was the heating, because of this, I felt colder than I had ever felt in my life.
The refreshing taste of the water, however, was worth the cold. It cleared my dry throat and made me feel awake again and much more attentive to something that I had clearly missed.
There was white noise coming from somewhere. It was soft but it sounded like what you would hear when you tried to get a signal on an old radio.
I put my phone to my ear, but that was not where it was coming from. This left me a little confused, because if there was no electricity, there was no electronics turned on. Which meant that there was nowhere for the White noise to come from.
I stood still and continued to listen, hoping I could find where it came from. Eventually I realized it was the lounge and made my way there. It was now Louder and very obviously coming from the television. However the screen remained black.
Putting my ear against where the speaker is located I listened to the noise and surprisingly to me. I could make out the voices of people.
It was clear now that the television was glitching and Picking up a signal. Even though I couldn’t figure out how it was on without any electricity, I knew some pieces of electronics could hold power in them even after they were turned off.
Resigned to my own explanation I made my way back to bed, still being tired enough that my sleep took me very quickly. Unfortunately I didn’t stay asleep for long this time either.
I awoke in darkness again, however this time I was completely damp and lying on what felt like mud.
Instinctively I reached for my phone again. However this time there was nothing. No bedside table, no lamp, no phone and finally no bed under me. I knew I had to be having a nightmare, so I tried to wake up.
On my feet I looked around and saw a small light in the distance, Following it I was lead to a very dimly lit room.
The room was full of technology that looked like it had been for years. Some of the stuff looked like it was from the nineties, However others went further back. To camera’s that used tape and very old and crude record players.
In the middle of the room was a stone table and a human like figure laying on it. I knew that if this was a traditional nightmare, than the thing on the table would be a monster, one that would scare me. Naturally I shouldn’t look at it However my curiosity got the better of me and I slowly approached it. It was a young female figure that looked strikingly like Skyler, but wasn’t exactly her.
This wasn’t a monster, it was more or less one of my best friends, and I knew that Skyler, or at least an amalgamation of her wouldn’t do me any harm.
I tried to shake her awake, however as soon as I touched her, her skin started to bleed in those places.
Again I tried to shake her awake again but the same thing happened. This was a strange nightmare and I wanted to wake up immediately. However as much as I tried I couldn’t. Eventually I just sat down on the floor, next to the table that held my friend/stranger.
After a while the old machines on the wall started to turn , and sound reverberated off them. It was the static I had heard from the television.
As it played I heard the sounds of the voices clearer this time. It was young girls talking and they all were saying the same thing.
“The Storm Will Consume all or it will consume us”.
I awoke the next morning with the rain hitting heavier than it did the previous day, the light was on making me realize the power had returned. I was back in my bed and the nightmare was over. It was the second day of the storm, but I was still covered in mud.