Rain Brings More than Water

The drive home sucked. I mean not terribly sucked, but sucked. Mom has been all over me since I got suspended, again. Every time we drive home under a new suspension it sucks. Mostly because Mom doesn’t say anything, just lets the mood set in. Set in real good. How was I supposed to know mean old Jimmy didn’t like me? Hey, it was self-defense wasn’t it? A guy throws you a punch so you throw one-

“Kale.” 

“What?” I was sick and tired of her lectures. Dad’s lectures used to be fun. He would laugh so much and joke around I couldn’t tell if I was even in trouble. 

“This has to stop,” her words crept silently into my consciousness, just barely audible. “What’s going on?”

I came back to focus, “I told you Jimmy punched first, I was using self-defense!” I shouted.

“I don’t care about Jimmy!” she yelled. “Something’s going on with you. Grades are down, Juley doesn’t come by anymore, and you’re always so grumpy.” She sighed, keeping her eyes fastened to the road. 

What was she even talking about? I am myself. This is who I’ve been. I can’t be more real than I already am. I hate her talk about me being ‘different'. I get a sick feeling inside, what’s she even saying?

“Kale I know it’s been hard.” 

I shrugged. Yeah, it’s been hard. She’s just reciting what I already know. She’s not giving me answers to anything!

“Your father’s supposed to be home in a few short weeks. Remember? He’s finished his mission,” she glanced at me. Brushing her hand across my cheek she said, “Don’t you want to make him proud when he comes home?” 

I brushed her hand away. Dad’s been gone for about two years fixing a communication issue at the ISS orbiting Earth. But how could he accept the job? Knowing that he’d be up there for so long without being able to communicate with family. With me. Didn’t he think about what I wanted? Didn’t he love me too?

“He left us. He left us for that stupid station.” I growled. How could she even try to lovey-dovey me? 

“He left to follow a dream. To help make other’s dreams possible. And he’s coming back. Tomorrow the shuttle is supposed to land, and after the quarantine, he’ll be home.” she glanced at me. “Isn’t that what you want?” 

I turned my back towards her. A light sprinkle started to coat the outside of the window. I couldn’t even focus on the scenery flying by. Would Dad be proud? No. No, he wouldn’t. Not with the kid, I’d turned out to be. How many suspensions in the last two years? Three? No more than that. What would he say?

I grumbled under my breath. The rain started to fall harder and harder. Mon turned her windshield wipers on and drove faster. “I didn’t think it was calling for rain,” she said. I saw her craning her neck up toward the sky. 

I followed her gaze, my jaw dropping open. What was that? Something was falling from the sky, blocking the sun. Something big. A huge piece of debris crashed into the ground mere feet in front of us. My mother screamed as she slammed onto the breaks. 

We both stared in astonishment. Bigger pieces of the wreckage started falling. “Get under the bridge!” she screamed. I unfastened my seatbelt and flung open the door. I ran toward the small bridge we had just passed. Pounding my feet over the slippery concrete I noticed the rain had a tint. A red tint. 

The sweat and rain drained into my mouth as I found shelter under the overhang. It tasted of iron. The rain started to fall heavier and I couldn’t see my mother through the dark expanse. Huge pieces of concrete and fiery hazes flew in all directions. “Mom!” I screamed. Where was she? Why wasn’t she under the bridge? 

Screaming people accompanied me in this refuge, seeking shelter from the chaos. Car horns were buzzing faintly under the pounding rain. Smaller debris started to shower in colors of red through the rain. I heard a thud to my left, something from the storm above. I slowly turned. A lady screamed beside me. An arm laid on the concrete. No body, just an arm. 

I didn’t know I was screaming until the man to my left smacked me. “Snap out of it, kid!” His gruff voice echoed in my ears. 

“Where’s my mother?!” I yelled at him. He turned and faced me then shrugged his shoulders and walked into the rain. “Where are you going!?” 

I cried. This was all my fault. My mother would never have been on this road if I hadn't gotten suspended. Why was this happening?

A large fuzzy, black object was visible through the rain. It seemed to be getting bigger and bigger. Closer and closer to the bridge. Everyone became quiet and stared at the object. Then I realized it was heading right toward us. “Run!” I screamed. 

I bolted toward the other side of the bridge when I felt the impact. It was big. I tripped, hearing the screams around me as a black smog started to drift towards me. I tried to get up but it was too late. A black haze slowly took me…

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Breaking News-

On Friday, an ISS shuttle, containing 20 US crew members, hit Earth. The US Officials state a malfunction in a computer data analysis miscalculated the atmospheric interception point. The shuttle was scheduled to land 3 hours prior but devastatingly became off course on their return. As a result, the shuttle burst into flames ending the lives of everyone inside…

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I don’t remember when the black started, or how, but I do remember when it ended. I coughed. What happened? It hurt all over. My ears were ringing. I coughed again and it hurt. I felt like someone had blown a hole through me. The pain was excruciating. Where was my mother? My head started to float again and I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I’ll just take a little nap and then...

“Hey, over here! We have an alive one!”