Shattered (#1 in Shifting Series)

Raging Waters

Sarah woke with a groan in her mouth and a pinch in her neck.  She had fallen asleep in the recliner after gorging on the fried chicken and judging by the rays of light coming from the balcony, it was already morning.  She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she stretched to work the kinks out of her frame.  She laughed as her body cracked in a few spots.  Getting older really sucked sometimes.  Despite having slept so awkwardly, she felt remarkably good in her spirit and well rested.  She glanced towards the television and saw the opening screen of her DVD was up.  She turned it off, trying to remember where she had been at last night before passing out so she could go back to that episode later.  The last memory she had was of Kakashi and Guy racing like bandits through the village in one of their numerous challenges.  She laughed at the memory; it was one of her favorite scenes on the show.  Those two were hilarious when together.

She always loved her days off.  No calls from irate visitors. No problems with other staff getting visits up to the visitation room.  No random dick or boob shots.  She could patter around all day doing nothing... or binge some Anime.  She didn't just watch Naruto.  She had a plethora of Anime that she watched.  Her most recent binges had been Bleach, Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, and Sword Art Online.  Melissa was trying to get her to watch some of the sports Anime, but she just about gagged thinking about it.  They always bored her to tears.  She wanted swords, magic, or hand-to-hand combat in her Anime.  The only sports Anime she had ever liked had been SK-8 and that had been because she had loved skateboarding when she was younger.

She should probably get her shit together and start heading to Killeen.  However, she had almost a longing to go down to the river and walk along the path.  She loved the San Marcos River. Something about water always seemed to quiet her spirit.  After Misti's warning the night before, it would probably be a good idea to get her mind and spirit in a peaceful place so she would do as she promised and drive safely.  Also, as random as it was, she decided to jump on the desire while she still had it.  She didn't get out of her house and into nature nearly as much as she should.  It would do her good to get some fresh air before going to Melissa's place.  Maybe she would stop and get some tacos to go on the way back.  Then she would get ready to head towards Melissa.  She nodded her head in decision then turned to get ready for the day.

Thirty minutes later, she was showered and dressed for a walk.  She shifted her gaze to the sky above as she stepped off the last step to her apartment, noting the thick, dark clouds that were coming in.  She almost turned back around but she was already out of the house, and she could make it a short walk.  She made the short drive to the San Marcos River and locked her car behind her as she passed the pavilion where they rented tubes during the summer.  The air was humid, promising rain soon, yet a breeze made it feel really nice out.  Despite the clouds above promising rain, she was already starting to feel the peace that settled upon her every time she came to the river.

The river was so clear and blue.  She knew without feeling it that it would be a perfect seventy-two degrees as its temperature did not change year-round.  It was still early Spring, so there was no one tubing even though, in her opinion, it was warm enough to do so. In the distance, she heard thunder but continued walking.  It felt good to be beside the river.  If she wasn't going to see Melissa, she might have given into temptation and jumped in for a swim.  As she passed under one of the bridges along the path, she noticed a young family walking back the opposite direction.  She smiled as the two little boys in front were skipping and chattering as they went along to the amusement of their parents trailing behind.  She glanced back, smiling sadly at the image.  She hoped that they would always be that close and that nothing would ever separate them.  They were almost completely out of view when another loud crack reverberated in the air, and she gave a long, heavy sigh. She looked up towards the clouds then to her watch.  Time was slipping away; she had walked a lot farther than she had intended.  She wasn't that far from the three waterfalls at this point.  She started to turn back when in the distance she heard a loud rumbling followed by a sudden downpouring of rain.