Sound Storm

Chapter 1

Seven Years ago, 3020

The holographic Television screen slowly dissolves out of sight, the voices I heard seconds ago disappear. I feel tears starting to stream down my pale face. What I thought to be the best 10k speed racer has been the worse. The bright coloured loop tee loops once brought a smile to my face, the hovering cars smashing into each other made me laugh, now all I can see is the replay of my mothers car being thrown over the edge. Surge, my best friend, sits beside me. The silence between us speaks volumes. I don't blame him for not saying anything, what would you say to someone who just saw her mother killed in a video game like race. I get up and leave the couch, I walk past the kitchen and on the counter lays a cake that reads Happy 14th birthday Neptune. The candles on the cake have not been lit yet, so they look brand new.

There is a knock on my bedroom door, "Go away." I say, I probably could have said it in a nicer tone, but I don't care right now. The door slowly opens despite my rudely spoken words. I quickly wipe the tears from my face, I look in the mirror and my eyes are red and puffy, there is nothing I can do about that. It's my Uncle Leon, he was staying at my house with me, while my father watched my mother from the stands at the race.

"Hey, Surge told me you were in here," Leon says softly, "How are you doing?" I try so hard not to yell back, How am I doing? Lets see, my mother died, and I can't even talk to my father about it because he's not here. I start crying, I guess that thought was a trigger. I try to stop myself from crying, but it's no use.

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"We are here in memory of Zole, a loving mother, sister, and wife," The pastor says softly, but there is still a touch of sterness in his voice, "Our first speaker today is Zole's daughter, Neptune, you may come to the stage." An urge to throw up consumes me, but I know I have to talk. I get up, and my legs unstick from the seat, and my black high heels clink on the ground as I walk up to the stage. I hold the piece of paper with my speech on it. I slowly open it up, and there are damp patches from wear my tears and sweaty hands have touched it. It's only been a week since my mothers death so I am a little worried I won't be able to talk. So, I take a deep breath to control my worries, and start reading the speech.

"Hello, I am Neptune, Zole's daughter. I love my mother, and I am so thankful that she was in my life. A mother is not just someone who gives birth to you, they are someone who you share memories and moments with. Everytime I look down at my wrist, I see the unique mark we are given as children, so we know who are family is. I used think that, that was the only reason we were given the marks, but now I know that another reason is even if your family gets broken up, in my case because of death," I choke on the last word, and all I want to do is stop talking, but I know I have to finish speaking, "You will always have them with you, my Mother will always be with me." I take a deep breathe and nod, so the crowd knows I am done.
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The funeral is finally done, and everyone has said their condolences. I know the people here are just trying to be nice, but I don't feel like being pitied by a bunch of people I don't know. "Oh hey, how are doing, are you okay, wow, that sounds stupid, of course you aren't okay." Surge says, lightly slapping his forehead, I would normally be annoyed if he was anyone else, but I know Surge gets awkward at funerals, birthday parties, and school. So let me get this straight, anywhere where there are more than two people.

"I am doing as well as someone who just lost a loved one can feel, I need a break from all these people." I say, I cross my arms, and make a pouting noise, for fun.

"Then lets get out of here." Surge sounds excited for the first time since I can remember. He grabs my arm and pulls me through the crowd of people, my black jeans may not have been the best option since half way through the crowd Surge starts running. We reach the east door of the building, I slowly open the heavy silver door. The warm breeze hits my face, the sun warms my body. I look over at Surge, he is smiling ear to ear. He looks over at me, his brown skin shining from the sunshine. More warm enters my body, and this time it is not from the sun. The feeling leaves as quickly as it came.

"Where are we going, exactly?" I say.

"The Waterfall!"

"Great, lets take my father's hovering car." We turn and walk toward the parking lot. My father's dark red car is plugged into the outdoor outlet. I open the door to the drivers side; I'm not old enough to drive the car, but since my mother was a racer I learnt how to drive when I was ten. Surge gets in and buckles his seat belt. "Ready."

"Ready." he says, I think there may have been a tiny bit of worry in his voice. I would be worried too, I am not the best driver on the planet. I press as hard as I can on the gas, and we zip out of the parking lot. The Waterfall is not very far away, so we are there in a few minutes. The big purple sign that reads The Waterfall, comes into view. The Waterfall is the reminder of how our ancestors wrecked a world with their inventions, and they created global warming, when the world could not hold anymore, the worlds best scientists came together and thought of a plan. They created huge rocket ships and put as many people as they could on them, and sent them into space. They found a planet with only one source of water, The Waterfall, it has kept us alive for around 100 years. The Waterfall reminds us of how we can't wreck another planet, so we took away everything that destroyed Earth. Now we live happily and eco friendly. I turn into a parking spot, we both get out of the car. I take the charging cord out of the car and plug it into the outlet. We walk towards the tall silver building, windows lining the wall. Surge opens the huge door. I immediately feel cold. A voice plays in the background explaining the history of our planet, Miseruha. Surge and I walk into one of the lines to get tickets to see The Waterfall. The line is super long, it will take awhile. A ringing noise comes from my back pocket, it reminds me that I forgot to tell my father that I took his car.

I answer the phone, "Hey, Dad." My father goes off on a rant about how I can't drive, and how I just up and left my mothers funeral. There is no pleading my case now. He ends up saying I can't drive back home, so he will come and get Surge and me. After he is done ranting I hang up. "Surge, my father is coming to get us, he told me we have to wait here. I think we should get tickets and watch The Waterfall while we wait." He nods and then looks forward, his green eyes sparkle in the light coming from the windows. That same warming feeling comes vibrating through my body. I try my best to ignore it. We finally reach the start of the line.

"Hello, how many tickets, do you want?" The girl at the front desk says, she sounds sweet, and talks very softly. Her name tag reads Casey.

"Two, please" I try to match Casey's voice. I think Surge can tell, since he gives me a weird look right after I finish talking. Casey hands us the tickets, and I give her twenty dollars. We are led through two huge glass doors. The sound of rushing water comes as a shock, it's loud, but still brings a sense of safety. The Waterfall shines in the sunlight, little splashes of water hit our ankles as we stand by the metal railing. Rainbows dance off the falling water. "I love this place." I say, switching back to my normal voice.

"Same, it makes me feel better." Surge says, I know that he comes here a lot. The glass doors open behind us, and I can't help but look backwards, and to my surprise it is my father.

"Dad." I say, my voice squeaking. Surge and I follow him out the doors, not wanting to start more trouble. We get into my fathers dark red car, he must have taken the electric bus here.

"You know Neptune, you caused a lot of trouble, trouble I don't really feel like dealing with today." He sounds really mad, He would have probably yelled if Surge was not in the car. We zip down the streets and finally reach Surge's house. He gets out.

I break the awkward silence we had the whole way home."Bye Surge, see you Sunday at church." I say nicely. He nods and waves. His Mother greets him at the door, and we start what feels like the longest car ride home.