New Rain

Prologue

A/N

Hey everyone! 

I really hope you enjoy this chapter as I have spent a lot of time on it.

Also, for those of you who had read New Rain before I deleted it, I want to let you know that, because I'm editing, a lot of things will be different from the original. 

Don't forget to vote and comment :)

- Astrid 

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//PROLOGUE//

It was the thunder that made her first look up. She felt the power behind it - felt the tremors in the air - and it rattled her enough to look up, something she rarely did.

At first, she couldn't quite understand what she was seeing. She put two and two together in her mind and the result was a jumbled mess. It can't be possible, her brain reasoned. But there it was - the fierce black storm cell moving in over the city; she couldn't deny it. And she wasn't the only who had noticed.

All around her, people were looking upwards as the clouds progressively moved closer. Hushed whispers filtered down the usually noisy street, and she listened as things like: "what the hell is that?" and, "oh my goodness" reached her ears.

All too aware that it could rain at any second, she headed into café behind her, where she could still see the sky though the large floor to ceiling windows. Like the main road, the café was quiet, and people’s food sat forgotten on their plates while they talked softly amongst each other.

"Amazing, isn't it?" said the boy behind the counter, leaning over slightly to talk to her.

"I wouldn't quite put it like that," she said back, turning her head to take in his appearance.  The boy, who appeared to be around eighteen years of age, had lightly tanned skin and ordinary brown hair. Her eyes met his dark brown gaze for a split second before she looked away, focusing on the black clouds outside which were now overhead. 

"How would you put it?"

Without even thinking, the answer was on her tongue and she said, "Terrifying."

He chuckled. She risked a glance over at him, and was caught off-guard by the humour in his eyes. Surely, if she looked hard enough, she'd be able to see the fear that coated everyone else's faces like paint. But it wasn't there, and that surprised her.

"I'm Eli," the boy said, smiling.

"Marcia," she responded shyly. A short while later, she asked him, "You really aren't afraid?"

He shook his head. "They're thunder clouds - the worst they can do is rain." Oddly, his words dulled the fear that was squeezing at her heart. But it was short lived.

Outside, there was another rumble of thunder. She felt the vibration in the air, even from within the café, and it made her heart pound painfully in her chest as fear clawed at her. There was something not right about the thunder - she knew it. And that knowledge nibbled at the edge of her mind, only increasing the fear that was already threatening to consume her.

"Don't these clouds feel different to you?" she asked Eli, her voice beginning to waver.

"Of course," came his self-assured reply. "But-"

And just like that, the rain began to fall, and the outside world exploded into a tangle of screams and movement.

"What's going on?" Eli called to another employee near the window. While the world beyond the front door collapsed into chaos, the café remained rather quiet. Everyone watched as people ran screaming for cover, but it all seemed very far away - muted - as if the entire thing was taking place on a television screen and everyone watched from the safety of their living rooms.

It took the employee a while to respond. But Marcia had already guessed what was going on; she could see the holes in the ground, the blood on people's bodies - all of it seemed like something straight out of her nightmares.

"They're burning," came the employee's delayed response, her blonde hair fanning out around her as she spun towards them, a frown clearly etched onto her face.

Curiosity overcame the fear that was tugging at Marcia to hide away, and she walked towards the glass windows, her heart pounding against her ribs painfully. In her peripheral vision, she could see Eli following her. They stopped side by side and watched as the pavement dissolved in front of their eyes.

She could tell it wasn't water that was falling from the sky. It was different; a new rain, and it looked like acid. She shivered.

"Maybe I was wrong," Eli said from beside her. "Maybe I am afraid."

The scene continued to unfold before them - the screams, the blood, the fleeing bodies - all of it burning into Marcia's mind.

"That's a good thing," she said shakily, her voice barely above a whisper. "Now's a good time to be afraid."

She could feel him peering sideways at her, but she resisted the urge to turn her head. She was afraid that if she did - if she looked into his eyes - she'd begin to cry.

"So this is how it ends," said Eli, almost humorously, as he looked back out the window. "That which gives us life, has decided to take it away." 

Unable to respond, Marcia looked out over the destruction that lay before them - the ruined road, the lifeless park, the buildings crashing down in the distance - and realised that her future was uncertain. She may not live to see another sunrise - may never see the sky again. 

Fear stabbed at her heart, and she shut her eyes, hoping that when she opened them again, everything would be fine.

But of course, everything was not fine.

And sadly, she knew it.