Realms of a Dream Engineer

The Sky Is Lava

CONTENT WARNING: dangerous weather, fires, the undead

     I was in the car with my family while driving down the highway. The weather outside had been quite ominous. The wind made the car swerve this way and that, our surroundings had a grey undertone, and it looked like it would rain any second. My mother was paying attention to the road while my siblings and I made smiley faces on the windows. The foggy glass was cold to the touch.

     My brother's face lost its color when he looked out the window. I furrowed my eyebrows and followed his gaze. We could see that the weather had become increasingly worse. The clouds started to form a tornado, but it looked far away enough for us to get somewhere safe. Our mom said we'd pick up our sister and find shelter somewhere nearby as soon as possible.

     We were probably more calm than most people. Where we live, tornadoes are a regular occurrence. People in the city walk outside to watch them and the storm watchers have no fear. The kids and I sat still as we watched the tornado intensify.

     After a couple of minutes, we saw that more funnels formed in the dark sky. One tornado quickly turned into three, then four. The panic in the car was also visible in others on the street. Everyone on the road was recklessly speeding and swerving because of the harsh winds.

     I had only seen up to two incredibly close to each other. Since we reached a new predicament, it was time to freak out. The car was full of raised, stressed voices. I couldn't make out any sentences because of the panic in everyone's tones. The tension caused quick and damaging arguments. It's how our family seemed to function under pressure.

     The environment was harsher outside. Twigs, leaves, trash, and other objects flew through the air and around our car. Thankfully, my mom had just parked at a small pier. We live a few states away from the beach, so I could only assume it was a lake. The water was crashing up against the rocks and wooden fences. It looked so forceful that it shocked me how the structures stayed in place.

     We were still in the car, trying to take a deep breath before getting out. Assuming my sister was in a building nearby, I looked out the window to see if we had parked close. Everyone started unbuckling their seatbelts to open the doors. My hand was on the handle, but I paused when we heard screaming coming from outside.

     Something bright and orange fell onto a building. It was engulfed in flames and caused everything nearby to catch on fire. Our eyes widened. I gazed up at an angle to figure out the source and saw that the sky was cracking. It looked like it was full of lava but only in the area over the water. The rest of the sky was still the epitome of tornado weather, while above the lake resembled lava without a volcano. More pieces of the sky lava started to break and fall into the lake.

     We rushed out of the car, ready to run anywhere but here. Everyone huddled together, instinctively. Our small group was about to head away from the car when somebody had started walking towards us. I stopped in my tracks and held my arm out to prevent them from going any further. The person was tall and walked strangely, but it was too dark to make out anything else. Even though everything was on fire, the shadows took over.

     The closer they got, the more I felt threatened. They approached and lunged at me with their mouth opened wide as if trying to bite into my skin. My instincts let me shove them away. They landed on the ground giving us time to take a few steps back. Then, another figure to our right started towards us. It seemed slow, but it walked the same way. Realization hit when the first one got up and proceeded to come near. Zombies, man-eaters, the undead...not this again.

     We all ran away together, heading towards the building where my sister was staying. The zombies seemed pretty sluggish, so we were able to shake them off. Still, it was hard to run against the winds with leaves and styrofoam cups being thrown at us by nature (if it was even in nature's control at this point). Pieces of the sky still fell around us but never too close, and the fires grew.

     As we neared her building, we saw a figure standing in front of the entrance. Another zombie? Everyone came to a halt, trying to see if it would try to attack us, or maybe it happened to be a friendly face. We hadn't seen any bodies since running from the car. I had assumed that everyone was already hiding away from the madness.

     Then, the person spoke to us and asked why we were approaching the building. My mom stepped in front of my siblings and me to confront them. They found out that we were just here for a family member and stepped aside to allow us in. Why were we not able to walk in right away? What was the reason for blocking us in the first place?

     We entered the tall, flameless building. The power had turned off, so the inside was lit by candles. My sister stood in the back of what looked like a common area and spotted us. My family huddled and cried, feeling relieved that they were all together again. She explained that they wouldn't allow anyone in unless they knew a resident for safety purposes. The dream ended, and I can only hope that we found a way to survive.