War of the Worlds: StormBound.

Chapter 1: Calm before the Storm.

Murphy was doing his usual patrolling around town. Being given the task to have people go inside for curfew due to not only a mass increase in the common cold spreading, but the oncoming storm that has been labeled as able to cause blackouts. The last thing people need is to be trapped in a building or an elevator with doors that require power.

Murphy stops upon a group of teenagers in raincoats and skateboards under their arms. He recognized one of the young men among the group as one of his good friends, Mike's son. A known vandal and loiterer. Murphy always let him off with a warning, but today, he wanted to drive the message home clear that he needed to be home at this very moment.

With the flash of his red and blue lights and a few blares of his siren, he caught the boys's attention. They all stop because they seemingly know what they're in for. Especially Joshua, Mike's son. They all post up against a brick wall as Murphy parked his car to the side of the road and got out after grabbing his raincoat in the back of his cruiser. Putting it on to prevent any rain from staining and seeping through his clothing.

"Hello again, Joshua." Murphy said as he looked at the other boys and pulled out his flashlight to illuminate the dark wall they happened to be leaning on. Joshua answers with a snarky "Hello Officer Pendleton." Joshua was 16, and at this age, it's known for boys to be in their rebellious faze. This is why he didn't take it so hard on Joshua when he knows that he's just trying to find the right crowd to be in.

"You heard 'Bout the curfew, right guys? Massive storm coming this way, not a very good idea to be out this late at night when something sinister like that lurks around the corner." He looked at all of the other boys. They seemed a little older than Joshua, so he cleared his throat and continued. "In technical terms, I could just arrest you all and have your parents come pick you all up." He tried to scare them. It worked on all the other boys except Joshua as he's heard that line dozens of times.

"Now I'm feeling generous, though. So if you just high tail it on home now, I won't go putting cuffs on anyone. Understand?" Murphy sort of scolded as most police officers did. They all always did it in such a calm, sounding tone as a means to sound professional and not provoke anyone. "Yes, sir." Most of the boys answered as they began to hightail it, as instructed, back to their homes. But before Joshua could leave, Murphy grabbed him by the arm.

"Nuh uh uhh, you know how damn far you are from home? You're getting in that car with me so I can take you back to Mike. Or would you rather me cuff you and have Mike come pick you up from the station?" He asked as he let go of Joshua's arm. He didn't say anything and just walked over to the car. He opened his trunk and stuffed the young man's skateboard into the back, and it was the same with Murphy's rain coat. Getting into the car and opening the passenger side for the young man. Once he got in, he buckled his seat belt and turned to Joshua. Waiting for him to do the same.

Joshua was stubborn. He was clearly upset that he got his time with his friends interrupted by Murphy once more. He might hate him for it now, but later in life, he has a feeling that he'll thank Him one day for setting him on the right path. Joshua buckled up, and Murphy chuckled and said, "That's the ticket." Before cutting his police lights off and starting his long drive to Mike's home.

"Why do you keep hangin' out with those boys? I keep telling you that they're bad news." Murphy asked him as he turned his blinker on to get onto the freeway to be able to get to the other side of town faster. Murphy was Mike's next-door neighbor, so it came to no surprise that he knew where Joshua lived. They became good friends the first day he moved to the town to enlist himself in the police force.

Joshua was wearing a black sweatshirt, blue jeans with purposefully cut holes in them, and black low tops with the laces loose as hell. Blonde hair, blue eyes, and about 5'8. "Because there's nothing else to do in this boring ass town." He says as he just kept his gaze out the window as he watched the lights on the freeway pass by the rainy night. Murphy shook his head. "The town may not be paradise to you, but it's definitely better off than other parts of the world. Could be without a clean source of water, homes, and schools, for that matter." He tells him all the horrible things that he could have been growing up in rather than the decent city of Boston.