Anchreon

Prologue

The day started like any other, the sun rising leaving the now brightening sky full of hues of orange and reds, birds chirping their songs as rays of light awoke them in their nest. Dogs baying and barking as squirrels or other small woodland critters began scurrying around; people starting cars letting them warm up to operating temperatures or kissing their significant others before rushing off to work to beat the inner city morning rush. That was the norm of life.

An alarm blared out, screaming it's shrill notes of a siren going off as a grumpy Clair Pendergraph groggily hit the snooze button before checking the time, 5:00 am. Clair groaned inwardly as her brain registered that today was the last day of school before a long needed summer vacation. Next year she would be a senior and this was her last summer before she joined the workforce in its entirety. That or college which she had already started applying to several out of state hoping that the college fund her Dad had set up would be enough.
Clair sat up disentangling herself from the covers and clambered out of bed heading towards her bathroom, she had shared it with her brother before he left for the army following in their dad's footsteps but not into the same branch; where her dad was a marine himself her older brother had opted to be in the army. Her brother was graduating from AIT or advanced individual training upstate New York. Clair's dad and little sister had left yesterday and Clair after today would be boarding a flight to them, she had wanted to go with them but the drill sergeant in her dad had come out in a heated argument and she was in her eyes forced to go to school.
Clair rushed her shower a full thirty minutes later she was dressed and trying to get her mop of red curls into some what of her customary braid though her straightener was on the fritz again. Clair had never really put much stock into her appearance since she wasn't really into the whole prep scene nor did she care, her academics spoke for her and her more athletic abilities was what she got by on from the debate team to rifle team in JROTC. So sweats and an oversized grey hoodie. Her schoolbag a mismatch of band pins and military patches and ribbons, not really grungy but close enough.
Stepping out of the bathroom she found her shoes, probably the only things she didn't stash in there. A pair of black converse she had forever. Clair slid them on and rushed downstairs and out the door just in time to get on the bus. Finding her seat once on the bus Clair put in her earbuds and drifted right back to sleep to the sound of thunderstorms and rain with a steady but soft Lo-fi beat.

Sometime later Clair woke as the bus came to a shuddering stop with a cacophony of noise from the air brakes. Someone jostled her with their bag and a rushed apology or something along those lines. Clair didn't really care about it as she slid into line to get off the bus.  As she got off and joined the throng of students heading to the building. The school was a old brick building with a gymnasium off to one side and a slew of smaller buildings more like trailers. The flag pole surrounded by the prayer ring or the hippies, Clair didn't know. Off to one side almost directly across from the circle stood the doomsday cult; the leader of the "cultists" screaming on the top of his lungs.
"Rejoice heathens for the end is nigh! Turned away at the gates the dead walk among us! Only the god can save us! Hail the slumbering ones name!" The leader screamed his arms outstretched and raised to the sky.
The other cultist moaned in an ecstatic voice," the slumbering one!"
Clair just kept walking, she was creeped out by the group like everyone else, eager to meet up with her friends before the bell rang. Her best friend Rory sat next to a few of the skaters, their boards strapped to various bags scattered around their little huddle, a spliff being passed around. Rory taking his hit before getting up and out of the rotation to waltz over to Clair; stumbling slightly over his sandals.
"Yooooooo Claaaaaair," Rory drawled out the syllables as he put his arm around her shoulders before laughing hysterically.
Clair trying not to laugh or inhale the stench of pot of Rory's drug rug hoodie, god that thing needed a wash," Rory you psyched for summer or what?"
He held her at arm's length before his glassy expression shifted," oh shiiiiiii that's tomorrow? I thought it was months from now."
His face relaxing into an almost feigned expression of shock and bewilderment as he continued," You know what I'm doin' then?"
Clair knew what Rory was doing over summer, he was going to be baked all day every day, then sighed heavily.
"Yeah you gonna be fuckin fried ain't ya?" Clair stated with a bit more exasperation in her tone.
She had always known Rory stayed high no matter the circumstances.  But, before the friends could fully devolve into their banter the bell rang.