Unnatural

Chapter 1

I sat at the kitchen table, listening to my family talking about my sisters, one was going off to college, a huge superstar in the sports world. They were making plans for my other sister, moving her into her new apartment, making plans for her graduate work, and talking about her internship at a huge firm in New York City. I just sat there, poking at my dry chicken and soggy green beans. Nothing exciting or amazing happens in my life, I'm just a being, sitting here watching the others in my life prosper. I've always been compared to my sisters, told that I should be more like them, but I don't want to be like them. They are going to college for jobs that my parents think are 'stable' and 'real' and 'make money', but I don't want that either. They just don't understand me, nobody does. I throw my plate out in the middle of the conversation about how they are going to get the bed into the apartment, nobody giving me a glance, it's like I'm invisable to them.

Who am I? I am Katherine Harris. Your typical teenage girl with medium length, dirty blonde hair and deep green eyes. I'm short and I try not to talk to anybody. I like books and clothing and the internet. Nothing exciting about me what so ever, nothing but a boring body that does boring things, other than my brain. My whole life I have been put in the 'special needs' classes. I was always destracted by things and had migraines constantly. I hated being around people too. The whole idea of socializing made me cringe. I can feel their eyes on me and I just want to curl up in a ball and cry. Pretty much, I am an anti-social spaz who can't do anything right.

I walk upstairs to my room and lock the door, finally feeling better. I shove the earbuds into my head and blast the music. I sigh and begin to scroll through the internet. I scroll for hours upon hours. It's the middle of July so I don't have any school work to worry about. I look out my window to see a storm brewing up, loud and violent. I've always loved the rain, and storms and lightning. I set my laptop on the charger and lay back in my bed, looking at my phone. 3 am, nice. I turn off the light and curl into a ball of blanket and person. I look out the window again to see the storm becoming a little too violent, almost hurricane like. I get up, confused as to why it's so bad. I hear a loud bang in the distance, not thunder but metal hitting metal. The power shot off and the whole neighborhood went dark. I looked through the night, trying to see in darkness. The house was shaking now, violently. I backed away from the window, shuddering and close to tears. A shockwave flew out from nextdoor and flames erupted from the home. I ran back to the window and almost screamed, but the horror grabbed my voice and held it down. There was a BMW shoved through the roof of the house, flames shooting out of the entrance. The flames lit up the night and I could finally see into the darkness. There couldn't be a tornado, this was the hilly area of the North Jersey we are talking about. I turned and ran from the window pulling the door to my room open but I was suddenly throw to the ground in an explosion. I looked up to see everything in flames, my ears ringing and my body shaking. I grabbed my backpack, throwing in my phone with the charger, clothing that was scattered on the floor and my mini flashlight. I ran down the hallway, screaming to my family, the every room was engulfed in flames. Tears streamed down my face and I stumbled to the stairs, but the whole thing was in flames. I ran back to my room, which wasn't in flames yet and slammed the door shut. I started to think better. I grabbed my laptop and charger, throwing those into my bag too. I also grabbed my emergency "GO BAG" that I made when I was little when I had anxiety. I pulled out a duffle bag and this one was filled with all my clothing within seconds. I finally grabbed my journal and pulled open the window, grabbing ahold of the tree right outside of my window and swinging out of the burning house, my belongings in arm. I jumped to the ground and ran into the woods not turning back.

Why didn't I just run to a house across the street? Because every single one was in flames, high towering flames that lit up the night sky like a giant candle. I ran until the mud was too deep and my breath came in and out with gasps and coughs. I sat on a fallen tree and cried. What had just happened to me didn't make sense. Every house was in flames and not a single person survived other than me. And how did I stay calm long enough to get out of the house with the supplies I had. The rain had finally stopped and the sun started to rise, making the woods sparkle and fog covered the ground. I looked around, everything so peaceful and calm. I pulled my knees to my chest and cried, not knowing if I should go back to the development or just go find my friends house. I wiped my eyes and got up off the log.

"I need to explain to the authorities what happened." I sighed and started to make my way back to my house, or what is left of it.