The Deluge (On Hold for now)

Strange Findings

  The rain fell in torrents, making the air have an unusual cold, crisp feel to it. I snuggled closer in my jacket, trying to hold on to the last remaining piece of warmth I could find. The school bell rang signaling the end of my pain. I sighed in relief and gathered my things. I was in Building A, chemistry, the school looked weird. It was like a gated community, minus the elderly.

 I walked briskly towards the school parking the lot where the warmth of my car awaited. I pulled the hood of my much worn jacket over my head, it didn’t make much difference. My hair was already dripping down my back, making me shiver ever so slightly.

  I came to the last rows of cars and saw the tree. The tree was beautiful. It always seemed to stand in some sort of halo. The leaves were soft looking, yellow and purple petals sometimes came into view. The tree was somehow like an independent woman, it stood tall. What was strange was that it seemed to change its stance – sometimes it was high in the sky and then it’d be almost touching the ground.

 I shook it off though, it couldn’t be possible. Maybe all the cold was getting to my head. The wet and cold was not my definition of good. I took a long look at it, and then walked forward a bit. Something seemed to change and I spun around to look. I pulled my jacket closer to me. The air had an almost electric feeling to it. It didn’t hurt, it was almost relaxing. The rain was heavier almost blocking my view of the tree. I finally began to see and the tree was high in the sky once more.

 I sighed and got into my car. The leather seats were freezing cold and it didn’t help much that I was wet. I jammed the key into the ignition and turned it. It didn’t start, it just made a weird grinding sound. I noticed that my battery was dead. I looked around the parking lot, just my luck. It was desolate. I noticed a strange glow. I looked in the rear-view mirror. The tree was glowing.

 I got out of the car and into the cold, chilling air outside. It wasn’t exactly different to the interior of the car, just a bit wetter. I approached the strangely glowing tree, the one I always thought so much of. I mentally established three theories in my head.

 First, maybe it was a trick of the light, but what light? It was raining cats and dogs. Second, maybe this was a prank, but who’d prank me? I hung out with virtually no one. Besides, who’d prank me in a practically empty school parking lot, it made no sense. Third, maybe it was glowing, maybe I wasn’t crazy. The tree might’ve been more special than I thought.

 I closed in on the other steps and stared at it, it was almost blindingly bright, but not enough to make me look away.

 There was a strange feeling, a need to touch it, to feel the grooves in the tree. I wanted to discover where it was coming from, the strange light.  

 I rested my palm against it and the strange electric field buzzed through my body once more. I felt as if my hair should’ve been standing on end, but it didn’t, it was still wet and dripping.

 The light then flickered, fizzed, flickered again and cut off. I gasped and patted the tree with both palms. Where was the strange glow? Suddenly, I felt as if the tree was moving underneath my hands. I felt myself falling, before I could catch myself I fell down a flight of stairs. Stairs, I wondered, Where’d those come from?

 I rubbed my arm in irritation. “Ouch,” I muttered.

 I looked around expecting to see the tree but instead I saw a small flight of stairs and a grey wall.

 I immediately became frantic. Where was I? I definitely wasn’t at school anymore. To make us feel better about being in a prison, they painted the walls in bright colors. But, this, this was different, it was almost ominous. I got up and stared down the long hallway. What was a girl to do?