When Skies Fall

Chapter One

When I wake up I see that the other half of my queen sized bed is empty. Elijah must have left before sunrise, I think, to get home before his parents woke up to discover him gone. I sit up slowly to avoid a headrush. Smiling, I lift up the pillow he slept on and bring it to my nose, inhaling his scent. When I set the pillow back down I remove my blanket and get off the bed. I shiver

slightly, my body, covered only by my dark blue boxer-briefs, is chilled by the cooler air. Walking to my closet I remember the night before: Elijah sneaking in through my window, the bottle of champagne, a little less than half of it tucked away safely under my bed. The way his hands caressed my sides, the smiles between kisses, my hands running through his hair, but most of all, the electric charge in the air every time we touched. That was as far as we went, respecting each other enough to wait until we know we have something that will last.

Looking at my closet I groan. It's empty, besides a pair of dark blue jeans; I forgot to do the laundry again. I slip on the jeans, they're tight, but they still fit me. Just as I'm about to walk through my door into the hallway, my Wrist Com beeps. I press a button on the top of the bracelet looking device, accepting the call and waking up the eye screen. A picture of Skyler Green, my best friend, pops up on the contact lens in my right eye.

"Hey there, Sky." I say

"Hey, Cam," Skyler starts, "You wanna tell me why Elijah snuck into his own bedroom window earlier this morning?" Skyler lives next door to Elijah in an area of the Dome known as the Subs.

I feel my face turn red as I start to speak, "He may have came over late last night, and we may have had some champagne."

"You did not!" Skyler gasps into the phone. "Cameron, you dirty boy, you!"

"No, Sky," I laugh, "We didn't do... any of that. He just came over, we had a glass of champagne, and went to sleep. I promise"

Skyler laughs, "Hey, I hear there's gonna be a storm later. You gonna take Elijah to watch the clouds?" I love to watch the clouds roll in when there's going to be a storm. The way they bloom and darken is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

"Yeah," I say, "But you're coming too."

"Okay," Skyler fakes a sigh, "I guess I can TRY to make time in my packed schedule." I roll my eyes at her sarcasm.

"Cool. Hey, I gotta go do some laundry. See you later!"

"Okay, bye." Sky says as I hangup by pushing the same button I did to answer. I smile as I walk out of my bedroom, thinking about how perfect the day is going to be.

•••

The sunlight that shines through when I open my front door warms my skin, a pleasant feeling opposed to my home, which is kept chilled. I live alone in the house; both of my parents were Arch members, and had to travel Outside and to other Domes frequently. On one of those trips, my parents, along with eleven other Arch members, disappeared. Nobody knows what happened to them. I was 12. Someone was assigned to stay with me until I turned 15, which was over a year ago. Now I'm alone, except for Skyler and Elijah I don't really spend time with anybody.

In no time I'm at Elijah's house, and I'm knocking on the door. Elijah's mother, Donna, answered it.

"Hi, Mrs. Rey. Is Elijah home?" I ask

"Hi, Cameron. Yes, he's upstairs. I have a feeling he wasn't in his bed most of the night." She says with a smile as she welcomes me in.

I laugh quietly as I walk past her and up the stairs to Elijah's room. When I open the door I see that he's still alseep. I let out a yell as I run and jump on top of him, jolting him awake.

"What are yo- Cameron!" Elijah groans.

"Hurry up! We've gotta get there before it starts! Come on!"

After Elijah got dressed and told his parents where we were going, we stopped next door to pick up Sky. Then we made our way to the tallest hill in the rural area of the Dome. Once on top of the hill all three of us lay down in the grass, our heads touching. We are all silent except for the occasional comment on the weather or the clouds. It feels nice to get away from the city and enjoy the beauty of what's around us while waiting for the storm. Elijah breaks the silence.

"Do you believe The Maker exists?" He asks. The Maker is the entity that the most popular religion of my Dome believes in. I hear Sky scoff lightly next to me, Elijah sighs quietly in response to her, and I stay silent.

Sky is the first of us to voice her opinion; "Yes. I do. But I don't think he's like everyone thinks. I don't think he's judgmental, I think he's loving. Or she. I just don't think that someone who has created all of us could hate anyone."

Elijah replied quickly. "Exactly," he says, "What about you Cam?"

I close my eyes and think for a second. "No," I decide, "No, I don't." I can feel Elijah's hand reach for mine when I say it, but I move my own to avoid it.

"Cam..." Elijah starts, but I interrupt him.

"Think about it. IF he, or she, exists, then why are we stuck in Domes? Why is the world outside filled with dangerous beasts and hellfire? Why did he choose US to live Inside and not everyone?" I say, "When you think about it, if The Maker MADE all of us, he has to LOVE all of us. Therefor, everybody would be Inside, and nobody would have been left Outside to die. I just don't understand."

Before he can reply a loud shaking echoes through the Dome. A crack in the Dome appears, and I inhale in fear. I know I should run, but I'm frozen on fear. Elijah and I grab for each other's hands just as the first piece of the sky begins falling towards us.