Fallen Ash

Chapter 1

I remember this day like the back of my hand. The screams, the death, the smell, I remember what I thought I remember everything I saw down to the last detail and it was a sight that I want to forget. It was the last day I remember that civilization stayed the same. The last day I was allowed to be a 15 year old. In the time span of only 10 seconds my life was turned into a world of death and despair. Finding hope was hard but we found it. We had a singular goal, to stay alive long enough to find our families.

Of course that wasn't what I was thinking when I climbed onto that bus. It was 6:30 in the morning and I was holding the hand of one of my best friends, Rochelle. My other friends Scarlet and Chris were behind us talking. We were on our way to Lincoln Nebraska for a field trip to the Sunken Gardens for science. This is the furthest we've ever traveled away from home without our parents and to say I'm thrilled is an understatement.

We settled ourselves in our seats, Scarlet and Rochelle sat together and I sat with Chris. They were in front of us. I was on my knees talking over the seat. We were on travel buses of course, not just simple school buses, no way would we be able to survive 8 (possibly 9 and a half hours) of driving on school buses. Chris being as tall as he was simply leaned forward resting his arms on top of the seat. Rochelle and Scarlet were turned around, our teacher was unhappy about it but she stayed silent.

We were laughing and giggling for the first couple hours before we all watched a movie, Big Hero 6 to be exact. Afterwards we stopped for bathroom breaks and to eat. Everyone ate then 45 minutes later we got back on the bus. Our teacher popped in Hotel Transylvania but I didn't pay attention I've watched the movie 7 hundred times I could practically recite the whole movie myself. So instead of watching I popped in my ear buds and listened to some music before I dozed off.

A few hours later I was awoken by Chris shaking my shoulder. I groaned and opened my eyes.

"Can't a girl sleep?" I mumbled. Chris laughed next to me.

"Sorry Lizzie, we're about to pull up to the hotel, you should get your stuff together." He spoke. I nodded and put my earbuds away along with the book I was reading. Ash Fall by Mike Mullins to be exact. Good series, I've read it all the way through about 4 times now, I love it and can never put it down. It's about a boy named Alex and a girl named Darla surviving an apocalyptic world after the Super Volcano in Yellowstone National Park blew up. Alex sets out to find his family and happened to run across Darla. I'm not a big fan of Science Fiction stories but this is definitely one of the better ones. Rochelle thinks it's absolutely terrifying and I always laugh at her when she complains that I'm reading it again.

But that's besides the point. I grabbed my bag as the bus stopped and we all piled out and into the lobby of the hotel. Our class saved up so much money from the fundraisers we did and managed to get a fancy hotel to stay at each room can hold up to 4 people. This is a fun field trip Sophomores get to take at some point during the year. We're the last group to go. It's a 2 day trip, 3 if you count the drive here and back.

We all settled down in the lobby and waited for our assigned rooms. Rochelle, Scarlet, Chris and I all got a room as we were in a group together. Chris was a little uncomfortable sharing a room with 3 girls but he's known us since the beginning of time so he got over it. We were on the top floor so we started heading up. When we arrived at our room I immediately ran to the window and yanked the curtains open, the city looked amazing. It was still daylight out, it was 4 in the afternoon. I had a nice long nap on the way here so I was hyperactive. The others were exhausted so they went to crash in bed. Chris and Scarlet were sharing a room since they'e known each other the longest and basically grew up together, I get to share a room with Rochelle. Yes there are two rooms in this hotel. Along with a kitchen with a stove an oven and a toaster. And both bathrooms have a bathtub, Rochelle and I's room had a Jacuzzi. I decided to go ahead and get in to relax, my back was all tense from that ride and the hot water would certainly help.