Catalyst

Chapter 1

Clara furrowed her eyebrows, creating ripples on her forehead. Her eyes blared with a glazed confusion. What was it? Was it dangerous?

The cold air swirled and danced in the December breeze, she could see menacing faces within it, encouraging her. No. She couldn't.

But her hands thought differently. They paced forward, quavering with anticipation and suspense. She could feel the frost nipping her fingers, sending prickles up her arm. Flickers of auburn hair slashed across her face from the icy wind that dictated the eerie silence. This was it. No going back.

November 21st 13:47pm

Fields of green and yellow brushed across the landscape as Clara's green Citröen sped along the motorway, the delicate tapping of the raindrops blurring it into a blurred watercolour masterpiece.

She couldn't deny it, the scenery looked spectacular. The grass boasted a rich move green, nursing daffodils in it's many crescents and bumps. The sheep and cows grazed hazily. On occasion they would lift their eyes, isolating their head, to watch the passing traffic. But today there was no traffic; Clara's car was the only one on the whole motorway.

Her father Howard was driving, her mother Ilene in the front seat. Howard's grey eyes was fixated blankly on the road, his head stooped towards the steering wheel, neck hunched. He sniffed and twitched his mouth, then raised his large, beefy hand to scratch his dark stubble. His black hair waved in the harsh wind that entered through the small gap in the driver's window. The middle button on his red pinstriped shirt was popping open, revealing his generous belly and hairy chest.

Ilene shivered and wrapped her woven blue cardigan around her once more. She glanced a look at her right wrist and snatched a hairband off of it, then tied her thinning brunette hair into a short ponytail. It enhanced her petite frame, showcasing the pale undertone in her freckled skin.

"Could you turn up your window love?" She whispered to Howard adjacent to her, her delicate Northern accent warming the cold atmosphere in the car.

Howard grunted, scrunched his nose and dropped his hip towards the right and rolled his window up, continuing not to look up from the road

Clara was getting frustrated. She should be at school, She wasn't getting answers.

"So" Clara dictated, leaning toward between the two front seats, "Is no-one going to answer my question?"

Ilene looked over at Howard. He didn't flinch.

"What question sweetie?" She replied, raising the tone in her voice into an unfamiliar territory.

Clara exhaled deeply, staring at the flicking white lines in the middle of the road.

"Why did you take me out of school early?" Clara glanced down at her blue school uniform and grey pleated skirt. She had messy red pen flowers drawn on her palm.

"You know your father works for national security" Ilene stated with a hint of a question imbedded within it.

"Yes"

"Well he had a call"

"A call?"

"A call."

"And... What was said in the call?" Clara asked, pacing out her words like she was talking to a toddler.

"That we need to get out of Birmingham"

Clara felt her face burn with fury.

"So all my friends here are in danger?" Clara felt her nostrils flare and her top lip curl.

"They will hear about it, then they will know" Ilene replied, trying not to make eye contact with Clara, so she stared outside the window, clearly not registering anything.

"Turn on the radio"

"What?" Ilene almost burst out of her seat and turned around to Clara, sat behind the driver's seat.

"Now." Clara said.

Ilene turned back to face forwards and looked over at Howard. She tutted and reached into her bag. It rustled for a while until she brought out a wet wipe and began to pick at the ketchup stain beside the open button on Howard's shirt. He glanced down and snorted before looking back to the road again.

Clara pierced her eyes through her mother's back. She was purposely ignoring her.

"Mum" Clara mumbled.

No response.

"Mum!"

Nothing.

"Ilene Broughton!"

She turned back around to face her daughter with hurt eyes, they were beginning to well up. Once more, she faced forward and reached towards the radio system in the car.

Clara sat back in her seat and waited for the news to begin.

She looked at the reflection in the window and a girl with bouncy auburn hair and pale freckled skin looked back. Her oval hazel eyes looked mysterious and cold as she tried to listen to the radio presenter. They were talking about movie stars and how much their mansions across the world total up to. There was some sort of sick joy that took over Clara. If there was something serious going on, she got a head-start to get out of there, no-one else did.

"Welcome to the News at 2"

Here we go. They might announce it now.

"There have been various reports of peculiar astronomical sightings in recent weeks..."

"What?! It's not about this is it?! These have been already been called hoaxes by scientists. I mean really co-"

Ilene pressed a finger to her lips and turned up the volume to the radio

"...various scientists and physicists" The newsreader progressed, "However these have been confirmed by officials to be something to be concerned about. The sightings are all said to be a large, black circular object in the sky. Some are saying it could be in fact another planet forming. With us today we have scientist Dave Sower. Dave what do you th-"

Ilene switched off the radio and cautiously looked towards Clara, who was sat in silence contemplating the news she just heard.

"But surely a new planet isn't anything to worry about? And besides, what has this got to do about Birmingham being in danger?"

"What they haven't said is that it isn't a planet" Ilene's deep blue eyes burned with intensity.

"It isn't?"

"No."

"Then...then what is it?"

Ilene sighed.

"It's an object"

"Object?" Clara rolled her eyes and returned her gaze to the window.

"An object that could change the face of Earth. We don't know why or how, that's just literally what we've been told in the phone call" Ilene continued.

Clara clenched her jaw and tried to understand.

"But why are we leaving if it affects Earth in general?"

"It's only a small object, it's not going to... Blow up Earth. But it's direction is towards the UK and the Nothern Hemisphere"

Clara raised her hands to her head to block out all other noises. Her friends, house, everything. She's leaving everything behind.

"So where are we going then?!"

"To your father's headquarters in Cape Town, South Africa."