ESCAPE

CHAPTER-1

A black and shiny car stopped in front of Nora's house. Nora and her friend Emily got out of the car and waited for their friend Ethan, who had been driving the car, to get out. Ethan Banister and Emily Sparks were Nora's childhood friends. Though they all had different personalities, they always got along well.

"Thanks for picking us up from the airport, Ethan" said Nora.

"Always at your service, Madam," said Ethan, smirking.

"Whatever" said Emily and struck out her tongue.

"So how was your trip to England?" asked Ethan.

"Amazing! We had loads of fun but we missed you," said Nora, "Hey, why don't you join us for dinner?"

"I was hoping you would ask. I'm starving" said Ethan and winked.

Nora fumbled around in her handbag, searching for her keys. After a few minutes, she said, "Looks like I forgot to take it with me before leaving."

"Oh no! Not again. Why are you so forgetful? Anyway, call your mom" suggested Emily.

"Good idea. But I'm not sure if she will be back home soon."

Nora called her mom. Her mom answered within a minute and said in a panicky voice, "Nora, I am coming home right now. Stay where you are and be safe. I'll be there in five minutes. Love you."

Saying so, she hung up abruptly. Nora was puzzled. She sensed that something was wrong. She sighed and sat down on the steps.

"Nora, where is Emily?" asked Ethan, worried.

"I don't know. She was here only moments ago. She must have wandered off somewhere. Don't worry. She'll be back" said Nora.

Emily loved roaming. She would usually explore nook and corner of every place they visited. Because of this habit, she got into a lot of trouble.

Ethan's face twisted in confusion and there was panic behind his eyes. He looked around frantically.

"What's wrong with you? Calm down. You have never acted this way before" said Nora, who clearly didn't understand why Ethan, the calm one, was panicking.

"Nora! Ethan!" called out someone from the backyard.

"That must be Emily! Come on!" said Ethan.

Ethan ran in the direction the voice was coming from. Nora followed him, not understanding a bit. Behind the house, looking at a bush, Emily stood with her mouth wide open. Her blond hair was blowing due to the wind. Ethan ran towards her and said, "Thank goodness, you're safe."

Emily gave him a weird look and said, "Of course, I'm safe. Clearly, dragons are not attacking me."

Ethan rolled his eyes.

"What are doing here?" asked Nora, who was relieved to see her friend safe.

"I called you so you guys can take a look at this" she said, pointing towards something lying behind the bushes.

It was a dog, cut open in half in the middle with blood pouring out from its gaping wound. The dog was clearly dead. Its bones were sticking out from all the sides, as if someone or something had ripped it open with its claws. A foul smell came from its body.

"Ew..." said Nora, whose face was twisting. Nora was extremely squeamish. She looked away quickly but the image of the dog had already burnt in her mind.

"Oh no" said Ethan, softly and sighed, "This is not good."

Suddenly, a loud honk of a car horn was heard. All the three ran to the front door to see a lady, in her late thirties, coming out of a car. She was thin and tall with dark flowing hair.

"Mom!" said Nora and hugged the lady.

Nora's mom let go of her quickly and opened the door in a rush. She was sweating profusely even though it was cold outside.

"Come inside quickly!' she ordered.

Nora, Emily and Ethan went inside the house. As soon as they entered the house, Nora's mom closed the door with a bang and locked it from the inside.

"Mom, what is..." started Nora but she was quickly interrupted by her mother.

"Nora, I don't want you to ask me questions now. Ethan and I will explain later. I need your help now. Nora, Emily and Ethan, go and shut all the doors and windows and make sure you lock them properly. Run." She said.

Not understanding anything, Nora ran to close the backdoor. She sensed that something was wrong and knew she had to obey her mom's command. After a few minutes, they all sat down in the couch in the hall.

"Mrs. Kemp, I want you to explain what is happening. I'm extremely confused," said Emily.

"Yeah Mom, me too. I don't understand why you and Ethan are panicking," said Nora.

Ethan was weirdly quiet. He didn't say a word at all. He was looking at his fingers as if he suddenly found an interest in them. Nora sensed that he and her mother knew something that she and Emily didn't. The air in the room was biting cold. The room was enveloped in silence.

Nora's mom's face darkened and she said slowly, "The Apocalypse. It has begun."