Fight For The Human Race: The Changing Earth

Chapter 3: A Strange Man

After school today, everyone was talking about the cloudy, orange skies. Every person I passed while walking home was panicking about what they thought it was. Then I saw a person who wasn't panicking. Angela.

I saw her walking by herself, carrying books in her arms. I jogged towards her as she started to go around the corner, afraid I would lose her.

"Hey Angela!" I called her as she kept walking away. She looked around surprised as if she's never called, and then she looked back and saw me.

"Oh hi," she smiled happily, walking towards me.

"Hi," I smiles tiredly, trying to catch my breath. "Do you want to go to a café with me?" I smile, wanting to talk to her more about what was happening.

"I can't, I'm sorry. I have to do homework and study for a test tomorrow," she smiled slightly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to know more about what's happening," I explain kindly.

"I'm sorry Riley. I can't tell you more. I wasn't even supposed to know. My dads work isn't supposed to be publicized," she said, apologizing, frowning disappointedly.

"But isn't there some way?" I pleaded as she shook her head no.

"I'm sorry Riley," she said one last time and started to walk away as I stood there on the now empty street.

As I stood there, a strong breeze blew by. I hugged myself in the cold, pulling my jacket closed tight. Suddenly, I heard my phone ring. I looked in my jacket pocket for my grey iPhone 6 and saw that my mom was calling.

"Hello?" I asked as I answered.

"Riley! I'm so glad you're ok!" She exclaimed, sounding relieved. "Are you coming home dear?" She asks kindly.

"Yeah mom, sorry. I had to do something," I say as I start to notice the wind picking up and the clouds moving in.

"Oh good, I was starting to get worried..." She said and kept talking, her voice getting fainter as I started watching the sky, noticing a small blue patch between the rusty orange sky. I smiled as a ray of sun shined through that patch of sky and got the urge to find the area it lit up.

"Riley, did you hear me?" She asked as I snapped out of my trance.

"Yeah," I mumble. "I have to go mom. I'll call you later."

"Ok but be back before-" I pulled the phone away from my ear and hung up subconsciously, gazing at where the patch of sunlight hit.

"That looks like the park," I mumble to myself quietly, starting to ran towards the park as the wind got stronger.

When I got there, the plants looked like if they were dying but still a live. I walked to the center where it looked like the blue patch was right above and saw a thick area of healthy-looking trees. I entered the small grove and walked to the center to a small meadow. A lake was in the middle of the meadow and at the waters edge, I saw a middle aged man observing the water and taking notes. He took a sample of the water and stood up from where he was kneeling. I quickly ran to the bushes and hid.

"This looks interesting," he mumbled to himself as he held the test tube up towards the light, swirling the water carefully as he examined it. He closed the tube with a small cork and put it in his large, black backpack. Then he walked over to a nearby tree and started picking at the bark. He peeled off a piece and put it in a ziplock bag, putting that in his backpack too. Then he walked over to the bush I was hiding in and knelt down, examining the leaves.

I tried hiding better but I fell backwards in the process.

"Oph," I said as I stumbled backward. The man stood up quickly and looked around the bush to where I had fallen.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with a hint of panic in his voice.

"I...uh..." I stuttered, not sure what to say. He started approaching me and I got up swiftly, running as fast as I can, away from the park and away from that man.

When I finally got home, it was already dinner time. I closed the door and sat down on the floor, exhausted from the run. My mom walked into the hall and stared at me, perplexed.

"Riley! What happened!" She exclaimed as she saw my dirty clothes.

"I...uh..." I hesitated, not sure what to say.

"Mhm?" She urged as she crossed her arms.

"I was chased by a dog and tripped while I was running away," I said, not wanting her to know what I just saw.

"Hmmm," she said, not sure what to say. She finally nodded solemnly and told me to go clean up.

"Ok mom," I ran upstairs to my room to clean myself up for dinner.