Chasing Chaos: The Rise of Chaos

Chapter 2: Arrival

She woke with a start. A thunderclap, loud and abnormally physical, drowned out the wail of the alarm. The house shook. Not just shook, it rattled down to the foundation. A framed picture of Caitlin and her best friend Summer slid down the wall and shattered at the foot of her bed. Out in the hall, the light flicked on.

"Cat, why aren't you up? Your alarm's been going off forever," her mother's voice called.

It was then that Caitlin realized it was ten minutes past the hour. Somehow she'd slept through the alarm.

"Getting up now," Caitlin called. She lifted herself slowly off the chair, her limbs stiff from the position she'd been in, and shut the alarm off. With slow, very, very slow movements she got dressed, not bothering to complete her usual routine of showering or even applying deodorant. It didn't matter anyway because of the rain. She'd get soaked and smell like wet dog one way or another.

By 6:30 she was sitting at the breakfast bar in the kitchen eating a toaster pastry, listening to the morning news blaring from the living room. There was a pretty serious storm over Concord. It would pour all week, said the newsman. Caitlin sighed irritably. Her dour mood reflected the weather as she absent-mindedly bit down on the strawberry-flavored dough puff.

Her mother, Sandra, walked into the kitchen, quickly fastening the back to her favorite pearl earrings. She was smartly dressed in a tight but neutral pencil skirt and blouse, her dark hair expertly coiffed just so that it reminded Caitlin of a football helmet.

"Perk up Cat," she said as she snatched her box-like purse off the counter. "You look a mess. Are you sick?"

Caitlin shrugged. "Maybe. I haven't been sleeping much."

"Sure looks like it. And what in the world are you wearing?"

Caitlin's light brown hair was swept into a messy ponytail and she was wearing her trademark too-big tattered jeans, the same ones she'd worn in middle school. A gray jacket was pulled over one of her dad's many blood donor shirts-- the kind you got for free for giving blood. This one read "I gave blood at Denver Blood Center!" with the year printed underneath. The shirt was nine years old and the Redding family now lived in California.

"I didn't want to ruin my good clothes," Caitlin replied. "Besides, this is comfortable."

"Aren't your school pictures for the yearbook today?"

"Eh," Caitlin shrugged again, shoving the last corner of her breakfast into her mouth.

"Jesus Cat," her mother's arm disappeared into the large purse and rifled through it, "I told your grandma she'd be getting some nice pictures of you this year."

"Well unless you want to drive me to school today, this is what I'm wearing. And I hate it when you call me that, mom. Please stop."

"I'm already running late, Cat," Sandra said with a tinge of annoyance, ignoring Caitlin's request and withdrawing her car keys. "I've got to be at the office by seven."

Caitlin groaned. "It's pouring out. You're really going to make me walk to the bus stop and wait?"

"I don't know what to tell you. Bring an umbrella. I have to go," Sandra strode past Caitlin and gave her a quick kiss on her forehead. Before Caitlin could retort, her mother was through the door. Caitlin listened as the Camry started up and peeled out of the driveway. This made her even more irritable.

"I thought you wanted me to have nice pictures," she muttered under her breath. "Now I'll definitely look like a drowned rat." She slid off the stool and slung her backpack over her shoulders.

The last thing Caitlin always did before leaving for school was fill Ladybug's dish with cat food. This time, as she placed the bowl on the ground, Ladybug was nowhere to be seen. Usually she'd be meowing and making figure eights through Caitlin's legs, ready to quickly scarf down the food.

"Dad, have you seen Lady?" Caitlin called to the other room. Something sports related was playing on the television.

"She's probably hiding because of the thunderstorm," her dad's low, monotonous voice answered. As if to punctuate his words, a flash of light and a low, rumbling boom shook the house again.

"She doesn't usually hide during storms," Caitlin entered into the living room and found her father sitting in his easy chair clutching a thermos of coffee. His glasses rested on the very tip of his long nose, as it usually did, when he was focusing on reading. This time he was closely observing the scores of last night's football game.

"Well this one's pretty nasty," he said without looking up at her. "Want a ride to school?"

"No, I like the idea of having to swim to class. "

"Do you want a ride or not?"

"I want a ride. Just let me go grab the umbrella from the towel closet, okay?" Caitlin wandered back into the hall and opened up the small closet. Inside, resting on the third shelf from the floor and nestled in a pile of towels, was Ladybug.

"Hey, how'd you get in here?" Caitlin reached in to stroke the cat's ear right as another thunderclap rolled over. The sound caused Lady to shriek horribly and attempt to escape in a whirl of claws and fur. Caitlin's left hand was sliced horizontally across the palm as the cat shot out of the closet, tearing through the house. More lightning pulsed outside followed by the power abruptly cutting off. Caitlin stood shocked, blood running from her hand, in darkness.

"Well, looks like it's time to go," her father called. "And I found Lady."

Caitlin grabbed the umbrella and wished she could just curl up and fall asleep forever.