And Then It Happened

Chapter 5

They were driving on a highway, the dry, expansive, sandy Arizona desert landscape seemed to fly past their car forever, brown bushes after tall cacti stretched on and on, outside the childrens windows.

They saw a little speckled owl, it's tiny claws perched on a cactus arm. It's large, marble eyes, black and dilated, interrogated the roomy, jet black van that Jarvis was driving. It stared, but only for a moment, before it turned around and dove, beak first, into it's nest that it had made in an old, decomposing, cactus.

The cactus had been dead awhile, for it's flesh was turning black, and in some places the flesh had even fallen off. As the tiny speckled owl disappeared into it's nest, one of it's many identical, elegant feathers disloged itself from the small owl's back. The little feather was the color of dark chocolate all around the very edge, while the inside was more of a milky chocolate. The entire feather was heavily sprinkled with tiny black dots.

"Oh look!" Exclaimed jake pointing out of Sally's window. "Aww owls are so cute! Almost as cute as you!" And he kissed her on the cheek.

Sally loved how jake could get excited about anything, even a little owl. In fact she loved everything about him! He was perfect.

Something was off, though. The children couldn't put there finger on it, but it was something. Maybe it was that the desert was abnormally still and quiet. Apart from the owl, there was no life out and about.

There was no scratch of the needle like claws that belonged to the sandy colored lizards with the two, dark, vertical stripes down there back that little yellow dots lined both sides of. No kill cry from the volture like birds as they dove for there prey, the slider snake, that gets its name for the way it slides side to side when it moves, creating s-shaped markings in the sand.

And there was absolutely no scuttle of the tiny claws on the little, creepishly human-like paws of the small, sandstone colored mice, that usually scurry around all day. But today was different. There was nothing... Then, suddenly, it was clear. There was a dark gray, almost bluish, cloud, looming across the edge of the the vast sky. Suddenly, it covered the entire desert sky, not an inch was left untouched, it was like a giant paint bomb went off in the sky, casting dark gastly shadows over everything.. *

"sally," ben squealed in a frightened whimper " what's happening??"

"probably a lightning storm" she replied. Jake put his arm around Sally.