World on Fire

Chapter two - the spark that started the fire

I woke up the next morning feeling pretty refreshed. Sure I slept on the couch and not my bed, but I guess it wasn't that bad because I slept A OK. I stood up and stretched a bit before I statewide my daily morning routine; brushing my teeth, making breakfast, showering, and getting dressed. As I got dressed I turned the TV back on and watched the news for the weather. It was going to be a nice warm sunny day out. Giving me time to lay in the thick grass again later on today. As I sat down with a bowl of cereal in hand a special report came up on the news. It was for the announcement of some new GPS satellites or something. I didn't pay it much mind as I stayed flipping channels again. Halfway through eating my cereal all of a sudden the TV screen goes black. I look in puzzlement as I try to do something to fix it.  Weird thing was the TV was still on when it happened. I didn't have much time to do anything cause a few minutes later Al came knocking.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, just having some TV trouble."

"Yeah I know about that. We're fixing that instead of the plumbing thing today."

That was a relief because the satellite cable was hooked with the internet, and everybody in the complex needed that on.

We climbed up to the roof to try and get a look at the dish, but everything seemed fine.  Sky clear as day, the dish was in place, but there was no signal.

"Try to move it a little to the left." Al looks up at me as I try to position the dish. I move it a bit to the left, but all of a sudden I see a dark shadow that made a noise like twelve trains running at once as it loomed overhead. When it passed I saw that it had wings. It was a plane. I thought to myself was that airplane? Looked military but what's it doing here? There are no bases or airports nearby. Shit got real serious when I started seeing a few more of them flying together.

"Kid... Kid get off the roof! NOW!" I don't hesitate as I jump down if the roof. I tried for my own balcony porch, but land to stories down into a rosebush. Not a soft landing but it was one without injury. Lucky me for the shit I was wearing. Unluckily for me when I stood up though. You know that sound in the old cartoons that they make when someone falls? That about close to the last thing I heard before I was in the air and thrown against a car. At first all I could see was fire. Then shadows. Then nothing as I black out. Seconds later I try to move but I can't. Everything is so numb. I could hear someone screaming at me but couldn't hear what he or she was saying. Where... What happened to my house? Was that a bomb or something? How? What happened? Is this...the end? Shapes and shadows turn to darkness as my eyes roll back. I pass out.