Thorn

Prologue

Olly couldn't stop smiling. Her parents were often absent, her father being a soldier in the Navy and her mother being a scientist at Elderry Laboratories, and every minute spent together was a blessing. That day, they both managed to be home, for Julius and Olly's greatest pleasure.
As every Wednesday, Liris' marina was empty. His father had asked one of his colleagues to borrow her boat for the day. The Evian was an old fishing boat the size of a van, painted in yellow and orange to look like the chariot of Apollo
"Olly, honey," said Leonard Thorn, at the wheel of the ship. "Keep an eye on Jules. We don't want him to fall in the water, don't we?"
"I'm almost nine years old, dad." The girl's brother frowned. "I can handle myself."
"Oh no you can't, nyani," Olly said while putting her arm around his shoulders. "I call you my monkey for a reason."
She glanced at her mother and saw satisfaction in her brown eyes. She was taught Chichewa at a young age, with the hope of honouring her origins, her mother being born and raised in Mozambique, and seeking pride from the one that she always looked up to.
Olly was sitting at the back of the boat, facing the city. "Look at that view, Jules." The girl put her brother on her lap. "See how the skyscrapers seem to be embracing the sky? We could almost think they're on fire."
Sunsets always fascinated her. They were all unique, beautiful in their own way. They could be bright orange as they could be smooth purple. One could be hiding behind buildings, as another could be sinking slowly in the water.
"Is there a storm coming?" Olly said, seeing a large amount of dark clouds in the sky when the sun disappeared.
"The weather seemed nice when I last checked. They obviously had it wrong." Olly's mother turned to face her husband. "We should get back home. I doubt the Evian would survive a storm." He nodded.
The clouds were entirely covering Liris' sky. Olly looked around her. The sea was starting to get wild, the waves became bigger and larger and the fishing boat was having a hard time trying to get through the deadly waters.
Jules tapped her shoulder.
"Not now, nyani. Now is not the time."
"Olly-," he started.
"The only reason that I will accept to be bothered is if you tell me that the city is on fire or that zombies are invading it."
"I don't know about the zombie part, but the city is on fire," he said, pointing at the town that they called their home, which was indeed partly on fire.
Her eyes widened. The top of the tallest buildings in the downtown were eaten by flames. The sky at the center of the city was bright red.
"Dad!" She shouted as loud as she could, to be heard over the sound of the waves crashing on the boat
"I am kind of too preoccupied with trying not to sink our ship to answer you right now!" He yelled back, but looked anyway. His expression went blank. "Oh holy Jesus Christ."
"Leonard, you have to get us back on the land. Immediately," Olly's mother cried, her voice full of fear.
We were surrounded by terrifically tall waves. It was hard to think that these same waters were as calm as they could have been only minutes ago. Olly held her little brother tightly in her arms. She could feel his tears on her neck and his fast heartbeat against her chest. "Zonse zidzakhala bwino, nyani," she kept saying in his ear.
A wave engulfed the boat and it snapped in two, her parents on one side and her brother and herself on the other. A piece of the floor hit her and she protected Julius' head with her hand.
"Mom!" She cried louder than she thought possible and her voice broke. Olly tasted salt in her mouth, either was it tears, blood or sea water.
She felt Jules scream, too, as they were projected out of the little piece of the Evian that was left. Water almost immediately invaded her lungs. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She was heartbroken and frightened. Her parents were lost, lost in the sea. Chaos was surrounding her. Something hit her head hard and her brother let loose of her. The girl watched the sky as it took the unusual color of dark orange, as if it had burst into flames, and saw the sea glowing for a short moment before she passed out.

"Zonse zidzakhala bwino, nyani," she had said.
Everything will be fine, monkey.

•••

There you go for the prologue of Thorn and the first impression of Olly Thorn. What did you think of her? What do you think of my story?
Sorry for the errors, I'm doing my best.
For any insults, advices or appreciation texts, go comment!