I sat at my desk, tapping keys absent-mindedly on my laptop in an effort to entertain myself. I was chatting online to my best friend, Kaden, or 'Kade' as he preferred. Mostly I was just waiting for a reply, and I guessed that he'd fallen asleep again, as it was nearly 11pm. Sighing, I turned away from my laptop and reached for my phone. I was a little surprised to see that I had two missed calls from a private number. Probably just some twelve-year-old trying to show off to their friends by prank-calling. I tossed my phone gently onto my bed and turned my attention back to my laptop. Finally, I'd gotten a reply from Kade.
Can I come over tommorrow?
I replied Yeh sure.
It was a weekend, so no school for either of us. I was 15 and Kade was 16, and we both had the same classes at the local high school. At the moment, I was at home alone with my older brother, Riley. He was nearly 21, and still lived at home. My parents were out for dinner, as they often were on Saturdays. It struck me as odd that they were still not home by now, but that's not to say that it hasn't happened before. Most likely they found a friend or relative to chat to, and they were very talkative.
A sudden knock on my door startled me.
"Uh, yeah?" I called.
As I'd expected, Riley came in. He was tall, unlike me, but had the same thick, white hair. We looked extremely similar, except our height, and he had blue eyes, while I had green. He was holding a phone loosely in his hand, not talking to anybody, but holding it as if he'd forgotten about it. His expression was unreadable.
"Silver," he started, "I need to tell you something."
I cursed mentally. "What?"
"Well, you know how Mum and Dad went out for dinner?"
"Yeah?" I didn't like where this was going.
"They're in hospital."
I had to admit, I wasn't particularly fond of my own parents. They were too busy with work and stuff to pay me much attention, but I was still shocked.
"Was there a car accident?" I asked.
Riley nodded. "It's too late to visit them tonight, so we'll sort that out later. They'll be alright. You don't mind if Jun comes over, do you?"
"Nah, that's okay." Jun was Riley's friend. He was often here, he was like a second brother.
Riley left my room, closing the door behind him. I wondered if Kade had replied to my message yet, so I checked. He had.
Omg, was that your mum's car on tv!?
That was pretty quick, I thought.
Yep. I replied.
Within seconds after clicking 'send', I'd gotten a reply.
I'm coming over.
I smiled. I was sad and worried about my parents, but I was positive they'd be fine. Meanwhile, I got up and cleared a space in the mess of my room so Kade would be able to walk through it.
All of a sudden, a deep rumble shook the walls. I froze in place. Was it an earthquake? Instinctively, I looked out the window. The street lights lit up the streets, but they flickered.
"Silver!" I heard Riley call my name out from downstairs.
I walked cautiously to the door to the hallway leading downstairs, but Riley burst through it, nearly knocking me over.
"What was that?" I asked, scared.
"I... I think it was a bomb."
"A bomb? Like, a mushroom cloud one?"
