Take a 2nd look

Danny

The storm clouds stood over the town, claiming the sky as their own on the day everything changed.

Danny was walking to school with his friend Rachel the day the storm came. He had been friend with this tall brunet since freshman year. Their senior year was right around the corner and where his stomach was full of fear, her gold flecked hazel eyes were brimmed with confidence. She had planned out her future, got the grades, and was ready to graduate since kindergarten. He, on the other hand, didn't even know what he was going to eat for breakfast tomorrow.

But they knew they would keep in touch, she had promised him that much. He wasn't quite sure when he had started to like her, he felt kind of stupid about it actually. They were best friends, she had a crush on this senior guy who got held back, someone way beneath her, so he knew he never had a chance.

They were walking to school when everything started to change, and we aren't just talking falling in love. At first only Danny noticed, it was little things like as they walked down the small suburban street, birds, butterflies, and flying insects of all kinds were landing on the fences, in the yards, and the sidewalks after he and Rachel passed them. He thought this was strange but Rachel didn't seem to notice.

"Do you smell that?" Rachel asked turning to him. He kept walking until he had realized she had stopped in the middle of the walk way.

"Come on Rache, the school's right around the corner, I don't want to get caught in the rain, plus we're gonna be late and I can't afford lunch detention again."

"But it smells so bitter sweet, like berries and spinach. Or like when you take a bite of unripe apple and at first it's sweet but then it's sour." She explained moving her hands around as if drawing pictures in the air. That's when the ground started to shake. The storm clouds turned a sickening green color.

"Rachel, what's going on?" Danny yelled over the roaring of the earth as it quaked beneath their feet. Rachel's oval face gave a bewildered look.

"Why do I look like the kind of person who would know?!" she shouted back.

The ground shook violently knocking her forward into Danny, causing them both to fall to the ground. He could feel the heat on his cheeks, he didn't have to be told he was blushing. But to his surprise so was Rachel.

"Are you okay?" She whispered, her face inches from his. "Danny are you okay?" she repeated a little louder.

"Yeah I'm fine," he mumbled. Rachel suddenly realized that she was on top of Danny and scrambled up. Danny stood up, following her lead. the ground had paused, like a monster taking a breath, the shaking had stopped.

"We need to get to the school. Maybe they know what's happening." she said frantically. Before he could answer Rachel grabbed his wrist and started running towards the the end the street.

He felt his feet cooperate before he had time to think. Right on cue, the ground began to shake again and they took off. At the end of the street they took a sharp turn left and right there was the school. It looked almost unaffected by the heartbeat of the shaking ground around them. Stumbling with the quaking earth, Rachel and Danny made it to the doors of the old brick building just as the shaking stopped again. They knew all the students would be in the locker rooms, the safest and sturdiest in the school. But what they saw when the pushed the door open stopped them both in their tracks. whatever had happened, they knew nothing would ever be the same again.