The Apocalypse of Plants

Laina

It's been one week, three days, and two hours since it started. It's been one week, three days, and two hours since I left my house and started hiking. To where, I'm still not sure. Currently, I'm in the Middle of Nowhere, heading towards Nowheresville. Supposedly, there's a safe place. I doubt it. Mother Nature wouldn't give us a safe place if her goal is to kill us.

The Middle of Nowhere. There's a lot of trees. Thankfully, they are blocking out the sun so I don't have to worry about getting burned. There's barely any grass, just a lot of dirt. If my combat boots weren't already black, they would be with the amount of filth on them. There's definitely no one else around. I haven't talked to someone in a week. I talk to myself sometimes, but it makes me feel even more lonely. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay.

There is a sound. I stop moving, stop breathing. There's another noise-it sounds like bones snapping. I cautiously turn to my right.

A giant tree tips toward me. I bolt, running as fast as I can in the other direction. I'm not going to make it. After all, if Mother Nature wants you to die, there's no stopping her.

"Get down!" a voice cries, and I am shoved to the ground. A body covers me, protecting me from the tree.

"No," I croak out. I will not be responsible for another person's death. The tree falls, branches digging into my skin. Luckily, the top of the tree hit us, and not the trunk. I wince. If I'm hurt, I don't even want to know what happened to the person on top of me. The body groans, rolls of me, pushing branches and sticks out of the way. The person, a boy, offers his hand to me. I take it, stand up, and look at him.

The boy has messy chestnut hair, warm chocolate eyes, and a crooked grin which makes his eyes light up. He wears a navy blue jacket over a black T-shirt and jeans. But it's the smile that gets me most; it's exactly like my older brother Spencer's smile.

~~~

"Laina, let's go," Spencer says urgently. "Mom just called. She says it's starting. The Plantacolypse." I suck in a breath. Mom, who is a scientist, has been talking about this for awhile. Basically, nature is going to destroy the world.

"How?" I breathe.

He pulls up a video on his phone. It's WESH 2 News.

"Just in. Dormant Mount Edgecumbe has just erupted, destroying the entire southern end of Kruzof Island, Alaska. And we just got a call that there was a tsunami that has wiped out five city blocks in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. It seems like nature is taking over, a disaster that scientists have been warning us about for a couple of months. We will try to update you on where a safe spot is. Until then, stay safe."

I look up at Spencer. "There isn't a safe place."

"I know. But they can't tell the people that. They have to give them hope." He shoves his phone into his pocket and smiles his crooked smile. "Get the bags. Change clothes. We leave in seven."

~~~

"Are you okay?" I am snapped back to the present with the boy asking me a question. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay.

I brush off my clothes. "I'm fine." He raises an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" I ask. After all, it's he who just...what? Took a tree for me?

He laughs. He has a nice laugh. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've been through a lot worse. But getting hit by a tree, that's a first." I chuckle with him.

"Laina," I say, offering him my hand. He takes it and shakes it.

"Preston," he replies. "And this-" He motions behind him, and a girl steps up beside him. "-is my girlfriend, Johanna." I wave at her. She's pretty enough, I guess. Honey colored hair, forest green eyes. She'd be gorgeous if her features weren't so average.