Untitled Journey One

01.

A turn to the right on a thirty degree angle put Dean in the direction of the window he sought after. Pure curiosity wouldn't lead him to the answers he desired, so he began to stride in the darkness. After twelve or thirteen steps he finally felt the change in temperature thanks to the poorly insulated windows. That late September breeze whispered across the goosebumps he neglected to realize he had. Before he extended his arm out, something said to him it'd be better not to know, like you don't have the right to know what's going on. Wether it was his subconscious or something else, it rebuked the idea of gazing upon whatever was taking place outside. Without notice and just before the bottom of his palm met the glass of his window on the second floor, he could hear the shaking of doorknobs. The abrupt calls from parents to their children in the midst of this void of light. Finally, the tips of his fingers pressed against the ledge of his window and after one explosive sliding up motion, the window was open.

The breeze was now a full gust of wind greeting the face of Dean. In the midst of all the chaos, a sense of relief settled in his chest. The sounds of the outside world became a light of sorts in the dark....that was also blanketing the sky that he referred to immediately after the window was opened. An instinctive reaction cleansed him of the remaining strength from his waist down, and he crumbled down to his knees. His chin now bleeding, the only thing he could think to himself was "why?". Courage, curiosity and hope had all failed him indefinitely in a span of a few minutes. The weeping flow of blood trickled from the bottom of the chin down across the throat, settling on the collar bone. The sudden loss of poise caused him to meet the brick ledge of his window seal with enough force to create a gash after the darkness was revealed to be much more encompassing than first imagined.

The burning sensation still wasn't enough to divert his attention away from the  echoing of car horns continuously, and the cold chill of something he couldn't see. "Why  aren't our cell phones working?" "My phone is dead as well."  All conversation was being amplified due to the search for something more comforting than the cars screaming.  The conversation was close enough that maybe it was coming from the sidewalk underneath. "Does anyone know what is happening out there!?" Dean yelled out into the abyss. Almost sure that the two bystanders in this power outage wouldn't be able to make out what he said, or even hear him at all. "No one is able to-" as hesitant and unsure the person sounded, one of the people below started to answer but their explanation was cut short. The powerful murk was shattered instantaneously by an orange radiance that exploded against some glass windows a few blocks away.

Four blocks north a blaze amongst the buildings raged, only visible after the fire traveled up to the roof of the two story ma & pizzeria. For the Love of Italy, he remembered passing the restaurant a few times on the way to school. The inferno, now strong enough to feel, was tightening its clutch around the building. Too many moments gazing upon the flames brought him to the sudden realization that there was some source of light, but for how long? As dangerous and uncontrollable a fire could be, he wished for a slight second to be closer to the comfort of the fluorescence. The flickering rage gave him an opportunity to scan the streets for bystanders or authorities with answers on what the hell is happening. The void started to put a damper on the momentary lapse of light the south side area of mid Ortonville, Michigan.  In the corner of his eye, he could see the wispy reflection of the fire dancing on his wall over his right shoulder.

His ears began ringing as he instinctively pressed both palms against his ears and clenched his eyelids closed. Why hadn't any authorities showed up yet? And more importantly why weren't any lights back on yet? Scanning the street level area again, he frantically searched for the two who had been caught in the crossfire of insanity and confusion. Eyes racing from left to right and around and across, he spotted a figure moving towards what looked like a car but Dean was unsure. The shadow was moving at a pace that resembled a zombie march more than a dash for survival. For the first time since the fire started his eyes wandered vertically and glanced around where the blaze disappeared into thin air. Canvassing the sky above, the dance of the flames going on acted as a distraction, there was something to be seen. The almighty darkness had silenced something far beyond a incidental power outage, something barely comprehensible no matter how hard he gazed.