PULP FICTION. ━━ P.PARKER

o. prologue

00 | when lightning strikes — pulp fiction

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NEW YORK, 2006

               THE RAIN PATTERED OUTSIDE THE CAR AS SEVEN-YEAR-OLD PIPER DROVE HOME WITH HER PARENTS. It was a cold, grey, winter-dark day in the countryside of New York. The Prescott's just so happened to head back to Queens right when a storm was beginning to form.

"Maybe we should pull over at the next motel. This isn't looking good." Piper's mother Jenn proposed to her husband Oliver.

"Honey, we're about an hour away from home. I think we'll make it back just fine. Plus, I don't want to pay for those overpriced motels when we are just going to leave in the morning." Oliver expressed, looking over at his worried wife.

"I'd rather spend the extra money on a motel room than getting into a car accident! Can't you see how slippery the roads are?" Jenn exclaimed as the rain poured down even more profoundly.

"Jenn, relax—remember I used to be a race car driver? I'm gonna dodge all these obstacles with ease." Oliver spoke, a smug look appearing on his face.

"Uh—no, Oliver. You were like ten and rode around you're neighborhood in your beat down red wagon. I don't think that applies to our situation at all right now."

Before Oliver could reply, a loud bomb-like noise emitted throughout the vehicle. Piper yelped, covering her eyes with her hands in the back seat of the car. Jenn turned around, and grabbed her daughter's leg gently with a reassuring smile, "It's okay, sweetie. It's just some thunder it can't hurt you."

Piper peaked through her fingers, and when she felt like the coast was clear she let go of her face. "Mommy, are we almost home?"

"Almost, one more hour and then you'll be tucked into bed all nice and snug." Jenn softly spoke.

"And you'll read me a bedtime story?" Piper asked, persuading her with her famous puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, I'll read you a bedtime story but only if you don't fall asleep after chapter one like you always do." Piper giggled and nodded her head, "Okay, I promise I won't fall asleep before the first chapter is over."

Those were the last words Piper spoke to her mother.

These next few moments Piper will never forget. She would never forget what song was playing on the radio, Don't Dream It's Over by Crowded House. She would never forget the feeling of the car jerking from right to left, her father's motionless head ramming straight into the steering wheel. She would never forget her mother's outcries echoing through the car when the vehicle hit a ditch and flew into the air or how her body jerked against the seat belt, knocking the breath out of her. She would never forget how many times the car rolled until the car collided into a tree, finally making it stop. It rolled seven times. She would never forget watching her mothers head hit the windshield, glass shattering everywhere.

Silence.

Piper squeezed her eyes shut. If she just closed her eyes maybe it will all go away. Maybe this was all just a bad dream and she'll wake up in her bed with her mother still reading her that bedtime story she oh so adored.

"Hey—she's breathing! Someone give me a hand!"

Piper opened her eyes, red and blue lights reflecting into her eyes. It was all a blur being pulled out of the car. She didn't understand what was happening. How could she? The world was spinning and before she could grab a hold on reality, everything turned black.

"You got her, Tomás?" A fellow police officer asked. Tomás cradled the unconscious little girl in his arms, gazing down at her in astonishment. There wasn't a single scratch on her.

"They're car got struck by lightning. How the hell does she not have a mark on her?" Tomás whispered, pushing away a strand of hair from her face.

"Hey—we need to get her to the hospital now. Both parents are dead. We don't want to lose her too." Tomás' colleague ordered.

Tomás nodded and rushed her into the ambulance. His eyebrows crinkled as he watched the paramedics place her down into the gurney matching the same perplexed look he wore on his face.

Piper would remember a lot of things that happened that night, but the one thing she would never forget was the sensation of the lightning bolt striking her skin. She would never forget the way the electricity shot through every one of her veins. She would never forget the serge of radioactivity flowing through her blood. Most of all, she would never forget how much power she felt. That scared her the most.

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and so it begins!! thoughts n comments are much appreciated <33