When Skies Turn Gray

Melisande, Mekenzy, and Mekenzy’s little sister, Lizzy, were inside a tall Observatory tower with Melisande’s and Mekenzy’s Classmates. Even though Lizzy was only five, she had permission to come with Mekenzy for the field trip because their father was at work, their babysitter was sick, and Lizzy didn't start school till next year. The teacher was droning about weather changes, winds on the Ananta river, strange clouds, etc.

“Why do fifteen-year-old people have to learn this?” whispered Lizzy, her curly black bouncing on her shoulders as she looked around at her surroundings with her startling blue eyes.

“I don't know, Lizzy. Maybe it's important.” Said Melisande smiling. She blew a strand of long thick brown hair out of her face. “To help us to be ready to be sixteen. I guess”

“Oh! Then will I be sixteen too?” Asked Lizzy

“In a few years,” said Mekenzy, her short red hair flopping around her neck as she moved around, trying to see the teacher, it was hard because she was shorter than most of the kids there.

“I will go downstairs.” said the teacher, his eyes huge through his big glasses, “Please respect all are school rules while you are up here.” The students mingled for a bit, talking about the weather, silly classes they had to take, book obsessions, and crushes. A few came over to Lizzy and complemented her hair or how cute she was today.

Suddenly there was a bright flash and the students started to crowd the windows. When Mekenzy got to the front of the crowd and let out a scream. Big balls of explosions were all over the city. About a dozen. Beautiful colors filled the air for a monument, the soft mushroom clouds filling the sky. It was beautiful but terrifying. Then suddenly more smoke exploded out of the mushroom clouds and the sky filled with more smoke, making the sky a dark gray. Buildings where being thrown around in slow motion, falling down dark clouds and exploding as they hit the ground. Melisande Pushed her way to the front of the crowd when she heard Mekenzy scream. Her big brown eyes filled with fear when she saw what was happening.

“Mekenzy! Look!” Melisande pointed toward one of the closest explosion. Mekenzy’s head shot the way Melisande was pointing and panic and despair filled her gray eyes, making them look like storm clouds. Her father’s shop was flung into the ground, exploding into wood chips like the rest of the buildings in the explosions.

“No! Dad!” She screamed. She turned around and rushed toward the exit. “I have to go!”

“Mekenzy!” Mekenzy pushed through the crowd Melisande close behind. Once they were free of the crowd Melisande grabbed Mekenzy’s wrist. “No!” The room became deadly silent as the other students watched the explosion, only the sound of more explosions filling the room. “You can’t go! You’ll die! What about Lizzy?” Lizzy sat in a corner, crying as the explosions shook the room. Mekenzy looked at her, then back to Melisande.

“Melisande, protect her. I have to find my Dad. please.” Mekenzy shot down the stairs not waiting for an answer. Another rumble filled the room with sound. Melisande had no idea what to do. Should she run after Mekenzy of stay with Lizzy?

The building suddenly started to bend sideways, causing students to fling into the wall that now faced the ground. Melisande quickly ran toward Lizzy, picking her up and holding her. The tall building fell toward the ground, faster and faster. The observatory tower hit the Ananta river with a boom, and everything went dark.

Then Melisande could see again. The world was dark and cold. Lizzy was still in her arms, unconscious. It felt like the to were falling down in slow motion. We’ r in the river. Realized Melisande. She tried not to panic as she pulled herself and Lizzy toward the surface. She broke the surface and struggled to keep both of their heads above the water. Suddenly sounds of explosions erupted around her. Melisande turned in the water and saw the shore and felt hope. She swam toward the shore, struggling to swim with unconscious Lizzy in her arms. Finally, she made it to the shore and collapsed. After a monument, Lizzy's eyes opened.

“Where is Mekenzy?” she asked in a small voice. The explosions seemed to have stopped. But smoke still filled the air, making it a dark gray.

Melisande’s heart skipped a beat. Where was Mekenzy? She looked around and saw a few students near them. Helping Lizzy up she rushed toward them. “Can you watch her?” she asked a girl with red hair.

The student looked surprised, but nodded, putting her jacket around Lizzy. “I have to go!” yelled Melisande, running away to the rubble of the observatory building.

Ash was flying everywhere, slowly falling to the ground like snow. Melisande could barely see ten feet in front of her. She stumbled through the rubble, screaming Mekenzy’s name. Soon she realized that no one alive was down here. It was hopeless. She could barely breathe. Spots where dancing in her eyes. She felt exhausted. But, she couldn't give up. Melisande kept pushing into the darkness of the smoke. Suddenly it went all dark. Her exhausted body hit the ground, her brown eyes closing, her soft breathing loud in the silence.

I woke and pulled myself out of my bed. I tried to forget my dream, a recurring one, but it was useless. I wish I would forget what had happened. I bearly remembered it, but my dreams were always in great detail. I remembered sinking in the river ten years ago, my black hair strangling me, and a great cold squeezing me.

I shivered and pushed the memory to the back of my mind.

I changed into my clothes. I looked at my chair and hesitantly reached for my jacket. It was a bright blue duster jacket with a pretty flower brooch on the left pocket. It had belonged to my sister Mekenzy before she had died. I had found it in a box of this my aunt had stolen from my childhood home. I had taken it back after she had died.

I was hesitant of wearing it because it was dangerous to walk around in something so visible. It would make me an easy target.

Nevertheless, I pulled it on. I carefully climbed out of my window climbed down my makeshift latter It was dark and cloudy as usual as if the smoke had lingered for ten years.

As I looked at the house, my stepmothers light turned on. Without making a sound, I ran down the street.

I set for Jace's home. When I got there, Maya Lin was running around, trying to get the kids to do their school work, (they were all book schooled) and to do their chores.

Tinia and Jace were arguing about who had to make breakfast. “I did it yesterday.” Said Jace fiddling in his notebook.

“Fine!” said Tinia stomping off.

You could never tell that Jace and Tinia were twins. Jace had his moms tan skin and curly brown hair, but Tinia had her dads pale skin and straw straight dirty blonde hair. Their faces were the same shape and they both had those beautiful brown eyes the whole family had.

“Did I come at a bad time?” I asked, setting my art bag on the table.

Jace shook his head. “It’s fine.” he thought for a moment and look down at her. “I need to show you something.”

I followed Jace to his room and he shut the door. He pulled Maya Lin’s computer form under the bed and started typing on it.

“Jace, why-” I cut off as I looked at the screen. “Jace…” I felt shocked.

Jace was on the news site ‘Wall Breaker’ and today’s headline scared me. “Millyjane Carals, niece of Jaravik Malimez Missing.”

“What!” I tried to come up with theories. “Wall Breaker is usually fake news,” my voice shook with fear.

Jace looked scared and upset, no wonder his goofy side seemed to be gone. “I called her like four times and then Mrs. Malimez answered the phone and that she really had disappeared.”

I sat hard on the bed and a tear ran down my face. Milly’s Grandma was not the sarcastic type and I believed Jace was telling the truth.“Where is she?”

“Her Grandmother invited us over to Milly’s house. Want to come?”

Suddenly hope when through me. We could find clues and try to find her. Maybe clues a kidnapper left or if she ran away, clues she left herself. “ Will your sisters be okay that where leaving?”

“Maya Lin knows. She's fine with it. Let's go.

….

Mrs. Malimez had answered the door with tearful hugs and then sat us down in the living room. We sat for a monument in awkward silence and finally she explained that Milly’s window had loudly slammed, But when Mrs. Malimez had decided to check on her granddaughter but Milly had not been there. The police and detectives had found nothing.

Before we left I asked to use the restroom and snuck to Milly ’s room and search it. I don't know what made me think that I could find what detectives couldn't, but I searched anyway.

Jace called my name and I looked at the small black journal on the nightstand. Without thinking I grabbed it and stuffed it into the pocket of my jacket. I rushed out of the room and I and Jace left the Malimez home and we headed home.

Finally, we stood in front of my apartment building and I looked up my makeshift ladder and set my hand on the first rung.

“Wait.”

I turned to Jace. “What?” I looked at his worried face and realized he was crying. I had only seen Jace cry once when he found out his dad had died. “Jace…” Tears ran down my face for the third time and I hugged him. “I miss her too Jace.” My voice was small and barely audible.

“We’ll find her,” Jace promised, in a tone that matched mine.

He broke apart from me and walked away. I watched his tall figure disappear than started climbing the ladder.

As I climbed into my room I saw my door was open. I was so upset that I didn't even care. I tossed my self into my bed and started bawling my eyes out. I felt someone pat my shoulder and I looked up.

He looked so much like his father that for a second I had thought it was my Dad. Tamses perfectly tousled blonde hair glowed from the light in the hallway and his green eyes were full of worry.

He reached out and hugged me. Suddenly memories of the two years we had been friends crashed into me. I had buried those memories with the hurt of losing everyone I loved. I remembered how damaged and broken I had been when I came to live with his family. I remembered that once, Tams hadn't been the scared teen he was now, he used to have a fierce fire that had brought me and him together.

But now he was a scared kid that barely talked to me. Where had the old Tams gone? “Tams-”

“Lizzy, I saw the news.” He was still hugging me and it was comforting, different from when Jace had hugged me somehow. I had known him longer I guess. It was a confusing feeling that seemed familiar. “ I know she means a lot to you, I hope they find her.”

I must have fallen asleep crying in Tams’s arms. I had a dream about falling. I fell so fast and my heart seemed to have stopped. Suddenly I crashed into a wet surface and started sinking. As a desperate gasp for air, I swallowed a gulp of dirty water and I choked. I must have fallen into some lake or something. I panicked and tried to swim to the surface but I couldn't find it. After a while of struggling, I gave up and allowed myself to sink, I couldn't breath and the cold water held me in a freezing hug. My thoughts were slow and sluggish, and it felt like my mind slowly coming to a stop.

I woke with a start and almost fell off my bed. I was still in my clothes from yesterday, but my shoes were neatly set on the floor and my art bag was on my desk. I remembered Tams talking to me and smiled to myself. He was a sweetheart. He must have laid me down in bed and put my stuff away.

The memory of the dream was still strong and I started to feel sick. I’ve been scared of drowning since I had fallen into the Ananta river with Melisande. It was one of my biggest fears.

I changed into clean clothes and pulled my bright blue jacket on. As I leaned down to zip up my combat boots, Tams walked into the room. “Hey, where are you going?”

I looked up and gave him a sad smile. “I’m going.”

“Where?”

“Out”

“For how long?”

I stood and looked into his eyes. The green color of his eyes seemed brighter than they had last night. I sighed. “I’ll be back.”

His face lit up and I smiled. “Kay. Don’t do anything stupid.” He left the room and I slung my art bag over my shoulder.

As I left my room through the window, I thought of Milly and her big yellow bag filled with books. Where was she?

I jumped to the ground from my latter and as I walked down the street I thought about my dream. The cars on the road sped passed me and quickly disappeared in the smoke. It could have been a fog. I wished it was fog instead of smoke. That way I could finally take a breath of clean air.

Author Notes: Once again ladies and gents, I'm forgetting the first four chapters. The beginning when Lizzy is young is how the story really starts, but then the rest is just a jumble of the rest of the story. I'm really bad at starting at the beginning and going to the end. I Just write a bunch of nonsense and try to put it together later. Sorry. When I finally get it all put together and the story makes since, I will hopefully be famous and you can buy my books.

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