Red Brick Road: Chapter One

Chapter One

I guess I should start at the beginning, that's where most interesting days start right? It started out as a normal, everyday Friday. I woke up, helped Jaime, my younger sister, get ready for school and then attempted to write. I must have stared at the blank screen for hours before finally giving up. I hadn't written anything since she left, I guess my inspiration was gone...

Tori left me three weeks before that day, she was the one that I'd wanted to be with for the rest of my life. Her eyes could stop traffic if she tried. She was everything to me, but that is a different story.

After throwing away three hours at the computer with no progress, I decided to check my Facebook. There were a couple messages that meant nothing, none that were really worth remembering. What I did remember, was the weather report. Rain. There was going to be a lot of rain, and a lot of lightning. Normally, this wouldn't have meant a damn thing to me. But for some reason that remained unknown to me, it stuck in my mind.

I shut off the computer and made some lunch. After lunch, I went for a walk, there wasn't a cloud in the sky. No dark puffs loomed over the horizon, there wasn't even a breeze. The day was hot, a dry heat that could've smothered anybody that stayed in its path for too long. Still, the rain lingered inthe back of my mind. Weather reports had been wrong before, maybe they just miscalculated something.

Once I was back in the house, I didn't really know what to do with myself. The house was clean, I never really watched TV and I'd read all of the books that we had. For several minutes , I just stood there. I wondered what Jaimee was learning in school, thinking about how I wished I was still in school. At least when you're bored at school, you're at least doing something.

I walked through the different rooms, searching for something that could occupy my time. I knew that I should have been writing. I had a book proposal due in six months and had written nothing. I had plenty of ideas buzzing in my mind but nothing seemed to fall into another, nothing fit. I passed through the house with nothing new to do. I finally settled in the living room, staring at the ceiling with my head rested on the back of the couch. From the corner of my eye, I could see a blinking. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked over. The red number blinked on the answering machine. I'd missed a call when I was out.

With a grumble, I stood up and pressed the silver button that would repeat the message to me.

"Hey Nikki, it's Tori," I froze and continued to listen, "I was going over some stuff at my apartment and I noticed that you left your photoalbum and a pair of shoes over here. I figured this would be a good excuse to talk to you, so, if you could, come on over or give me a call. Bye. PS; I miss you, hun."

My heart jumped into my throat. Before I could command my body to move, or my lungs to pull in air, I was out the door. Within minutes, it was pouring. The rain came down in hard slants, the wind tried to force me backward. I pushed through the strong air current, forcing myself forward. I had to go, I had to see her.

The cold rain hurt as it hit my arms and my neck, the wind pushed the freezing water into my eyes. The rain became too much to bear. I turned direction, moving into a small alleyway. The wind was blocked by the buildings on either side, the rain came down but without the ferocity it had before. I watched the storm with fascination, but also with a hope that it would just end. I had to meet Tori, I had to see her, to talk to her, to hear her laugh...

My thoughts were pulled to behind me at the sound of clattering. I turned to see a small cat sitting on top of a garbage can. "Here kitty!" I tried to encourage it forward. It was soaked, and just as cold as I was. I pushed myself closer to the cat, it bolted from the garbage can, to the back of the alley.

Normally, I would've turned and left, but something beckoned me toward that fucking cat. The cat meowed and licked its paws. I followed it to the back of the alley, it ran to the left. I watched it as it sat in front of an empty cardboard box. I crouched onto my hands and knees and moved closer. This time, the animal came closer to me, I picked it up and looked into its eyes.

The gold shimmered brightly in the cats irises. It touched its paw to my face, making me stop breathing. By boy tingled lightly, mostly with curiosity and fear. It was when the cat spoke that I got scared. "Good luck." The female voice was reassuring but that didn't make me want to freak out any less. Only two words, and then it was gone. It jumped from my arms and bolted out of the alley.

"What the hell?" I asked myself. The wind roared at the end of the alley, the rain flooded the ground, I felt the water line rise, to the middle of my calves and then to my knees. Thunder roared through the sky, warning me of the lightning that was to come. Too bad I didn't get the message before I felt the electricity bolt through my body. I felt all of my muscles tense and then relax. The light disappeared from my vision and I felt my body get heavier, and then I hit the ground.