Catalyst, Book One - Preface

 

 

  Their eyes were wide and afraid, and they crept towards me like they would stalk a wild cat, not sure if I might lash out. It was only when my hands touched the door handle behind me that I realized I was moving too, slowly backing away. My fingers slid around the latch and with one deep breath, I swept myself out the door. Their cries followed me, echoing into the storm outside, the torrential rain splattering against the hardwood of the entry way in a violent gust.

  I wished I hadn’t been so stupid about moving here, or about my friends leaving. About school ending. Now that the incomprehensible had happened, those things from just a few months ago seemed a superficial lifetime away. I had always thought that people who used the term, "earth shattering," were being dramatic, but my legs wanted to buckle with every thundering step and my heart clenched a lump in my throat so big it was hard to breath.

   The rain was so heavy that it blinded me as I sprinted across the uneven forest ground, barely navigating overgrown roots and blackberry vines. I didn’t feel the scratching against my skin, or the pain of stumbling through the pitch black path as my brain ran like a movie reel, spinning memories out behind me like garbage in the wind.

  The only thing that snapped me back into the present were headlights screaming towards me as I popped out from the trees and onto the soaking cement. The truck had his horn blaring and brakes screeching as it hurdled towards me, but I never panicked. Maybe at that moment, a truck flattening me into the pavement would have been a blessing.

  No such luck. Adrenaline kept my body at the same clip, sprinting across the two lane highway in a few quick strides. I heard a burst of profanity out the window as he roared by but I didn't care. I didn't stop until I got to the front door. They wouldn't come after me here, wouldn't risk letting him know what had happened. They would let me tell him, knowing I would have to sooner or later.

   This would buy me the time I needed. I was leaving.