VANISH - Episode 1 Preview
The Day the Sky Caught Fire
[Note: Below is part of the first chapter of my upcoming serialized story Vanish, titled “Episode 1: The Day the Sky Caught Fire.” Please note some elements of this chapter are subject to change before publication. Thank you!]
A preview of my upcoming serialized, post-apocalyptic story Vanish.
Description
June 5th, 2023: The Day the Sky Caught Fire
Alex Wright awakens to a crashing sound and the smell of smoke. The 14-year-old peeks out his bedroom window, discovering an explosion has disrupted the quiet of his small Massachusetts town. His little brother, Miles, is afraid, but not just because of the ever-spreading fire. Airplanes are dipping low in the sky. More blasts are erupting in the distance. Their parents are nowhere to be found.
It doesn't take long for Alex to realize an unexplainable event has befallen the world. Everyone under the age of 5 and over the age of 16 has disappeared, leaving only their clothing behind. Panic rocks the town as alliances are formed, tyrants take power, and children young and old are forced to adapt to a world that grows more unforgiving with each passing day.
Then: A fireball. A helicopter wreckage. An injured stranger who speaks of a secret bunker in Washington, D.C. that could sustain hundreds of people for decades. Most in Alex's community think it's a pipe dream. But if it means keeping his little brother safe and alive, Alex is willing to risk everything.
A group of 14 survivors, including Alex, leave the comfort of their community. All are willing to bet their lives on the words of a dying man who fell from the sky. Will they find sanctuary in the unknown of the capital? Or will the horrors of the world beyond their town destroy their dream of a better life?
***
Episode 1: The Day the Sky Caught Fire
The Earth shook as the fire began.
Alex jolted out of bed, his heart hammering, his breathing shallow. Throwing his blankets back, he stood, stalking over to his bedroom window in a groggy daze. Panic gripped him as he pulled up the shade. His bedroom was upstairs, the window giving him a clear view of the street below and the lines of rural, two-story houses that formed his quiet neighborhood. Quiet, that was, until this morning, when the loudest crashing sound he’d ever heard woke him from a dream he couldn’t remember.
But as he stared out his window, mouth agape in disbelief, he knew he was still asleep. Had to still be asleep. Because explosions never happened in quiet towns like his. The biggest explosion they’d ever had was the population one in 2018, booming past 3,000 for the first time in decades. But physical explosions that made clouds of smoke rise into the air didn’t happen where he lived. Not in a place as mundane and uneventful as Greenfair, Massachusetts.
Until the morning of June 5th, 2023.
A thick, black cloud billowed from a house two or three streets over. Alex couldn’t tell which street it was on, not through the deep dark of the smoke. He gripped his chest as he watched massive puffs of blackness rise into the sky. This must have been as close to a heart attack as a 14-year-old boy could get. At least, that’s what it felt like as he watched his neighborhood begin to burn.
“M-Mumma! Daddy!”
The sound of Miles’ voice from the hallway shook Alex from his trance—a trance he hadn’t even realized he’d been in. The patter of his little brother’s footsteps moved down the hallway as they approached the room adjacent to Alex’s. They were quickly followed by the bang bang of his little fist against the door, swinging it as hard as he could muster.
“Mumma! Daddy! There’s a big fire!”
Crap. Miles would’ve been able to see the smoke from his bedroom window too. And he was always up earlier than anyone else. For all Alex knew, he’d seen the explosion happen. Maybe he knew which house it was, even whose house it was. Alex didn’t know anyone in that part of the neighborhood himself. But he hoped it wasn’t one of Miles’ pals or a family friend.
“A plane crashed!”
Alex felt light-headed bewilderment at Miles’ words. But he didn’t let that stop him from swinging open his bedroom door. Looking to the left, he saw Miles, who was now turning to face his big brother. The 9-year-old was sporting his Sonic the Hedgehog pajamas and a clump of bedhead that gave him a crest of brown hair. His eyes were wide and panicked.
“Alex, Alex!” Miles ran past his big brother, grabbing him by the hand as he did so. “Come look! There’s—”
Miles paused to take in a deep breath. “There’s—”
He let go of Alex’s sleeve, his eyes widening ever further. The little boy put his hands to his throat as he began wheezing in and out. For a moment, Alex stood there, helplessly tethered to his inability to process so much so early. Then, he rushed to the bathroom. Words came out of his mouth, something rushed and reassuring. But his focus was on rummaging through the medicine cabinet hoping what he was searching for was there.
After dropping his dad’s shaving cream and his mom’s moisturizer in the sink, Alex finally found Miles’ inhaler. Snatching it up, he raced back to where Miles was standing, wheezing in and out. His hands were on his knees now as he tried to snatch a breath. Alex hoisted him upright, stuck the inhaler in his mouth, and squeezed. A puffing sound told him it had worked. He pulled it away, shoving it in his pocket on instinct, wincing as a wad of Miles’ spit wet his hand.
Miles gasped as air rushed back into his lungs. One short cough later and the energetic little boy was back to his usual self.
“Alex! There was a plane! Did you see it!?”
“I saw the smoke,” Alex confirmed.
“We gotta wake Mumma and Daddy up!” Miles ran back to their parents’ bedroom door, banging on it once again with the side of his fist. “Mumma! Daddy! Wake up, quick!”
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang.
Alex watched as Miles continued to hit their door. With every swift smack of his fist against the wood, Alex realized something was wrong. Even so much as a shrill scream from Miles’ throat would have had his dad jumping out of bed thinking their own house was about to burn to the ground. But now Miles was banging on their door, hollering endlessly about a plane crash and the massive plume of smoke. Yet neither of their parents had opened the door.
“Mumma! Daddy! Come on! Wake up!”
“Maybe they went down there or something,” Alex suggested. “Like, it was someone they knew or whatever.”
Miles looked back at Alex with an innocent, curious look. “But why would they do that?” he asked. “Whoever’s in there probably died.”
Alex cringed a bit. He hated when Miles casually talked about topics he didn’t fully understand. “Yeah, well. Maybe they went to see if anyone got hurt.”
“But that doesn’t—”
“Hey, you know what? Since we’re up early, how about I make you some breakfast?”
Now it was Miles’ turn to cringe. “Ew. I don’t want you cooking anything. You always leave shells in the eggs.”
“Well, sometimes they’re hard to see.”
“Whatever.” Miles stalked over to the stairs, his panic seemingly subsiding. “Go get some glasses. Grandma.”
Miles began his descent to the first floor. Alex smirked a bit at Miles’ sudden sense of humor. It was a nice, four-second reprieve from what was going on. But while Miles was young enough to put it out of his head in a snap, Alex had the responsibility of making sure he was okay. Which meant figuring out what the hell caused that explosion this morning and why their parents didn’t answer the door.
Alex went up to the bedroom door himself. He knocked three times. “Mom? Dad? You guys okay in there?” The hammering against his chest was starting again. He needed to keep himself calm, otherwise the rest of the morning he’d feel like he did whenever he gave a school presentation. His legs were already wobbling enough—they didn’t need to get any weaker.
“Okay, guys, I’m coming in.” Alex closed his eyes, not really sure what to expect, but preparing for the worst. With a timid, cautious grip on the doorknob, he opened the door. It creaked as the door swung, revealing the bedroom. His eyes shut tight, Alex cautiously opened one to check his surroundings.
The bedroom was empty.
Letting both eyes open, Alex sighed. His parents weren’t here, which at least meant the silence from their bedroom was normal. But if they weren’t here, it meant they had to be somewhere else. Probably going toward the fire, Alex wagered. He had no idea why they would do something so stupid. He couldn’t fathom any reason as to why they would go there, but it was the only explanation he could think of.
Except…
Something was sticking out from his dad’s side of the bed.
Alex turned on the bedroom light. He grimaced a little, his eyes adjusting to the bright lightbulbs jutting from the ceiling fan above. When he could finally see, what he’d first spotted came into view. His dad’s white shirt, the one he’d worn to bed the night before. It was sticking out from under the bedsheets. The rib of the neckline was just barely visible, peeking out from the neat covers. That was another thing too, he realized. Their bed was perfectly made. A far cry from the jumbled sheets he’d sometimes glimpse when everyone was awake for breakfast.
“Alex!”
***
Thank you for reading the first part of “Episode 1: The Day the Sky Caught Fire.”
Vanish will begin on Wattpad on June 5th, 2023. New chapters will be released Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings.
You can find my Wattpad profile by clicking here. Follow to be notified when new chapters of Vanish are posted.