The Darkness - Part Two

She turned to the children and rushed them inside. The fear on their faces was evident.

"How about a game of quiet ball?" she asked.

The class was immediately excited. Quiet ball was their favorite game and they only played it when it was rainy or too cold outside for recess. As they entered the classroom, she walked to her desk and closed the blinds. Then she reached into her drawer to produce the bright pink quiet ball.

"Zack." She stated as she threw it to him across the room. The class played about four rounds of quiet ball. She tucked herself secretly into the hallway and to the computers. Then she found a radio station. The dark cloud was moving across town in a southwest direction. They were about as south as you could get, but they were smack in the middle of town from east to west. She called a meeting of teachers. They all converged in the hallway desperate to discuss their options.

"There are only four of us in this building. What about the other one?" There are over 600 kids in there." The sixth grade teacher was obviously shaken.

Suddenly, Mrs. Johnson received an ominous feeling.

"Mrs. Larsen - gather a dozen or so of the strongest sixth grade girls. They need to help clear out the classrooms in the other building. Mr. Green, take a dozen of sixth grade boys, your strongest ones and collect all the emergency packs around the school. Miss Anderson, I need you to help clear out the Junior high and get them in here. When they come, they need to bring their emergency bins and help you get ladders, trash bags - all of them and cleaning supplies from the janitor's closet. I need duct tape and lots of it. I know there are three or four rolls in here. I'll get them. Grab the radios from the work room. Pay attention. I'll take some of the kids and we'll start to double seal all the windows and doors. We will seal the doors at the south end of the building in thirty minutes. You all only have thirty minutes to complete your tasks. I will not wait for anyone."

She examined the group to be sure each understood. They walked to the workroom, each took a radio and they went to complete their tasks. Mrs. Johnson began taping up the north door and windows. Then, she covered them with black butcher paper. She wasn't sure why she did. After that was done, she had two of the classes move their desks into the end of the hallway to make room for the incoming children.

There were four regular classrooms, one small classroom, the teacher workroom, and the curriculum room in this building and they had to fit 750 kids in this building. She began taping up the east windows and saw the cloud had reached them. It was starting to creep up onto the gym.

She grabbed her radio. "It's here and it's infiltrating the gym. Get those younger elementary kids out of their. Make sure they bring their backpacks and coats. It may be all they have for warmth."

Quickly, she moved all the fifth and sixth graders into the two cleared out rooms. Then she handed the tape off to two other instructors to continue taping up windows, instructing them to raise the blinds and apply black butcher paper as she had on the doors and then close the blinds. Most of her instructions didn't make any sense to her. But she followed her instincts.

Some students moved more desks into the end of the hall until you couldn't see the doors anymore. The chairs were stacked where backpacks and coats used to be. Then the junior high students began to filter in the building. She asked them to start stacking the emergency bins in the teacher's workroom. As she held open the door for them, she saw the cloud begin to drift over the roof of the gym.

Love Story - Part Five

Xander was disgusted with himself. He had spent four years helping his best friend shamelessly chase one guy after another. He couldn't believe he had sunk so low. All he knew was that he would do anything to see her happy. But all these games only made her more miserable. He had to do something.

As they sat in her room with their stack of envelopes looking through acceptance letters, he noticed that they all got into the same schools. Most were top of the Ivy league, but with the opening of each happy letter, her face turned more sad.

"How will I ever pay for these schools? I don't know if I can even get a scholarship. Half the ones I applied for turned me down and the other half barely cover the cost of books. I guess they figure I have money somehow." Adrianne was upset beyond consoling.

At that moment, Xander knew what he must do. She would never know about his gift to her, but it would be worth it to see her happy.

"I'm sorry - you must excuse me. I have some family business to attend to." And with that, he exited the room to put his plan in to action.

The Darkness - Part One

It seemed like a normal day. The clouds were rolling in for another winter storm. Mrs. Johnson entered the building at 7:45am as she did every morning and began her day at her desk, recording attendance, card moves and other random tasks that needed to be done before the kids arrived. As she looked around the room, she couldn't help feeling that this day was different from the others.

The day proceeded as planned. Nothing out of the ordinary in reading or in math. She found herself wondering where the time of the day had gone when she noticed the clouds getting darker outside.

"Yeah! A two day snowstorm at this rate. Wonderful for recess duty." she thought to herself. Then without another moment spent on the weather, she rushed to her spelling class. When she got there, things seemed odd, but she shook off the feeling again as she taught her half hour lesson.

Back to class she sprinted. Her teacher needed help with history. Then there was one recess, another class, after school care and finally - home with her two adorable, lovable children. She couldn't wait. Spending time with her family was her favorite activity.

History seemed to whiz by as she kept busy at her desk with her tasks. It was getting darker outside moment by moment, but that was normal with a big storm. Her class lined up at the door to go to recess. She grabbed her recess bag, but as they entered the hall, they were a little too noisy. Forcing the excited children to stop, she reminded them that other classes were in session and they were in the hall.

The annex fell silent again as they marched toward the door. She pushed it open and made the regular turn to her left. And as she walked out from under the connected roof, she looked up at the sky. It was pitch black outside. The only light was what looked like the moon, but it was in the wrong place in the sky.

Apparently she wasn't the only one shocked by the sight. Her entire class had stopped behind her, fascinated with the abnormal conditions.

"It's not right." she whispered under her breathe. "Something isn't right."

Mrs. Johnson hoped she was going to awaken from a dream. This all seemed so familiar. As she watched, the clouds by the light gave a visible swirl. Something seemed to be up there. Then her attention was grabbed by something out of the corner of her eye.

In the distance, the clouds seemed to be rolling along the ground from the northeast. They rolled down the distant mountain in a way that frightened the teacher. She turned to the students and rushed them back indoors. This wasn't right and all she knew was her instinct told her not to be outside right now.

Love Story - Part Four

His name was Xander. She was becoming good friends with him. They sat next to one another at orientation. Most of their classes were the same. They found themselves spending immense amounts of time together, even if it was coincidental.

And for a while, she enjoyed his company. However, she was beginning to wonder if her socializing with one gentleman was hindering on her chances of finding her rich prince. It didn't matter. She liked him clearly as a friend. And spending time with him made this place less dismal. Adrianne never noticed the jeers coming from other people when he was with her. The whole world disappeared when he was by her side. He made her confident and vibrant and all the things she couldn't be without him.

So her plan to get herself a boyfriend seemed flawless. Adrianne would enlist the help of her new best friend in her plot to find a very wealthy, very intelligent significant other. After their freshman year had passed and again Xander and Adrianne found themselves unpacking their bags to return to school, she took the opportunity to explain her plan.

"Xander, you think everyone has a right to be happy?" she asked. Her tone was earnest.

He smiled at her. "Of course." His thick accent hardly seemed apparent to her. She was so used to it. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've been thinking. We're sophomores now. We've had time to acclimate ourselves to our surroundings. We are permanent fixtures in the small community in which we exist. And I...well...um...I was wondering if you think it's too early for me to have a boyfriend?" She bit her lip nervously awaiting his answer.

Xander smiled inside and for a moment his heart leaped. He had been attracted to her since the first day he saw her. Although he didn't believe in love at first sight, she had been more than he could have dreamed. She was so down to Earth and honest. Most of all, he thought she was beautiful and intelligent. They had so much fun together. His heart skipped a beat and he hoped he wasn't blushing. He almost forgot her question. Then he regained his senses only long enough to answer.

"I don't see any problems with you deciding to have a boyfriend. If you want to get that serious with someone, I can see the benefits of it. I would love ....."

She was so excited, she cut him off mid-sentence. "So, you'll help me make Todd Sampson my boyfriend!!! You are truly the best friend I ever had!!!!"

Xander's hopes were crushed. Even though it pained him, he would truly do anything to make her happy. So he mustered up the energy to sound happy for her, but he didn't think he succeeded very well.

"Of course - we'll discuss the details later. I'm sure you have a plan. You always do." he replied.

She was so caught up in her excitement that she didn't notice the complete sadness in his eyes. Xander felt his heart ripped from his chest. Maybe he should have made a move in the "more than friends" direction when they were younger. All he knew now is that he had lost his chance.