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.