Brilliant oranges and reds painted the afternoon sky, dotted with scattered billowing plumes of fluffy white clouds. The warm hues of the setting sun blended well with the colors of fall throughout the thicket of forest that blanketed the land around the outskirts of the humble town. Nature sang a chorus which hummed and whistled amongst the trees. A cool autumn breeze gently kissed Elodie's skin, accompanying her as she relaxed amidst the forest, surrounded by bushes and vegetation. Butterflies fluttered overhead and squirrels darted playfully along from tree to tree. Some times passed quietly, leaving her to her thoughts and the songs of woodland creatures. The dull hush of the thicket abruptly broke as the shrubs a few yards from the reposed woman suddenly jostled.
Leaves hissed and twigs snapped as something loomed under the cover of shadows and foliage, shaking the bush fiercely. Through the cracks of darkness between the leaves, a pair of deep yellow orbs stared out at Elodie. They seemed to glow, refracting the dim rays of sunlight that bled through the forest canopy. A few tense moments passed as it grew ominously quiet. The rattling bush ceased to move. The hairs on the back of Elodie's neck rose and an impending feeling fell over her. Then it happened, in the blink of an eye. Leaves went flying into the air as something leapt out from its cover in the bushes. A shadowy blur of motion darted through the air, claws reaching out to pounce.
A gentle thud thumped out from the ground at Elodie's feet as the young black cat that had been skulking in the bushes captured its prey, playfully fumbling with a butterfly it had snatched out of the air. After spending a few moments pawing and nipping at the insect, the feline froze, catching a glimpse of the young woman that stood a few feet away. It seemed to watch her curiously for a few moments, one paw pressed down on the butterflies wings to keep it from getting away. After a few seconds, the cat mewed, raising its head toward Elodie. It seemed friendly.
WOOOSH
What sounded like the breath of some colossal leviathan blowing down on the world shook the forest, causing the ground to tremble and leaves to shake loose from the trees. Startled by the ominous and oppressive noise, the cat at Elodie's feet darted off like a bolt of black fur, quickly disappearing into the bushes. Squirrels ceased their playing and took shelter amongst the trees. Birds flocked into the sky. Something accompanied them. Specs of distant light patterned a patch of the afternoon sky, piercing through the clouds high above, just as the onset of nightfall slowly took the forest.
Raging flames and molten rock glowing bright hot streaked through the stratosphere, tearing through clouds as they striped the evening sky. A meteor shower of blinding reds, oranges, and whites that filled the tinted sky. As the fiery objects hurtled toward the earths surface, blazing a trail through the atmosphere, they broke apart into pieces and split off in multiple directions, raining down through the air toward a humble looking town. Dim, pale light faintly spilled into the forest, bleeding through the trees, and casting subtle shadows across the ground as the distant sight of the meteor shower passed overhead. Power throughout the near by neighborhood flickered for several moments, as well as down the street and all the surrounding buildings. The ground and features of the forest rattled gently as a very faint rumbling resounded throughout the town. All of the strange events lasted for several seconds as the meteor shower grew closer than any before.
Car alarms and the barking of unsettled dogs began going off for miles as the strange event persisted for a few more moments before fading away with the passing of the meteors, which petered out as they streaked into the horizon. The sounds calmed down, but not before a few confused residents stepped onto their lawns, confused and slightly alarmed. Darkness returned to the sky just as power returned to the town. Sounds from nature resumed just as before, perking up over the sound of frightened wildlife and confused civilians in the middle of discussion, when suddenly the hairs on the back of Elodie's neck stood up once again. Static gently tickled her skin and warmed the tips of her fingers. Tingling sensations tickled her body. Then, out of nowhere, the earth began to shake violently. The earth moaned, rattling visibly while the ground Elodie sood on trembled. Blinding light now filled the forest, flashing brilliantly amongst the thicket. A roaring rumble like giant screaming jet engines nearly broke the sound barrier as it vibrated over the lands.
It was silent. Everything was silent. The forest was dark. The town for miles was dark. Not even car alarms or animals could be heard. Everything was as quiet as death. Then it slowly came back. Life returned to the city as people, animals, cars, and power all resumed like normal, save for the moderate fright and disorientation among the few pedestrians laying in the street or strewn across the sidewalk, bracing onto fixed objects as they recovered from the quake. With the exception of a few distant sirens and chattering between shaken residents, the night went on uneventfully. Though the smell of charred wood suddenly began to waft across Elodie's senses.
Something had crashed through the forest canopy a moderate walk away from where Elodie was. Something hot and smoldering sat at the heart of a freshly made crater in a clearing of fallen trees. Smoke billowed into the darkening sky, trailing off and merging with the sparse clouds. The smoke was too thick to see the source of the phenomena. Whatever it was glowed subtly, emanating a warm brown hue the dimly lit the immediate area. The dingy colored light just barely reached Elodie, faintly breaking through the darkness that lied though the foliage ahead. It came from a bit deeper in the forest, further from the borders of town.
