Unseeing

Chapter One - The Storm

I wasn't born blind. I used to be an ordinary girl, popular enough to get by, with good friends and an almost-boyfriend. But that all changed the day of the storm.

The clouds threatening rain as I biked home from school. Well, biked to my dad's house. My parents had gotten divorced two years ago, and one of the few perks was that my dad moved to a house that was close to my school, so I could bike to and from it. Another perk was that a few of my friends also lived close to the school, so I could hang out with them more too. I was only halfway to my house when the rain began. 

'Plop, plop,' went the first drops. I picked up speed, hoping I could make it home before it really started raining. But no such luck. Suddenly, the rain started pouring, a torrential downpour that drenched me almost instantly. I kept biking, though I slowed so I wouldn't slip. I pushed my soaking wet hair out of my face. 

It was if God had decided I needed a shower and decided to leave me no choice in the matter. I knew my homework, stuffed in my backpack, was probably ruined, but I needed to get out of the rain before I could assess the damage. 

Then, out of nowhere, lightning struck a large oak tree that I was passing. I screamed and swerved onto the road to avoid the tree as it toppled towards me. I wasn't going to make it! 

Suddenly, the tree stopped falling, its trunk inches from my face as I looked up. I saw that it had crushed a car, and while the car had stopped the tree's decent and saved my life, the car was totaled. 

Everyone inside had most likely been killed. I started to move towards a storefront in the hopes of getting someone to call the police, but that was when I heard it. 

The crying screams of a baby, muffled, but thankfully alive, were emanating from the backseat of the car. I dropped my bike and ran over on shaky legs. "Hang on!" I yelled.

"Help!" another voice yelled, this one coming from the front passenger seat. It sounded like a boy, but I couldn't really be sure. I ran over to that side and looked for a way in. 

I tried the handle of the destroyed door, but it wouldn't budge. Instead, I smashed in the already cracked windshield and reached inside. A hand clamped around mine. 

"Are you okay?" I demanded.

"I think so. I dove under the dashboard when I saw the tree falling towards us, but I'm trapped," he responded.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"I'm - I'm - um... Parker," he replied, "My... little sister... Um... Theresa... is in the backseat."

"I'm Dianna. I'm going to try to get her out first. Maybe I can find a way to get to you from the backseat," I said, then moved to the back and saw that the window was open. They must not have had time to close it against the rain before the tree fell. I crawled inside and quickly found the baby, still strapped into her carseat, still crying. 

I unstrapped her and held her to my chest protectively as I searched for a way to get to Parker. Rain leaked through the broken roof and hit the top of my head, but I was soaked already so I didn't care. 

"Hush," I whispered to the baby. I saw that the passenger seat had come loose and was now merely debris. If I could move it out of the way, Parker could get out! 

I set Theresa back in her carseat and started pulling and tugging at the passenger seat. It took a while, but finally I managed to get it out of the way. I held out my hand and someone grabbed it. I yanked Parker out and gasped. 

He had a horrific looking wound on his shoulder and his left leg was mangled. He clearly couldn't walk. He scooted over to Theresa and picked her up. He was breathing heavily, clearly in pain, but he smiled when he saw his sister was unharmed. 

"Come on. We need to get out of here," I told him. He nodded with a wince and I clambered back out the window. 

He passed Theresa to me and then hauled himself out. I saw the way he leaned heavily on the car, but I gave him back Theresa when he held out his arms. He was clearly still concerned for her, and she cried whenever I was holding her, so it was for the best anyway. 

"I'm going to get help," I said, "Stay here." Then I started running for the closest storefront. I was almost across the street when I heard a scream behind me. 

"Watch out!" I heard Parker yell. I turned just in time to see the car about to slam into me. It was low to the ground, so my legs were swept out from under me and I fell onto the car. My face smacked the windshield and everything went black.

Very painful moment, but crucial to the story. Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the next update, and see you in the margins!