Mutualism

Chapter One

I had to cover my eyes as I walked out of the dark building, the light from the sky nearly blinding me. The Museum of Natural Science had mostly dim-lit rooms, as to better show off their many exhibits. It was fine while we were inside, but now I was regretting not bringing a pair of sunglasses with me.

"It's too darn bright," my friend Gracie whined from next to me, being in the same predicament that I was in.

Although I agreed, I was secretly glad for it. The dreary part of Spring had just ended, and we were finally getting to the part of April that brought slightly warmer and sunnier days. I loved this part of the year, especially since come June, we would all be melting from the heat.

"Oh stop complaining, the weather is gorgeous." The third person in our small group retorted, having already gotten used to the outdoor light. Grace had always been like this. Helping her father outdoors often had made her eyes much more resilient than Gracie's and mine.

My eyes finally having adjusted, I turned to both of my friends. Despite Gracie's complaining of how bright it was, this type of climate fit her perfectly. My closest friends looked like they could be siblings, despite not being related in any way. They had matching beautifully tanned skin, and thick brown hair, courtesy of their mothers, who were both from Latin America.

After waiting around for a minute or so, we all seemed to simultaneously remember that our classmates were headed to the bus without us. We immediately rushed down the steps of the museum to catch up with them, who had gotten much farther during our short break.

Gracie stopped again, stretching.

"I'm so ready to be back home. I like the museum as much as the next person, but we've been here for way too long." I laughed, agreeing with her. Growing up near the museum district had its perks, but that also meant that I had taken plenty of field trips and spent many weekends going to the museums with friends and family. At this point, I could practically lead a tour at the museum we had just exited.

As we made our way down the last few steps, a few screams rang out. I looked around in confusion, not seeing anything that would warrant the screaming.

"Did both of you hear that too?" Grace looked at the two of us, hoping that we would deny having heard anything. To her disappointment, we both nodded our heads. At almost the exact same time, a loud boom rang out behind us, sounding like it was coming from inside the museum. People began to stampede out of the large building, running like a herd of buffalo being hunted down. Another boom shook the ground, causing our group to snap out of the initial shock.

It was too late, however, and the mass group of people exiting had already made it to where we were. As it typically is in these types of situations, no one paid any attention to others, and soon, the three of us were grabbing on to each other, doing what we could to get out of the crowd without being separated.

For a moment, I thought of the first time I had gone to the beach with my family. I was finally deemed old enough to be able to swim farther out. The ocean that day was angry, and I remember being tossed around by the waves like I weighed nothing. It was almost as if the crowd had become the water, but I was quickly brought to reality when Grace pulled my arm, motioning towards the rails only a few feet away from us.

Moving towards the side, we finally reached the railing of the staircase. This had to be a better place to wait out the initial panic of the crowd than just standing in the middle of it. Looking to my right, I felt a pang of horror. Grace was with me, but Gracie was nowhere to be seen. I began shouting her name, hoping that she had made it to the bottom and was waiting for us, and wasn't in need of help.

I heard my name being called, and looked in the direction I thought it came from, relieved to see Gracie standing off to the side at the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm down here! I'll wait for you!" She yelled, trying her best to stay in the same spot and not be pushed away from the crowd.

"We'll be down there as soon as we can!" Grace yelled back, grabbing me by the hand and carefully leading us down to where Gracie was standing. We had only gone down two steps when another loud noise was heard, this time sounding so close that my ears were ringing, and the two of us lost our balance, stumbling down the remaining steps.

At the bottom, my head was on a swivel as I looked around for either one of my friends. After a moment of looking, and seeing neither of them, I gave up and decided that it would be better to get out of the area first, and then try to call one of them or get help from someone else. However, another boom, or what I at this point figured was probably an explosion, threw me to the ground.

This one was louder, and much closer, almost as if the explosions were making their way out of the museum along with the groups of people leaving it. I got up quickly, but was unable to hear much due to the ringing in my ears. Disoriented, I began to run in the same direction as the panicking crowd, bumping into what felt like every person there. In an instant, I was nearly flying through the air, hitting the ground with enough force to knock the breath out of me. I tried to get up again, but my head felt like it was spinning so fast it was gonna unscrew from my neck.

Another explosion forced me down. This time, I didn't get up from my spot. I probably couldn't have even if I wanted to. To make up for not being able to run, I laid down and braced myself as best as I could. I think I was yelling for help, but I wouldn't be able to hear it if I was. The ground shook one more time, and something hit me with enough force to knock me out cold.

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AN: Hi guys! This is my first actual book! I'm gonna do my best to edit each of these chapters and make sure that they're the best I can give. Please feel free to comment! All feedback is appreciated, I just ask that everyone please be respectful to others😄