Post Sun

Prologue

2019

          Screaming. I heard screaming that jumped me from my sleep and tore my senses from my body. The time read nine-thirty in the morning but looking out the window, the outside didn't seem to match. The screaming continued and from listening to it more, I realized it was more than a few people. It was the whole neighborhood. My first instinct was to feel for my husband, Robert, who was supposed to be lying next to me. He was gone. I lazily wrapped myself in a robe and ran to the living room to see two shapes in front of the window. "Robert, what the hell is happening?"

          "The world... it's ending, just as they warned," he murmured under his breath. He was in shock. The light in the room dimmed further, just as the screams became louder. My heartbeat fastened, my body chilled. I grabbed my child, Allison, from Robert and held her tightly to my chest, looking out the window. Clouds were almost black against the Sun, covering it as though it was never there. There were storming and bright blazes of fire that soared through the sky and caught civilians by the hundreds. People tried getting into their cars, stuffing their families and the things they couldn't leave behind inside. For some reason, it was no use. The cars wouldn't start.

          "The phones," I told Robert, thinking he'd understand but he was still too shocked to move. "Robert! The phones!" I said louder and he seemed to snap awake, fumbling to grab his phone from his pocket. The screen glitched then shut down. "Damn it!"

          Before anything else could be done, I needed to think. Robert was about as mindless as a man could be, unable to make simple decisions in a hard situation. To be fair... the world was ending. I watched the outside world crumble, thankful my house hadn't been hit or crushed by debris and the fireballs. Suddenly, there was something coming down the street in the distance. A march of black horses and armored men started herding people from their homes and cars. "Someone's coming to save us!" I concluded, relief washing over me. Except... they weren't coming to save us. Just as I felt my bones relax, I watched as a family protested to being "saved"... then shot when they ran. My heart leaped. "Robert! Robert, we need to leave, now!"

          We quickly grabbed some things from the house. Food, clothes, diapers for the sobbing two-year-old, and other essentials. A knock came from the back door, making both my husband and I jump to attention. He grabbed our child while I grabbed our bags. Then slowly made my way to the window to see who it was. "Thank Gods," I threw open the door to find our neighbor and her family of four already packed. We had been living next to each other for as long as I could remember. "Sophie!" I gasped and grabbed my friend, pulling her into the hug. "Did you see those men on horses? We need to leave, now. I know that it's unsafe with the storms, but it's safer than getting shot. We don't know what those guys want."

          Sophie nodded her agreement. "Definitely, let's just hope they don't follow us..."

          In all, there were now seven people in our group. We made our way through my back yard and down the field that conveniently overlooked the city. We kept running, and we didn't look back.