Zap! (M. Clifford/5SOS)

Chapter 36: Tomorrow Never Dies

Monica's P.O.V.

My heart starts pounding out of control and my head begins buzzing, causing me to glance at the floor. No, this can't be happening. There is no way I'm prepared to take on the biggest storm in history in just a few short days.

"So the weatherman was right," I mutter, finding my voice.

"Surprisingly yes, he is," Dr. Jones confirms.

"But then...how were your predictions so off?" I question, the theory popping into my brain.

"Well," Dr. Burnett answers with a sigh, "it seems as though some of our meteorologists didn't calculate correctly when doing the math. I'm not going to go into detail, but we are not happy with the team and the fact that nobody double checked their work. The good news is that they were close and we were able to teach you everything you need to know."

Oh, that's great. I've learned what I needed to learn and they expect me to be ready just like that.

"How did you get here so fast? The news just announced it and all of a sudden, you're here," my mum speaks up.

"We actually saw an earlier newscast and decided to check in with our meteorologists. It took us a few hours to get the correct data, but once we confirmed what we discovered, Dr. Jones and I began making our way to notify the ten of you. You are the sixth house we're at and some people didn't see the news by the time we got there. Our timing seems perfect here, doesn't it?" Dr. Burnett chuckles.

"Anyways, with that being said, we need to warn the rest of our group. Come to training as normal tomorrow and we will all have a serious discussion about this. Don't worry too much about it tonight, okay?" Dr. Jones informs, giving me a sympathetic smile. I nod and we make our way to the front door, where the scientists step down and figure out the next person's address. Once accomplished, they zap out and I close the door, pressing my back against it and leaning.

"Honey? You all right?" my mum asks, moving towards me. As soon as those words are out of her mouth, a tear slides down my cheek and I know I'm not all right. She holds open her arms and I crash into them, crying harder now. I'm not crying because I'm sad, I'm not crying because I'm weak. I'm crying because I'm scared.

"Ssh, ssh, it's okay," my mum soothes. She rubs my back and tries her best to calm me down, but little does she know that it's not okay. I cling on to her for dear life, not wanting to let her go, ever. I know I don't talk about her much, but she's the best mum in the world, although I don't agree with some of her ways. She's done so much for me and I'm not ready to grow up and leave her. At least not yet.

After what feels like forever of us just standing there in the hallway hugging, my tears have subsided for the most part and she releases me, leading us into the living room. That's when I notice Michael following us and I momentarily forgot that he was here with us, leaning against the wall the entire time. We all sit on the same couch, me in the middle, and my mum turns off the TV, making it silent throughout the house except for the occasional sounds of the TV in my parents' bedroom that my dad must be watching.

"You know what I see when I look at you?" my mum begins. I shift my body to face her but stare at the ground. "I see a smart, strong girl. I see a brave, young woman. I see my daughter using her talents to do unimaginable tasks. You are capable of many things, Monica, great things that none of us could have dreamed of doing. When you want something, you go for it. You don't let anything or anyone get in your way. You also don't need much practice in order to accomplish what you want. You have that special gift of perseverance and passion. And I understand that this mission isn't something you're passionate about, but I believe in you. You were chosen out of hundreds of Galaxies to do this, which makes you in the top ten of strongest Galaxies between the ages of sixteen and twenty. That's a huge accomplishment! That's something to celebrate about and we will after the Acerbus Procella is destroyed. I know you're scared, but you have to trust the scientists and your team. They are doing everything they can to make sure you're safe and ready. I trust them and you definitely should, too."