Spiraling Storm (Book 1 of the Storm Chasers Series)

Prologue

Part 1

"When you begin a journey, you don't know what to expect. When you're done, however, you can't help but think that you could have predicted most of it." -Felidae

A black-haired boy threw his stuff on his new bed, sighing with relief. The move had been difficult for him, since the train had taken hours. The whole ride was filled with stops and bumps, all of which worsened his sickness. He took a swig of water, hoping to drown his nausea. It helped him a little, so he moved to finish his packing.

On his bag, he had a tag with the number 16. Every person was given a number as a name replacement when going to college. Later, when those who graduated were put into groups, they gained their true code name. The boy with the number 16 smiled at this, untying the tag from the suitcase. He put that in his pocket.

After unpacking his things, the boy looked in the mirror to dust himself off. He ran his fingers through his side bangs, the blue streak in it as bright as ever. He smiled, liking the contrast of the blue and the black. His honey brown eyes weren't much to marvel at, but he enjoyed the little quirk of it anyways. He dusted himself off and exited his room with a smile.

Looking around the small dorm, there was another bedroom across from his own. The light was off, from what he could tell. Number 16 knocked on the door anyway, due to his curiosity. He could hear panicked scrambling coming from inside the room, along with multiple objects falling over. The door was opened enough to reveal his roommate's face.

They had pale skin, with steel blue eyes and dark brown hair.

"H-hello," his roommate stuttered out with a shaky voice.

"Hiya! I'm your roommate, Crow! I have the good old number 16!" The black-haired boy chuckled nervously.

"Ah, my number's 13. My codename is Raven."

"Nice. So, Raven. Wanna get some food or something?"

"I got some food and put it in the fridge for you, if you're hungry."

"Thanks! Did you eat already?"

"I have my food with me here. I was reading while I ate."

"That can't be too good for your book, if you spill it at least. Why're you reading in the dark?"

"I find interest in reading in the dark with a lamp, rather than with the light on."

"Ok then. You do you, buddy!"

Crow turned to leave, waving goodbye to Raven. He made his way to the kitchen. There were small lanterns hanging from the ceiling, with lights in them. The lights were now dim, the sunset leaving a golden glow in the room. Crow opened the fridge, looking for what Raven would have left him.

He was able to find a container of taco soup. He pulled it out, finding it still slightly warm. There was a sticky note that read, 'For my roommate. signed, chef Raven.'

Seeing the note, Crow smiled. He poured some of the soup into a pot, then put it on the stove. While waiting for it to heat up, he looked over at the table. The boy saw a newspaper clipping and picked it up. He mumbled the text to himself.

"Wanted, Arynn... En? It cuts off... Wanted, Arynn En. For... Oh sweet lightning, I-"

While Crow was running his hand through his hair, Raven walked out of his room, looking fairly tired. Messy hair and all.

"Hey. Are you going to go to bed or just walk around mumbling all night?" He asked before looking at the stove, along with the time. He widened his eyes, realizing that it wasn't as late as he thought.

"Erm, I was gonna get a bite. I was just reading this news clipping. This Arynn dude doesn't sound too... uh... nice," Crow replied.

"Yeah... Sorry, I drifted off and thought it was later than it actually is." He said as he sat down at the table.

"You're fine. Who's this Arynn dude?"

"I don't know. Probably just another random cricket with rust behind their teeth."

"But the things they did, it's horrific!"

"What kinds of things?" Raven asked while reaching out for the clipping. Crow handed it to him.

"Murder! With somebody like that around, I have quite a reason to be concerned."

"Oh, I see. We'll be fine. Just go to bed, you'll forget about it eventually."

"I'm not the type to forget much."

"I've lived here for a while, and nothing has happened while this person was around."

"You live in the city?"

"Lived."

"Oh, I see. I'm still going to be worried, though."

"You can do that."

Crow turned to his soup and turned off the stove. He grabbed a bowl out of one of the cabinets and poured the soup into it. It was warm and comforting in his hands. He grabbed a spoon and sat down, eating it as fast as he could. It took him a second to taste the spices, and he smiled at the abundance of it.

"Looks like you actually use spices to season your food, instead of water. It tastes good," Crow replied.

"Thanks," Raven said while chuckling.

-

Raven looked at the tan boy in front of him. His eyes kept wandering to Crow's eyes. They were honey brown, and the light caught them in such a way that he couldn't help but stare. Crow didn't seem to notice this, though. 'I really am living with this person. Geez, I'm going to die from anxiety first,' he thought.

After a couple moments of silence, his cheeks began to flush as he realized just how much he was staring. He quickly looked away.

"I'm going to bed now," he said, still feeling embarrassed. He then rushed to his room. He could hear concerned remarks from Crow, but he ignored them. Raven tried to rid himself of his flushed cheeks, and of all thoughts of Crow.

Eventually he went to the bathroom, washing his face. Usually his thoughts were clear, but now his thoughts were as cloudy as the sky. He left the bathroom to look out the window. The clouds were thick, but the sun broke through enough to give the room a golden hue. Flashes of lightning could be seen in the distance, coming from the thick and heavy clouds.

The clouds that now covered the sky never left. Occasionally there were patches, while the clouds were moving. It was rare, however, and seeing the sunset was a gift. Raven still couldn't get the thought of that boy out of his head. He looked at the room, which was still messy from tripping earlier. Raven sighed, starting to pick things up off the floor. 'This is going to take a while to clean up', he thought, while cleaning.

Raven picked up his journal from off the ground. He dusted it off, looking at it for a minute. He pulled up his chair and sat down, reading the first few pages. Raven cringed at the illegible handwriting, reading the simple view of the world he had then. He was surprised at how much his views had changed since he started writing in his journal.

Raven laughed at his inability to spell large words in the more cheerful logs. He then took a deep breath before he got into his drop in mental health. 'That didn't help at all,' he thought to himself, as he turned the page. Raven, the boy with the unlucky number, picked up his pen and began to write.

Sparksday, 1450

Dear journal, today has started well, so that's already better than how things have been previously. My roommate seems alright, although he may be a bit of a talker. Maybe things are finally starting to look up.