Breaking Sunlight

Chapter 3

Stage one of the storm took place. Splatters of sky water tapped lightly on our roof. Rain. I remembered we learned about it back in middle level 2 school. It was a boring category to learn; mostly because everyone knew, or we thought we knew, that it had no chance in happening to us.

We were wrong.

"I wonder how long this is going to last." My dad stated. "I have to go to work as soon as possible." He was a mechanic. He loved fixing broken electronic objects and improving its previous state.

Two days passed, and stage two happened. The rain started pouring down heavier. The amount increased as well.

"If anybody is out there right now, they are going to be in some serious trouble," Michael said while glancing up at the roof. "I don't know how they'll survive this weather. It could kill them."

"It's just a heavy rain shower. It's not that serious." I stated in a matter- of- fact tone. He shot a glare at me.

"Yeah? Well, let's see you go out there, then."

I waved him away and huddled near the kitchen window seat. Was it serious?

Five days passed. Stage three took course. Lightning and thunder could be seen and heard throughout the Unit. I always wondered what it looked like, but after seeing it with my own eyes for the first time; I knew that I didn't want to experience it again.

Still, no report from the Jury.

Something was bound to happen. I could feel it. Not just to the weather, but to us- the people, as well.

Ten more days passed. Stage four. A hail storm broke loose. It clattered so hard on our roof, holes were made through it. We had to take cover at the bottom of the house. There was no light, and no access to food, unless we moved from our spots, which none of us were willing to do anytime soon.

Once the hail stopped, more rain descended from the unforgiving sky, splattering all over our amenities.

I had lost count of the days before the worse stage took place. The fear of all people in our Unit. The stage that we once thought was impossible... The sun vanished from the sky. Throughout the other stages, the sun was present. When the moon went down, the sun came back up again the next morning.

We were glad for that.

This time, however, when the moon went up, we went down, as usual. But, in the morning, the familiar rays we felt against our skin wasn't there. There was no sunshine. The sky was just plain gray.

I pondered hard on this, and then it hit me.

If the sun was no longer present, how on earth did we wake up? An even bigger question formed, how were we still living?

The alarm finally sounded again.

"Alert! Alert!" It ordered us to listen to the speaker monitor for another report, since we couldn't turn on the televisions.

"It's about time." My dad grunted while settling down on the couch.

The voice of another Jury member rung out.

"Citizens of this Unit, I am just as surprised and upset as you are-"

"I doubt that." My mom muttered under her breath.

"I understand that many, if not all, of you have lost a great deal of valuables during our storm stages. I too, have lost a great number of things, so I feel your pain."

"Really? Did you have your roof blasted by rocks and almost flooded by rain water?" My dad bawled his fists angrily.

My mom tapped his shoulder to calm him down.