☢ Glass Moon - WCE ☢

Instructions

☢ My Entry ☢ It was on that day that the moon exploded. Frankly, exploded isn’t quite the word. Shattered is the word to be used in this circumstance. A round globe smashed on a hard surface — that is what it looked like. I was on my way home from the library, books upon books stacked in my hands, when the first person screamed. The volumes tumbled to the ground as I searched, startled, for the cause of the wail. An elderly woman — Ms. Amber, I think — gripped the white picket fence that surrounded her picture perfect green lawn, the only light beaming from her expertly painted front porch. A trembling hand pointed behind me, towards the sky. I raced towards her shaking figure, books forgotten. “Ms. Amber!” I exclaimed, bending down to help the elderly woman to her feet. She groped for her cane, using it to balance her weight. “T-The moon!” she cried, hazy brown eyes wide and staring out past me. “I-It’s gone!” Despite my best efforts, I turned around. I could find no words. Like some sort of messed-up firework, the moon lit up the entire night sky. Where it had once been beautifully round, small shards of chalky gray rock leaped away into the abyss of darkness, fire trailing behind. The second scream erupted not far after. I turned towards the glistening ocean, terrified at what I saw. At a rapid pace, the ocean retreated farther and farther. Instead of crawling forward in an inhuman rage, as I had previously feared, the waves cowered from the shore, leaving miles upon miles of wet sand scattered with the lifeless bodies of sea creatures. I was stunned out of words, out of comprehension. The moon was gone. “LOOK OUT!” The blood-curdling warning snapped me out of a hypnotic trance. The air heated up at an unnatural pace, and my skin boiled as an enormous rock bursting with flames plummeted towards me. I opened my mouth to scream, but I was silent. Sirens wailed, people cried and screamed and shouted and hid and— Wham. Someone slammed into my side, pushing me onto the hard asphalt. My palms stung where I had scraped them, but I had no time to worry about that as the figure clasped my arm and sprinted away, dragging me out of danger. “Faster, Leah!” The voice of my older brother, Isaac, snapped me awake, and my legs moved once again. “M-Mom, is she—?” “Mom’s ok. They set up safehouses underground,” Isaac replied breathlessly as we ran. The terrifying sounds of brick smashing and wood splintering made my stomach lurch. Rows and rows of houses were demolished in seconds, and that wasn’t the worst of it. Ms. Amber was still there. I envisioned her frail body, struggling to stand. I saw her cane tumble from her grasp, her horrified face as the rocky flames enveloped her… Bile rose in the back of my throat, and I was suddenly dizzy. What a horrible, horrible way to die…and I could’ve helped her… My legs gave way before I could even process it. Fire was spreading around my city — monstrous, abnormal flames attaching themselves to houses, plants, people. The world was spinning, and black crept around the corner of my vision. “Stay with me, Leah!” Isaac’s voice was distant, soft. I could barely hear the urgency. “The meteors are still coming, Leah!” Isaac shook me roughly, but I didn't respond. The last thing I glimpsed in the distorted sky was a shattered, glass moon. Then everything faded to black.