Prologue
October 15th, 2048 - a normal Thursday. The citizens of Seattle were rolling out of bed, watching the morning news, and getting ready for work or school. I was ready to drag myself through my high school classes, maybe finding time for a nap somewhere. I was ready to return home and relax due to my parents being on some little trip I hadn't had the capacity or care to remember. I was excited to get the day over with, mark the 15th off of my calendar, and drift into a decent sleep.
However, no one expected the tragedy that would carve the day into history books, and quite literally leave a mark on Washington and its people.
As I walked into my English class, first period, everything was completely normal. I sat in my usual seat which was, unfortunately, placed directly beside a window. As the teacher explained the day's lesson, I gazed out of that window, watching the sun's attempt to peek out from behind the dreary clouds.
My teacher finished her lecturing, and with the silence came an eerie atmosphere that made me queasy. I looked around the room, and I could tell a few other students were feeling it too, making nervous eye contact with me. The hair on the back of my neck rose with anxiety, and my heart was fixed on running a marathon.
My stomach filled with panic once I heard an alarming, loud noise - the deep rumble of something exceptional soaring across the sky. I only had a second to look out the window before the thunderous blast of a detonation caused my heart to stop before continuing at an unfathomable pace. Other students whispered in confusion around me, and I could hear the movement of some trying to get a better view. Once we saw a thick black mushroom cloud arise from the east, the whispers turned into cries of panic. Then came the sirens, which we had been trained to respond to in past months. Everyone knew where to go, the bunkers that were built in fear of this happening. But no one could move. No one could talk. No one could breathe. We knew that our growing tension with North Korea could call for something like this, but no one was ready for it.
Once we saw students sprinting down the halls, adrenaline thawed the ice that prohibited our movement, and we joined them. Word spread quickly within the bunkers, many people tuning in to news stations addressing the catastrophe. I couldn't fully listen, because my mind was too busy doubting the reality of the situation. Once I heard the words "Mercer Island," something sparked within me, like I had heard it recently. It only took me a few seconds to realize where I had heard it.
My parents mentioned the city at dinner the previous night while talking about their trip. I hadn't paid much attention, but I suddenly wished I had.
My parents were on that island.
I glanced over at the television screens providing information, and saw nothing but destruction. The whole island was obliterated.
I only had one wish, a wish I knew would never be granted; that they would be found among the rubble. As hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks, I lost all hope I had managed to gain.
Something other than my wish arose from the destruction. Something unexpected, unprecedented, and cataclysmic. Something that I would now have to face alone.
An epidemic of chaos.
