From the Skies

'BREAKING NEWS!'

The bold, red letters flashed across the screen. I turned from the TV, scraping out the last remnants of ice cream with a silver spoon. A strip of warm sunlight filtered in through the shutters, blinding my momentarily. I wasn't in the mood to enjoy the warm evening.

'Scientists are at a loss to explain this freak weather phenomenon. Clouds appear to be simply falling from the sky. Ashley Barrett has the latest.'

I spun back around to the TV, squinting at the footage on screen. I stared blankly, the spoon dangling from my mouth.

A pixelated piece of fluffy cloud plummeted across the television. The shaky camera hastily panned down to zoom in on the dispersing cloudy residue.

'Thanks Karen, everyone here at the scene is in a frenzy over this anomaly, this is the latest in a chain of strange events-'

I switched off the TV and climbed the stairs. I was getting sick of the repetitive threats of hurricanes and tornadoes.

Ice cream in one hand, phone in the other, I plopped down onto my bed. Me and my mom had redecorated my room last year. It was one of the few times we'd actually got to spend together. Delicate fairy lights illuminated the room in a soft, golden glow, Polaroids of my friends and I tacked beneath them. My phone beeped loudly.

You have a text message from Claire Clarke.

I swiped to unlock my phone.

Can i come over?

I hurried to text back.

I heard the door bang loudly next door, the sound of soft footfalls across the damp tarmac echoing through the street.

Claire and I had lived next door to each other for almost all of our lives. When we were kids, the Clarke family moved into the house beside ours. Claire and I used to play together everyday and we'd been inseparable ever since.

The door flung open downstairs, and Claire hurtled into the room moments later, brown hair flying behind her.

'Something crazy is happening.'

I raised a single eyebrow. She sat heavily on the bed, smirking slightly, her lips sealed tight. She knew how to drive me crazy.

'Claire, would you quit moaning and spit it out already?'

She tapped distractedly at her phone. She looked up at me, her dark eyes wide like a scared deer's. I exhaled loudly.

'What is it?'

'I think Andre wants to ask me out.'

'Cool, I don't get what the problem is. You guys have liked each other for ages. It's about time you two got some action.' I wiggled my eyebrows at her, nudging her with my foot. She squirmed away, clasping her phone like a lifeline.

Claire had been obsessing over Andre, the flirty guy in our year, for as long as I could remember. They were really close as kids, and Claire was certain that he was destined to be her sweetheart.

Claire squealed. 'He said he wants to spend more time with me!' She shoved her phone in my face and I laughed at the soppy texts.

'Well, there you go.'

Claire blushed, her fingers still frantically typing away.

'That cloud thing on the news today really creeped me out, like, how weird is that?'

I nodded, letting out a sigh. Claire looked up at me, her eyes softening.

'Never mind that. Anyways, how are you? Any news on Klaus?'

'Not really.'

Klaus had been my boyfriend for four months, until I caught him wrapped around some blondie at one of Kiara's parties. We hadn't spoken since. Memories came crashing back, like the waves had finally broken.

'Why did you do it?' I'd crossed my arms, blinking away tears.

Klaus shrugged, glancing idly at the cup of beer in his hand. I'd noticed bitterly that his shirt had ripped at its neckline, exposing puckered pink marks.

'What the fuck, Klaus. Am I not enough? Is that it?' I'd glared at him angrily, not expecting an answer.

My chest froze as he finally met my eyes.

'No.'

'Because I won't give you what you want?' I hadn't bothered to keep the anger from my voice. Sex was his motivation, and I was sick of it.

He sighed, his shoulders slumping.

'We can't go on like this forever. We have to move forward at some point.' He'd looked at me coldly, downing the last dregs from his cup.

'Maybe I don't want to move forward. This is where it ends.'

I bit my lip hurriedly, fighting against the suffocating memory. I turned back to Claire. 'It's been a week today.' I said, avoiding her eyes carefully.

'Anemoi?'

I didn't answer. My name is weird, a parting 'gift' from my dad.

'D'you miss him?'

'To be honest, I think it says a lot about him if he's willing to throw everything away like that.' I stopped, looking back at Claire. 'He tried to get back with me right after.' I looked over at her.

Claire's mouth dropped open.

'No...'

'Yep. I told him to go to hell. He didn't appreciate it too much.' I forced a grin.

She snorted, her slim lips curling into a smile. She stood up from the bed, looking through the things on my desk. She picked up the photo of my Mom and Dad. Agalia had her hand around my Father's shoulders, her head thrown back in a laugh, her dark hair hanging like a curtain down her back. She wore a small black dress, looking beautiful. Her eyes were fixated on my Father, who stood rigidly beside her, hands jammed into the pockets of his jeans, a lightning bolt tattoo visible on his right arm. He stood a full head taller than her. His sturdy figure looked huge next to her slim body. With a strong jaw, dark eyes, a black beard and a broad nose, he looked almost regal.

I never met my Dad, but from the stories my mom told me about him, she was hopelessly in love with him. He left a few days after I was born, leaving my heartbroken mom to cope with me on her own. They met in Crete, but Mom's Greek parents didn't approve of her marrying a foreign man. Zu and Aggie eloped, but at a cost. Mom and her parents haven't spoken since.

'Don't you ever wonder what happened to him?'

I shook my head.

'He broke Mom's heart. He isn't even worth a second thought.' It wasn't entirely true, but I brushed away the thought.

Claire placed the photograph back on the desk.

'We need to go shopping. I feel like it's been years.'

'Yeah, we need back to school outfits. I'm broke, but I'll see if Mom will give me some cash,' I said, relieved to change the subject.

I stiffened slightly. A low humming sound began vibrating through the air, slowly building in a crescendo. Claire ran to the window and yanked it up. Her head disappeared, and the roaring sound of a helicopter streamed in through the open window.

I managed to squeeze my head through the window too. We hung out over the street, our heads tilted upwards.

Three helicopters zoomed past us. With a shock, I noticed the colorful logos emblazoned on their sides.

'Claire! They're from the news channels!'

I craned my head further out. Something caught my eye, and my lungs seemed to freeze.

A huge portion of cloud was slowly drifting towards the ground. Lightning flashed unexpectedly and thunder rolled through the street.

Claire and I screamed, covering our heads out of instinct. A giant black thundercloud loomed overhead, one that I was certain wasn't there five minutes ago.

I peered out of the window again and watched as flashes of lightning danced around the falling cloud. The cloud disappeared out of sight behind a building.

I was about to close the window when my heart stopped. I forgot to breathe for a moment. I watched in horror as a sudden flash of lightning struck a helicopter. The large CNN logo was briefly visible before it was engulfed in flames. The helicopter plummeted to the ground.