Kaylin stood at a window, watching a large robin torture a worm. Not far away, where tall evergreen trees met the horizon, unnatural shades of orange and red were moving into the sky. She refused to look. She focused on the robin and the worm.

 

There was a vibration; at first, nothing more than a tingling on the bottom of her feet. She tried to ignore it and pretend it was a morning just like any other. But with each minute, the tremor grew. There were ripples on the surface of her coffee.

 

A hot wind began to sway the evergreens, bringing with it an acrid smell. A sound, almost like the sound of the ocean, crept into the air. The robin abandoned the worm.

 

She tossed the coffee and mug both into the kitchen sink, shattering the mug. It was time. She stormed her way through the house. When she got to the front door, she turned and took one last look at what had been her home for seventeen years. She left the door open when she walked out. A minute later, she was in her van, with the planet shrinking beneath her.

 

Once she had gotten far enough away and gathered her courage, she stopped and turned the van around. She watched as her world became an evening sun. The orange and red slowly crawled, eating all that was green and blue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

***This is an excerpt from one of my upcoming novellas.