The title is still in question, but I have decided to start a new novel, (not quite complete with the other one) but this idea struck me and I am going to roll with it. I hope you enjoy.
The room was silent, except for the occasional rustling of papers and the sound of pencils running across paper. James sat still, with his head cradled in his arms, looking at his feet planted firmly beneath the desk. His pencil hadn’t moved in the last twenty minutes, as he had finished the exam rather quickly.
Man, I wish I had my I-pod. He lifted his head from his arms to look at his teacher, Mr. Case. The tall man stood with both hands in his pockets and a bored look on his face. His empty eyes fell on James, and lit up. James pointed to his paper and smiled, Mr. Case returned the smile, pointed to his watch and mouthed, “That was fast.” He nodded, and mouthed back, “It was easy.” His teacher winked and took a seat in his chair; he leaned his head on his hand and was quickly asleep. James shook with silent laughter at his teacher and placed his head back on the desk. He reached back and drew his hood over his head, and closed his eyes.
His eyes snapped open. Immediately he felt pain in his head, and down his side. He tried to rise and realized that he was on the floor. Pain exploded down his right side, and lights flashed before his eyes. He lay still for a while, letting the pain subside.
How did I get on the floor? Carefully he moved his left hand, and tentatively removed the hood from his head. Light fell across his face, temporarily blinding him. When he was finally able to see, he couldn’t believe what he saw.
The wall that had been adjacent to his seat was gone. In its place was a monstrous hole, and rain poured through it, drenching him. He couldn’t quite make out what was outside, as a desk had fallen in front of him. Slowly James turned to his left side, and with as much care as possible, he pushed upwards with his left arm. Twisting about, he tried to get into a sitting position. Suddenly there was a brutal twist of pain down his side, darkness threatened at the edge of his vision. Clenching his jaw against the pain, he managed to sit up, and after a few minutes more he stood shakily.
What in the world? Before him, as far as he could see, everything lay in ruin. The auditorium, which had once risen to his left, was simply…gone. The parking lot, the football field, the trees and roads, everything he could see was ruined. Cars had been crushed under some unknown force, their tires exploded and windows busted. James could see the bloody ruin of people inside of them from where he stood. Concrete had been shoved aside, leaving nothing but bare earth; rain water ran in rivulets over the exposed earth, like rivers in a canyon. The groups of trees that had lined the road were flattened; their trunks and limbs brutally contorted where they lie on the ground, and as far as he could see everything had been…flattened. Where homes had once stood, he saw nothing but debris and what might have been their foundations. He could no longer see the bridge up the street, and he assumed that it had fallen into the river. Nothing was as it should have been. It was as if a storm had swept over everything leaving utter destruction in its wake.
Wh-how did this happen?! His heart was suddenly hammering in his chest as his disbelief and shock were overtaken by reality. Suddenly he was having difficulty breathing and the room began to grow dim.
I, I can’t believe-darkness swept over him.
