A Strange Day

The sky was clear, and the sun's warmth soothed the atmosphere. It was a peaceful day without a single sign of any negative hindrances. It was the perfect day for Nathan to enjoy his 16th birthday.

Nathan hurried to the bus stop where Sindy and Andrew awaited him. It was a five-minute walk that gave him more than enough time to observe the beauty of his community before meeting up with them. He hadn't felt such peace in quite a while. It was a nice change which he certainly enjoyed.

Suddenly, as if to reject his positivity, Nathan noticed a strange dark cloud hovering silently above. It was small and had bits of lightning flashing furiously inside. Strangely, despite the lightning, there was no thunder. It was the strangest cloud he had ever seen. It almost seemed unnatural.

"A single small dark cloud in the sky..?" Muttered Nathan to himself. "Unless I missed something in science class, I'm sure that's not something you see every day..."

Suddenly, the hairs on Nathan's body stood up like an audience. A shiver rushed through his body, and an awful feeling overcame him. He glanced up at the strange cloud once more that now seemed a lot more aggressive than before. It was almost as if he could tell something terrible was about to happen.

Without thinking, he dashed toward a nearby elderly woman, who was looking to cross the street. He dived into her, pushing her to the ground right before a powerful bolt of lightning struck the spot where she had stood.

"Are you okay?!" He asked the elderly woman in a panic.

"Yes, but only thanks to you, young man! You might have just saved this old lady's life!"

"I'm relieved to hear that."

"But how did you know I was about to be struck by lightning?"

Nathan scratched his head in confusion. He wasn't sure himself. However, before he could answer the old lady's question, a small crowd gathered around them to see what had happened.

"Hey, kid! What do you think you're doing to that old lady? You should be charged with assault!" Shouted one man.

"What? No! She was almost struck by lightning! I tackled her to save her!" Defended Nathan.

Looks of confusion quickly spread across the faces of the people in the crowd. No one knew what Nathan was talking about.

"Struck by lightning with a completely clear sky?" Asked another bystander, questioning Nathan's story.

"Take a look for yourselves! There's a creepy dark cloud in the sky!"

Nathan was quickly forced to do a double-take as he came to the frightening realization that the cloud was now gone. It seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

"Imagine tackling an old lady and then blaming it on a cloud that isn't even there. You should be ashamed of yourself, kid!"

"Wait! He's telling the truth! The lightning strike didn't make any sound, but I'm certain he saved me from a bolt of lightning!" Explained the old lady.

"Aww, shut it, you old fart! I should have known that you were in on this! If this isn't an act to get attention for you and your grandson's stupid TikTok, then you're just growing senile!"

The crowd of people continued to lecture Nathan and the old lady relentlessly. However, Nathan's mind was far too occupied by the strange occurrence to pay attention to what they were saying. Due to this, he gave a half-hearted apology and left the scene to avoid any more attention.

Soon after, he arrived at the bus stop where Sindy and Andrew were waiting for him. Sindy was the first to greet him with an almost-worried look.

"Nate, you're late! What happened to you? You even have a little dirt on your jeans..!" She complained as she gently used a handkerchief to clean the dirt from his clothes.

"I'm sorry, but I can explain!"

"Save it for later, Nate! The bus is here! We only have 30 minutes to get to the theatre, so let's hurry!" Rushed Andrew.

After getting on the bus, the three sat close to one another. Nathan sat beside Sindy while Andrew sat just a row in front of them. This was when Sindy gently elbowed Nathan and handed him a wrapped gift.

"Happy Birthday, Nate!" She said with a slightly flushed face.

"Sindy, you bought me something..? You didn't have to go through the trouble..!"

"A simple thanks would suffice, Nate."

"Right... Thanks, Sindy. I appreciate it."

Sindy smiled warmly at Nathan, making him a little flustered. He hadn't realized just how cutely she was dressed up. She had light golden-blonde hair with added brown colorings at the ends. Her eyes were glossy blue with a medium-light skin tone. Her face was smooth, and she had red-stained lips from her lipstick and small gold earrings in each ear. She wore a red blouse with white polka-dots, white jeans, and white open-toe slippers designed with flowers showcasing her red painted nails. She had matched Nathan's colors and it made her radiate divinity like an angel.

"Sorry that I'm just noticing, but you look amazing, Sindy!"

"Thanks... I wanted to match what you were wearing since you said you'd be going in mostly red and white."

"Then what about me, Nate? No compliments for your best bud?" Teased Andrew.

Andrew had bleached blonde hair shaved in an undercut similar to Nathan's. He also had dark-brown eyes and wore the smile of a troublemaker. He was averagely muscular and wore a blue long-sleeved shirt, black jeans, and blue sneakers.

"You look cool too, man," complimented Nathan.

"Am I better than princess over there?"

Sindy rolled her eyes.

"More importantly, Nate, open your gift!"

Not knowing what to expect, Nathan gently unwrapped the gift. Inside, he found a box that contained a gorgeous silver half-heart necklace with Sindy's name embedded stylishly on the front.

"A necklace? Sindy, this looks awesome!" Thanked Nathan happily.

"Wait, that's only half a heart. Who has the other half?" Questioned Andrew curiously.

To their surprise, Sindy pulled out the other half that had been concealed beneath her blouse. However, her half had Nathan's name embedded on the front. The necklaces were two halves of a whole.

Andrew whistled dramatically, "Whew! Bold move right there! I only pray our boy Nate gets the message you're trying to bring across!"

"What message?" Asked Nathan in confusion.

"Mission failed! We'll get 'em next time!"

A look of genuine frustration quickly filled Sindy's face. She averted her eyes and stared out the window, muttering under her breath.

"Geez... Why do you have to be such an airhead sometimes..?"

"Huh..? Did I say something wrong..?"

"Don't give it too much thought," comforted Andrew. "In any case, I can't wait for you to see the movie I bought us tickets for!"

Nathan and Sindy were both clueless about what movie Andrew was taking them to see. He had kept it a secret since he wanted to make it a surprise.

"Also," began Nathan. "...about earlier, something strange happened. An elderly woman and I were almost stuck by lightning from a weird cloud. I'm not too sure what happened, but no one else saw it besides the two of us."

"Lightning with a clear sky..? And a strange cloud?" Questioned Sindy.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I'm telling the truth!"

"Are you sure you didn't just halluciNATE?" Laughed Andrew.

"Dude, I'm serious! I wouldn't make something as crazy as this up..."

"Well, it's best to forget about it for now. It's your birthday so let's focus on that," encouraged Sindy.

After a few more minutes, they arrived at the theatre with only five minutes to spare. They quickly handed over their tickets and prepared to enter the theatre, but this was when Nathan noticed something frightening. The small dark cloud was back, and this time it seemed much more aggressive. Lightning danced inside the cloud, and the atmosphere reacted to it. Even the sky seemed to darken with each passing second.

"Nate, what's wrong..?" Asked Sindy, tracing his gaze to the dark cloud in the sky. "No way... Andrew, please tell me you're seeing what I'm seeing right now..."

"Yes, unfortunately, Nate isn't crazy..." He muttered.

Nathan glanced at Andrew, "Unfortunately?"

"You know what! Now would be a good time to get inside, boys!"

Without hesitation, Sindy quickly pulled Nathan and Andrew inside the theatre. Before long, they secured their seats, trying their best to forget what they had just seen.

"Okay, so ignoring what we just saw, let's talk about Andrew's controversial taste in movie choices. Why would you bring us to see The Tragic Hero?" Argued Sindy.

"It's a good movie! Besides, Nate has never seen it before."

Just as the movie was about to begin, a powerful explosion shook the entire building. Immediately, people began panicking, uncertain of what had just happened. Screams of fear and the sirens of crying babies resonated through the theatre as if they were in the middle of an apocalyptic movie.

"Oh my gosh! What the hell was that?" Panicked Sindy.

"Sigh... I better get a refund for this..." Murmured Andrew.

Just then, Sindy turned to Nathan only to see that he was bathing in sweat with a roasting hot fever. His eyes were dull, and he looked as pale as a ghost.

"I... I don't feel so good..." He muttered weakly.

"Nate? Nate?! Nate, what's wrong?! Andrew, something is wrong with Nate!"

"Man, what kinda cursed birthday do you have!? We need to get him out of here!" Quickly proposed Andrew.

Wasting no time, the two quickly picked up Nathan and began moving toward the exit. Before long, they arrived just outside to see a scene that came straight out of an apocalyptic movie.

Powerful winds blew across the entire vicinity, uprooting street signs, electrical poles, and trees, sending them flying through the air as if they were sitting inside the belly of a tornado. Lightning arced across the sky, creating many different patterns that would dare to challenge any artist. However, the most frightening thing was the color of the sky. It was so black that it tempted Sindy and Andrew to check the time on their phones.

"What is this..? I feel like I'm watching the end of the world right now..!" Dreaded Andrew.

"We have to find a way to get through all of this, Andrew! We need to get Nate to some kind of doctor before he gets any worse!" Shouted Sindy, trying to keep her voice above the sound of the surrounding chaos.

"Don't be crazy, woman! You'll kill him before his fever does! I'm not letting you take Nate with you!"

The two then came to a chilling pause as they realized Nathan was nowhere to be found. He had somehow disappeared without a trace while they were gawking at the strange phenomenon.

"No... no... no... no... no... no... no! Where did he go?!" Panicked Sindy.

"Dude, how can this be happening right now?! How could he have disappeared when he was right here just a second ago?!!"

"We need to find him!"

The two wasted no time searching for Nathan. They quickly ran across the theatre, frantically searching for the slightest sign. This was when they heard a crowd of people making a massive commotion close to the main exit of the building.

Quickly taking notice, they moved toward the commotion to see if they could find any clues to Nathan's whereabouts. This was when both Sindy and Andrew felt their hearts fall into their stomachs.

To their horrific surprise, the commotion was caused by Nathan walking aimlessly out in the open. His clothes and hair fluttered wildly, and he looked as if he could be blown away at any moment. However, no one was willing to help. Most feared that the second they stepped out into the storm surge to help him, they would be swept away by the powerful winds.

Despite this, Sindy and Andrew did not hesitate to run to his aid in the middle of the ferocious storm. People screamed at them to stop, but they refused to listen. They were determined to save Nathan, no matter what they had to do.

The powerful winds pushed against them, threatening to lift them into the air at any moment. However, they both pushed forward one step at a time. With a desperate stretch of their hands, they grabbed Nathan, hoping to pull him back to safety. However, for some reason, they couldn't even move him a single inch. It was as if he was glued to the spot.

"What the hell are they feeding you?!" Groaned Andrew in desperation.

"Nate, please talk to us!! Why are you doing this?! You need to get back inside where it's safe!!" Cried Sindy hopelessly.

With a feeble voice, Nathan answered, "I... I can't help it... Something is pulling me towards it..!"

Sindy and Andrew were left aghast. They neither understood what Nathan was trying to say nor did they have enough strength to keep pulling him. However, they still refused to let go. Even with the powerful winds battering against them, they held onto him tightly, determined to stick with him until the very end.

"COME, OUR TRAGIC HERO!"

Finally, obeying the power of a strange womanly voice, a blinding flash of lightning came from the sky and struck the three friends with a thunderous boom.