Chapter 3 - Eternal Dark night

It has been a day since the huge Earthquake, but things have not yet been settled. Our satellite connections were disrupted, and they were unable to contact our loved ones. As the day progressed, the tent she was in started to fill up. The hospital was not the only building that collapsed. Many building near them had caved in and Rescue team were working day and night trying to find survivors.

Lot of people lost their loved ones to this natural disaster.

Reya not sure if it should be called a natural disaster even. Many speculate that the giant structure hovering above them is an alien planet and that they have come to kill them all.

She was not sure which to believe either. The government had yet to get any official statements about the mysterious rock hovering above them.

There was panic and anguish all around her. But she just hoped all of this will end soon, and that they will get back to normal after this.

But she was wrong. That night, something even more devastating happened. Huge rocks started shooting down from the sky.

Everyone was confused and scared as they ran to the nearby intact buildings. Her mom lifted Mina and ran. "Reya" she called as she pulled her towards a small house nearby.

Her leg pulsed as she hopped to safety. Agonizing pain shot up her leg to her head. The agony faded into a dull throb when her consciousness became hazy.

They hid under small brick house. "Mom," she called as she pulled her closer to her. She hugged her close, so that Mina was in between them.

"What is going on," Reya whispered and peeped through a small hole in the door. What she saw scared the shit out of her. A huge flaming meteorite was descending at a very high speed near them.

"Mom, get back" she scream as she pushed her further from the door.

Huge shock wave hit them and pushed them farther to the walls.

Reya pull her mother closer and taking the full brunt of the shock wave. She groaned as anguishing pain spread through her spine.

"Mom…." she gazed at her mom to find her unconscious. Her little sister was crying and trying to wake her up.

"Mina, step back" she said as she pulled her away from her mom. She crawl towards her and pulled her into her arms. "Mom" she slightly shook her, but she remained unconscious. There were no visible open wounds on her. But at the back of her head Reya felt a small.

Reya kept her unmoving, just in case something might be wrong with her head.

"Reya" Mina whimpered as she hugged her torso. "Is mom okay?" she sobbed as she held her mother's hands.

"She is fine. She will be okay, so don't worry," Reya repeat as she hugged her close to her bosom. A stabbing pain originated from her midriff.

'Shit, I think one of my ribs was broken,' she thought as her eyes started becoming hazy. "Minaa, listen to me. Stay close. I think …" Reya whispers before she blacked out.

When she woke up again, it was pitch black outside. They were still inside the small house. Her mom was still unconscious. And Mina was hugging her and sleeping.

There were some other people inside the house, but it was too dark to notice. "Please anyone check up on her mother. Please," she whispered into the darkness.

Someone shuffled closer and said, "I'll help. I'm a nurse." The voice sounded like a middle age woman.

She softly placed her mom on her lap. After a while she said, "Your mom is okay, let me check up on you dear." She crawled closer to her and did a basic check up. "Where do you feel the pain dear?" she slightly touched her hand.

"My ribs hurt, I think it's broken" Reya whimpered.

"Don't move dear. This might hurt but bear with me," she said as she pushed into her ribs one by one.

As she reached the rib under her boob, Reya screamed "Ahh."

The woman didn't stop just there she kept touching her other ribs. "Good thing only one rib is broken. And it feels like it's just a hairline crack," she said with relief.

Reya let out a breath of relief. "What happened out there? Was that a meteorite?"

Her trembling hands held her's. "My dear, it was….. It was our moon," she wept. "The moon," she whispered with her eyes wide.

They were rescued the next day by some firefighters and taken to the temporary hospitals set by them. Her mom regained consciousness in a day. She sobbed the day she saw her again. "Oh my darling Reya," she sobbed as she held her hand.

Reya tried moving all her limbs to check if they were okay.

The nearby nurse noticed this and said, "You are okay dear, one of your ribs broke. So you have to be in bed rest for a long while now."

This day, she was just glad her family was okay. Nothing matters other than her family. This was the day that earth really changed. Our moon that was revolving around them was destroyed. It crashed into the giant structure in the sky and shattered.

From that day the entire world plunged into darkness. Our nights became eternally dark. It was a devastating sight. But the positive is our network connection was reinstated.

The few days that followed the entire world experienced earthquakes and Tsunamis. Most of the coastal regions were swept underwater. The news report stated that our world tilted towards the giant structure in the sky and that was why they were experiencing these devastating natural disasters. None of the reports even addressed the new celestial object.

But they named it JOVIAN Planet.