Gemotions

The world tilted on its axis. One moment, Amelia was enjoying her tea on her back porch; the next, a colossal shadow fell over her. She knew, with a certainty that settled in her stomach like a lead weight, that something awful had occurred. She scrambled to her feet, her hands flying to her mouth, stifling a gasp.

She bolted inside, slamming the screen door shut behind her. Her heart was a trapped bird, beating against its cage. Every muscle in her body screamed for her to run, to escape the sight that now imprinted itself on her mind.

She crouched on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. She shut her eyes, willing herself to become invisible, to make the danger simply vanish. The faint scent of pine needles drifted in through the crack in the door, a cruel reminder of the destruction outside.