I had finished up the last of my duties and reports, hunched over my desk in low light. The distant rumbling of another storm shook the floor, it was time to head home. The short halls and spiraling concrete stairs were always quiet at this late hour, as I came to the exit where two glass doors stood before me. I looked up, as I’d usually do to admire the far-off horizon which held up the above. I was right, dark clouds blotched out where an orange sky would usually set. As I pushed through the doors, I was met by the sounds of more distant rumbling... I could even see flashes of lightning in the dark. A lone soldier traversed across the base, poncho flapping in the wind as the rain should soon start to set in. “I better let coms know that I’ve finished up for the day.” I’d murmur to myself as I unclipped the radio from my belt, unsurprisingly it wasn't working again.
That’s when it occurred to me, I had been here several times before. Why did this all seem off? It raised the hair on the back of my neck, I stared for what seemed several minutes into the dark clouds above as they came closer. It was all wrong, the lurking dark and the rumbles of the storm. But that wasn't what really got me, my teeth gritted as I tried to figure it out. Then it came to me, the smell…
They always smirked when I told them I could smell the rain, but there is a subtle musk which it brings. It’s earthy and sweet, refreshing, and always seems to clear my mind. That’s the moment when I realized that it was too late. Another flash illuminated the abyss which had almost completely consumed the sky above now, then emerged a ball of flames from within the dark that partially extinguished as the prevailing winds crossed its descent.
Our unit's hover-copter plummeted into concrete below, the insignia of our team consumed by the flames of its own explosion. I looked back up into the dark as silence followed what had happened, I felt them… staring back.
“It was supposed to rain.” I said to myself as I stared up in traumatic confusion. "Why isn't it raining?"
Dozens of more flames broke through the barrier of black, I froze as the chaos before me unraveled. I watched helplessly as the fire fell.
That’s when it occurred to me, I had been here several times before. Why did this all seem off? It raised the hair on the back of my neck, I stared for what seemed several minutes into the dark clouds above as they came closer. It was all wrong, the lurking dark and the rumbles of the storm. But that wasn't what really got me, my teeth gritted as I tried to figure it out. Then it came to me, the smell…
They always smirked when I told them I could smell the rain, but there is a subtle musk which it brings. It’s earthy and sweet, refreshing, and always seems to clear my mind. That’s the moment when I realized that it was too late. Another flash illuminated the abyss which had almost completely consumed the sky above now, then emerged a ball of flames from within the dark that partially extinguished as the prevailing winds crossed its descent.
Our unit's hover-copter plummeted into concrete below, the insignia of our team consumed by the flames of its own explosion. I looked back up into the dark as silence followed what had happened, I felt them… staring back.
“It was supposed to rain.” I said to myself as I stared up in traumatic confusion. "Why isn't it raining?"
Dozens of more flames broke through the barrier of black, I froze as the chaos before me unraveled. I watched helplessly as the fire fell.
