Lolita turned towards the voice behind her. She smiled softly with her eyes when she saw the newcomer. The girl had her hands in her black cargo pants pockets. She sported a few interesting facial piercings.
Lolita turned back towards the canyon. She couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen. She wasn't ignoring Elena, her best friend, on purpose. Elena had quit her job just to visit Lolita's estranged, and now dead, father's estate located in the Arizona desert.
Lolita couldn't quite look Elena in the eyes, she had a lot on her mind. She mused quietly, "..Eelie, thank you..you see that, that couch? It doesn't feel like it belongs here, it looks so clean." Lolita was still holding her notepad and the colored yellow pencils she had used for her drawing, and she realized she was clenching her fists. The couch was indeed glossy and out of place since everything else around it had a very notable layer of dust hibernating on it's surface.
Elena laughed, "I think it certainly doesn't belong here its ugly as sin, almost matches your backpack," she glanced inside at Lolita's yellow backpack on the floor, "actually I think it matches your backpack perfectly."
Elena shrugged and walked closer to Lolita, "Your backpack is cute though, just like you! I love what the locals have done to the place, looks like they had one stellar banger of a party," she said, pointing at the pool long since empty, but was full of beer cans and various forms of trash.
Lolita still stood in blank silence. Elena was always very animated, Lolita appreciated her demeanor at all times…but always had problems talking when she was emotional. She had been cursed with a stutter for as long as she could remember.
Elena still looked at her expectantly, unphased by the situation. Elena sighed loudly and uprighted a nearby patio chair to sit down in.
Lolita finally looked at Elena, "I..I..uh, I am glad you came. This would be so much har-hard-er without-t-t you here," she stuttered out her words.
Lolita's stutter did not go unnoticed by her best friend. "Lolly, calm down. Id rather be here than at that crappy store. This is great!" Elena looked around, "although, we clearly have some work to fix this place up, ha! I don't know how to fix glass walls though, thank goodness we have Devin .. we can ask him for help." Elena stares straight at Lolita with a big, happy smile, hoping to cheer her up.
Lolita frowned and looked cautiously at Elena, raising her eyebrow, "Who is Devin?" she asked, then suddenly felt another dizzying and odd vibration within herself.
Suddenly, the most unexpected force of nature exploded from the distant sands. An earthquake jolted through the ground. Lolita didn't have time to react and sat stunned with her mouth hanging open.
Lolita's doe like brown eyes widened in horror as earth fissures emerged in the horizon, and one, two, three.. four tornadoes roared into existence from the immense cracks in the ground. The wind howled menacingly as twisted shadows whirled around like vultures waiting for their prey. Lolita realized that these violent forces foreboded an apocalypse-like situation. But when she glanced around, it appeared that no one else could see it except for her because Elena Piazzio - 'Eelie', her oldest friend – had vanished.
Believing her life was in danger; Lolita ran away from the scene - but not without calling for Elena.
"Eelie!! Elena!?" she screamed out as she ploughed through the ornate front door to her father's house. She was running as fast as she could from the unbelievable occurrence and Elena was no where to be found.