It was a warm summer afternoon, the sun giving it's blessed warmth around her family, Tarna and four boys are playing with two adults. The Man, soft Dark Hair, wide smile on his face was throwing the youngest up while making baby cooing noises, the woman played catch with the oldest, while the twin boys run around trying in a game of catch, it was all laughs and the mood was happy, a family having a picnic deep in the woods.
Tarna looks to the side at the nearby lake, it's glassy look reflecting the Sun overhead, it was a perfect day. She felt something wet pour all over her, she could feel the hot spray stick to her hair, her blouse and most of her, she glanced at her hands and the wetness reveals itself as blood, she stared in shock as she looks at her hands, her seven year old mind working feverishly to understand what is happening. She looks up to where the man is, directly in front of her and sees the disembodied remnant of his body, she screams as the perfect picnic becomes a scene out of nightmare, right there in the grass clearing are two oversized wolf like creatures, each as large as a bear, one silver streaked with black lashing out at the other pitch black, their fight tossing about the bodies of the twins around like broken plastic dolls, more wolf-like creatures lope into the clearing and darkness covers her.
Tarna wakes up on her bed, sweating as If she had run a marathon as a dash, she reaches under her pillow and brings out her phone, it's five-fifty am, she leans back on her pillow to shake the last of sleep off her, she's had this dream before, never so vivid as today tho. She reminds herself " School starts in a few hours".
"How I hate Mondays" she says to herself.
Getting and preparing for school seems automatic to her now, laying her bed, brushing her teeth, taking a shower, brushing her red hair. She was proud of her hair.
A soft knock sounds on her room door and Mum puts her head in.
"Your getting ready dear? Breakfast is ready"
"I'll be down in a minute" Tarna replies between packing her hair with a ribbon at the base of her neck.
She takes her bag and climbs down the stairs to join at the Breakfast Table.
Dad looks immaculate in his bright blue suit, his handsome square face with a slight growth of a beard making him look more like a handy man rather than the Director in a multi media Company.One hand on his phone and another making short work of the breakfast in front of him, he pauses while eating and smiles at her. This is one of her favorite parts of the day.
"So how's my little angel"," sleep well?" " You look beautiful dear"
"Doesn't she look beautiful Karen" he turns to ask mum
" I slept fine Dad, I like the suit " He smiles.
After Breakfast Dad, Drives Tarna to her school since it's along his way to work. They talk a little on the drive, about the weather, the policies the government is pushing, their neighbor Mrs Tod who seems to get a new cat every month.
" Come back home early, Love you Angel" Dad finishes as he drives off, she remembers she used to stop and watch him drive off when she was younger but now, at age fifteen with just one more year at high school she prances up the stairs.
The long passage way where the students lockers are is filled with so much noise which can only be the combined voices of tens of students. She hasn't walked a few steps when Sarah joins up with her, " Hi Redhead" she says " Hi Brownie" Tarna replies. Pet names are awesome between close friends. They walk hand in hand down to their classes, science practical happens to be the first, Being in the same class rocks.
Ring...Ring..., Closing Bell sounds and students rush out smiling hearty, happy to leave school at the end of the day.
Sarah relates to Tarna about her new neighbor.
" And he plays loud music when his car comes back" "mum thinks he is a drug dealer, all the curling hair and he looks drunk all the time" "every other night he's with a different girl" "Dad says he's just passing through his youthful years, he wants him to enjoy himself before the " real world dawns on him"
Tarna has always enjoyed Sarah's outburst, she could make a completely ordinary story vivid and interest catching, Before they had gone a block they were both laughing at her clumsy Neighbor's friend.
Bang...Bang.., the sound coming from a few blocks ahead is unmistakable gunshots, both girls stare ahead as people began to run from that direction. " Go away from here, it's dangerous" the man in the brown suit follows his own advice, people scramble away from their normal walking path and Sarah and Tarna follow the man's advice.
After walking two blocks past in the other direction they began to hear sirens in the distance, a few Police cars sped by them in the same direction of the gunshots.
" Let's turn here, we can take the another way around, in fact I think this route is shorter". Sarah whips out her phone to consult the k-map app.
" What do you suppose was happening up the street?" Ask Tarna
" I couldn't see anything, maybe one of those mass shooters" she shivers.
"There would have been more shots I think, chase bank Is that way maybe it's a bank robbery, "
her voice is tinged with a mix of fear and excitement.
They turn down another street moving into a narrow lane in between two buildings
At the end of the street is a little field doted with slings and slides. Some children and Adults playing with them.
They both relax visibly and sigh, then turn to each other and laugh, each one of them was pretending not to be afraid but the sight of this normalcy made them relax when they didn't know they were tense.
They take the next block and see another narrow lane, this time Tarna takes the lead winking at Sarah to show she wasn't afraid.