Elena Crawford glanced at her phone, going through many social media articles about strange happenings in the city. Birds fall worthless from clear skies. Puppies wail non-stop throughout the night. The lake has been draining one inch every day for the past week.
"Earth to Elena!" Sofia waved her palm in front of Elena's face, almost knocking over her untouched cappuccino. "you have been zoning out for the beyond five minutes."
They sat at their customary corner table at Rosewood Café, where they had taken numerous lunch breaks over the previous three years. The autumn breeze carried the aroma of pumpkin spice and fresh pastries through the open home windows.
"Sorry, just got caught up in these bizarre reports," Elena tucked her cellphone away, attempting to shake off the unsettling sensation in her intestine. "have you noticed whatever abnormal lately?"
Sofia rolled her eyes and took a mouthful of her sandwich. "You advise, besides Mark from accounting, asking Jenny out? "This is apocalyptic."
"I am extreme. Something feels odd. Elena ran her fingers through her dark hair, a habit she had developed whenever she felt anxious. The morning news reported unusual seismic activity in areas where earthquakes had never occurred previously.
"you have been looking too many catastrophe movies." Sofia checked her watch. "Speaking of screw-ups, we should head lower back. "The quarterly record meeting begins in twenty."
As they grabbed their belongings, a sharp burst of wind rocked the café windows. Elena looked outside. Despite the expectation of clear skies for the entire week, the sky has darkened. A flock of crows circled overhead, their caws eerily synchronized.
"It is new," Sofia whispered as she followed Elena's gaze.
The café door chimed, and Elena grew to notice a person entering, shaking leaves from his jacket. Their eyes met briefly, his a strange shade of gray that reminded her of storm clouds. He gave a nice grin before approaching the counter.
"Now it's the kind of disaster I wouldn't have imagined," Sofia said, nudging Elena. "He has been coming here for more than a week. "Continuously orders an Americano with no sugar.
"you've got been stalking the clients again?"
"watching. There may be a difference.
When the person looked their way again, Elena felt a strange jolt, as if static power was jogging through her frame. He seemed familiar in some manner, even though she was positive they had never met. His presence triggered something in her mind--a memory that did not previously exist.
"I've seen him somewhere before," Elena said.
"Yes, every day this week. "I simply told you that."
"No, elsewhere..." Elena frowned, unable to absorb the fleeting sensation. It slipped like smoke through her arms.
The stroll back to the office felt unique these days. The town sounds were muffled, as if the entire area had become submerged. Humans raced forward, heads bowed and shoulders tense. Elena's skin moved slowly in response to an ominous music played on a violin by an avenue artist.
Elena was unable to regain consciousness after returning to her desk. Her computer display screen blurred as she peered at spreadsheets, her thoughts drifting to the unusual weather, the animals, and the people with grey eyes in the café. The air felt electrified, precisely like the moment before lightning moved.
Her phone vibrated with an information alert: "Scientists Baffled by International Animal Behavior Changes." Under it, another story caught her eye: "Lack of people cases increase by 200 percent worldwide."
Rumble caused her coffee mug to vibrate. No one else seemed to notice, too preoccupied with their paintings or workplace gossip. Elena put her palm against her desk, feeling a diffuse trembling.
The office lighting fixtures flashed, and Elena saw something inconceivable. The dividers rippled like linen in the wind, offering glimpses of darkness behind them. She blinked and everything returned to normal.
"hi there, want to seize dinner after work?" Sofia's message appeared on her display. "That new Thai place subsequently opened."
Elena started typing an answer as her screen flashed. For a 2D breakup, she stuck her mirrored picture, but something went wrong. The face peering back wasn't wearing her blue shirt. It wore a ripped, bleeding jacket that she had never seen before. The reflection's eyes were haunting, filled with knowledge Elena lacked.
She blinked and saw her usual reflection again.
Domestic force felt longer than typical. Visitors crawled as humans stared at the unusual cloud patterns above the metropolis. They swirled in unfathomable patterns, like ink spilled into water. Elena's radio continued switching stations on its own, with snippets of emergency announcements interspersed with static.
Even while her condo welcomed her with familiar familiarity, something felt odd. Luna, her cat that usually slept on the windowsill, walked restlessly, tail puffed up. The images on her partitions were distinct in some way, with scarcely altered faces and smiles that were slightly too big.
"what's wrong, girl?" Elena reached for Luna, but she growled and fled beneath the sofa, a move she had never done previously.
Elena organized dinner while the nightly news droned on in the background. Extraneous phenomenon. Missing persons reports are up 40% this month. Digital failures throughout the city. A scientist attempted to explain the unusual climate styles but stopped in mid-sentence, staring off-camera with wide eyes.
Her cellphone flashed up with a text from an unknown source: "black clouds collect. "Recall the café."
Elena looked at the letter, her heart beating. The range disappeared from her screen before she could answer.
Every single tremor rattled her apartment, but this one was far greater. Car alarms shrieked in the distance. Luna yowled from her hiding place. The lights pulsed, and Elena swears she saw shadows moving across the walls in the brief darkness between glints.
She hurried to the window. The spiral clouds now formed an outstanding circle over downtown, with the center darker than night. As she looked, a flare of crimson light flashed through the gloom. The air felt thick and heavy with capacity force.
Her cellphone vibrated once more. Sofia.
"Do you see this? "Activate channel 7!"
Elena scrambled for her far-flung. The broadcast showed thousands gathering downtown and pointing to the sky. The reporter's voice shook as she described the incident. The camera panned, and Elena's breath became caught.
The café patron stood there. However, in contrast to his previous carefree approach, his countenance bore a look of deadly determination. He peered at the camera, his grey eyes seeming to penetrate through the screen. His lips moved, producing statements that the microphone did not capture, but Elena understood by trick or crook.
"i'm sorry we failed once more."
The TV signal went off.
In the unexpected calm, Elena heard Luna stop pacing. The car alarms halted. Even the breeze died. The arena held its breath.
Her phone flashed up one last time. Identical unknown number:
"The day after today does not come. However, the day that passed repeated."
The floor began to quake.
Elena looked from her window as a crack of violet light pierced through the sky above downtown. And at that instant, she remembered everything that had not yet transpired.
The following day became too late.