D A Y   O N E

I woke up in a sudden panic. I instantly knew something was wrong, as I felt the beads of sweat accumulate on my forehead. My breathing sped up to a rapid pace. I felt paralysed with fear. I lay still as my eyes spun around the room, trying to search out the movement. I heard it before I felt it. The rumbling grew louder. At first I had no idea what was going on, I never thought I'd be in this situation. It's a disaster I always saw on the news, yet never imagined it happening to me.

The ornaments on my window sill rattled nosily, jumping energetically, plonking and rolling further and further towards the edge. The antique headboard on my bed rattled fiercely, which made me shake with terror. I lie still, not knowing what to do as I watched my bedroom floor vibrate for what felt like forever. When the rush of sound suddenly came to a halt, I realised just how tight I had been hanging on to the edge of my bed, my knuckles bright white and my fingers numb. My heart felt like it was going to explode. Had it finally stopped?

I slowly sat up, cautiously looking around. I took one foot from underneath the bed sheets, as I placed it on the cold floor a shiver raced up my spine. Just as I had begun to catch my breath, I saw from the corner of my eye that the  curtains had suddenly started to swing furiously. I let out a cry, wanting it to end.

I heard the tell-tale clonking of my father's slippers on the soft carpet that covered the upstairs hallway. The white-painted wooden door slammed open, which in turn hit the wooden bed post at the bottom of the bed. My father followed suit of the door, he nearly tripped over his feet trying to get into my bedroom. I was relieved to see him.

"Are you alright?" he shouted over the still raging storm outside with a calm urgency. He slowly took in the room, and moved over to my window to shut it closed. The bed started to once again quake...

"What's going on?" I shrieked, my eyes filled up with tears.

"It'll be over in no time, don't worry." He said, looking around my room. "It amazes me how your mum is still asleep; we've always known she's been a deep sleeper but sleeping through this!" He said trying to let out a light chuckle, he always lived up to his humorous personality even in difficult situations.

I sat quietly. I watched my desk sway from side to side, causing my sparkly pen pot to fall over and launch its contents all over the floor. I gulped; as I counted the seconds pass by on the clock. One more sudden shake which caused another crash of a priceless object on a shelf and it was over.

I sat weary for a few minutes wondering if it would start again, but thankfully it didn't. I stood up and walked towards the window, my knees were weak, they could barely hold my weight, making my balance was uneven. I drew back the curtains slowly, fearful of the damage that the earthquake might have caused.

"What's the damage?" My dad whispered in a small voice. He could not see through the small parting of the thick bland curtains from where he was perched on my bed

"Surprisingly not much. All the bins have blown over, scattering all the rubbish on the ground. A few thin trees are swaying more to one side than normal. But that's it; it mustn't have been a very powerful earthquake, but it sure felt powerful" I muttered.

"It did, well obviously not to your mum who is still snoring oblivious to the fact of what is going on. It'll be all over the news any minute now, I bet" he said, standing up from my bed.

-

I was glad I didn't work on Wednesdays; I have more on my mind to worry about, than whether or not people were getting the right type of chips they had ordered. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, its lovely meeting new people every day and smelling such delicious food all day long. But it isn't a normal occurrence that I experience an earthquake, in fact not normal at all for where I live...

I picked up the ornaments that had fallen onto floor; thankfully only one of them had smashed. I carefully picked up the smashed pieces of pottery, cradling each part in my hand. What used to be a Peter Rabbit ornament given to me by my great grandma Adeline was now a handful of shattered memories.

I decided to get ready instead of mooching around in my pyjamas like I normally do when I'm off work. I searched through my wardrobe; my hands ran across all the soft luscious fabrics, stopping on my favourite checked flannel shirt. I picked out some jeans that matched and reached for my black suede ankle boots, which I kept on the top shelf of my wardrobe, so my cat Jasper doesn't have the opportunity to decorate them in his pearly white fur.

After I changed out of my pyjamas I turned to face the long framed mirror which hung on my wall. My jet black hair looked wild, it sprung out at all angles making me look as though I had been electrocuted. Electrocuted with fear maybe. I usually wore floral clothes; however that day I fancied a change. I had always enjoyed wearing dressy smart clothes, but every now and again everyone enjoys a 'comfy clothes' day. I stared at my face, which was looking paler than ever. My petite hazel eyes didn't out as bright as they usually did; I assumed it was because I didn't have any make-up on, the pearly bronze eyeshadow I usually wear contrasts my eyes well highlighting them against my other features.

Once I felt presentable I left my room and went downstairs to get some late breakfast, picking up my phone from my desk on my way out. I checked all the cupboards, and decided to have cereal since I couldn't be bothered to go to the shop for eggs. It was already nearly dinnertime and I felt as though I had wasted enough of the day already.

Whilst finishing the last of my soggy cornflakes I sent my best friend Poppy a text to ask her if she wanted to meet up for coffee later.

"Charlotte!" I heard my dad shout from the living room, waking me from my daze.

I quickly shoveled the last mouthful down and then walked swiftly to the living room, wondering what all the shouting was about.

"The news report about the earthquake is about to come on." He said sitting back comfortably in his chair next to my mum who was doing a crossword on her iPad.

The familiar melody of the news filled my ears, which grabbed my attention. Looking up I saw a very serious looking woman, shuffling her papers and giving an intense stare into the camera before beginning. I quickly sat down on the sofa next to my parents, and Jasper scrambled onto my knee.

"Good afternoon. Today's main topic is about the number of mysterious weather occurrences that The United Kingdom has faced in the past twenty-four hours. Firstly, in Ireland starting just before midnight torrential rains began, making officials question whether their flood defences were in good tact. Unfortunately, they are about to find out. The rain is yet to come to an end; our thoughts are with those who are enduring this strange occurrence. Slightly more concerning, over in Scotland-"

"Oh here we go!" Dad exclaimed.

"Shush then if you want to hear it!" Mum grumbled, still looking half asleep.

"-an earthquake took place at around 10am this morning. It was calculated as 4.9 on the Richter scale, which is classed as a mild earthquake. Luckily it chased very minimal damage in the surrounding areas." She took a short pause, breathing out excessively, looking as though she was scanning around her.

"The world is going to end in just thirty days starting today! It was said not to be broadcasted due to the panic it would cause, scientist Dr Austin Reed has supported evidence to prove-" Someone suddenly rushed behind the terrified looking news reporter, as the cameras crackled and shut down, leaving us with a fuzzy grey screen.

We all exchanged glances, as I felt my throat tighten. I couldn't get rid of the image of the terror in that poor woman's eyes. What will happen to her now? I suddenly thought it must have been a prank...

It hit me a few seconds later about what she had actually said, "the world is going to end in just thirty days starting today." I looked at my dad; his eyebrows closely knitted together, as he breathed heavily, the colour draining from his face. My mum had dropped the iPad on her knee, her hand still hovering over the button, shakily.

I gulped, feeling my throat getting tighter and tighter. "That can't be true?"

"It can't possibly be." My mum answered, looking unsure of her reply.

"That poor woman." My dad muttered.

"She was trying to save us, warn us of something that has been wrongly kept from us..." I said, letting my mind drift away.

"Don't jump to conclusions, she might not have been telling the truth." My mum said sternly, her voice filled with confidence.

"Why would she make something like that up? Why would she look so terrified? Why would she risk losing her job over making up a lie? Why did the cameras shut down so quickly?" I asked, before I had time to think about what I was saying.

The only thought that rushed through my mind was, I have thirty days to live.

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Authors Note:  After writing and rewriting this story for the past however many years I'm finally going to do this, I'm determined and I have it all planned out, wish me luck! :) A huge thanks to CatherineRobinson for editing this chapter!

My highlight of the chapter: I liked how Charlotte's mum slept through the earthquake; I think it added an element of humour to a scary situation.

Questions of the chapter: Do you think everyone is going to believe the world is ending? What do you think will happen to the news reporter? What would you do if you only had thirty days left to live?

Don't forget to show your support through leaving feedback, so I know whether or not you're enjoying it. Thanks for reading! Don't forget to add 30 Days To Say Goodbye to your library to receive update notifications! :)

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