I felt my eyes staring at his convulsing body. His limbs were wiggling around as if they were full of life, yet his facial expression looked lifeless. I could hear a chorus of gasps from all around me; no one seemed to know what to do. I wanted to go outside and hold his hand, tell him it would be okay. But it was too late for the poor soul. After all, however kind spirited I am, I don't think I'd risk going out there to save a stranger.

I stood amongst the crowd in silence for what felt like a few minutes. The man lay still now beneath the dark starry sky. The sky that was twinkling with bright flashing lights just twenty minutes ago was back to being its usual dark self. It was a scary occurrence that none of us had witnessed before, and therefore we had no experience on knowing what to do. I wondered why this was happening and whether or not we were the only country that was experiencing it. I let my mind wander, imagining this was only happening to Scotland, and it was aliens coming down to kidnap us all. Slowly, country by country, they'd take everyone to their planet and take over Earth. I wanted to laugh at my stupidity, but my current situation wouldn't allow me to laugh in the slightest.

My mum stared blankly at the man, her bottom lip curled more than usual. Her emerald eyes didn't have their usual shine. Instead they were dull. Her hands jittered around, looking as though she didn't know what to do with herself. Poppy noticed this and took my mum's hand in hers. My best friend cast a concerned expression towards me, and just then Joanne made an appearance. Her face was red and shiny with sweat, her golden brown fringe matted to her forehead. She opened her mouth to speak but couldn't stop panting.

"What is it mum? Where have you been all of this time? Did you see what happened to that poor man?" Poppy bombarded her with questions, not giving her a chance to start speaking.

"I was in the office with the security guard. Once he shouted it was 'safe' again and the connections were back up, I wanted to check the news to see if any warnings were issued and to check satellite websites to try and find out what was going on. We saw what happened to the gentleman on the CCTV camera. I'm afraid it was unfortunate. Being impatient gets you nowhere."

"So, do you know what's going on?" my mum murmured, looking more awake since Joanne appeared.

"There hasn't been anything on the news about it yet. But there were warnings an hour before it happened, telling everyone to take shelter because there was unidentified action going on in the atmosphere. That's all we know," Joanne reported, sounding like an FBI agent.

"So, what do we do now?" Poppy asked sounding exhausted.

"I don't have a clue. It should be safe to go outside now, but I don't know for sure," Joanne sighed.

"So, what happened with that man who ventured outside?" my mum asked.

"The security guard said he thought the flashing lights had something to do with electrical forces, so maybe he was electrocuted."

We waited around for quite a while longer. No one dared to go outside. A woman suggested throwing an object outside to see what would happen to it. She dug to the bottom of her handbag and brought out a hairbrush and a metal key ring. Everyone cleared a path for her to get through; she walked slowly as if she were anticipating something big. The silent room enabled us to hear the deep breath she took as she grabbed the door handle. She tossed the items outside together and quickly slammed the door shut, stepping aside to watch through the glass door. Every single person crammed inside of the arcade was watching. But nothing happened. The hairbrush tumbled a few feet on the ground, and the key ring landed with a chime and stayed there.

A cloud of relief fell upon everyone. The next step was for someone to step outside and see if it was safe for humans. The whole situation felt unrealistic as if it were all a nightmare. The young lady who opened the door slipped her coat on, turned around, and smiled at those who were standing around her. She may have been smiling, but we could all see it wasn't a happy smile. It was an 'I'm taking one for the team and risking my life here' kind of smile. She grabbed the door handle once again. I watched her hold her breath as she went to open the door.

"Wait!" a man standing next to the door called.

Everyone's eyes diverted to the old man who had shouted.

"Let me go outside," he said softly to the young lady. He walked over to her, slowly using his walking stick for support. "You're too young; you have too much ahead of you to take this risk. I've lived a happy life, and I'm grateful for that," he said to her, rubbing her shoulder and smiling up at her.

The woman looked as though she wanted to protest, but she was left speechless. Everyone applauded the man, showing their gratitude towards his braveness and generosity.

I felt guilty for letting the old man go out there alone as he struggled to walk with his walking stick. Someone opened the door for him, and he walked closer and closer to the door. He smiled at the young lady one last time and then placed his right foot outside. His left foot shortly followed as he pulled his walking stick along with him. The gentleman holding the door let it slowly close by itself. Everyone's eyes were glued on the brave old man, secretly praying he would make it to his car safely.

Step after step he walked slowly but steadily towards the car park. To our surprise a car drove past the car park at a speedy pace. The old man turned and faced the windows which we were all staring out of; he put his thumb up at us all and gave the biggest smile.

Everyone instantly cheered, cheering for the kind man and cheering that we were safe to leave this crammed building at last. A few people rushed towards the door, walking slowly once they were outside, placing each foot on the ground with care. After walking a few metres, they stormed on towards their cars as if nothing had happened. We waited amongst the crowd, and eventually it came to our turn to leave. The old man was still standing outside the arcade, talking to a big group of people.

"Thank you! You are one very kind and brave man," Joanne said, pushing her way to the front of the group of people.

"Let's go home at last," my mum said as we walked towards the car.

"Are you going to ring Joseph to come and pick us up?" Joanne asked my mum, which instantly made me worry about my dad being home alone with this whole situation going on.

"I'll just drive us?" my mum asked with a questioning face.

"I don't think that's going to be possible..." Joanne stated, pointing at the smashed window screen on our car.

"Oh..." my mum sighed. She stared at the smashed glass as tears began to well inside of her eyes.

"Hey, don't get upset! It's going to be alright. Come on. I'll ring Joseph and explain everything. Why don't you go and sit over there on the bench with the girls?" Joanne reassured her, giving her a hug and wiping away her tears.

Poppy and I both took my mother's hand and led her to sit down. I could see that her face had turned pale beneath the street lamp. The situation made me feel rather anxious. My mum wasn't usually a worrier. It is normally her telling me that everything is going to be okay. But I knew I had to be strong for her sake.

Standing near the car, Joanne called my dad; she was too far away, however, for me to hear what she was saying. She waved her arms dramatically in the air and then suddenly threw her outspread hand to her heart. I could feel my mum beginning to breathe faster and faster. I wanted to tell her that everything was going to be alright, but I was not sure it was going to be...

He arrived within half an hour, meaning he didn't follow the speed limits in the slightest. We decided on getting my mum's car towed home tomorrow, so we all climbed into my dad's car instead.

I kept finding myself staring hopelessly at the dark starry sky. I feared it would flood with bright lights once again. Curiosity fired within me, burning my conscience of what we could be facing in the next twenty seven days.

The car journey dragged on. Everyone was silent and looked exhausted. We were tightly packed together in my dad's five seater Citroën. Joanne, Poppy, and I sat in the back, none of us bothering to make conversation. Joanne slouched against the window, lost in a daydream. Poppy didn't argue about having to sit in the middle seat today for the first time ever. She slumped over my shoulder as quiet as a mouse. The silence was deafening. Especially with Poppy in the car, when Poppy is quiet that's when you know something is seriously wrong.

I longed for a conversation to break out, preferably on a cheerful topic. The silence made me think, and I didn't want to think. Not about the day I had experienced anyway. But it was hard to think about anything else.

The day had started off so well, despite the news article. We had eaten my favourite breakfast and planned an exciting day. We had gone to the drive in cinema and had decided on going to our favourite pizza place. But it was all ruined. Ruined by what? By dramatic news reports that were trying to scare us, and us being gullible enough to believe it. That's all it was. It had to be. I knew it. Or maybe I was too stubborn to believe otherwise.

Before I knew it, we were parked outside of Joanne and Poppy's homely cottage. I always wished we lived in a house like theirs, but it would be too cosy for the four of us. Flowers spiralled around vines covering the walls. It was so beautiful you could have mistaken it for an abstract painting. There wasn't another house around for at least two miles; fields engulfed the pretty cottage from all angles. It must get a little lonely at times, but at least they'd never have to complain about noisy neighbours.

We murmured goodbyes and watched them miserably walk through the front door. My dad put the car into gear and sped off, causing my neck to harshly jerk forward. It reminded me of the throbbing pain I felt in my head earlier.

The reminder made me wonder if the small cut on my mum's face hurt. I wanted to know if my dad saw the lights, and what he did, but I was too tired to ask.

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Authors Note: Here's the next instalment of 30 Days To Say Goodbye, I hope you enjoy it!

Questions of the chapter: Any guesses of what the lights could be? Do you think the flashing lights could be seen worldwide or just by some countries? What are your thoughts on the characters so far?

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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