Blood Moon Rising

Just as they approached the first doorway inside the coffee shop, the earth began to tremble beneath their feet.

“Oh shit !”  Rebecca cried out.

B.J. could see the panic in Rebeccas face.

“Here, stand in the doorway and brace yourself.” He took Rebeccas hands and placed them against the door jambs with his hands just above hers.

The ground trembled for less than a minute, just as it slowed, Rebecca let out a sigh of relief. All of a sudden, a single, powerful jolt nearly brought both of them to their knees. A blinding flash of the whitest light came from nowhere and was gone in an instant.

They stood silent for a moment, until Rebecca took her hands away from the door, turning to face B.J..

“What the hell was that ?”

B.J. was dazed. He had never felt such a quake. When he spoke, it was almost a mumble.  Rebecca leaned closer to hear what he was saying.

“There was no noise, no rumble. Any earthquake I’ve ever been in had a low rumble. The light must have been a transformer blowing.”

Rebecca was looking back into the coffee shop as she listened to B.J.. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

“B.J..” She said his name a couple of times before he turned to see what she was staring at.

Behind the counter, stood the manager and his wife. At one of the tables, three people sat, one with a cup in his hand ready to take a drink. But no one was moving, as if time stood still. For them, it was standing still. B.J. and Rebecca walked towards the counter. There was no movement from the manager or his wife. No blinking eyes, no inhaling, no exhaling. They looked like mannequins It was the same with the other customers. It was then, that Rebecca noticed something else.

“It’s so quiet. It’s too quiet.” Rebecca said.

There were no sounds coming from anywhere. No hum of a refrigerator or air conditioner, although, the lights were still on so there must have been power.

“This is really creeping me out B.J..”

“No kidding, lets get out of here, something else doesn’t feel right.” B.J. took Rebeccas hand , pulling her to the front door.

“What ? What else doesn’t feel right ?” That was a stupid question, Rebecca thought to herself. Nothing feels right !

At the front door, Rebecca and B.J. stood, stunned by what they were seeing on the other side. Cars did not move, nor did the passing shoppers. Overhead even the seagulls were frozen in mid flight. The sunny day turned amber in hue. B.J. started to open the door when Rebecca grabbed his arm.

“Do you think we should go out there ?”

“I think we should. We need to find out what’s going on, and we should stay together. Don’t let go of my hand.” B.J. pushed open the door and they both stepped out. Taking a look at the still world around them, B.J. looked toward the water as they walked past the other shops. Rebecca peered into store windows as they passed, hoping to see movement. In the pet store window, even a cute little kitten was frozen in mid jump as it played with another kitten.

“The air is different, it feels...thick and damp, it smells funny too.” Rebecca couldn’t take her eyes from the sky. Just a few minutes ago, there was sun. Now the entire sky was a deep amber, no sun could be seen. Rebecca licked her lips. “Salt ! That’s it  ! It smells like salt !”

“Come this way.” B.J. said. When they reached the end of the sidewalk, Rebecca diverted her attention from the sky to what was ahead of them.