Dark Skies
(A long overdue rewrite of an essay written in Mrs. Poland's 11th grade   
English class.)


The autumn winds blew cool from the north. The clouds were gray and 
threatening. As I sped my way across town, I could hear the leaves dancing 
on the sidewalks. Here and there, I felt tiny droplets of rain on my face.

I quickened my bicycle's pace as the town clock struck the 45-minute 
chime. I didn't want to be late for school. The smells of warm bread from 
the bakery distracted me. But, breakfast would have to wait. 

I was halfway to my destination when terror struck. At first, I thought it 
was a thunderclap. But, then another came, then another, then one more. It 
wasn't thunder.

From the west came a sight that I feared for many years. Planes roared in 
the sky, wave after wave came with hell's fire. My sleepy little village 
exploded into flames. People rushed about aimlessly, and children cried 
out in fear. It was chaos.

The planes started to dive toward our home, machine guns firing. Bullets 
slice through wood, stone, and flesh. Nightmarish images surrounded me. 
There was a flash, and I flew over the handle rails. I lay stunned, my 
head buzzing. It was too much to comprehend.

I heard the squeal of the bomber as they dove down upon us, bombs ripping 
craters in the square. Smoke was everywhere. When I could listen, there 
were the cries of children, weeping of the women, and men crying out in 
pain and terror. There was an orange kitten, eyes wide in panic, racing 
across the street. It was an eternity in hell.

Recovering, I scrambled to a doorway hoping for shelter. Suddenly, the 
roar from the heavens ceased. The planes continued toward the east. They 
had softened their foe for the mechanized ground monster with their rapine 
human hordes.

For a moment, there was silence. Then the rains came. It seemed an attempt 
to wash away the horrors. As hard as it poured down, there was no 
cleansing on that day. The streets wouldn't be clean for many years. War 
came to my land and left its scars on the country and its people.