Writing Challenge - And The Skies Went Black

I had felt off all day, but I couldn't put my finger on why. I got up and went to work, the same as I always did. And I went to the cafe across from my office building for lunch, another normal occurrence for me. But it wasn't until I was leaving work that things got strange.

It had been 3 o'clock in the afternoon and I had been headed to my car after getting out of work. I had been fumbling with my keys, when I heard a scream from behind me.

Whirling around, I saw one of my co-workers, Mary, standing by her car. There was no-one around her so I was just about to open my mouth, when my eyes glanced upwards. I strangled back my own scream as I saw the sun go pitch black, with the skies following.

I clutched my keys and flung myself into my car before things went totally black. For a moment, it seemed like all the lights in the world had gone out with the light of the sun. I struggled to get my key into ignition and turned it to start my car.

It roared to life, and I hurriedly turned on my headlights. The stream of light illuminated Mary, who was laying across the hood of her car. I paused for just a moment, as my heart raced and my brain told me to get the hell out of there.

I jumped out of my car, making sure to leave it on and ran across the lot to Mary. It was apparent before I even got to her, that she was dead. There were large tears all over her body and her clothes were becoming red as the blood seeped into them.

I turned and ran as fast as I could back to my car. But I hadn't gone more than a few steps when the lights on my car flickered and died. I was plunged back into total darkness. I continued to make my way back to where I thought my car was, slowing down considerably even though I had the nearly overpowering urge to just run.

Time seemed to stop in the endless darkness and I tried to listen hard for danger. But it seemed like all the sound had been turned off as well because I didn't hear anything. But I felt it when something that felt like razors sliced through my back.

I fell to the ground, writhing in pain. "Help me," I cried, "Help me!" But my words seemed to be swallowed away into the void of the darkness. The attack continued, but the pain seemed to start to ebb away as the overwhelming urge to close my eyes came over me. I finally subcomed, slipping away into the darkness.

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For the IndieInk Writing Challenge this week, Kelly Garriott Waite challenged me with "The sun winked out and the skies went black. What happens next?" and I challenged Liz Culver with "The toddler and the kitten"