Another normal day. A little freakish weather perhaps - but this is Britain. It is completely expected to experience rain and hail and blazing sunshine in the same day. Still, now, although early on a summer's evening, it really was quite dark. Though the sun was still shining, I predicted another rain storm.
I was cooking in the kitchen in the small flat I called my home when darkness descended. Instinctively, I turned the gas off the hob, and walked closer to the window. Outside it was raining heavily, and the sky had turned a crimson-gold colour. I felt a shiver travel down my spine. Something was wrong.
I picked up my phone and saw it flash with updates on Facebook timelines. It seemed the rest of the world had not failed to observe the strange weather and the colour of the sky. Some speculated that the end of the world was nigh. I rolled my eyes and shoved my phone in my pocket. Despite this, I really felt the need to speak to someone face to face. So we could both laugh about the weather together.
I pulled open the front door of my flat and stepped into the passageway. The stripped lighting above me was flickering - it was always doing that, to be honest. I thought I heard a noise, but I couldn't see anyone approaching. It was then that I felt the strange sensation. It hit me somewhere behind my knees and at once I fell, face down, on the floor.
Rather than feeling fear, I was unable to feel anything but curiosity. I didn't try to get up, but I knew that I shouldn't, or maybe that I couldn't? And then the floor below me tilted downwards slightly, so that it was on a slant. And my body, slowly, began to slide across the floor. At this point the only thing I dared move was my eyes. And as I slowly slid downwards, and came closer to the wall, I could see round the corner the parlaysed bodies of my neighbours, also slowly sliding downwards.
Like a ton of bricks I was shocked out of my vision and realised I was still stood outside my front door. It was only then that I felt the fear and decided to head back inside. I made sure the door was firmly shut but as I turned around I noticed that there was something sitting in my computer chair.
I couldn't tell you why I did this, but I felt the need to turn the chair around, and see who, or what, was sat there. I put my hand on the back of the chair and pulled it round. I screamed!
Okay, it was just my coat. I really needed to take a deep breath. I walked back over to the kitchen, forcing myself to slow my breathing, to calm down. That was when I noticed that the sky was completely orange. A firey, burning sphere central to my view of the sky captivated me. I couldn't tear my eyes away from it. And then it was gone. The whole sky blackened at once. At the same time, the electricity cut out.
I felt my body tense as I realised I couldn't see anything at all. I used my hands to feel my way back towards the computer chair. I heard a noise on the other side of the flat door. It was a creaking noise coupled with a sort of shuffling sound. I knew I should find out what was on the other side, but I was scared. I approached the door cautiously, slowly edging forward. My hand reached the door handle. I could hear the heavy breathing of whatever faced me on the other side. I pulled open the door and-
