When the Earth Stirred
Chapter 1
Stella pressed her forehead against the cold glass of her bedroom window, staring out into the storm-torn backyard. The towering oak, the one that had always felt alive, was bending—not just from the wind, but in a way that defied nature. Its branches didn’t whip and snap like the others. They swayed with a fluid grace, curling and unraveling like fingers stretching after a long sleep.
The rain was relentless, hitting the ground so hard that puddles formed in seconds. Birds, desperate to escape, tried to take flight, their wings struggling against the weight of the storm. Some barely lifted before tumbling back down, their cries lost in the howling wind.
Stella shivered, not from the cold, but from the knowing.
Something was happening.
She grabbed her raincoat off the hook and yanked it over her shoulders, her fingers trembling as she buttoned it up. Whatever was out…
