OBX. That hideous sign had always taken away from the beauty of the beach. She wished people would think of the Outer Banks as more of a natural beauty instead of a tourist attraction and vacay spot.

    She sat on the rock not far from the water, watching the waves push into shore only for the riptide to push them back out. The tide was strong today, stronger than it had been in a long time in fact. She slid off the rock, her blonde hair flowing behind her like a leaf in the wind. She was surprised to find when she touched her toes to the water, it was hot. Almost boiling hot.

     Kyrrah didn't recoil as she enjoyed the warmth. The ocean wasn't usually cold but now it felt like a hot tub.

     The blonde knew it was dinner time but refused to go back to her house. All time was bad in her family but dinner time was the worst. Not only were her little brother and sister always throwing food everywhere, but her mom would look into her head, her questions like knives to Kyrrah's brain and make her answer the most prying questions aloud for the whole family to hear.

     Kyrrah didn't have the worst life physically, but her parents and even siblings drove her mentally insane. When she was hurt, they would punish her for getting hurt. When she was sad or depressed, they would tell her to stop being depressed or they would take all her possessions away. Of course Kyrrah wanted to refuse but with everything on the line it was too risky. So she was happy.

    Summer break... Kyrrah thought, ha more like torture. School is the break. And it was. Although she only had one friend there, anything was better than her home life. His name was Liam, and he was extremely extroverted, the total opposite of Kyrrah. That didn't stop their friendship though in fact it seemed to make it stronger.

     When the sun set completely, and it was almost too dark to see, Kyrrah reluctantly headed back to her house. She knew there would be a lot of backlash but at least she didn't have to eat dinner with her family. When she got home, she was surprised to find everyone in bed. Not wanting to put up a fight she followed suit.

       In the morning Kyrrah got up and ate breakfast as usual. Her family didn't seem all that upset about last night. Or at least that's what she thought. Throughout the day Kyrrah realized that her family was completely ignoring her. Like she didn't even exist. Even her little sister Naomi, who was a terrible liar and actress, didn't even flinch when Kyrrah tried to get her attention.

"Hello? Anyone?" Kyrrah yelled. The whole thing was kind of scaring her and she could feel her heart begin to race.

   No one answered. Kyrrah burst out the door and ran through the streets. Obviously everyone else noticed her so her family had to be acting...right?

    She ran all the way to Liam's house which was 5 miles down the road. She was breathing heavily by the time she arrived.

  "Liam*huff*we*huff*need*huff*to*huff*talk*huffhuffhufffffffffffffff"

    "Kyrrah??! What are you...How are you...uh....what...why...how...uhhhhhhh..." Liam did a partially fake faint his brain trying to process the information. About ten minutes passed before he was recovered and ready to continue their conversation. If you could even call it that.

   "What's wrong? Why is my family ignoring me and why were you so surprised when I came in?"

   "I don't know about your parents but Kyrrah.. umm... how do I say this..."

  "Spit it out Liam!" Kyrrah was getting frustrated. She needed answers.

    "You really don't know?"

    "NO!"
 
    "Like really really? For sure?"

    "IF I KNEW I WOULDNT BE ASKING YOUR IDIOTIC SELF NOW WHAT IS IT?!!!!"

     "You've been gone Kyrrah. Gone missing and presumed dead." Tears welled up in his eyes remembering the pain he went through losing his best friend.
  
    "How long?" She asked. She wanted to yell, to scream at the top of her lungs, but she understood what Liam was going through. He thought she had left him.

    "4 months. And they already gave up on you. Said you were lost at sea."

   "How is that possible? I was only gone for a few hours!"

      "I don't know, but things have gotten weird around here. First you went missing, then the ocean turned boiling hot, now all the birds are flying in the wrong direction not to mention the horses have started sleeping in people's garages. Oh yeah and the clouds are totally avoiding the area we haven't seen a single one in about a month. Times are changing Kyrrah, and I'm scared of what's going to happen next."

    "So you're saying, the world is ending?"

      "Basically, yes."

              "AhahahhaahhahahHhahahahAHAhahHahHhahHHaahhAhhHHahahHhhhaAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHhha-" her laughter went on continuesly, as she was fully aware of how maniatic she sounded. Of course she had always wanted the world to end. Her world to end. Not the world of innocent people and children, just hers. But now that something right actually happens to her, it's wrong. Everything is wrong. It always was always always always always always...... her mind was a crazy loop of psycho thoughts. She had no control. She had finally broken. Broken. Broken. Broken. Broken.

   She wanted to run. To go somewhere and clear her thoughts alone,but Liam needed her. So she stayed. About an hour or two of silence had passed, the two simply enjoying each other's company.

   "Liam, i'm sorry."

   "For what?"

   "For leaving you."

   "Kyrrah, you didn't mean to. It wasn't your fault."

   "I know, but that doesn't mean the pain you felt wasn't real."

   "What matters is that you're here now. You're not gone, and you're not dead"

  "You'll always be my best friend, you know that? No matter what."

"I know." he said with a smile on his face. "No matter what." Kyrrah wasn't entirely sure why, but the smile almost looked sad. Maybe it was just the memory of her being gone, or the fact that the world itself was ending.

   "I have to go now, but ill be back. I promise."

  Liam didn't say anything, he just nodded with that same smile on his face, a gesture of kindness and her queue to leave. Before she left though, she made sure to return his glance of kindness from the doorway. This wasn't a goodbye, but rather a sad hello.

   Kyrrah arrived home immediately going to her back yard not bothering to check on her family. Instead of going her usual route, she decided to go down a trail more to the right called the forgotten path. Despite its name, the path was anything but forgotten. There were legends about the path and about mysterious creatures coming from the water often being called sirens or devils. That didn't stop anyone from going down the path though in fact it was one of the most popular trails in the area. Usually there were many people going down the trail but today it was totally deserted. She didn't know why. But she was grateful to have some time alone.

  After trekking the short path, she arrived at a part of the beach she had only gone to once. As always, she found a large rock to lay on and soak in the sun as she thought. It was a bit windy and this worried Kyrrah.

   Kyrrah had visions. She didn't know exactly why, but she had brushed it off and self diagnosed herself with schizophrenia. Oddly enough, she only saw these odd visions in the wind. In every vision there was always something familiar. Either a redhead girl, or water in the darkness. Sometimes there was a man in the water, sometimes not.

   Thinking about the visions seemed to trigger one as not a couple minutes later she saw a girl in the breeze. The picture was distorted but she could tell she was sitting on the steps sad. The image changed to the same girl running past two mermaid-like creatures headed straight towards a waterfall. Then it changed again. This time the image was much clearer and even had a bit of movement. It was only a few seconds later, when the vision still hadn't cleared, that Kyrrah realized it wasn't another image at all.

  It was the girl, standing knee deep in the ocean,headed straight towards her.