Prologue

I had always hated roller rinks.

I mean, sure they're fun and all, but maybe if it wasn't for the fact that I can't actually roller skate without falling flat on my butt, I'd actually enjoy them. And it didn't help that I literally knew nobody in Seattle, since I had just arrived there a few days prior. So why I went to The Carousel, while my sister was off at a college class, was a mystery. I guess I was just looking to make some friends.

That day didn't start out like every other Seattle day. Meaning, it wasn't dreary and raining. In fact, it was actually kind of sunny, with the sun poking out from between the clouds every now and then. But that's not how Seattle typically was, and I think that's what made everything so difficult.

You see, the rain was killer.

Well, the rain itself wasn't killer. It's what's in the rain that kills. But of course we didn't know that at the time. In fact, none of us did. We didn't even know it was the water that was deadly. Until our dad called my sister, that is.

I'm still not fully aware of what all he told her. The only information I had at the beginning was from her, and she forgot half the stuff he told her since she'd panicked so bad. Of course we tried to call him back later, but by then the telephone lines were down.

But this is what I do know: My father, Klyde, had called her in the middle of class. It'd taken him several tries 'till she finally picked up, and by then they didn't have much time. Dad had told Kristy, my sister, that he'd called as soon as he found out from his higher ups about the space bacteria.

Basically, an asteroid had entered Earth's atmosphere, just like they always did. Nothing major, right? Wrong. This asteroid had been a one way flight for a bunch of little space germs who, when burnt up in the atmosphere, released all those little buggers all over the troposphere, successfully contaminating the clouds. And when the rain fell out of those clouds...

All Dad had gotten to say about that was, "It kills you," before the line went dead. That was it. We didn't know how it killed you or how to avoid it killing you.

It was terrifying.

But I'm sure you're well aware of that.