It was a warm night in Lassen, California. The breeze was soft, the insects sang, and the sky was clear, giving any who looked up a brilliant show of the stars and the crescent moon overhead. One man in particular was enjoying the show of the night. This man was Salvestro Eriksen. Salvestro, or Sal as he is often called, was happily embracing the peace of the night. Sal stood out somewhat from those around him, though not in a negative way. He stood at an intimidating 6'8", Having a pure blooded Norwegian father can do that to a guy, with an athletic, muscular physique. This doesn't come as a surprise, seeing as his main employment is as a personal trainer to high end clients who wish to better themselves and their physical condition. Salvestro has straight, if slightly messy, Raven black hair that reached just below his jaw. He has tan skin that is comparable to that of coffee with milk added in, both from his Italian mother. Most however, would say his most striking feature would be his eyes. Sal was born with a rare medical condition know as heterochromia, where someone is born with two different eye colors. His left eye was a light icy blue, while his left was a brilliant emerald green.
Sal was very content with his life. He had everything a man could ask for: financial success, good looks, nice house, great friends, and a tight knit, loving family. Sal was sitting on a cushioned bench on the balcony of his large 3 story home, watching as the moonlight reflected off the still water of his impressive in-ground pool. He let out a sigh as he turned his attention to the sky. This wasn't a sigh of content however, it was one of mild frustration.
"What is it?" his moderately deep, but smooth voiced said as he thought aloud. "What is it that I'm missing?" he groused out with his arms supporting him as he rested against the railing of the balcony. It was a question that he had been asking himself for a few months now, and it has been becoming increasingly more irritating each time. "I can't help but feel as though I am missing something" he thought with his eyebrows knit in concentration. No matter how many times the question came up, the answer never surfaced.
He let out another sigh and decided to brood on the infernal inquiry later. He decided it was best to give the gorgeous night sky his attention instead. No clouds were around to diminish his view of the majesty of the heavens above. He noticed a light in his peripheral vision, and turned his head accordingly. "A shooting star." He thought with surprise, it was rare to see one in person, if ever at all. As he watched it soar though the cosmos, a thought occurred to him. As childish as it might sound, he'd really had no reason not to do it.
"Make a wish huh?" He spoke softly, mulling over the though for a few moments before making his decision. "I want to find what it is that I am missing" he spoke aloud with his hands together in prayer in front of him with his eyes closed. After a few seconds he opened his eyes to see......
That nothing has changed
He shook his head in disappointment, silently questioning why he thought it was worth trying in the first place. He decided to call it a night and head inside after closing the balcony door behind him. He changed into his usual sleepwear of a t-shirt and sweatpants, before climbing into his king sized bed. He pulled the covers up to his chest while he layers on his back and closed his eyes. Just as he was about to pass into the realm of slumber, he felt something. It felt like a slight vibration, think it was his phone, he turned to his bedside stand to see his phone....off and plugged into the charger. He stared in confusion before he felt the vibrations increase into full blown shaking. His eyes shot open wide as can be as the realization hit him. "Earthquake!" He mentally screamed as he lept of of his bed. He quickly me his way into his master bathroom and climbed in with the comforter he had brought with and placed it over himself before huddling into the fetal position and remain as still as possible. Earthquakes normally last between 10 and 30 seconds, so he figured he could wait it out and inspect the damages later.
To his bewilderment and horror, it showed no sign of calming down. If anything, the quaking intensified drastically. After counting a minute, without the quake dying down in the slightest, he got up and decided to try and call for help, but his phone was back in his bedroom where he left it. He decided to risk it and began to make his way slowly across the shaking tile floor. As he was nearing the door, there was a sharp, strong quake the knocked him off balance, causing his forehead to collide with the side of the doorframe. After that, his vision slowly faded out into nothing as he lost consciousness.
