Preston Greens

20. Middle of the Night

I woke up to the sound of thunder. Mom's nightlight that was plugged into the wall wasn't on, so I guessed that meant the power was still out. 

I crept out of bed and opened the blinds. The windows faced the fence, but I could still see the clouds. Then I saw a huge lightning strike hit a tree and in that same instant I heard the thunder. It was very close by. 

I shivered violently; the house was very cold. The rain didn't want to stop and it was really loud. I saw a lot of puddles of water in the grass. I wanted some water so I got my phone out and turned on the flashlight. I walked carefully into the kitchen and made sure not to hit anything or trip over anything. Usually, mom's nightlights would be on, guiding me, but the house was pitch black, except for the candles in the kitchen. 

Lightning struck again, illuminating the kitchen. I knew my kitchen by heart, so I didn't bang my hip on any of the counters' corners or stub my toe on any cabinets. I went over to the sink and grabbed a cup from the counter above it. I then poured some water into my cup from the filtered water faucet. I really wanted to get some ice from the fridge but I knew it wouldn't give me any, since the power was out. 

Suddenly I heard some rustling, and I knew it wasn't Peppermint- she was fast asleep. I dared to turn around from the sink. Behind me was dad, wanting some water too. I wiped my forehead. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." I told him. 

Dad sometimes sleep walks, but I knew this time he was awake. "It's alright. Can you pour me a glass of water please? I need to get a bucket out of the garage. Looks like there's a leak in our room. I really need to patch that roof up." He said. 

I got out another glass and then heard the sky crack. I opened the blinds on the window over the sink and then heard thunder that shook the ground. I felt that vibration all through my body and it didn't really feel good. It felt like danger. Worry spread into my head and I quickly ran over to my room and looked out my window towards Lisa's house.

 The palm tree in her yard was on fire. 

I was starting to panic. I told myself to calm down and went over to dad, who was struggling to get this bucket right under the leak in the ceiling. 

"Dad, dad!" I whispered loudly. He looked at me like I was a hooligan or something but I quickly dismissed his expression. "Lisa's tree is on fire! Lightning struck it!" I said quickly.

 Dad dropped the bucket and followed me into my room. I pulled my curtains back and let dad have a look. His mouth gaped open and we quickly dialed 911. They said they would be over there in a few minutes and to remain calm.

 I then remembered Lisa wasn't home right now; she was at her grandma's house. Dad and I looked out through the other window closest to her driveway and saw no cars. Dad and I went to wake up mom and let her know we were going to Lisa's house. We grabbed her key from the key rack and went over there. We unlocked her front door and let all her dogs into the garage. We then left a note on the table telling them the dogs were in the garage. 

When we went outside, lightning struck again, giving light to the whole city. We caught a glance of our road and found to our amazement that everything was flooded. I went ahead and called Lisa's mom. 

"Hello?" I heard a groggy voice from the other end. 

"Hi, this is Carly, I wanted to let you know that lightning struck your tree in your backyard and that the fire truck is already here, ready to put out the flames." I informed her. I heard a gasp. 

"Thank you so much, we will be right there." Lisa's mom said. I hung up. Dad and I ran back to the house, the rain picking up again. We went into mom's room and fell on the bed. I was REALLY tired now, so I drifted off to sleep, the noise of the fire truck's siren ringing in my ears.