Crowns and Guns.

Storm (part 1)

I sit inside the cabin, listening to the rain. The storm rages on, and lightning strikes are heard in the distance. The loud whistling of the wind haunts the trees. A giant hole in the roof is haphazardly patched with a plastic sheet, but this does not change the fact that the cabin is not waterproof. And strong winds blow the water everywhere.

We sit around the fire, which flickers and sizzles due to the constant splattering of water.

We changed into dry clothes, wrapped ourselves in the few blankets we could find, and then in plastic wraps, to keep ourselves remotely warm and dry. Despite this, all of us are still shivering around the fire. I can still feel the dried mud sticking to my hands and feet.
June is not doing much better. She is wrapped in more layers than the rest of us, but she is still shivering. Her lips look blue, and her dirty hair sticks to her face.

Katie puts her arm around June and pulls her tight. She stares at the fire in silence, as if lost in thought.

Kelsey scuffles closer. "Someone has to stay awake." She yells, barely audible over the sound of the sweeping winds and roaring thunder. "Make sure the fire remains lit. Otherwise, we might freeze to death."

Looking through the old broken window, I realise she is right. Hail is striking the old cabin with an alarming force. If the plastic sheet blows away or enough water gets inside, it might extinguish the fire.

Lightning strikes and June screams in response. She closes her eyes, and presses herself against Katie, shivering.

"It's okay, June," I say. "It is just the lightning. Everything will be alright."

As I say that, the cabin creaks, as thunder rumbles. With a loud snap. The plastic sheet protecting the roof comes loose, and immediately, hail starts falling in the cabin. The fire starts to sizzle, and smoke begins to form.

"The fire," I yell as Katie loses her blanket and lunges forward, trying to protect the magic stones with her body. I immediately feel my gown and makeshift jacket getting wet from the freezing rain.

"Wait, I have an idea," Kelsey yells as she throws her blanket off of her. She grabs a few rocks and runs over. "The shelve in the cupboard is still dry and protected, we just put the magma rocks there."

Before I can stop her, she tosses the rocks into the kitchen. The moment they hit the wooden planks, they explode into dark green flames.

Despite the heavy rain, the magical fire spreads lightning fast, and before I can react, the whole kitchen goes up in flames. The magic fire looks unnatural and dark like a beast with a thousand tongues devouring the kitchen.

"Everybody out," I yell.

June freezes, staring at the flames with wide eyes, her face white like ash. Katie immediately responds and drags June outside in one sweep.

Kelsey slowly backs away from the fire. "Wait, I didn't mean to."

I grab Kelsey's arms and drag her through the front door, following Katie and June.

When outside, I turn around. The dark, unnatural flames have engulfed the cabin, and I watch it collapse slowly, before my eyes.

I shiver in the cold rain. "Everyone alright?" I yell "Did nobody get hurt?"

The girls nod. Katie shakes her head and punches Kelsey on the arm. "Damn you, thanks to you our shelter and our supplies are gone. Why did you do that?"

Kelsey winces in pain and holds her arm. "I was just trying to help!"

"Well, you didn't help" Katie snaps back.

June runs towards me and buries her face into my dress. "Skye, I am cold." She whispers.

I embrace her, trying to shield her from the storm. "I know, Sweetheart. We just need to find a different shelter."

Katie shakes her head. "But the old city is tens of kilometres away. There is no way we can get there on foot in this weather! And it is starting to flood!"

I look at the ground. We are standing in ankle-deep fast flowing water, and the level is rising swiftly. I feel my feet sinking in the loose mud, and the surging currents are splashing against my legs.

June breaks away from my embrace and looks up at me. "I know somewhere we can shelter from the rain. Follow me."

She jumps away, seemingly unbothered by the water, and runs into the forest.

I gasp, "No, June, stop." I yell while she disappears into the trees.

I give chase, wading as fast as I can after the little girl. I shield my face from the rain, desperately trying to still see. The rain has become so dense it feels like I am running through a waterfall. And among the droplets and hailstones, lots of leaves and pine cones seem to fall down with them. I can feel the dense undergrowth of the forest cut and slash into my exposed feet and lower legs, while my wet dress sticks to my body. The dress feels heavy, from soaking up the rain. I move my arms in an attempt to wring out my skirt, but the moment I stop shielding my face, I regret it. The hailstones smash my eyes and mouth so badly I can't see anymore, and I take a mouthful of icy, slushy rainwater.

I stumble forward, blind and deaf, desperately to find June. Suddenly, I smack into a large rock wall. I carefully open my eyes and notice I am standing at the bottom of a large rocky cliff. June is standing next to me looking upwards.

"June," I yell out while running over and hugging her. "Never do that again."

Katie and Kelsey emerge from the forest. Their dresses and hair are wet and sticky, soaked with the water in the rain. I can see their arms and faces are bruised from constantly being pelted, and their legs are covered with scratches.

June ignores me and points up. "There" she says. "There is shelter from the rain."

I look up. June is pointing at a sizeable cavern in the cliff's face, three meters above the ground.

I swallow twice. "June, we can't go up there."

Katie shrugs. "Why not, it looks big enough to fit all of us, and it is dry. High above the ground." She gestures at the forest floor. "No way any place on the ground is dry. A cavern up high might be our best bet.