The Heartwarmer

Chapter 12

It was raining. Hard.

Luke and June both became sopping wet as soon as the huge raindrops started pelting the earth. Countless needles of cold rain pierced their skin and chilled them to the bone. June was sure that there would be bruises where the rain was hitting her.

Their thin and tattered clothes did nothing to protect them. They had no shelter over their heads. A lightning bolt arced in the distance.

June flipped her head and her wet, knotted hair with great difficulty. "Luke?!" She screamed, asking him what the next step was in that one word.

Luke's head snapped toward her. His eyes stared into the distance. He could barely keep them open because there was so much wind and rain. "I don't know!" He shouted back, shaking his head.

Another arc of lightning lit the sky. A roaring clap of thunder followed. The vibrations from the thunder seemed to rumble through the ground and shake June's bones.

She knew where to go.

She grabbed Luke's hand and led him to the rocky outcrops near the water. One of them formed a small alcove that would be perfect for them.

As soon as their feet touched the waves, Luke shouted for them to stop. He jumped backwards and ran away. June watched with utter confusion. "Luke?!" She screamed once more, this time asking what the hell he was doing.

"There's lightning! If you touch the water, you'll get shocked! You could die!"

Oh yeah! Physics!

"But if we stay out here, we will die! It's worth the risk!"

"We could go to the woods! We'll find cover under a tree or something!" He countered.

"And get pneumonia?! I'm headed for the rocks!" She screamed and ran towards him. She held his arm tight and dragged him along. "And you're coming with me!"

He struggled to break free, especially when they neared the water. But once they entered the ocean, Luke tore away his hand and ran as fast as he could toward the outcrop. He struggled to climb in, but he finally did. "June! Come quick!"

June, who was still a few meters away, stopped in surprise as Luke ran away from her. Suddenly, she realised that she could get hit by lightning at any moment. She ran and splashed until she reached her destination. Luke pulled her up. As soon as she fell onto the cave floor, a huge fork of lightning hit the water not far from them. They could hear the water buzzing with electricity even with the ruckus of the rain.

They were both breathing hard. The cave smelled disgusting. It was rotten and moldy. The floor was wet too, because the waves were so big that they towered over everything. But at least there was a roof over their heads, and for that, they didn't complain.

It was dark. She couldn't see even her hand in front of her face. "Luke?" she asked, hoping her voice would act like SONAR, bouncing off of Luke and telling her where he was.

"June." His voice echoed. She let out a huge sigh.

They both wrung the water out of their clothes as best they could. But nothing stopped the biting cold and howling wind. June groped around until she found Luke's hand. She squeezed it tightly and struggled to shift her position so that she sat in the negative space between his arm and his torso. June rested her head on his chest. Luke's arm tightened around her.

The lightning storm continued outside. The occasional bursts of light illuminated their wet, sleeping forms.

***

It was raining.

The ocean was like moving steel. The sky was a reflection of the water.

Perfect weather for a storm.