The bright flash of lightening that was quickly followed by a loud crack of thunder shook the house and cause Josh to bolt upright in bed.
“Holy shit!” He said as the rumble caused his heart to skip a beat. He panted heavily as his sudden awakening had taken his breath away. The sky was clear when I went to bed. I didn’t think it was supposed to storm. He thought to himself. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep he decided to get up and go out to the porch and watch the storm. This was something he did a lot, he has always loved the sound and feeling storms brought with them.
He threw the covers off the rest of the way and slowly crawled out of bed. Once his feet hit the floor he began to scrunch his toes, he wasn’t sure where this habit came from but he has always remembered doing it. The feel of the carpet between his toes always brought a smile to his face and after he was satisfied with the number of times he did it he reached towards his night stand and grabbed his phone. 3:33am. Thank God it’s Saturday. He thought to himself as he stood up and stretched. I’d be exhausted at the shop all day.
Josh was one of the top mechanics at a local car dealership. He always attributed his stay at it work ethic to getting a good night’s sleep.
He has always been a heavy sleeper and he was actually surprised that the storm had woken him. If there was ever a person that could sleep through a raging catastrophe it was definitely be him.
Knowing the time and having a plan he made his way out of his room and over to the bathroom where he peed, washed his hands and splashed some cool water on his face. He looked in the mirror and for some reason he just felt off. At first he thought that maybe it was his sudden startle, he could still feel his heart beating at an elevated pace but it had steadily been coming down and it was no faster than it would have been if he had went for a walk. Not being able to place his fingers on it he splashed one more handful of water on his face, dried it, and then made his way down the hall towards the kitchen.
He opened the cupboard and pulled out a tub of coffee. Doubt I will be going back to bed so might as well have a cup of Joe. He quickly set the pot all up and turned it on. He thought to himself. He stood there watching the coffee drip down filling up the pot. Once it was done he poured himself a large mug’s worth and topped it off with several scoops of sugar and a splash of milk.
The storm still roared outside. He could hear the wind picking up as he saw another flash of lightening followed a few seconds later by a loud crack of thunder. It was nowhere near as loud as the one that woke him but it was still enough to where you could feel it. The rain sounded like thousands of pebbles being thrown against the house as it beat on the window that sat above the sink.
Josh made his way towards the front door and slowly opened it. Another flash of lightening and a roar of thunder sounded as he took a step onto the porch. The wood was damp with the spray that the wind carried. The dampness was surprisingly cold for it being a July evening and it sent a chill through him as he stepped on the wood. He took another sip of coffee as he made his way to the large wooden bench and took a seat. He took another sip of his coffee as more lightening flashed. This came out of nowhere. He thought to himself as the thunder rolled.
There was another loud crash, but no lightening. What was that? Josh thought to himself as he stood up and walked to the edge of the porch. That came from the backyard. He stood there waiting to see if he could hear the noise again. He heard another round of thunder but no other noise. He made his way back towards the bench when he heard a loud clank again from the back yard. What the hell? He thought as he made his way back through the front door and through the house coming to the back door. He stopped, reached out, and grabbed the door knob.
