Nature's Wrath

“Don’t you dare sign up for that game show mister, or I’ll bite your head off!”

            “Don’t you dare tell me what to do miss, or I’ll bite your head off!”

            “That’s it!” A house lamp flew toward 13-year old Arnaud, who scanned the advertisement on his phone intensely, oblivious to the hard object hurling toward him. It narrowly missed his thick-rimmed glasses and slammed into the wall behind him, shattering into a myriad of pieces.

            “Now that’s it!” Arnaud set down the advertisement, rose from his seat on the couch, scooped up a small whiffle ball lying on the ground adjacent to him and hurled it at his 8-year old sister Wind with all his might. It nailed her in the kneecap, and she cried out in pain.

            “How come everything I say you disagree with, just for the sake of disagreeing with me?! If I said the sky was blue, you would say it was red, even though the sky is blue!” Wind hyperventilated to relieve the stinging and angrily plopped down to catch her breath. She brushed her curly hair to the side, gnawed at some food stuck in her braces and wiped the sweat off her face.

            Arnaud ignored her question and plunked back down on the couch, sighing obnoxiously as he continued to read the advertisement.

            A game show called Nature’s Wrath. It was a challenge, the people versus the elements of nature.  The people facing nature’s wrath, everything nature has thrown at them. A million-dollar prize that was up for grabs, that should be easy enough to win. Get the million-dollars and live the rest of his life in wealth. It sounded good to Arnaud. He tapped the Join button with his bony finger, smiling at his sister and showing his yellowed teeth.

            The siblings’ trillionth fight was over.

One week later…

            “Shhh!” Wind shrieked at Arnaud, attempting to project her voice over the howling wind of the hurricane raging above them, to no avail. “Stop muttering to yourself! You got us into this mess by signing up for this stupid game show, now get us out!!!”

            “Ok, when I saw the advertisement for this game show Nature’s Wrath, I did not imagine it would be like this! I knew it would be a challenge, but not a life threatening one! Stop blaming me! Blame yourself for not stopping me from signing up!” Arnaud retorted, though on the inside he knew it was his fault. He should’ve known the million dollars would not be easy to get. In all honesty, he had not even read what the show was about. He’d only discerned the grand prize: one million dollars.

            “Oh shut your mouth, would you, and get me out from under this rock!” Furiously, Wind propelled Arnaud away from her, gasping with fright as she did so. The push was harder than she had intended, sending her older brother out of the shelter of the rock and into the midst of the hurricane.

            The rock had been their shelter. The siblings had dug a hole beneath their rock shelter and cowered in it, envisaging waiting out the storm. The amethyst crystal rock that determined their lives rested twenty feet away from them, the time on it only diminishing. 59, 58, 57… The seconds ticked down, leaving Wind at a dilemma: she could save either herself or her brother. There was no time for both.

            Once the time on the amethyst crystal rock expired, both of their lives were over.

            The wind whipped loudly back and forth, causing the neighboring palm trees to dance wildly. Fear enveloped Arnaud’s mind; he was too appalled to act. Tears streamed down his eyes without him knowing, tears that his life would soon end. His heart raced and adrenaline pumped through his veins, but the fear in his mind was too great, overriding all other emotions. Arnaud could only think of a vocabulary word he had learned in eighth grade: moribund.

            With only 30 seconds left on the amethyst crystal rock, Wind ceased pondering and started executing. Her next move was an act of intuition. She inched out of the makeshift shelter and sprinted for the amethyst crystal rock. All she had to do was put both her hands on the rock and it would immediately transport her back to the safety of the game show. However, it would only convey the people touching it before time expired. So her brother would be trapped on the island. Alone.

            Halfway to the amethyst crystal rock, her feet deactivated. She endeavored to budge them, but they would not. Her mind dithered. Her eyes swiveled toward the amethyst crystal rock anxiously. 15 seconds left.

             It’s me or him, Wind knew.

            All the fights the siblings ever had flooded into Wind’s brain like a monsoon.

            Her mind told her, Save yourself. Touch the rock. Her heart told her, He is your brother. Go down together.  

            Her mind pushed onward, Think of all the fights you’ve had over the years. If your brother wasn’t there, you would not fight. Also, think… would your brother save you?

            With all the willpower Wind could muster, she wheeled around to face her older brother. He looked helpless, wild fear in his eyes. Arnaud huddled in a ball, using his body as a shelter against the still raging hurricane, too decrepit to return to the rock or plea for help. Wind’s heart rate tripled and butterflies filled her stomach. Her world whirled, her vision blurred. She bawled. She would go down with her brother. It will be my forgiveness to him for all the times I fought with him.

10 seconds, 9, 8…

            Lightning arced. Thunder rumbled. Hot yellow streaks materialized, illuminating the evening sky. One streak ignited a nearby palm tree, felling it. It was the warning sign; the warning to contestants that time was about to expire. Wind shielded her head with her hands as a gargantuan cloud exploded open and torrents of water surged out. She scurried toward Arnaud, whose eyes were blood red and swollen from sobbing. Wind lay down beside her brother and tears cascaded down her face, but the rain washed them away. The end was near.

3…2…1…

            The volcano situated on the other side of the diminutive 2-mile island erupted, signifying the end. The ground below Arnaud and Wind jolted them into the air and back down again. Lava flew out of the volcano, beginning to submerge the island. Palm trees toppled over around them.

            Wind kissed Arnaud’s forehead fragilely, and through gulps for air, susurrated, “Sorry.”

            Before respiring his last, Arnaud whispered, “Me too.”

0.