Thaw Fickle Buskin

Downburst Before Dark

My head was pounding with confusion when I finally awoke. I don't think I had been out for too long--an hour at most--but the world around me had already changed drastically. The house above me was swaying in the harsh wind. The creeks of the old wood echoed into the basement.

Garfunkel was laying beside me, whimpering. I reached out my hand to give him a comforting pet on the head. He leaned into it, tail wagging. The moment was disrupted, however, by a loud grunt from the corner of my room.

Kanoa was sitting on my bed, face contorted in pain. Her hands were tucked under her armpits with her knees pulled close to her chest. Somehow she had gotten her hair into a bun. There was sweat dripping down her forehead, even though the cold of the basement had formed goosebumps on my skin. She grinded her teeth, trying to hold back another agonized noise from coming out.

Garfunkel padded away from me to the foot of the bed, sniffing the air. He was clearly worried about her, since he kept looking back at me with wide eyes. I got to my feet and slowly approached Kanoa.

"...Are you okay?" I asked her.

"What does it look like?" Kanoa growled. When she spoke, the light of her hands grew into her arms and pulsed at the same rate as her heartbeat. The wind began pounding on the house at the same pace.

"Fine. Alright. Then let me ask what I can do to help?" I said instead. I decided that nothing would get done if I wasn't more forward with her.

Kanoa shook her head and pursed her lips. She was thinking about what to say next. Her eyebrows burrowed together, eyes sealed shut. Finally, she said, "I can't do anything without my pills."

"Your...pills?"

"STOP ASKING QUESTIONS," Kanoa blurted. She then contorted with more pain. "The pills are antidepressants for anger. The more I feel, the more danger everybody in this God-forbidden town is in."

I wrung my hands together. "Alright then. Where--"

"NO QUESTIONS--"

"Where can I find the pills?"

I asked this forcefully--much more forcefully than I anticipated. Garfunkel looked at me like I had just yelled at him. Kanoa lifted up her head. She was breathing heavily, her shoulders moving up and down with each breath. For the first time ever, I felt pity for her. This was the only time she's appeared weak; like she couldn't handle herself.

"They're across town," she said, strained. "In my foster home. Upstairs, in the bedroom."

"Alright," I said. "And if I go get these pills, the storm will stop? This whole situation..." I gestured towards her shriveled body. "Will go away?"

Kanoa shrugged. "I don't know for sure. But they're the only solution I can think of."

I took in a deep breath. I had screwed up my last two chances of doing something right. This was my opportunity to do something for the greater good. Not only Kanoa was in danger, but the whole town could potentially be destroyed by the oncoming storm.

"Then I'll go get them."

"NO!" Kanoa shrieked. "...Look, I don't really know you, but I care enough to say that going out there could potentially get you killed. I don't know how much longer I can hold back the full storm. Its better to stay here."

Determination began to bubble inside of me. I looked Kanoa right in her eyes, knowing that this was the only option.

"Give me the address."