Turas

The Storm

The world was complete blackness and water and tearing winds.

Waves crashed in the dark on cutting rocks, an unseen force.

White light split the sky, illuminating the jetty, black rocks, tumultuous waves and the sand, pounded and swept by the rain.

Thunder shook the darkness.

The rain fell to the sand, creating streams and paths of fresh water racing towards the salt.

The next arm of lightning crackled and struck the rocks, hissing and sparking into black.

The thunder rolled over the ocean, tumbling to the hills beyond the sea.

The waves rose with white crests, churning in the black, the unseen heads and hooves of horses rising from the water and charging to the shore.

Frozen hands clutched the surging necks, scrabbling for a bridle or a lock of hair to hold, but there was nothing. Their fingers slipped through the freezing wave head.

The water horses screamed with the thunder as they crashed on the beach, and two figures tumbled to the surf.

One was tall and muscled, like a giant. He rolled to the sand, his howl lost in the wind. His long, bedraggled hair tangled in his eyes and he struggled and scrambled on all fours, trying to escape the hold of the storm.

The other lay unmoving as the waves continued to wash over him. He was blinded by the salt, and he gave a weak cry.

He had been so warm, feeling so safe, and then he was torn and drowning and struggling for air, cut to the bone with cold, scraped out and gasping.

The giant stopped and screamed, raging as the sky lit up again. He caught sight of his companion, and struggled to get to him.

Rising up on unsteady feet, he lurched forward and hooked him under the arms, trying to drag him out of the waves. He growled with the effort.

His companion struggled weakly but the giant gave him a savage shake.

"Put me back..."

The giant could just hear him protest.

"Let me go back..."

They collapsed on a sand dune, lying and watching the dark sky churn. The giant shouted challenges until his voice gave out, holding the young man back from the sea. Eventually, his strength faded.

The giant dug into the dune, trying to find the warmth he knew the sun had poured into it before, pressing his shoulder into its wall to find a way to hide from the winds and rain. He shielded his companion with his soaked jacket from the force of the storm, pressing them both into the sand.

The young man screamed and cried like a baby, clutching at the giant. They both huddled together, blind and shivering until they slipped into a deep, exhausted sleep where they dreamt of nothing. There was nothing they knew how to dream about.

When the rains lessened, and the wind strained itself down to a breeze, and the thunder faded and the lightning shot away to the next storm, the darkness receded shade by shade. The black turned to blues as the clouds shielded the beach from the rising sun.

The men slept on, their clothes drying and stiffening with the salt. Their work boot laces were untied and their jean jackets unbuttoned. Their thick flannels held the stubborn sea water close to their pruning skin, the last to dry.

Their long hair curled, salt caked in their eyebrows and lashes, making their faces pale and lips white and cracked. They could have been mistaken for dead if there were not clear trails of tears and raindrops on their cheeks, and the faint rise and fall of their chests.

The clouds slowly burned away as the sun took its place and the seabirds walked the beach, feasting on the dead creatures washed ashore. They called to each other with high piercing cries, but did not wake the sleeping men.

As the birds crept back onto the beach, so did the people.

It was a lifeguard who came to poke them with a stick, making sure the men were alive. She would likely be speaking to police either way if the gathering of suspicious parents and tourists had anything to say about it, she reasoned.

The giant woke first.

"Um, y'all have to clear out. No loitering. Sorry. There's a shelter on Walnut street if you want the address," the lifeguard said, quickly throwing away the driftwood. The man blinked at her as if he didn't understand but he roused the young man with him anyway.

They both regarded her and the crowd with swollen eyes before struggling to stand in the shifting sand.

Without a word, the giant led the way through the sand and beach grass to a sandy parking lot.

The giant stopped, his crow's feet deepening as he squinted around at the shining cars. With a nod, he strode toward a station wagon parked in the far side of the lot. Rust was beginning to eat at the metal around the band of wood, and the windshield had to be cleared of sand and salt.

The two men stood by the car and regarded it and each other.

"Dad," the young man croaked. The giant just nodded and opened the driver's door.

After a moment of hesitation, the giant's son rounded the car and got in. The keys were in the ignition, and it rattled to life.

They pulled out of the lot and drove away.