Thunder Storms (#1 - Semper Fi Series)

Part I

The thunder crashed, jerking Renee from a fitful sleep. The lack of light from her digital alarm clock proved the power was out. Climbing out of bed, she felt around for her robe and wrapped it around herself. Lightning was turning the pitch black into daylight in split-second intervals. There was no other sound.

CRASH! Thunder again... one-one thousand, two-one thousand; lightning cracked. The storm was close.

Remembering the flashlight in the night stand, she grabbed it, and turned it on. Slowly walking out of her room, Renee did a quick and thorough check of the house, sweeping the light to every corner, looking for anything out of place. Bathroom was fine; the other two bedrooms were also in good shape. "No branches have broken through the roof. Not yet, anyway." She said aloud to herself, hoping to calm her nerves.

Footsteps. The sound of footsteps from the kitchen sent alarms ringing through her head. No one else should be here, she thought. Panic started to rise in her throat, but a scream failed to escape. Raising her flashlight to a striking position, she jumped!

“Renee! Don’t hit me!” Adam shouted, putting his hands in front of his face.

“Adam! You scared me! Don’t do that!” She mockingly slapped her neighbor’s arm.

“Renee! I just wanted to check on you. The power’s out at my place, too.”

“Gotta love the boondocks, right?” Renee said with a nervous laugh.

“Well, I grew up here. This is nothing compared to storm season.” He replies.

“What do you mean, storm season?” Renee was already upset by the storm and Adam’s sudden appearance in her house.

“Summer time, we have a storm every week. Sometimes two or three in a week. This is really normal, that’s all.” Adam explained.

“How’d you get in here, anyway? I was sure all the doors were locked.” Renee asked, suddenly remembering he was in her house.

“You left the garage open. The side door was too and I was worried. So, I came over here to make sure you were alright. I watched this place after your Grandma went into the home.” Her grandma passed away more than a year ago, and left this house to Renee’s parents. They lived in the Bahamas, enjoying retirement, so they told her to take over the care. She was able to find a job in town that would cover the bills with enough money left over to be comfortable.

“Well, thank you... for your concern. Obviously I’m fine. A little unnerved between the storms and the, uh, surprise guest!” Renee stammered over her words, still recovering from the adrenaline rush of finding someone is in the house.  “Why are you out walking in the rain, anyway?”

Adam laughed. “It wasn’t raining a few minutes ago when I headed over.”

“Well, you are welcome to stay until it passes. I am going to, uh, go put on something a little more decent.” Sheepishly grinning, Renee walked back to her room. Grabbing her jeans and a comfortable t-shirt, and a sweatshirt to go over, she dashed to the bathroom to change.

Adam sat on the sofa. “I’ll be sittin’ right here.”

The lights flickered for a few seconds, and then went off again. Adam found himself trying to readjust his focus. Seeing the wood by the fireplace, he decided to start a fire for warmth and light.

As the fire began to burn, Renee walked back out. “Thanks. That was perfect timing on the fire. It had crossed my mind to start one as I was changing. I’d ask if you want some coffee, but I don’t know how to make it over the fire. I’m a little bit of a city girl.” Laughing, she continued, “I’m not much of a backwoods country type. I prefer to live a bit closer to civilization.”