Caught in a storm (2)

First things first! This is the second part of this story. Please go on reading after you read PART ONE: THE SHADOW.

PART TWO: THE NIGHTMARE

“Who’s there?”

A chill ran down Jason's spine as he recognized the voice. His instinct told him to flee, but an inner voice spoke up and advised him to face the situation; he would never have a better opportunity again.

“Come on, show yourself. I know you are there.”

Jason remained silent, hoping that the darkness would swallow him up so that the shadowy guy would not spot him. He knew he acted cowardly, but he lacked the courage to face him and he already suspected that the alcohol in his blood would lead him to a rash act.

Another lightning flashed again outside and struck down with a crashing sound near the barn. Shortly afterwards, the rain started. Like a monsoon, it hit the ground. He immediately realised that even the weather was conspiring against him. The thunderstorm not only reached the island, but was directly above them now. He knew he had to wait in the barn until at least the lightning passed. Escaping was no longer an option.

Jason risked a quick glance from his niche and looked directly into the face of the shadowy guy. Dante stood right in front of him, surprised as well. He lowered his arm, in which he held an empty bottle. He apparently intended to use it to defend himself.

“What are you doing here?” Dante was the first one to find his speech again.

“Nothing.” Jason replied. “Just wanted to be alone for a while.”

“What’s up?” Dante asked worriedly, but still unsure of what to do.

“Nothing serious, really.” Jason answered, knowing he was lying. His instinct told him he would never get a better opportunity to talk to him alone again, and this should be the moment to confess his love. A part of him just wanted to get it over with and then wrap his arms around that lanky boy and kiss him.

And yet, he suddenly lacked the courage to do it.

“Are you sure?” Dante’s voice sounded worried.

“As sure as can be!” he answered and forced his face to perform a smile.

“Well, you don’t need to tell me, and I won’t force you to, but should you ever feel as you need someone to talk to, I will always have an open ear for you.” Dante said.

“Thank you.” He felt encouraged by it; however, not enough to confess his love right away.

Silence settled between them. The air hung still as the two boys exchanged unspoken thoughts. A moment that they experienced many times in the last week and somehow that never felt wrong or out of place, but rather like an intimate snapshot that connected them even more deeply.

The pouring raindrops created a symphony on the corrugated iron roof, accompanied by the rumble of thunder and the rushing sound of the storm. The occasional flashes of lightning painted fleeting, ethereal scenes through the dusty windows, creating a captivating play of shadows within the barn.

“What are you doing here at this time?” Jason’s voice cut through the silence.

“Looking for shelter from the storm. What else?” He responded in his usual flippancy manner to downplay the significance of the question.

“Setting the barn on fire? Having a hand shandy? Stealing the hay?What do I know?” Jason gave him a few suggestions that made him laugh. “One thing is certain, you weren’t looking for shelter. I bet the apartment of your parents is rain proved, too. So, what are you doing here?”

“So you rattled your snake? Good to know. Really. Hope you cleaned whatever you hit afterwards.”

“I rattled what?” Jason wondered. “Doesn’t matter. You still haven’t answered my question, Dante.”

“Don’t be such a jerk, Jason,” Dante said, still laughing.

Even though Jason didn’t actually find it funny that his friend was still avoiding his question, he had to laugh, too. Another thing that Dante was proficient at; he could easily make him laugh and at the same time he made him explode inside with anger. Probably one reason he fell in love with him.

“Who’s a jerk here?” His eyes glared at him, which he probably didn’t notice because of the darkness in the barn.

“Not me, I can promise you that. Honestly, I wasn’t having a hand shandy.”

“So, then, what were you doing in here?”

“We’re friends, right?”

Jason hesitated, what gave him a concerned glance from Dante. “Sure, we are.”

“That didn’t sound convincing to me.”

“We hardly know each other.” Even less convincing, so he added, “Sure, we are friends. What else? Why?”

“Something’s on here, I can tell.” Dante said.

“Leave it, please. What you wanna tell me?” Jason begged.

“Okay, man.”

Their silence created a moment pregnant with unexpressed thoughts, while one of them tried to figure out the right words. Unlike previous times, it felt heavy. Jason hat to use all his willpower not to interrupt this delicate dance of unspoken words and thus ruin his chance to satisfy his curiosity with such a confession. Still, everything inside of him screamed that now was the perfect time and he really should get the hell over with it.

If he only knew how Dante would react to his love? Jason imagined his reaction, saw his friend running out into the thunderstorm in disgust and never, ever speaking a word with him again. Somewhere in his subconscious, a small voice slowly made itself heard, trying to convince him he would never do such a thing; too soft to really penetrate his consciousness and take away his doubts and fears.

Dante cleared his throat.

“Well, I made a discovery the other day and wanted to check out about it before telling you, Jason.” He started his explanation. “Do you remember the afternoon when we helped to clear the hayloft?”

“Of course I do.” Jason replied. “You were the reason I helped with it.”

“Really? Cool.” Dante said. “Anyway, that day I discovered a small chamber up there, with nothing in but a latter leading down. I immediately thought that’s cool to know for the next time when we play hide and seek again.”

He paused for a few seconds, trying to catch the right words. Jason waited patiently for him to continue his report.

“I imagined I could hide up there and when the seeker comes too close, I simply could climb down and disappear down here in a different hiding-place. Well, I tried to find the latter end down here, but it was nowhere to be found. Theoretically, we stand directly in front of it right now.”

“Really?” Jason’s surprise prompted him looking around instinctively. Not that he could see much in this darkness. And he should have known better, because if there would have been a latter in this niche, he would have known about it for sure.

“Yeah. And as you know, the lower end is not here. I double checked it.”

“So you came here to find out where the latter is leading to?” Jason wondered.

“Yes.” Dante replied. “But you kinda interrupted me from finding it out. Just when I was climbing down, I heard the noise you made.”

“Sorry, man. You could have told me you wanted to spend your night here, then I wouldn’t have come here tonight.”

“Don’t be.” Dante said. “I’m actually glad you are here. So we can explore this hidden latter together.”

“Alright. I’m in.”

“It is less scary when we are together.” He said. “I never thought this barn could be such scary at a night like this.”

Thank you for reading!