Stormy Nights

The thunder echoed like the sound of a roaring crowd, the lightning danced and filled the sky with its flickering light. James franticly dodged in and out of the tall trees. Desperately and tirelessly trying to find shelter. The rain was falling so fast you could barely see an inch in front of you. It was chaos and mayhem combined in the storm of the season. Hard to say exactly how long he had been out in the storm but he could barely hold his weight against the wind and the rain. He’s strength was fleeting, he needed to find shelter and fast.

Somehow he mustered enough strength to make it to a clearing beyond the trees. Then suddenly with another flash of lightning he spots a building. Hope builds within him as he makes his way to shelter. Upon arriving he realizes that it’s an old run down barn. The doors barely hanging on, the roof covered with massive holes and each time the wind blew you could hear the foundation creek as if it were a person crying to be put out of its misery. He stood there taking in the condition of the barn but realized that this was his only salvation and its condition although unsteady would have to do.

He entered the old red barn, or what used to be a red barn. The color has faded over the years. Time has not treated it well. The flashes from the lightning peek through the holes in the ceiling and assist him moments at a time to look around and try to find a dry enough area covered by what’s left of the roof. He spots a horse stable and hunkers down in the corner. Then wipes the rain off his face and braces for whatever the night holds before him.

Hours later he’s awoken by the sound of rustling footsteps and heavy breathing. Curious yet frightened he slowly and quietly sat up to peek from behind the stable he had been sleeping in to see who or what was there. When his head slowly pops up he’s met with the sight of pure darkness, pitch black until. Flash! The bright flicker of lightning filled the barn enough for him to see the shadowy outline of what looked to be a person. The warm surge of fear washed over him at the sight of this mysterious unknown stranger.

“Who else could possibly be out in the woods in this storm?” He thought to himself. The sound of footsteps begin again, this unknown person seems to be stammering around. “What if they find me?” The footsteps grow closer “Who could it be?” and closer “is it the owner of the barn?” and closer “Another person in need?” The footsteps stop, silence ensues the barn outside of the roaring thunder. James stands to get a better look and no sooner then he rises does another flash happen.

The sound of screaming drowns out the clapping thunder. James and the mystery person are face to face, it’s a woman! He thinks to himself. She turns to run but trips in the dark. She agonizes in pain as she grabs her ankle, James steps closer. “Please, don’t hurt me!” She pleads “it’s alright, I’m not going to hurt you. Are you ok?” He replies. Nervous and alert she mutters “yeah, I think I twisted my ankle on something.” James proceeds to check her ankle. “Don’t touch it!” She lunges forward. “Sorry, sorry. I just want to be sure it isn’t something more serious. Can you stand?” She starts to move as if to stand. “Ouch!” She lets out as she falls back down. “Ok, ok. Don’t move.” He tells her then takes off his blue and white checkered button up shirt and begins to rip it.

“What are you doing?” She anxiously asks. “I’m going to wrap your ankle to help relieve some pressure.” He begins to wrap up her ankle then asks her to stand & lean on him for support. “There’s a stable over here, it’s the only dry area in this barn.” He tells her. They slowly walk forward as they feel their way to the stable. Once in they both sit & let out a sigh of relief and exhaustion. “Thank you.” She mutters. “You’re welcome.” They sit in silence for a moment. “I’m James, by the way.” He utters. “I’m Alice.” She replies. James sits forward a bit. “That’s a beautiful name.” She sits back against the wall to get a bit more comfortable.

“Thanks.” She says. “So tell me Alice, what brings you to this lovely place?” He asks jokingly. “Well I was driving to a friends house when the storm hit. I could barely see the road & ran into a ditch.” James quickly response. “Oh man, were you hurt” Alice shakes her head. “No, I tried to call for help but didn’t have service. So I took off looking for help and now I’m here.” She gestures in the dark to the stable. “What about you?” She asks. “I was hiking near by when I saw the storm coming. I started heading back and lost my way until I eventually came upon this gem.” He replies with a chuckle. “How far is your car?” He asks. “About a mile or so northeast, not too far.” She tells him.

He looks around then says “Well it’s too dark out to go anywhere now. Have to wait till morning.” She brushes some hair out of her face and replies. “If we make it till the morning.” James begins to reassure Alice that they’ll be fine. “We’ve got a dry and a sturdy enough place to hold up for now.” Then a loud boom of thunder shakes the barn causing dust and dirt to sprinkle down on them. A wooden beam above them starts to come down but gets lodged right above them, partially blocking the entrance to the stable. They both jump back, James attempts to cover Alice. “Are you ok?” He asks. In a scared hushed tone Alice says “I guess, as ok as I can be.”

James stands up and heads over to the beam to see just how stuck it was. “Don’t mess with that. You’ll bring this whole place down.” She yells out. “It’s alright, it’s stuck pretty good. But it looks like we have room to wiggle out.” He attempts to squeeze through a small opening. “Can you just please sit back down.” She pleads. “Yeah, sorry. Guess we can just wait till the storm passes to get out of here.” He sits back against the wall.

They sit in silence for a while before the sound of Alice shivering grows deafening. The cold wind peaks through openings in the barn making their wet clothes feel like ice. “It’s so cold” she lets out. “If we huddle together then maybe our body heat can warm us up.” He answers back. Alice sits in a hesitated silence them mutters something faintly. “What?” He asks. “Alright.” She snaps back. They feel their way in the dark to inch closer to each other. Their hands gently touch, then their arms pull in close, then their bodies press up against each other. She tucks her head beneath his chin and settles in to place. He holds her tight and gently rocks.

After a while they begin to talk in order to pass the time. They share stories, memories and even some laughter. Soon enough the awkwardness fades and they rest comfortably upon each other. “Hey, so in case we don’t make it out of this I just want to say thanks for everything.” Says Alice. “Don’t think like that, I’m sure the storm will let up soon.” He tells her. Alice lifts her head towards James. “You’re sweet.” He smiles. “We should probably try to rest, it’ll help the time pass faster.” Alice leans in and softly kisses James on the cheek then rests her head back on his chest.

They lay back and close their eyes. Unable to sleep James wonders if he should go for a kiss or if it’ll startle her. After all she did kiss his cheek, but was that a kiss of passion or a kiss of gratitude? He contemplates this until before he knows it, he’s fast asleep. When morning comes they are awoken to the sound of birds chirping. They slowly open their eyes and take in the sight around them now that it’s clear in the light of day. They see the beam lodged above the entrance of the stable and the small opening that they can exit.

Before sitting up they look at each other and smile. “Hi.” She says. “Hey.” He replies. “We made it.” She smiles. He smiles back then asks. “How’s your ankle?” Alice sits up and looks down at her ankle. “Seems fine now.” James starts to stand. “Think you can stand?” He reaches his hand for hers and helps her up. “It’s a little sore, nothing too bad. Thanks to you.” He smiles. “Let’s see if we can get out of here.” He gestures to the opening. Alice limps over to the beam and begins to squeeze herself through the gap to the other side. James follows behind.

Once beyond the stable they slowly make their way outside and take in the wreckage from the storm. Branches and leaves everywhere & multiple puddles. James suggests that they find Alice’s car. She nods in agreement and they take off down the road with James assisting Alice. They find her car and the damage isn’t nearly as bad as she thought. James is able to maneuver the car out of the small ditch.

“So, how far is your camp site?” Asks Alice. “Uh, not sure. Lost my sense of direction in the storm. But I’ll find it .” He tells her as he looks around. “Well, I can drive you to where you think it might be.” She offers. “No, it’s ok. You should go get your ankle actually checked out. I’ll be fine.” He tells her. “Are you sure?” She asks. James nods his head. “Yeah. I’ll be ok.” Alice steps closer to him. “Well at least take down my number, you know in case you get lost again.

”He pats his pockets “I think I lost my phone last night.” She frowns then looks up at him. “Well…” before she can finish speaking James pulls her in close and passionately kisses her. “Until our paths cross again.” He’s says then makes his way back towards the way they came. She touches her fingers to her lips and smiles as she watches him walk away. Once he’s out of sight she gets into her car & drives off into the sun, never to forget that one stormy night.