Rose always knew when there was a storm coming. She never knew how, precisely; there were lots of things. Sometimes she'd feel jumpy, on edge, unable to settle to anything. Sometimes she'd get a headache from the change in atmospheric pressure. Sometimes she knew from the different air quality - heavy and echoing, somehow, and everything sounded much closer. Sometimes she'd just get a feeling, prickles down her spine. Sometimes she just knew.
She could feel a storm brewing today, but it felt different, somehow. It felt as though this one was going to rip apart the world as she knew it, like one of the tropical storms she was always seeing on the news. But they didn't get those in London, did they?
She tried to shake off the uneasy feeling as she said goodbye to her mum, and set off to work. The storm wasn't too close, yet; she wouldn't get caught in the rain.
It got gradually more oppressive as the day wore on, and she was glad when closing time was announced. Something was making her nervous, different to the normal storm-jumpiness. This was going to be a big one, and she wanted to get home before it started, safe and dry. Instead, she had to take the lottery money to Wilson.
If anything, the prickles down her spine got worse as she went down to the basement. No Wilson anywhere to be seen, and that was unlike him. She had a cursory look in one of the store-rooms, and something seemed wrong, somehow. All the more wrong when the door slammed shut behind her, locking her in, with dummies that started to move.
Backed against the wall, Rose splayed herself out as flat as she could, eyes tightly closed. Then the storm broke. Lightning flashed through her with an electric jolt as a hand enfolded hers, thunder rumbled at the sound of an unknown voice telling her to run. She barely had time to register that his eyes were the colour of storm-clouds before she was swept along in a whirlwind of movement, and all the tension was released. The oncoming storm had broken, swept her along in its path, riding its wings and cresting its waves, and she was free to glory in it, as she had never gloried in anything before.
From then on, she would always be caught up in its arms.