Author's Note: Thank you to those who have read and reviewed; your comments are greatly appreciated.
Prompt: Storm
It's one of those storms that rolls in just before dusk arrives, turning the sky a sickly shade of grey-green against an orange horizon. Zed stands outside, watching the wind catch in the trees around the mill, cutting up into a sharp whistle. Her curls blow wildly and rainy, gritty mist flies into her eyes as she leans against the door frame, arms crossed.
John and Chas aren't back yet.
They'd driven into town a little over an hour ago – something about getting copper for some spell John wants to try. When they left, Zed had been happily drawing and told them to go without her. Now, as a wall cloud covers the sky, the knot in her stomach is tight and hard, and she can't stop clenching her jaw.
Lighting streaks across the sky, shortly followed by a burst of thunder that she can feel rattle in her chest. Something hard taps her shoulder and then bounces to the ground. Zed bends down and picks up the marble-sized piece of hail, rolling it in her palm as several thousand more fall from the sky, bouncing across the ground. In the distance, she can hear the tornado sirens begin to go up in town.
The truck comes hurrying up the road, lights on, windshield wipers flapping, and Zed discovers that she can breathe again. Chas parks and they both get out of the car.
"Are you off your trolley, woman? Get inside!" John yells over the sound of the hail.
He slams the truck door shut and Chas is on his heels as they scramble into the mill, closing the door behind them. He grips her hand, pulling her downstairs to the lower level, and all three of them cram into the bathroom downstairs. The lights go out.
Chas, broad as he is, takes up a lot of room, and the trio is standing in the tub. Chas stands off to the side so as to give them a little space, but even so, it's like sharing a closet with a Humvee. John throws an arm over Zed's shoulder, pulling her into his chest to give make more room as a freight train seems to roar by overhead. She leans into him in the dark, allows her head to drop onto his shoulder, feeling the vibration of the walls and the thrumming of his heart.
Eventually, the sound stops, and the air pressure hanging heavy releases; the entire mill shudders. The lights come back on and the three venture out into the mill to survey the damage. It's only when Zed is upstairs, looking around, that she realizes John is still holding her hand.
