Are you bored yet? I hope not! Are you hooked? Good! lol Because in this chapter, the real story starts. So sit back, relax, and keep on reading!
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Chapter Four
- Hurricane Warning! -
When I walked out onto the patio I thought I was all alone. It was only when I heard a masculine "hey" that I looked up, surprised.
Riku was on the patio too, leaning against the side. The breeze was blowing his feathery white hair, and there was a calm, reserved look in his eyes – a look that I think only Riku possessed. I came up and stood a few feet away from him after saying hello back, watching the moonlight sparkle on the sea and studying my bracelet again. "Nice weather we're having," I said, feeling awkward. Oh yeah, real smooth Jess. Everyone knows that phrase is always used in an attempt to start a conversation with a stranger. Surprisingly, even after not talking to me for so long, Riku responded like I'd been there all along.
"Yeah, it is now," he said. "But it won't be this way for much longer. This is just the calm before the storm."
I turned my eyes towards him without moving my head. "What do you mean?"
Riku looked at me, a confused frown appearing on his face. "Haven't you heard?" he asked. "It's been all over the news. The Weather Channel has been talking about a hurricane warning and how it's the season for them now…I think something's definitely coming."
"Hurricane warning?" I echoed, feeling my mind begin to race.
"Yeah. They actually issued one just a few days ago for this area."
My mind was going about a hundred miles per hour then. "I haven't heard anything about it," I told him. "Wouldn't people be talking about something that serious?"
"I…guess not," Riku said. I could tell he was getting frusterated. "It's not a joke though. The warning is real...it was on the news."
"But someone would have to be concerned enough to start boarding up their homes, or evacuate, or something!"
"Well, they're not!" Riku sighed heavily and rubbed his forehead. "I don't know what to tell you, Jessica. I really don't."
Silence.
I gazed hard at Riku, overwhelmed. "So, it's just going to hit us head on and devastate the island?" He didn't look at me, so I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. I knew he had to feel hopeless because he was the only one that seemed worried about the storm coming. "What do you think, Riku?"
"I hope it avoids us by about a hundred miles and just dissipates into the ocean, but you know that isn't going to happen." Riku's eyes were clouded with fear and doubt now…and that scared me. I had never seen him like this before.
I looked down at the ocean again, still trying to digest what I had been told. After talking a little while longer it was obvious that Riku wanted to keep to himself, so I said a few quick words and went back inside.
Wakka was in the kitchen, trying to be discreet in getting another piece of cake. When he saw me chuckled, a little embarrassed. "Don't mind me," he said in his unique accent. His usual spiked-up hair had been slicked back against his head for the occasion, and it looked extremely humorous. I didn't laugh though, like I usually would have. I don't even know if I said something back to Wakka or if he said something else to me, for my mind was in another place. I was thinking about the hurricane with mixed emotions. I wasn't fearful, but my joy had been sliced in half. If the warnings were such a big deal, why hadn't I seen or heard people talking about it? If it were really serious, they'd be acting less carefree than they were now, right?
Right?
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Later on that night, I could hear the wind screaming up the shoreline. The trees were scraping up against the side of Kairi's house, making an eerie noise. Thunder boomed and seemed to shake the earth itself, and through my bedsheets I could see bright, persistent flashes of lightning. The rain poured down on the roof, and even though I knew it was well-built I began to worry about it somehow caving in.
I sighed heavily, upset from being woken and not able to go back to sleep because of all the noise. I don't think anyone on the Destiny Islands was sleeping now – how could they with what was going on outside? I decided that I would definitely talk to Kairi about the hurricane warnings tomorrow. I had a feeling that even though she hadn't said anything about it, she knew a lot more than I did. I tossed and turned a few more minutes, then glanced out from under my covers at the bright green glow of the digital clock. Only 2:30 am.
This was going to be a long night.