Thanks again to the wonderful reviewers! You guys brighten up my day!
Part 4
Harm woke up soon after dawn and his dream suddenly disappeared straight down the pipes, as he realised that Mac was no longer with him.
She was in her own room next door, pacing the floor and thinking about what a disaster this all had become. With the clarity of hindsight, she knew that what they had done was wrong…Well, maybe not the act itself. That had been beautiful, amazing…But the fact that it had come before they had sat down and worked out all of the past problems between them; that was wrong.
"How on earth could this possibly get any worse?" they both simultaneously thought to themselves. But they were wrong; it was about to get worse still, a lot worse…
Saturday, July 5th
700 Local
Malekula Guest House,
Malekula, Vanuatu
The next day the rain poured all day long, which wasn't all that surprising, due to the time of year. Nobody took it to be anything more than a seasonal storm. But as the hours passed, it became worse and worse. The trees along the main-street began to sway back and forth with the ebbing winds.
Harm and Mac decided to stay indoors and avoid each other and the embarrassment that a confrontation would bring, although they'd need to face each other sooner of later.
Gusts of wind carried showers of beach sand and the rain came down in strong sheets. Mac studied it all from her window. The rain was not the sort of rain that they got back in DC; it was the kind with huge, fat droplets, the kind that would have you soaked through in a matter of seconds. Still, at least this rain was a good deal warmer than back in DC. All of the local people seemed to know just when rain storms were coming, but to Harm and Mac they seemed unpredictable, announced only by a great gust of wind or a crackle of thunder, before the heavens let loose with their terrific burden. The pattern of rainfall beat an undulating tune on the corrugated iron roofs of the houses and Mac found it rather hypnotic. It was a shame they weren't within sight of the beach, she bet the waves breaking the shoreline would be something to see.
Just then, Mr. Matse, the owner of the small hotel shuffled past the open-shuttered window, off to take care of some task or other.
"Good morning," Mac greeted him cheerfully, and the pleasant, elderly man beamed back, "It's some day today, isn't it?"
Mr. Matse stopped to chat for a while, something he was fond of as it allowed him to showcase his good English. They talked of inconsequential things, the weather they were having; it was the cast-off of a tropical storm that was passing through some nearby islands, but would not be effecting them; his American childhood, where he had acquired his English, forty-seven years before; the research station, bringing many people to the island and contributing to the island's tourism. After this, he excused himself and shuffled off, waving good-bye and getting back to his chores. Mac continued to sit looking out of her window, just watching the world around her go quiet of human activity but bustling with nature's forceful power.
OOOO
She and Harm had dinner separately and they both retired to bed, with the fierce wind and rain still beating down upon the village.
Harm was asleep when the wind and rain began to pick up, but Mac was still awake, reading a magazine she had brought with her. The glossy images depicting Hollywood's A-listers seemed to be a world away from her surrounding now. She was suddenly distracted by a loud whine. It was almost as if the small hotel was protesting, she thought to herself, against the relentless wind and rain. It was really picking up, now. Mac decided that she'd go outside and see what was going on out there. She'd get some fresh air and nature's fury was bound to be more interesting than this magazine that she was reading for about the third time.
She put on a pair of sweats and sneakers, intending to perhaps take a bit of a walk under the sheltered walkway of the guesthouse. She was barely out the door when a huge gust of wind and rain hit.
"Oh my …" Mac thought to herself.
Suddenly something grabbed her arm and Mac took a second to register that it was Philip Matse, still in his pyjamas and slippers.
"Quick, we must get everyone out…Help me to knock on doors…"
Mac's military training kicked in and she and Mr. Matse hastily started to knock on the doors of the guesthouse. Harm's room was right next to Mac's, so was the first one on Mac's list. She banged urgently with her fist on the door and waited many tense seconds until Harm answered, dishevelled and confused.
"Mac! What the hell!"
Mac quickly pulled him out into the building mayhem that was the storm.
"Help me!" she shouted over the noise of the wind and rain, urgently.
As she banged on the next door and told the guest that they had to evacuate, Harm quickly snapped to and launched into action. By the time the guests were building up under the walkway, an ominous sound escaped from what seemed to be the very heart of the building. It was another groan, this time much louder than the first that Mac had heard. But this time it was accompanied by a nasty splintering noise.
"Faster!" Mr Matse shouted.
Everyone now launched into the operation and soon Mr. Matse was guiding them all away from the building and into the driving rain. The stinging sensation of the violent rain actually took Mac's breath away, but she was quickly distracted by the noise of the guesthouse seemingly splintering into pieces. Nobody dared look back but by the crash that shook the ground beneath them, they could tell that the building had collapsed behind them. They kept running and were joined by others evacuating their houses. They escaped into the rainforest, dazed and soaking wet.
OOOO