The building shook and brought Alice out of a deep sleep in a state of near panic. Mr. Carlos was beside her in a moment to hug her. "It's alright… that thunder was just really close. I think the lightning took out the street light on the corner."
She clung to him for a moment before fully waking up and getting control of herself again. The radio was silent.
"Is Mr. Cecil okay?" She asked, looking at the box in concern.
"I'm sure he's fine. There's a good chance lightning knocked them off the air temporarily. It would probably be a good idea to stay away from the windows, though." Mr. Carlos' words were almost drowned out by another violent clap of thunder that made all the glass jars around them clink together.
She nodded, stood carefully and went to find Pollyanna. As scared as she was she needed a bit of the girl's cheer.
"Hey! Something's going on outside!" One of the scientists called. Alice warily glanced back at the long front window where he was peering into the darkness and before she could protest Pollyanna darted by, grabbed her arm and dragged her with.
Looking out over the girl's shoulder, she saw only darkness except for the narrow band of light cast from their own window and for brief moments as lightning flashed overhead.
In those flashes she could see the feral dogs circling and the young boy they protected strolling by. He seemed entirely unconcerned with the rain and unafraid of the lightning. As he neared the lone source of light on the street he stopped and turned to look in at them. Alice shrank back - though he looked like an absolutely normal and entirely sweet little child there was something in his eyes… it was similar to that dark knowing she saw when Mr. Cecil looked at her but so much worse. It made her stomach twist in knots.
He took a step toward the door and one of the scientists broke away to make sure it was locked. In the next flash of light Alice saw a girl - she appeared to be a year or two older than Damien and looked just as innocent but she was not smiling. Her black hair fell in braids over either shoulder and she wore a simple mourning dress, black with a white collar. As the boy did, she ignored the rain and simply called out to him.
Alice blinked as she realized the feral dogs were not attacking her. This seemed to occur to the boy as well when he turned to look from her to the dogs and back. It was frustrating to be unable to hear what was said.
"What are you doing?" One of the scientists said softly. As he spoke Alice realized the man was matching what the girl was saying.
"I didn't know you could read lips." Mr. Carlos said with an interested smile.
"I like your dogs." The man continued. "Do you want to play? It's a lovely night."
He paused, unable to see or hear the response since Damien's back was to them.
"My name's Wednesday, what's yours?" He paused again. "I like that. Want to play 'wild hunt'?"
Alice shuddered. She wasn't sure what that was and she was quite certain she didn't want to.
"Really? It's lots of fun and you've already got the dogs! All we have to do is find someone outside and see if we can catch them before the sun comes up. If we can't we just have to try again after sunset tomorrow." The man said uncertainly.
It seemed Damien agreed because he approached Wednesday, linked his arm with hers and they skipped off in search of someone outdoors with the feral dogs scouting ahead.
"What is wrong with those kids!?" The scientist asked, shaking his head.
"I don't know but I think we need to make a few calls and be sure no one is left outside. I'll call Cecil and the Mayor. You call the Sheriff… the rest of you get hold of any business you can and have them spread the word. Someone call the hospital, too." Mr. Carlos said firmly.
"What about Mowgli?" Alice whispered, now worried about the poor boy and his wolves.
"Well, if what I've heard is true," Pollyanna answered cheerfully. "He'll be able to escape them just fine until dawn!"
Alice nodded and hoped the optimistic girl was right.
Over the next few hours the storm began to weaken, the lightning was less frequent, the thunder softer and the rain became lighter. Few were able to sleep so all were awake to see the sunlight shining below the clouds at dawn. Before long it had burned away the clouds and aside from the wet ground and damage from the lightning, everything seemed quite normal.
By then Mr. Cecil had run from the radio station to the lab so he could be absolutely sure Mr. Carlos was alright. He had been keeping well updated on the situation and let them all know that Mowgli had eluded the two children, both of whom were now sleeping peacefully in the subway station Damien had claimed as his own with the feral dogs standing watch.
City officials were still trying to tally the damage and figure out how much it would cost to fix everything but Cecil said Pamela Winchell, the Director of Emergency Press Conferences for Night Vale, had said the Mayor declared this a day to recover from the events of the last few days and no businesses were expected to be open unless they really, really wanted to.
Since it was deemed a day off and everyone was exhausted, the scientists all went home and Alice went with Mr. Carlos back to the apartment while Mr. Cecil escorted Pollyanna back to City Hall where Mayor Cardinal would be waiting.
Alice was looking forward to sleeping in her nice comfortable bed after the long, fear filled night.
A/N: I hope for two things at this point. First and foremost, that you have been enjoying the story. Second, that you are not covered in angry fire ants. Seriously - that would be awful.
Today's proverb: Don't throw waffles at proper gentlemen. They prefer pancakes.