Chapter 8

Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. Rain fell so hard that a person couldn't see a hand placed a few inches from their face. Re-Nee stood in the rain with a flashlight in hand. "LUKE! BRAY! AMBER! TRUDY!" she yelled, but the wind just carried her calls away. The light from her flashlight bounced as she ran back to the house.

Once inside, she heard the cries of the younger ones. Salene and Tina tried to comfort them, but nothing was working. "I want Daddy," Michael cried, while Brady cried, "Mommy!"

Danni brought a towel over to Re-Nee, but she shrugged it off. "Anything?" Guy asked. Re-Nee shook her head and the kids started a fresh batch of tears. Tina abruptly stood and began to pace. "Where could they be?!" she cried.

"Is there any place they could use for shelter?" Ellie asked. "I mean, that's the first thing Trudy and Amber would do-find shelter."

"There's nothing. There is a little patch of trees south of here, but nothing to protect them from this." Re-Nee scratched her head as she tried to gather her thoughts. "I'm going to go out again and see if I can see them."

"You can't!" cried Danni. "You're soaked through the skin. We don't need you to come down with something, especially with them missing."

"Danni, I have to, but if you want to help, grab a flashlight and go out the front door." Danni stood still, debating on how she could get out of doing it. She didn't want to get wet, just like anyone else in the room. Some couldn't afford to the chance of getting sick and some just didn't want to do it. Growing tired of waiting, Re-Nee turned her light back on and went back out the back door.

Re-Nee stood under the spray for a few minutes. The last time it had stormed this way, it had rain for a week. Everything had flooded and the boat.../Damn, we forgot to bring the boat in!/ Re-Nee thought, cursing herself. If things followed the last storm she was talking about, the boat would be destroyed.

Re-Nee began to swing the light around, hoping that maybe Luke or Bray would notice it. She turned when she thought she heard a sound, but it was just the wind playing tricks on her. A few more minutes passed and Re-Nee began to shiver. /What had Luke been thinking?/ Re-Nee thought. /He knew a storm was coming in. Why didn't he hurry? The four of them should have been home way before it even started to rain./

Re-Nee turned to face the house. /Maybe Danni is right; maybe it is worthless to be standing out here. Maybe Ellie is right too. I'm sure Luke and Bray could find a good place to last until a semblance of light can lead them back to the house./ Re-Nee was about to take a step when a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's not good to play in the rain?" Luke's teasing voice filled her ear. Looking over his shoulder, Re-Nee saw the other three missing people right behind him, each carrying baskets of supplies. "Well..." she asked, "what are you waiting for? GET INSIDE!" All of them turned and made a mad dash to the house. Once inside, they shook themselves like dogs after a bath.

"WHERE THE HEWERE YOU?" Re-Nee yelled. Her shout brought the others into the kitchen. Brady ran to her mom while Amber scooped Bray Jr. up. Luke looked a little sheepish while he tried to get his words together.

"The storm came quicker than I had expected," he said as he wrapped himself in a blanket Tina had brought him. Sitting down in a chair, he bent down to remove his soaked shoes. Once done, he pulled Michael into his lap. Bray, Amber, and Trudy also sat wrapped in blankets as they removed their shoes.

"I told them we should find shelter," Trudy said, hoping that she could help the situation some. Re-Nee sent her a quick look that told her to shut- up. "You knew full well when the storm would hit!" Re-Nee yelled. "You've lived on this island long enough to know! When the wind picks up and thunder starts to pound, that's a good indication that it's time to come back." Sarcasm rolled off her tongue. The Mallrats looked on, unsure of what they should do.

"At least they're back safe and sound," said Ellie. "That's all we should care about." Re-Nee looked at her with hatred in her eyes. Slamming down the flashlight, she ran from the room.

"That girl is seriously messed up," Ebony said. "It must come from staying on an island for to long with little human contact." Danni dropped the supplies she had taken from Amber. "Would you like to say that again?" she asked, getting into Ebony's face.

"She. Is. Messed. Up." Danni pulled her arm back, but was stopped by Guy grabbing a hold of her wrist. Ebony teased Danni, and Danni tired to pull free. Guy kept a strong grip on her wrist.

"Now is not the time," he whispered into her ear.

"But..." Danni began. Guy gave her one look and she dropped it. "You better watch yourself," she said to Ebony as she left the room. Others took this as their cue to leave also. Tina and Salene sent everyone up to their room, while they stayed behind to put the supplies up.

Seconds melted into minutes, minutes into hours, and hours into days. The rain continued its brutal assault on the island. Tensions were mounting and it wasn't unusual to stop the hourly fights between Danni and Ebony. At one point, everyone seriously consider letting them duel it out, but Slade and Guy stepped in. Re-Nee spent most of her time in her room, watching the rain bang against her window.

"Re-Nee?" Johnny asked, four days into the non-stop rain. Re-Nee looked away from the window and to her door. Johnny held a scared air to him, so she called him over. "What's wrong?" he asked as he climbed into her lap.

"Nothing baby," she said, looking back out the window. She felt him staring at her, so she looked back down at him. "What's wrong with you?"

"Is it going to stop soon?" It took a moment for Re-Nee to figure out exactly what Johnny was talking about. "Of course," she said, rubbing his back. "And when the sun starts to shine, everyone will be happy again. It'll go back to normal."

"Will the Mallrats leave?" Johnny seemed angry, but Re-Nee wasn't sure why.

"Do you want them to?" she asked, turning him so it was easier to look into his eyes. Johnny nodded his head quickly. "Why?"

"Before they came, we were happy. Now everybody fights. You don't talk to anyone, Danni is always yelling, Luke is skittish, and Michael spends all his time with Mouse and Brady."

"So that's why you're with me and not him. He's still you're friend, you know? Have you tried playing with them too?" Re-Nee felt a smile touch her lips, but she tried not to let it show. It would only upset Johnny more.

"I tried, but Mouse is too bossy. She wants it all her way." Johnny's pout grew with each word he said.

"Some times it's easier to let someone have it their way first. As soon as their through, they play what you want to. Do you remember when we first came to the island?" Re-Nee waited until Johnny looked up at her. "You would always want to play hide-and-seek, while I always wanted you to play something by yourself. Finally, I gave in and we would play hide-and-seek. Do you know what happened next?"

"I would go play with my trucks?" Johnny said, understanding Re-Nee's point. She nodded her head. "Now, will you go play nicely?" she asked.

"Yes!" he said, jumping up from her lap. She laughed as he ran out of the room. During his mad dash, he almost ran into Salene. Re-Nee sobered some when she realized Salene wanted to talk to her.

"You've done well with him," Salene said.

"Thank you," Re-Nee whispered. "You can come on in." Salene was a little nervous, but finally entered. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Salene joined Re-Nee in the solace of looking out the window.

"I didn't know it could rain so much," Salene said. When Re-Nee didn't say anything, Salene made a move to get up. "I'm sorry to disturb you," she whispered as she began to walk out the door.

"You don't have to leave," Re-Nee said, looking from the window. "I...I just don't know what to say. There are so many thoughts going through my head..."

"If you need to talk, I'll listen. Sometimes it's better to tell strangers what's wrong."

"Thank you, but not right now..." The two sat back down and watched the rain.

"Jack!" Ellie yelled down the stairs. Jack placed his fingers in his ears and pretended he couldn't hear her. The guys laughed at his antics. Lex finally patted Jack's shoulder, causing him to bring his head up.

"You're being summoned," Jay said trying to act like Ellie had an important message for Jack. "Go quickly, before you anger Her Majesty."

"Shuddup!" Jack mumbled. This cause Jay and Lex to laugh even harder. Seeing it would be easier to go to Ellie, Jack got up and left the guys to laugh. It wasn't as if Jack was growing tired of Ellie, it was just that he was tired. The two of them had been trying to figure out exactly what Luke had meant. That meant they had spent the last four days remembering everything that had happened three years ago.

It wasn't an easy track, especially when it was a time you wanted to forget. After all this time, they still hadn't figured anything out. Finally, reaching their bedroom door, Jack looked inside. Ellie had paper strewn all over the floor. Each was a product of their hard work and memories. "Well?" he asked.

"We need to get Tina to talk," Ellie said matter-of-factly. Jack stood dumbfounded. /That's all she wanted?/ he thought. /Why am I still in this relationship?/ the evil side thought.

"Ellie," Jack said a little tiredly, "I know. We decided that the first day, but we don't know how."

"Maybe we can get Salene or Trudy..." Ellie suggested. "Salene would be really good. She's such a motherly figure. She'll want to know all about that..." Ellie continued to ramble as she thought about it. Jack was about the pull his hair out when Ellie finally shouted, "That settles it! Salene will talk to Tina!"

A/N: Well... here's chapter 8. Chapter nine is almost done... well, half-way through it's first draft. Expect it soon... a week and a half at the most...