Authors: Rose Wulf
Chapter Fifteen
Apparently, Blake had decided to put a slight spin on the
traditional dinner-and-a-movie date, because when they climbed back into his
car after the movie, he pointed them in the direction of the beach, a direction
which was not the shortest route to either of their homes.
Before she could say anything, though, Blake was speaking.
“Now, I know the beach isn’t all that original, but I want you to trust me.
It’s worth it.”
Intrigued, Brooke looked over at him. “And what are we
going to do on the beach at six o’clock at night?” She certainly had a few
cliché ideas she wasn’t nearly above trying out, but she wanted to hear his
first.
Blake’s lips curved in a grin, but he never took his eyes
from the road. “You’ll see.”
Brooke laughed, allowing him his mysterious moment, and let
her gaze return to the road ahead. They talked a little about the movie, until
Brooke interrupted herself when she realized they had just driven past the
parking lot. “Um, Blake…?”
He chuckled, clearly unsurprised by her confusion. “You
don’t think that’s the only decent beach around here, do you?”
Not wanting to admit that the thought hadn’t even occurred
to her, Brooke was silent a moment before she finally said, “Is this the ‘trust
you’ part?”
“I suppose it could be,” Blake replied easily as he slowed.
Brooke watched silently as he eased the Mustang off the
interstate and onto a gravel road. The road curved, descending gradually, until
it came to a stop on a large, flat outcropping made of dirt and gravel. There
was room for probably about six average-sized vehicles, but there weren’t any
others there at the moment. The rough parking area was just a few yards from
the sandy shore of the beach.
And it was then that Brooke realized this part of the beach
was separated from the main section by a large formation of rock; rock she had
looked at before, from the other side, and wondered what was hidden behind it.
I guess now I know
. She almost felt
stupid for not figuring it out before. The gravel road was less than five
minutes from the public beach.
As Blake pulled the keys from the ignition, Brooke looked
over at him and asked, “Are we even allowed to be here?”
Blake raised an eyebrow at her and teased, “Do you think
I’d risk getting you arrested? This beach is just as available as the other
one. But it’s a little rockier, so they consider it more dangerous, and they
think if they don’t pave the roads or advertise it that people will stay away.”
“Right,” Brooke said, understanding. She rolled her eyes.
“They aren’t very bright, are they?”
“I do have my doubts. Now come on.” With that, he pushed
open his door and climbed out.
Brooke wasted no time following him and paused to take a
deep breath of the salty air after she’d shut the door. Sure, it was pretty
much the same as the air in town, and she had spent enough time at the beach to
be acclimated to the very slight change, but the air somehow felt different in
that moment. She rolled her eyes at herself.
Unless he hid his brother behind one of those rocks, the air’s exactly
the same. It’s not going to change just because you’re on a date, you idiot.
The solid
thunk
of the closing trunk drew Brooke’s attention, and she
looked over as she realized Blake had retrieved something that had been hidden
there. He walked around to her side before she could ask anything, and her eyes
landed immediately on the quilt draped over his arm and the small ice chest
hanging from his hand. Her eyes widened and darted back up to his face.
Blake was grinning again. He held out his free hand. “I
hope you don’t mind.”
Her own lips curving broadly, Brooke accepted his hand and
walked beside him. “Not at all.”
They reached the smaller beach in no time, and Blake
released her hand to set the ice chest down and unfold the quilt. As he shook
it out carefully, Brooke allowed herself to look around.
From the waves crashing against mostly hidden rocks a short
ways out to sea, she could see what Blake had meant by it being more dangerous,
but that didn’t take away from the beauty. The sun hadn’t fully set yet, though
it was well on its way, and the sky was alight with color. The typical coastal
fog was only beginning to roll in, adding a strange, mystical feeling to the
atmosphere. And when she tilted her head up a bit more, she realized the moon
and stars were just beginning to shine.
Deep, gentle chuckling drew her attention back to her
companion, and she flushed despite herself. “Sorry,” she said as she realized
he was already sitting patiently. “It’s just … kind of perfect right now.”
He smiled. “Yeah, I was hoping it would be. And when the
sun’s fully set, we’ll stay a little longer so you can see the stars.”
Brooke returned the smile and moved to settle herself on
the quilt beside him. “Just don’t get lost in the fog on the way out.”
Blake reached back for the ice chest. “I’ll put in a little
extra effort, just for you,” he promised. As he popped open the lid, he added,
“I thought I’d go light. I hope that’s okay.”
“That sounds great,” Brooke replied honestly.
With another grin, Blake dove one hand into the box and
wrapped his fingers around the first sandwich.
Brooke’s gaze travelled, without conscious direction, back
to the sky. She wanted to see a bit more of the sunset before it was gone, but
what her eyes found themselves focusing on was something she hadn’t seen a
minute before. As she watched, the few dark clouds multiplied. It looked almost
like they were building upon each other—like they were alive. It was the
strangest thing she’d ever seen, and quite possibly the most ominous as well.
Her stomach plummeted to her feet, and she swallowed
heavily before saying, “Blake … turn around.”
Blake paused, two sandwiches clasped carefully in one hand,
and lifted his head from his task. He followed her gaze to see that the black
clouds were nearly covering the sky now. And the fog was rolling in far too
quickly.
Then the first crack of thunder sounded. It was so loud,
and so close, that it practically shook the air around them.
Dropping the sandwiches carelessly back into the ice chest,
Blake said, “We need to go—now!”
“Oh my God,” Brooke breathed as she scrambled to her feet.
Apparently, he thought it seemed pretty unnatural, too. Her heart was already
pounding against her ribcage, and her arm hurt with the memory of the glass
that had torn into it. She
hated
storms. This kind of situation wasn’t helping that in the slightest.
“It’ll be okay,” Blake said, his tone assuring her he
remembered her fear. He used his foot to shove the ice chest out of the way as
he hurriedly pulled the quilt off the ground, not bothering to fold it.
The sky above them, now darkened by a thick blanket of
clouds, flashed brightly. Another crack sounded, but this wasn’t exactly the
same as thunder. The couple froze for an instant, and as one their heads turned
toward the road they’d driven in on. Lightning had struck the ground between
them and Blake’s car. Thunder crashed again, seeming to echo the fire that
suddenly roared to life.
Blake shoved the bunched-up and dangling quilt under his
arm before using that same hand to grab the handle on the ice chest. He reached
out and took Brooke’s nearest hand into his, holding tightly to reassure her.
“Let’s run.”
Brooke gaped at him. “
Toward
the fire?” Her incredulous tone was understandable, if fortunately misplaced.
“Yes,” he replied. “My car’s on the other side. We’ll be
fine.”
The sky flashed again, and Blake pulled her against him.
Brooke forced herself to keep her eyes open, remembering that lightning was
poisonous to him. She could only pray it didn’t strike too close.
The lightning struck the sand, but apparently not close
enough to incapacitate Blake as he remained standing strong. “Trust me,” he
said.
Still pressed against him, Brooke forced her hands to
release his shirt and nodded. “I do.” She wished her voice were stronger.
Keeping hold of her hand, Blake began running forward even
as another round of thunder rolled overhead. It was so close they could almost
feel it now.
Brooke ran beside him, dragging in deep breaths and trying
to stay calm. She needed to stay rational and she knew it. But she really
wished her boyfriend’s mortal enemies had some
other
kind of power.
Really,
there are lots of other terrifying things. Like zombies, or magical, man-eating
spiders.
The flames were close now. Or, more accurately, they were
closer to the flames. The fire was, for the moment, largely contained on the
small field of mostly dead grass between the parking area and the beach. But
they would have a serious problem if it went backwards and made it to the car.
“Blake,” Brooke said again as they continued running.
“It’s okay,” Blake said, his voice stable and strangely
calm.
And then, even as the sky lit up again and another crack of
lightning hit the sand behind them, Brooke registered the sound of crashing
waves. The sound was stronger, more urgent and violent than it had been before
the storm rolled in. But she doubted the storm had caused the change.
Before she could think more on it, her eyes widened as a
veritable tidal wave rose up, towering over and above them.
Blake drew her nearer before releasing her hand and
wrapping his arm entirely around her waist. He held her against him tightly as
the water crashed down in front of them, landing squarely on the flames. But he
didn’t seem to trust that the flames were entirely smothered, because a portion
of the wave separated, swirling around the couple and pulling them literally
off the ground. The term ‘flying water’ slowly echoed through Brooke’s mind as
she twisted her hands tighter in the back of his shirt. Her feet were suddenly
half-submerged in water and very much
not
on the ground. Thunder rolled overhead, but she focused on the continuous crash
of the waves around her. And she allowed herself to be somewhat amazed as they
seemed to glide forward on the wave, curving around the burnt earth safely. It
seemed impossible, even fantastical. She might have described it as ‘awesome’
were they not fleeing for their lives.
The water lowered them almost as quickly as it had lifted
them, and Brooke realized that hard-packed dirt and gravel were once again
beneath her feet. They were standing beside Blake’s car, on the other side of
the now-smoldering fire.
“It’s still unlocked,” Blake told her as he released her
entirely. “Get in. I’ll be right behind you.”
Brooke barely took the time to nod before she darted around
the car and yanked open the passenger door. As she quickly clambered inside,
noticing that Blake was throwing their would-be picnic dinner into the trunk,
lightning lit up the sky once more. Everything was white for a long moment, and
Brooke felt her heart lurch.
Surely, after that strike, the air around them was charged
with electricity by now. At least enough to do some damage.
“Blake!” Brooke cried, turning to jump back out of the car.
She might be afraid of storms, but she wasn’t so afraid that she would cower
while he risked his life for her.
The driver’s side door was yanked open before she could get
her second foot back on the ground.
“I’m fine, but we need to go.” Blake nearly leapt into the
driver’s seat. “That last strike was way too close.”
Brooke turned, her eyes examining him to see how much he
might have been exaggerating.
He looked a little more pale than usual, his eyes were
bloodshot, and his breathing was something less than stable. She’d never seen
him like this before, and she didn’t want to ever again.
“Should I drive?”
Blake paused a moment after he pulled his door closed
solidly and looked over at her. With a slight shake of his head, he replied,
“No. But you should buckle up.”
Brooke obediently yanked her door shut and snapped her
seatbelt into place. By the time she was done, Blake had put the car into
motion and was moving up the gravel road.
The storm still raged above them, reminding them of the continued
threat as the sky lit up again and lightning tore across their line of sight.
It crashed onto the road several yards away, and Blake increased his speed.
Neither spoke as he did his best to put the unnatural storm
behind them.
The storm was somewhere behind them, out of sight, when
Blake pulled up to Brooke’s apartment and cut the engine. They hadn’t said a
word since they’d hit the interstate; for the most part, Brooke’s eyes had been
glued to the side mirror. But she was watching as Blake tugged the key from the
ignition with shaky hands.
He was still too pale, and a fine line of sweat had broken
out along his brow. He was taking too-deep breaths, and he clenched his fist
around his keys right about when Brooke realized his hand had been shaking.
“Blake…” Brooke began, not entirely sure how to say what
she wanted. Her panic was behind her now, and she felt incredibly guilty. She
might have been afraid of bad storms, but lightning was literally
lethal
to him. And still she’d let him
take charge of the situation. But even more than the embarrassment and guilt,
she was worried.
Blake swallowed and said quietly, “I’m sorry. I didn’t even
think about the danger. Are you all right?”
Brooke frowned at him when he finally met her gaze. He
looked exhausted. “I’m fine,” she replied pointedly. “It’s you I’m worried
about.”
Shaking his head stubbornly, Blake said, “I’ll be fine,
don’t worry.”
Knowing full well he was deliberately trying to down-play
how he was feeling, Brooke scowled at him and reached over, snatching his keys
from his loosened grip.