The Wolves of Cain

Half Truths and Full On Lies

Date: 2-15-17

Chapter 8: Half Truths and Full On Lies

When Jerica got home from the party she got ready for bed quickly. Thunder was rumbling outside as she grabbed her phone to plug it in. As she bent down and reached forward, her fingertips brushed against the outlet.

It shocked Jerica and the last thing she heard before going unconscious was a scream and lightning striking something in the distance.

~*~

Lena wakes up on the ground, soaking wet from the rain that's still coming down unyieldingly. She sits up and glances around in a daze, shaking from the cold and the shock. She remembered the lightning.

Ivie lies unmoving under a tree as her sister gets up on shaky legs. Lena slowly but surely walks over to Ivie and drops down beside her. A small green bug is crawling along Ivie's arm, so Lena brushes it off.

Lena shakes Ivie to wake her, causing her to let out a soft groan of pain. Lena helps pull her to a sitting position against the tree. It provides some cover so they're no longer getting rained on. It doesn't help much because both of them are completely soaked.

Lena practically drags her older sister to the car. Lena wrestles with the keys and finally gets them in. She drives home very slowly, trying to be extra cautious.

On the way to their house, Ivie wakes up almost completely. "Did we get hit by lightning?" Ivie asks in a sleepy tone.

Lena nods, not taking her eyes off the road. Lena is no longer shaky, she actually feels energized. Like a charged battery.

"Isn't that impossible? No human can survive a lightning strike." Ivie points out. Her sister shrugs and shuffles in her seat, starting to feel restless.

"How do you feel, Ivie?" Lena asks, risking a glance back at her. She's sinking down in the backseat.

"Eh, I'm okay I guess." Ivie responds unenthusiastically. "What about you?" She slurs her words. Lena decides it's safe to talk freely with Ivie because she probably won't remember this later.

"I actually feel great!" Lena sees out of the mirror that Ivie is giving her a weird look. Lena quickly jumps to explaining.

"When the lightning hit me, I never felt it leave. I feel super energized, like the electricity never left my veins!" Lena's become excited so she quiets down a bit.

"That's not possible." Ivie says condescendingly. She doesn't apologize, so Lena knows that she's really out of it.

They arrive home just then, and as soon as they enter their house, their parents lecture them on being late. It turns out that they were lying unconscious for over an hour after being struck by lightning.

~*~

Lucas is jerked awake by a scream that cuts off sharply. He runs upstairs and bursts into Jerica's bedroom and sees her lying on the ground.

He runs over and shakes his younger sister, telling her to wake up. Mason rushes in and hovers behind him, trying to figure out what happened.

Jerica opens her eyes and jerks away from Lucas. "What are you doing?" She asks him angrily.

Lucas leans away from Jerica to give her some space. "I was just coming to see if you were okay. I heard you scream." He explains, confused about what's going on.

Jerica moves to stand up, so Lucas grabs her arm for support. "Sorry, I think the wall shocked me." Jerica no longer sounds hurt, although Lucas is still concerned because the girl never says sorry.