Long Island

Chapter 30: A Storm and a Boat

Raka made really thick doors and timber walls making sure that each piece of timber fit perfectly. And then he applied a mud paste on the inside and outside to fill in whatever tiny gaps remained. All he would have to do is apply this mud paste regularly and it should work fine. 'A plastic sheet would have been better.'

And then there were the crisscrossing beams which held the walls and roof together. Even then Raka was not satisfied. 'Should I build a safe room?' Raka considered. And then he dug a hole about 8 feet deep and 8 feet wide in the inside of the house. He built wooden support around the side and covered the whole thing with a solid wooden gate. Looking like the surrounding wooden floorboards, it could act like a secret room also.

'Hmm...seems solid.' Raka jumped on the gate. In regular use, the gate would remain closed allowing him to walk over it.

A small yard in the back automatically formed where Raka kept his sorted building materials. After having used most of materials, he made a small picket fence all around it to make it a back yard.

'Hmm...the remaining materials can be used to build exercise equipment or something.'

Raka also thought about what to put inside the house. As a player, he did not need much. Most of the cooking he had done didn't require utensils or many pots or pans. He wouldn't sleep in the game, so he didn't need a bed. Still he had made a chimney so it made sense having a small fireplace or kitchenette where he could hang a pot and make stew or something.

'Hmm...what else should I put in?' Raka kept thinking while working diligently to finish the house.

"Raka bro, a storm is coming!" Fadan shouted.

Raka turned around to look at him and found Fadan staring at the sky. Raka looked up and sure enough many coiling black clouds appeared on the horizon moving swiftly towards the island.

"You can tell its not simply rain?" Raka asked.

"Yes. My father taught me when the black clouds coil like that and approach without any thunder and lightning, it means a big storm is coming."

Soon enough, Raka heard shouting.

"Fadan come back home quickly." Fawna shouted as she came. "Raka, you should come as well. This storm is going to be very big."

"Um..Fawna, how can you tell how big the storm is going to be?" Raka was curious.

"Just look at the size of those clouds. They cover the entire horizon. And the wind had died down since a while ago. It means a big storm is coming. It looks like it will reach soon. Now hurry up and come."

"Um..I think I will stay in my own house. I just need to put in a a few planks on the roof and it will be done." Raka replied.

"Alright then, hurry up. Don't take too long or the wind would start blowing really hard. Fadan, let's go already." Fawna dragged Fadan back home.

Raka looked around and some people had started moving towards the beach. He saw Guran among them and shouted.

"Guran, why are you headed to the beach?"

"Gotta secure the boats before the storm hits," Guran shouted back.

"Should I come too?" Raka asked.

"No need. We will just hurry up there and get back soon."

Raka hurried to finish his house as well. He put the last two planks in place and started hammering them down.