NORA
Nora stepped out of the bathroom, her hair pulled out of her face by her turban. She was grateful for the leggings and hoodie, since the temperature had dropped dramatically after she'd last been out of the bathroom.
Mouse was sitting in front of the television, his eyes glued to the screen. Harrison stood behind him with his arms crossed over his chest and Maxi was sitting on one of the bar stools, packet of crackers forgotten as he stared at the reporter.
"What's going-"
"Shush," Mouse cut her off with a hand raised in the air.
Nora turned to the T.V., where a female reporter was talking about the storm that was supposed to hit them before noon. "...winds of up to one hundred miles an hour, and most likely several tornadoes touching down around the area New South Wales and Bondi Beach. Today is not a day to be hanging out on the sand, everybody. Be careful of the lightning strikes, and the hail as well," She was saying.
When the channel switched to a different story, Mouse turned to Nora and apologized, "Sorry, I just needed to hear that so I knew what was going on," He explained.
"That's alright," Nora wasn't perturbed. She understood.
"Should we take shelter?" Harrison asked.
"Nah," Mouse replied, "It's never as bad as the reports say. If we absolutely have to, we can go down to the car park, since it's underground," He glanced at Nora, "You okay with that, kiddo? We can go down now if you want to."
Nora shrugged. There were tornadoes and hail storms all the time in Nebraska and Iowa. She wasn't afraid. "I love big storms," She said.
"'Course you do," Mouse chuckled at her and then looked at her hoodie, "Have I seen that one before?"
"No, it was from my old job back in the states," Nora explained.
"You were a lifeguard?"
"Just for a pool, nothing like what you guys do," She shuddered to imagine the responsibility on the beach.
"Well did you ever do a rescue?" Maxi asked from the counter.
Nora glanced at him and shook her head, "I'm not old enough to rescue people, but I did two resuscitations and put a few people on a spinal board. I was like the first aid person."
"Oh, really?" Mouse looked surprised, "I learn more about you every day, Nora."
Nora giggled. She was about to reply, but a loud crack of thunder outside made her jump and she glanced out the patio door window. Large, pure black clouds were looming dangerously on the horizon. The seas were beginning to roil as pedestrians and tourists started to flee the beach. Nora watched as lightning struck the water a little farther away.
"This'll be fun," Nora remarked. And even as she watched, the storm was starting to come closer. Nora saw shadows beginning to spread over the cliffs and toward the sandy part of Bondi Beach.
Harrison and Mouse both chuckled at her, but Maxi was silent. He was busy staring at the storm.
Nora walked over to the couch and plopped down beside Mouse. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her half onto his lap in just the way she liked. She curled into his side and watched as he began to try and braid her wet hair.
Harrison sat down in the chair, watching the T.V. as the lady turned back to the weather, warning everybody again to 'take shelter immediately'.
Mouse's phone rang at the same time Maxi's and Harrison's did. He reached over to the end table and grabbed it, "It's Whippet," He said.
"Corey's calling me," Harrison responded.
"My mum's calling me," Maxi turned and walked into his bedroom, pressing the pickup call on his mobile phone.
Mouse picked up his own phone and said, "Whippet, man, what's up?"
Nora heard a faint voice reply, "You're not thinking of doing anything stupid, mate, are you?"
"Well what counts as stupid in your books?" Mouse responded casually.
"Waiting to take shelter until the last minute."
"We'll be fine, Whippet. You need to worry about your family."
"I just don't want a repeat of last time."
"There won't be a repeat of last time, and last time wasn't even that bad."
"But-"
"No buts. I've got it handled, Whip. Bye."
Mouse hung up the phone and then set it on the table beside the couch. Nora laughed slightly. It was just like him to totally disregard the safety warnings. Not that Mouse was really unsafe, but he liked to figure out dangers for himself most of the time.
"Corey says to tell you not to do anything stupid like last time," Harrison informed Mouse as he also got off of the phone.
Nora laughed again as Mouse huffed, "Whippet said the same thing. I don't know why they are so mistrusting! I decide to go surfing during one tiny storm and now they're all like 'oh, Mouse, better not do that again'!"
"What are you laughing at?" Mouse retorted when Nora's light giggles turned into even harder belly laughs.
And then he started tickling her.
Mouse only stopped his attack on Nora when there was a flash of lightning right outside the door, and then a deafening crack of thunder a half second later. Nora jumped, startled, and Mouse wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest as the rain started to fall.
And when it fell, it fell. Heavy, hard raindrops were pelting the door and the patio with force unequal to anything Nora had ever witnessed-or lived through.
Nora stared with wide eyes as the storm truly began to rage. There was a loud THUNK! sound, and then Mouse let out a sad moan as the grill blew over. The patio door shuddered, as if it were going to fall. But, thankfully, it held strong in its rails.
Nora struggled out of Mouse's grip and slid down onto the floor. She jumped out of his reach before he could grab her and tug her back to snuggle with him, and instead walked to stand in front of the patio door but far enough away that it wouldn't hurt her if it fell.
There was a groan from the apartment buildings as the wind began to pick up and beat relentlessly against the side of the structure. And then the lights went off.
Nora let out a small gasp as the whole place began to groan and creak louder. And then there was a strange sound from the patio. She couldn't make out what it was, because the sky was so pitch black that it could very well have been nighttime.
She only realized that the grill was sliding across the wooden platform when it smashed through the glass and it all went flying toward her.
"Nora!" Mouse hollered, standing from the couch as she turned automatically, trying to deflect the glass away from her face.
"I'm okay," Nora gasped. In the tiny amount of light, she could see glass glowing around her in shiny piles. She knew she was cut up; she could feel the blood dripping down the side of her face and her back.
She started forward, about to step around the piles of glass and try her hardest not to cut her feet up, but Mouse's voice stopped her before she could move.
"Stay still. I've got shoes on, I'll come and get you," He told her.
Nora waited until the dark shape she assumed was her foreign exchange host came up beside her. She let out a squeak of surprise as he swung her into the air, although she really shouldn't have been. Mouse had already proved his immense strength to her multiple times.
"Come on, guys, we need to get to the underground car park," Mouse called.
"We're right next to the door," Harrison's voice responded calmly. Nora looked over and spotted another silhouette in the blackness.
"Okay," Mouse carried Nora to the edge of the glass, and then let her down on her feet. He grabbed her hand and led her out the door, Maxi and Harrison following right behind. Mouse's phone began to ring in his pocket, but he ignored it.
"Are you frightened?" Maxi asked Nora as she clung to Mouse's hand.
"A little," She admitted. She'd lived through storms before, but never ones as bad as this.
"You'll be alright," He assured her. His tone was so casual and unconcerned that Nora didn't even hesitate to believe him. She knew he was telling her the truth. Well, he could be using his lifeguard super powers to convince her that she was fine, but Nora didn't even know if Maxi had that ability. Mouse certainly did.
The group left the front door, shutting it as tightly as possible, and then hurried through the wind and the pelting rain toward the car park right next to the building. Nora was soaked the moment she stepped foot onto the concrete path outside, but she didn't complain. They had bigger problems to worry about than getting wet.
"Come on, Nor," Mouse pulled out a key and opened the underground car park door. He led the group inside the murky darkness with more confidence than Nora possessed. She held onto him tightly, straining her eyes to spot obstacles.
Mouse's phone rang again, and he picked up instantly. "Whippet?" He asked.
"Hey, mate," Nora could hear Whippet responding on the other side of the line, "Where are you?"
"We're in the underground car park," Mouse told him.
"Good. Because this is only the first wave."