Ocean and I feed the horses in the barn. The open doors blow back and forth, allowing rain to make its way into the dry stalls and thunder to become louder.
“I just love thunderstorms,” grins Ocean, pouring a bucket of grain into Patch’s feed bin. “Don’t you?” I shake my head no, and Ocean’s expression turns into surprise. “Why not, River?”
I drop the bucket I’m holding and glare at her. “You know why.” She seems unfazed by my tone of voice and strokes Patch’s head. Every time thunder sounds, she looks out at the door, as if there’s something there.
“No I don’t, tell me.” She stops stroking Patch and turns to face me, with her hands on her hips.
“Ocean,” I whisper, looking at my identical twin. “You died in a thunderstorm.”
She starts to grin from ear to ear, but it’s not out of happiness. No, it’s a sickly smile that makes me want to scream. She stares out at the door, and nods to me. “It’s time.”
“Time for what, Ocean?” I ask nervously, but it’s too late. A loud crack of thunder pierces the air around us, and in a second, Ocean’s lifeless body is lying on the ground.
I jerk up in my bed, gasping for air. Covering my heart with my hand, I wait until I can calm down. When I am, I take one final deep breath and relax. Thunder sounds around me, and the left side of my body is being splashed by rain. It tickles, but I would never be able to get back to sleep with it soaking me.
I tell myself it’s just a dream as I place my bare feet on the cold floor, and silently step towards my open window. With shaky hands, I pull it closed and stare out into the night. Lightning flashes, lighting up the entire sky. I turn back around and notice something significant. Emery is not on his mattress.
The radio told us about the incoming storm, so my mother made him sleep back in my room. I thought I was thankful before, but now, I feel even more grateful. If Emery had been in the barn, I would have no idea of his disappearance. I look towards the bathroom, but the door is wide open. Where could the boy be?
As if on cue, something hitting the floor makes a thumping noise downstairs. It’s obviously Emery, but I tip toe to the top of our wooden stairs anyways. Peering down, I see him lacing up his shoes at the back door. His black backpack his slung over his shoulders and the hood of his black sweater covers his face.
He doesn’t notice me as I creep silently down the stairs. “Emery,” I whisper as I flick on the dim kitchen light, and his head snaps towards me. He’s still bent over, holding the laces of his right show, but he’s frozen as I walk towards him.
“You never saw me,” he snaps quietly. King walks over; half awake, and sits beside me. His tail wags up and down, creating a soft thumping noise on the tile. “Leave now.” His words are exactly the same as he said to me the first time I ever saw them, and I do everything I can to make sure they aren’t the last one’s I will hear.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I ask, as he straightens up once his shoes are tied. He’s definitely trying to make a break for it, but I have no idea why. “You can’t just leave!”
Emery pressed a finger to my lips as he shushes me. “Be quiet! And you don’t understand, River.” He removes his finger and I lower my voice.
“Don’t understand what?”
“That you’re in danger.”
“How?” I ask as I tug at my plaid pajama pants. I was still half soaked and it was cold standing barefoot on the tile flooring.
“If I’m here with you and your family when my dad finds me, he will kill you all,” his words are serious, but they sound far-fetched.“You will all be witnesses.” His hood creates a shadow over his face, and I avoid the urge to pull it off.
“You can’t just leave, Emery!” I yell at him in a quiet tone. “What about my family? What about me?” I reach out and touch his arm, but he pushes my hand away.
“You don’t understand!” He snaps, glaring down into my eyes. He looks like he’s upset, scared and angry all at the same time.
“You keep on telling me I don’t understand, so why don’t you clear thinks up?” I retort, trying to hold back angry tears. I thought that earlier today I got to know where he came from, but it seems that there’s a lot more to this bad boy.
Emery sighs, and leans back against the wall. “You think I’m making a big deal out of nothing, but I’m not!” His hands clench into fists and unclench again. “Look River,” he meets my eyes, and they actually look sincere. “Believe it or not, but I care about you. A lot. And the last thing I want is to drag you and your family into my issues.” He rests his hand on the door handle of the back door. “This is for the best.”
Through blurry eyes, I grab his arm and yank it off of the door. “You are not going anywhere, Emery Hastings,” I snap, in a low voice. “You will not leave me here alone.” He jerks his arm out of my grasp and places his hands on my shoulders. He stares at me for a few minutes without saying anything.
Emery leans forward until his forehead leans against mine. He pulls me into him by my shoulders as his soft lips gently brush my mouth. “I’ll miss you,” he murmurs into my mouth. Before I can respond, he pulls back and grabs the door. In a second, he’s gone, and the door begins to swing closed. Before I can process the fact that he just kissed me, and left, King runs out into the storm.
“King!” I scream, as I slide on my shoes and run out into the rain. He doesn’t respond as he bolts into the fields. Looking around me, I notice that Emery’s already gone. I see no sign of the black haired boy with a backpack anywhere, and it kills me inside. Now I have to decide who’s more important; my dog, or Emery. “Emery?” I call, looking around. When I hear no response in the storm, I head towards the barn. He would be impossible to find. After all, he’s been running for a few years. It wouldbe like finding a needle in a haystack.
I lead Silver out of her stall and climb on to her. I had ridden her bareback many times before, but I only didn’t saddle her because I needed to be quick. I nudge her sides and we gallop out of the barn and into the fields.
My hands shake horribly as I grip Silver’s mane tightly. I see no sign of King in the darkness, but I keep looking. I’m scared to death of being out here, as memories of Ocean comes flooding back. But in a way, I know I have to face my fear. I can’t live like this anymore.
Were both soaked, and it’s hard to see through my tears and the rain. Thunder booms around us, causing Silver to spook. I stoke her neck to calm her down as we continue to run through the muddy fields.
“King!” I call, looking around. After a few minutes, I find him. He’s crouched under a lone tree, whimpering nervously. “King,” I whine, stopping Silver in front of him. “Time to go home.” I start to trot towards home and whistle with my fingers. He comes running beside me, and we head towards my house. “Come on, boy,” I call down to the dog as he keeps up with Silver.
Now that this matter is quickly fixed, my heart begins to ache for Emery. He left me, and I can’t get over that. He’s positive that he’s going to die, yet he doesn’t stick around to face his dad head on. Instead, he runs away from his problems. Kind of like I have been doing since I watched Ocean die.
Silver jumps to the right, spooking at something that I can’t see. She neighs loudly, and refuses to stand still.
“Shh, it’s okay, Silver,” I tell her, stroking her neck. She calms down momentarily as I urge her on. King runs ahead of us, towards the farmhouse that’s just in sight. I’m just about to reach the top of the hill that overlooks my farm, when the worst possible thing happens.
Everything slows down as Silver neighs. A mountain lion jumps into the path in front of us, and Silver rears and bucks until she’s standing on her hind legs. I lose grip on her mane and feel my fingers slide out from the grasp of her soft hair. Slipping, I tumble off Silver’s back and land on the cold, muddy grass. I scream as my arm makes a sickening cracking noise when I hit the ground. I instantly know it’s broken, and it throbs, but the adrenaline pushes most of the pain away momentarily. My ankle feels twisted, and I know I won’t be able to get up to leave.
Silver gallops away into the distance and I’m left staring into the eyes of the mountain lion. Its eyes glow a light orange in the storm, and its beige fur is soaked from the rain. It takes a single step towards me with paws caked with mud. A threatening noise escapes its mouth, as it hangs open to bare its sharp, gleaming teeth. The noise is the only thing that I can hear in the storm.
Suddenly, I can hear the rain hitting the ground around me, then the thunder. Time goes back to normal as I stare into the eyes of the threatening animal. I see it duck down, ready to lunge at me in any second. My scream slices through the sound of the storm, as the animal rises to attack me.