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The clouds dropped heavy rain onto the Earth’s surface. The wind pounded onto the windows, desperately trying to escape the disastrous lightning. The thunder roared its battle cry. The stars were covered by thick grey clouds. Only a small opening remained for the moon to cast its ethereal glow onto the world. The storm wasn’t pretty. Lighter sleepers couldn’t possibly make it through the night.
Meanwhile, Rayne lied, curled up into a tiny ball in her pathetic excuse for bedding. It was a nightmare trying to fall asleep in these conditions. For the past couple of months in this apocalypse, she was given great shelter, in exchange for a new traumatic experience that would affect her entire personality later on. She was lucky to acquire those areas.
However, she and her group of survivors were staying in an old barn for a week until they found a way to fix or find a new vehicle. The barn was lifeless and void of food, but the group need not worry about sustenance. Before the car broke down in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, they found multiple gas stations jammed full of snacks and drinks. They seemed to have used the last of their luck finding those treasure troves.
Rayne was situated in the corner of the barn. She guessed that it was around one or two in the morning. Almost everyone fell asleep before the storm started, and everyone else found a way to power through and fall asleep. Not Rayne. Each flash of light and cry of thunder sent shivers down her spine. Her heart pounded in horror with each spark. The ball she curled herself in became tighter and tighter. She used her jacket to cover up as much of her exposed body as possible, but she is still freezing cold.
Rayne is terrified of storms. She could never admit it to the group. It was humiliating to think that she, who has faced countless near-death experiences with a brave and/or cocky face, was afraid of a storm. Once they found out that a big storm was coming in, she said nothing. She went into a secluded corner and pretended to fall asleep with no issue. Another burst of light struck followed with thunder, and Rayne quietly winced, hiding her face in her legs. She tried desperately not to make too much noise. It seemed that each strike was coming closer and closer…
Flash! Boom! Flash! Boom! One after another.
Rayne began to quietly sob. Flash! Boom! She began to pant. Flash! Boom! She began to panic. The flashes, booming, and patter of the heavy rain filled her ringing ears until it was all she could hear. She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but it felt like it was getting closer and closer. She tried to keep quiet, really. She muffled the noises of her breakdown in her tear-soaked jacket. She was preparing for a strike to hit her body.
That was until she heard a familiar voice. It was soft. A half-asleep mumble. It snapped Rayne out of her thoughts. “Hey, what’s going on?” They asked. It was Samael. She looked up from her hidey hole, revealing her soaked face from tears and snot. Her eyes and nose were red and deep, dark circles rested under her eyes. She was pale, like she had just seen a ghost. She looked up at Samael with fear-filled eyes. He looked back with tired eyes.
“Samael! I’m so sorry if I woke you up!” Rayne apologized in a whisper, wiping her face in her jacket sleeve. Samael continued. “You’re lucky it’s pouring like a bitch outside. You might’ve lured in a murk with your excessive giggling. What kind of crazy person giggles in the middle of the night, anyways?” Giggling? Is that what he thought she was doing? Giggling?!
Samael couldn’t see Rayne’s tear-soaked face or jacket, nor could he properly hear her muffled cries. To him, she was just up at the middle of the night giggling about god knows what. For some reason, it never passed his mind that this peppy and stupidly courageous girl would be breaking down over a thunderstorm.
Rayne didn’t bother denying it. It would be best if he didn’t worry about her. He needs sleep, and she was not going to prevent that. Her voice was weak and pitiful. “I’m sorry… I’ll be more *hic* quiet next time...” She couldn’t control the hiccups and stutters. She slapped her hand over her mouth to stop it.
Samael’s eyes adapted to the darkness surrounding him. That, combined with Rayne’s odd mannerisms, made everything click inside his head. But what would she be crying for? Hadn’t she already gotten used to living in an apocalypse? That’s when more things started to click more. Click click click click click. Shame started to build up in his heart. Samael isn’t the brightest guy, is he?
In an effort to fix his fuck-up, he knelt down beside the frightened girl. “Hey, are you–” He was cut off by the loud crash of thunder, and Rayne curled back up into her tight ball with a wince. Sam didn’t know what to do. He didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know where to put his hands. Everything he did felt so horribly unnatural and unhelpful. What does one do when there is a panicked girl curled up in a ball in front of him? He cared–of course he cared. Nothing came naturally though.
Samael awkwardly scooted closer to Rayne, putting a tense hand on her quivering shoulder. Her shoulder was freezing compared to his warm hand. Rayne was anything but calm. Her head started to slowly peek out from inside her trembling legs, meeting Samael’s worried gaze. He was about to ask her a question before he noticed a sudden flash of light from outside. Instinctively, he covered the girl's ears before she could hear the thunder that shortly followed.
The sudden action startled Rayne, but not nearly as much as the thunderclap would have. She could still hear it, albeit muffled, so it didn’t have the same effect as it normally would have. This was the most caring Sam had been in a while. Once the noise had passed, Sam gently moved his hands from her ears to her shoulders, pulling her closer to him and into a more comfortable position for Rayne. She lied in front of him, head elevated onto his lap as a pillow. Samael was almost a bit too careful about overstepping boundaries. Any time she moved in any way, he would flinch and draw his hands back followed by an apology.
The boy had settled on resting his hands by the girl’s head, covering her ears any time he saw a flash of lightning. She relaxed into his touch and closed her eyes, over time becoming unbothered by the sudden obstruction of sound. It was to protect her. She was soothed into peaceful breathing evident by the soft rising and falling of her chest.
The storm eventually faded into soft, pattering rain. The girl was holding on to her last bits of consciousness to savor the moment with the other. Rayne drowsily whispered some words that Samael could quite make out. All he could hear was “promise” and “don’t leave”. That was more than enough to keep him in his current position.
Like he promised, Samael stayed by her side even after she faded into sleep. He continued to stroke her hair rhythmically, as he’d done for the past, what, hour? He wasn’t sure how long it’s been, and he didn’t care. He ran his fingers through Rayne’s short hair for the last time before drifting into a pleasant slumber.
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