Page 83 of Chasing Paradise

The thunderclap rumbled so hard it vibrated up through my feet just seconds before a bolt of lightning shot down out of the bruised sky, white-hot and furious, splitting a tree just a few yards ahead.

The scent of scorched wood and ozone cut through the heavy humidity.

The shockwave of heat hit my face like a slap. And for just a second, everything went silent. Like the rainforest itself had gone still with fear.

It was broken only by the crack as a branch the size of a telephone pole came crashing down, taking vines and plants down with it.

My heart hammered as I stumbled back, vision flickering, skin prickly with static.

“Fuck,” Wick said, panting heavily. His usually unflappable demeanor was definitely, you know, flapped.

“Do we stay here?” I asked as the thunder rolled above us again. “Lightning already struck here…”

“Yeah, that whole not-striking-the-same-place-twice thing is a myth. It frequently strikes the same place. I think we should keep moving. Oh, great,” he grumbled as the rain finally poured down, seeming to soak through us in an instant.

Ordinarily, it would have been refreshing. Given the size and ferocity of this storm, though, it was just another layer of fear.

“Go where?” I called over the roar of the rain.

The sky lit up somewhere in the distance, making my breath catch.

“Somewhere more dense. A lot of trees.”

“Doesn’t lightning like trees?”

“Yeah, but we want it to have options.”

Without waiting for an answer, Wick grabbed my hand and we were running again.

The darkness of the rainforest slowed our progress.

With our hands attached, we could each feel the way the other tensed with each clap of thunder or crack of lightning.

Beneath our feet, the ground got muddy and slick, seeming to suck our feet in with each step, slowing down our progress, or we’d risk falling on our asses.

We’d broken into an open area when, out of nowhere, all the hairs on my body stood on end.

“Wick!” I screamed.

“Get down,” Wick demanded, pulling me low down near one of the few trees in the clearing.

Not two seconds later, the lightning crashed, completely whiting out my vision with its intensity as the air sizzled.

Then, the crack.

“Fuck,” Wick said, trying to throw his body over mine as the tree we’d crouched down next to splintered.

Then I was knocked onto my ass, something coming down hard and heavy across my legs, making pain explode.

A cry escaped me as I looked down to see a tree limb, still smoking and charred, across my thighs.

Panic surged through my system, making my heart lodge up in my throat as adrenaline raced through my veins.

“Wick!” I cried. When I got no answer, my stomach twisted, searching in the darkness for him, praying that he hadn’t gotten struck.

When another bolt of lightning lit up the sky, I caught sight of his prone form on the ground a few feet away.

Passed out on his back.

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