Free Sample
Preview from chapter one
I lay in bed, the soft patter of rain against the windowpane lulling me into a restless sleep. The room is illuminated by the occasional flash of lightning, casting eerie shadows that dance across the ceiling. I can't shake the feeling of unease that clings to me like the dampness in the air. I'm 19, and I shouldn't be this scared of a storm, but the thunder's roar feels like it's shaking the very foundation of the building. I pull the covers up to my chin, my heart racing.
The storm is getting closer, the thunder now a constant, angry growl that seems to never end. The wind is howling like a pack of wolves outside my window, and the rain has turned into a relentless barrage. I sit up in bed, my eyes wide with fear.
As I clutch my pillow tightly to my chest, a brilliant flash of lightning pierces the night, painting the room in stark relief. The shadows of the furniture loom like monsters in my imagination, and the thunder that follows is so deafening, it feels like the very sky is cracking apart. The light flickers and dims, the house groaning as the wind intensifies its assault. The scent of rain is thick in the air, seeping into my room despite the closed windows. Each flash of lightning is a silent promise of worse to come, a strobe light in the chaos of nature's rage. My heart hammers in my chest, and I find myself counting the seconds between the flash and the thunder, trying to gauge the storm's proximity. It's a game that fills me with dread and a strange, morbid fascination. Five, four, three... The next boom is so close, I swear the windows will shatter. Two, one...
In that fraction of a second between the blinding light and the earth-shaking roar, I scream. The lightning seems to burn an image into my retinas, and the thunder is so loud it feels like a physical force, a hand pressing down on my chest, stealing the breath from my lungs. My ears ring, and for a moment, the world around me goes silent except for the pounding of my own heart.
The sudden darkness is like a cloak thrown over the room, thick and suffocating. The only light now is the pulse of the storm outside, the flashes of lightning throwing everything into stark relief before plunging it back into the abyss. My heart races faster, and I realize that the steady hum of the house has been replaced by a dead silence. The power's out. "M-Mom!" I call out, my voice quavering, but it's swallowed by the storm's fury.