From underneath the tree, it looked like a solid wall, pummelling all the plants and flowers into submission and closing in on us until I couldn’t even see the footpath anymore. Another roar of thunder echoed through the park and the Spanish moss above me trembled.
‘You know what’s strange?’ Lydia said, peering up at the sky. ‘When there’s thunder there’s usually—’
The words weren’t even out of her mouth before a streak of electric white light shot out of a cloud and stabbed theground in front of us, scarring the park with a smouldering scorch mark.
‘That’s not great,’ Jackson said as the earth sizzled.
‘We’re not safe here,’ I said, combing through my memory banks for weather safety tips. ‘The tree is too tall, we’re basically sitting under a lightning rod.’
‘You want to walk out into the storm instead?’ Lydia asked. ‘Are you crazy?’
‘She’s right,’ Jackson said with grim resignation. ‘We’re toast if we stay here and the lightning gets any closer. Literally.’
‘Then you’d better butter me up because we can’t do much else but sit,’ she replied. ‘You can’t even walk, let alone run, and this storm ain’t fixing to clear up any time soon.’
Another rumble of thunder shook the sky, much closer on this occasion, and I knew we were running out of time.
‘We have to move him,’ I told an unhappy Lydia, who dropped her head backwards and growled. ‘I know it’s horrible out there but we’re not safe here. I’ve got a really bad feeling in my gut.’
Jackson did his best to bite back his moans as we hoisted him to his feet but I could see tears in his eyes once he was finally upright.
‘Your gut better be so smart,’ Lydia grumbled. ‘I’m talking early acceptance to MIT followed by a Nobel prize smart, because if I get struck by lightning I am going to be so mad at you.’
‘You won’t be mad because you’ll be dead,’ her brother corrected through gritted teeth.
‘Awesome positive thinking,’ she grunted as he curled his arms around our shoulders. ‘Y’all are ready?’
Getting out from under the tree was the right decision but one we didn’t make soon enough. The moment we made our move, another flash of lightning pierced the clouds directlyabove my head. Lydia screamed and shoved Jackson out of its path but there was no way to avoid the inevitable. It was going to hit us.
For a split second, everything turned a blinding white and when the world came back into focus, the three of us were untouched, but something had changed. Everything was moving at a fraction of its usual speed. Lydia and Jackson were still falling but in slow motion, suspended above the dirt like puppets on a string. I could see every molecule of every raindrop and as I stepped out of its path, I watched the lightning bolt strike one of the lowest limbs of the oak tree instead of me. But we were still too late, the severed limb was going to hit us.
Then I saw her.
The fair-haired woman from the cemetery was standing right in front of me, her hands touching mine.
‘Breathe in,’ she commanded.
And I did.
‘Now breathe out. Slowly.’
I controlled my breath as best I could, air passing over my pursed lips as I exhaled. The tips of my fingers tingled, sparks flickering underneath my skin, and I watched in shock as the Spanish moss that hung from the oak tree began to bind itself together into thick ropes. They wrapped around the tree and the falling branch, tensed like steel cables on a suspension bridge, pulling tight to hold it fast but even as it stretched, I could see the fibres tearing apart. It wouldn’t hold for long.
‘Now, run.’
I blinked as rainwater ran into my eyes. She was gone.
‘Move!’ I screamed at my friends as time caught up with itself and thunder rolled out over the city. ‘We have to move!’
Jackson was already on the ground, Lydia having pushed him out of harm’s way, but if she didn’t run, she would be crushed. I reached for her arm and yanked, stronger than Iknew I could be, and pulled her clear of the tree as the moss ropes gave way. The falling limb crashed to the ground, landing so close to us, I felt a sharp scratch against my cheek. When I touched my fingers to my face, they came away bloody. Too afraid to move, I stayed exactly where I was, staring up at the sky and willing the storm to pass. It did, ending as quickly as it had begun. The lightning-severed branch smouldered harmlessly beside me, the clouds blew away, grey skies turned to blue and the world was bright and sunny once more.
‘Em.’ I heard Lydia gasp my name. ‘You saved our lives.’
‘You saved Jackson,’ I replied weakly. ‘You pushed him out of the way.’
‘Should’ve let it hit me,’ Jackson joked as he pushed himself upright, cringing at his swollen ankle. ‘I’ll never hear the end of this now.’
But Lydia wasn’t listening, she was too busy gazing at me with big, open, awestruck eyes.
