Nathan came back into the treehouse soaking wet from the rain that started to pour down. He stripped as soon as the door slammed shut behind him.
Rain pounded against the roof, and the sound thudded with a calming rhythm.
“I’ll start the fire,” Calix murmured, kissing my temple as he got up and went to the wood stove.
He’d bandaged my arm tight and cleaned and disinfected it so well that I wasn’t worried about any infection happening. Thankfully, it wasn’t as deep as it looked in the woods. It just bled a lot for some reason.
Thinking back to our time in the woods earlier, my body flushed with heat. It was worth the pain.
“Dad has issued new rules in light of the infected mountain lion roaming around. Doors and windows must be closed and locked at all times. Keep a curtain over any windows, and don’t go out alone. We’re implementing a buddy system,” Nathan told us as Micah passed him new clothes to put on.
Micah came back with a sheet and duct tape to tape over the window, and I got up off the couch and went over with the guys to peer out.
The sky had darkened considerably even though it wasn’t sunset yet, and sheets of rain seemed to stretch on forever, blurring our vision of outside. Raindrops raced down the window, each streak coming together to form a waterfall as the wind blew the rain into us.
A pit of dread swelled in my gut as Micah and Nathan taped the sheet to the window while Calix covered the rest. “To be honest, it feels like something bad’s going to happen.”
“What do you mean, darlin’?” Micah finished securing the sheet before turning back to me.
“I don’t know how to explain it.”
“We’ll be extra careful then, killer. It’s all we can do, and we had a rough day.” Nathan tilted his head and handed the duct tape back to Micah.
“I’ll double check the treehouse though.” Micah immediately started checking all entrances and exits before assuring me everything was okay.
We managed to eat a small dinner before heading into Micah’s bed, and before Calix could turn toward his bedroom, my hand grabbed his wrist and tugged.
“I need you all with me tonight.”
His eyes softened as he smiled and nodded, blowing out the candles in the living room and following us into Micah’s room.
Once we were wrapped in the fluffy comforter I’d brought from my room and a few more layers of blankets, I sank into the soft mattress and soaked in the warmth of my boyfriends as the rain tumbled down the roof.
I drifted off to sleep content, but that ball of dread in my gut didn’t ease.
One loud screamand a ferocious roar jolted us from our sleep.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears as we shot out of bed and rushed to get our clothes and weapons. Everything buzzed around me as worry gnawed through my brain. I hoped and prayed it wasn’t my parents or Spencer who had screamed.
Micah threw the front door open, and shock slammed into me hard as a loud crack resounded from Ava’s treehouse. Orange flames danced in the night, twisting and consuming the treehouse without mercy.
Thick black smoke rolled out of the windows and open door as more screams filled the air from inside. The fire engulfed an entire side of the treehouse before the thick sheet of rain went into a heavier downpour that made it dwindle, but not before a few flaming wood pieces fell onto the smaller supply shed below their home, eating through the roof in no time before it eventually stopped spreading, letting the rain put it out.
It took only seconds for us to snap out of the shock.
“Everyone stick together and watch out. That roar was the mountain lion. Weapons up.” Micah was the first to descend, then Nathan, and then me. Calix helped me down until my hands gripped the wet wooden deck, but my fingers slipped from the side, and my foot missed the first peg leg.
“Tori!” Calix shouted, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I fell.
The rain pelted into my skin even as I fell with it, but two strong arms caught me before I smacked into the ground. “I caught you, darlin’. Can you stand?”
“Yes!” Gasping, I gripped Micah’s arms as he and Nathan steadied me. “Thank you.”
“Careful,” Nathan called up to Calix, who successfully managed to get down the ladder.
Our shoes smacked against the wet muddy clearing as we ran toward the dwindling flames and thick smoke of Ava’s treehouse where Benjamin and Sally stood in front of it, waving their hands and shouting their names.
Charles stumbled out, clutching his head before helping Ava get down the ladder, but she slipped on the last peg, and Benjamin moved forward to catch her.
