I wasn’t sure what to say. The truth was on the screen for all to see. The Wind Ridershadlost track of Gale, only realizing he was gone when it was nearly too late. My rescue was enhanced by clever editing. The danger all too acute. My race into the field. A cut of Olivia and her team driving away. Me forcing Gale into the bug. Scenes from inside the vehicle and Gale’s distress painted clear as day.
Charles had highlighted my care for his well-being in vibrant, glorious strokes, and although I was stoked with how it shone a brilliant light on my character, it felt unfair. Charles hadn’t shown the audience that my team told Olivia to go for their safety, because their car wasn’t equipped to handle the storm the way ours was.
I was initially angry at her negligence, but in retrospect, we could have made the same mistake during such an intense moment. Considering Gale’s education, it wasn’t unreasonable for Olivia to figure he understood the dangers.
For a moment, I got caught up in memories. Of Gale’s nervous introduction. Of the spark of electricity that had jumpedbetween us when we shook hands. Of him standing under a streetlight and staring forlornly at the sky.
I nudged his knee again, and we shared a smile.
The pilot episode was wrapping up, and as I digested what we’d seen, the previews for the next episode caught my attention.
A deluge of rain.
Flooded roads.
A downed tree over power lines.
Olivia’s team observing the mess as an electrical crew arrived.
Panoramic lightning strikes, forking and filling the sky.
My trek through a swamped road toward Gale’s Jeep.
Vern screaming at me to come back.
More lightning.
Enormous cracks of thunder.
Then… the final clip.
Gale in the passenger seat of the Jeep, his back pressed to the side door. Me, hovering over him, a hand on his face.
The look in his eyes.
The look in mine.
The kiss no one was supposed to see. The one I’d taken without permission.
My brain short-circuited as Gale’s entire body turned rigid.
How?
A hidden camera?
That didn’t make sense.
The angle was…
“No,” I whispered, realizing too late what I’d accidentally done.
I’d tossed my headcam on the dash.
I hadn’t turned it off.
36
Gale
