~~~Brad~~~

Without taking the time to shut the door behind me, I was sprinting down the path towards the main road. Not quite able to see what was ahead in the dim star light half hidden by shadowy clouds, I had stumbled more than a few times and had only barely not fallen over. My feet either sliding uncontrolled across the muddy surface or falling deep within the dips in the path. Unsure of the exact path taken, I could only hope that she had taken the road safely away from the monsters lurking within the grass.

“Mia! Where are you? I swear I didn’t mean to offend you! I know that I am dumb sometimes, just come back before the storm comes!.” I was screaming at the top of my lungs, hoping to get through to my friend over the now thrumming sound of the drops getting larger.

Not knowing where she was or how long we had left before the thunder started shaking the land, I tore off down the path. Reaching the road with a few new scrapes and knots, that would surely be blue by morning, I frantically started scanning the road before setting off towards town hoping that I was guessing right. With a final wipe of the mud out of my eyes from the path I picked up the pace into a full out run, hoping against all odds to beat the timer that was already ticking.

~~~ Mia ~~~

“Why did I do that!?” I screamed using my last bit of breath from the run. I knew that I had messed up. Why did I slap him!? Of all the things that I could have done, that was easily the worst thing possible… He had literally just come over to check up on me. If anything, that should have been the time to ask him about what he had meant earlier.

Having made it to a junction in the road on the way towards town, I went to lean against a nearby post with my lungs heaving for air. Turning my back towards it I let my feet slide forward on the muddy cobblestone path as I transitioned to sitting on the road. And after a hard landing ,with my feet losing traction during the last little bit, I just stared at the lantern topped sign across from me.

“What should I do? How will he ever forgive me? Heck, I am not even sure if he wants to be friends anymore, much less what I want….” I quietly discussed with myself, not knowing the answers to such difficult questions.

And just as the stabbing within my heart started to peak, I felt a soft tug on my sleeve.

“Brad?” I softly asked with a shaking voice.

Looking up I saw the dark form of Rumble glistening with rain in the faint lamp light. A friend that slowly hugged me as I continued holding my knees against my chest. After a few moments the little guy lifted my face in one of his arms and pointed up with the other.

After a moment of not understanding, rain now hammering the ground around me, I figured it out with my stomach instantly dropping. As a bright flash rippled through the drops around me and left the whole world as a background of white for a brief moment, I dropped to the ground. Scrambling over to the lantern post and huddling against it, I closed my eyes and hid within my jacket.

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With Rumble’s protective presence and his embrace around me, I tried suppressing the horror gripping my mind.

~~~ Brad ~~~

Now soaked head to toe and covered with bruises along my entire form, I kept up my calls. “Mia! I swear that I didn’t want to hurt you! Just come back home, we need to get you inside! Please just come back!”

With so much yelling during my flight into the night, my stamina had rapidly drained and had left me stopping frequently in order to recharge. With nothing left, in my stamina bar to keep going for a moment, I decided to remove my mud laden jacket that had been weighing me down. Regardless of how chill the night's storm was getting, it was doing nothing except weighing me down. And so when my stamina had topped off, I set off down the road once more with my lungs gasping for air in between the shouts of apology, forgiveness, and worry.

With rain pooling across the road and pouring down my face, I was often caught off guard as the wind started to shove me along its own path. And with intermittent flashes of light coupled with emojis of tears, I pushed forward hoping that I would find her.

And then there she was, a small figure huddled next to a lantern post clutching her knees with her head buried in fear. With Rumble waving me over to catch my attention, I spared not an instant before rushing over.

“Mia! Are you alright, I am super sorry and we really need to get you back home!” I hurriedly told her while moving in to embrace her.

While holding her I heard a heavy sob, fear and worry evident. With my hug tightening from worry, I felt her start to register my presence.

“Brad?” A weak voice squeaked out, barely heard over the storm.

“Ya, it's me. We need to get out of this and back into the house.” I replied back.

“Why did you come for me? I am really sorry, I was so stupid….” , she eked out.

“What are you talking about!? You are my friend… and honestly, probably a bit more for me. So come on! Let's get to safety!” I yelled back at her over the wind in our ears.

With her head snapping up, eyes open, she stared at me for a long moment. Her green eyes ringed with red, hair wild in the storm, she held my gaze. And as the moment passed her expression softened, surroundings temporarily forgotten, she let go of her legs and grabbed my face pulling me into a kiss to the lips.

Staring at each other afterwards, not completely sure what was going on myself, we just smiled at one another enjoying the calm that had overtaken us.

Within moments and without further mercy, the sky blazed to life with the water jumping from the pools on the ground. And so followed, only a moment later, an ear splitting roar of destruction.

Mia rocketed into my embrace, buried her face against my chest and curled up in fear. No longer rational, or able to think outside of the current moment, she was gone from any possible conversation. I knew that we had to get her back quickly.

Telling Rumble to grab her jacket off the ground, where she had just dropped it, I worked my way up to my feet while holding her light frame against me. Rumble covered her with the jacket and helped me stand. And so with a brisk walk, careful of dropping my cargo, we quickly set off towards the house, mind racing with what had just taken place.