“Anyone know what time it is?” Seth wondered with a yawn.
“I don’t know how anyone will be able to sleep!” Owen said seemingly surprised by Seth’s yawn, “I still want to know what the hell is going on!”
I nodded in agreement but I knew we weren’t going to know, at least not tonight.
Ryan pointed to a clock on the nightstand, “I think that’s probably accurate even though the generator hadn’t been on in some time, the clocks have backup batteries.”
According to the clock it was 9 p.m. The running from the storm, getting in the shelter and the tour all took approximately six hours. It had all passed by in what felt like minutes. We’d missed dinner, but no one asked about it and I didn’t even feel the slightest bit hungry. I just wanted this night to pass so we could hopefully find out tomorrow what the damage was and how we were going to get out of here. I wanted a little space from everything and everyone so I could mentally process what just happened and if it was a dream, make myself wake up.
“Oh, there are supplies in the bathroom, like toothbrushes and toothpaste, deodorant, towels, and all that stuff, if there is anything else you might need check the pantry in the kitchen. At the end of the hall is the laundry but we should limit using that as much as possible since all the running water is on the same line here. Full loads only, please.”
“What about clothes?” Sienna asked picking at her fingernails. “You know, like a change of clothes or something to sleep in? I don’t want to wear the same thing every day.” She let just a little of her inner diva start to emerge.
“Right. Well, there should be some things in the closets, but it’d be my mom’s or sister’s things so I don’t know if you’ll find anything,” Ryan said with a frown. “You are more than welcome to use anything you find though.” I guess that was a problem with the stocking up of the shelter, they hadn’t anticipated helping anyone other than the family, but why would they have even considered that? “My mom’s things would be in this closet and my sister’s in the other room.”
“Let’s see what we can find,” I said putting my hand lightly on Sienna’s shoulder as I guided her out of the room. She didn’t protest or shrug me off, so we got a little space from the others. I wanted to be alone but since that wasn’t likely to happen, I figured being with Sienna was almost as good as being alone. After all, we were about to be roommates, I might as well try to be her friend.
We entered our new room, “Which bed do you want?” I asked not really caring all that much but secretly hoping a little for the bed with the pink comforter. Both beds looked inviting, my body desired to lie down even if my brain was a bee hive of thoughts, but it didn’t matter, so why not let her choose? The other bed had a comforter striped with various shades of blue, the pink one must have been intended for Ryan’s sister and the blue one was his. He was giving up his bed for us.
“I’ll take the pink one,” she said looking away from me.
That meant I’d be taking Ryan’s bed. He was giving up his bed for me. That selfless act didn’t make me feel so great. I didn’t want to be the one to take his bed from him. I would have taken the couch but I knew Sienna wouldn’t be comfortable sharing the room with Ryan.
“OK. Let’s check out the closet.”
I opened the door and I could feel Sienna’s eyes peering around me attempting to get a glimpse of our future wardrobe. I pulled the string that clicked the overhead light bulb on in the small walk-in closet. It was filled with girl’s clothes. The other closet by my bed likely was filled with Ryan’s clothes which I’m sure he will want access to, but he hadn’t said anything about it. His sister’s clothes were close to my size, but they were a little big for Sienna, so unfortunately she had little choice. I found a nightgown which I handed to her because I figured the size difference would be less noticeable in gown form. For myself, I found a plain gray T-shirt and some yoga pants with pink zebra trim. They were not my style at all, but it was a change of clothes and for that I was thankful. We’d all have to make do when it came to certain things.
Owen wasn’t as small as Ryan, he was bigger and more muscular, athletic. And Seth was a little overweight, neither of them very likely to fit into Ryan’s things, so they’d probably have to wear his dad’s clothes and they likely wouldn’t complain about it. We didn’t know how long we’d be down here, it could be until someone came looking for us, or the water drained away. Our choices in most matters were pretty limited. Maybe tomorrow Sienna and I could go through Ryan’s mom’s things, perhaps she had items that would work, and it would give us something to do to pass the time.
I started to change hoping that it would help Sienna feel more comfortable with me, I didn’t want to close the room divider afraid she’d take it the wrong way. Flipping the fluffy blankets over I crawled inside the soft bed not bothering to turn out the lights. I was so exhausted I felt like I was melting into the mattress.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“I’m not sure,” I said my face twisted, “Do you want to go get a book?”
“No, I think…” she paused for a yawn, “I think I’m actually tired.”
“Yeah.” I copied her by letting out a yawn against my will, “Somehow, I am too.” I glanced through half-closed eyes at the clock on the nightstand next to my bed. It was closing in on 10:00 p.m., only about two hours earlier than I usually go to bed, but today wasn’t a normal day by any stretch of the imagination. Today was a lot different. That’s the last thought I remembered having before I drifted off into a dreamland where things hadn’t changed. The storms hadn’t raged and destroyed everything in its path. We weren’t trapped underground, or under water. I was at home and I was happy. Yes, today had been a lot different.
[Continue Reading Ravaged Land…]
The Red Sky Series (Book 2): Blue Cloud Page 18