The Rain | Part 1 | The Beginning

by Standlee, Marietta

  “And I’ll keep an eye on Michael, so he doesn’t get into mischief.” Katie laughs.

  I’m all out of excuses not to jump. Most of our group is already down there. Ty and Cory hop up and down, trying to get up the nerve to leap off the cliff’s edge. The air is cold on my naked skin and raises goosebumps on my bare flesh. The water below will be freezing. I shake my head at Colin’s recklessness. My heart beats faster as I start to run towards the cliff.

  All my instincts scream at me to stop, but I can’t let Astrid show me up like this. I just can’t. I can’t say where I get my nerve from because I don’t even like roller coasters; they scare the crap out of me. Literally.

  And suddenly I’m flying. There is nothing between me and the water below. I’m rushing down. My hair whips up, and adrenaline surges through me. I watch the water getting closer, but nothing compares to the feeling of falling. I’m weightless and heavy all at once. I laugh out loud; I can’t stop; it feels so amazing to let go of control so completely.

  Before I’m ready for it, first my feet, then my entire body gets sucked into the freezing lake. I forget to hold my breath and almost swallow water as my body hits the ice-cold liquid. It’s like a vice clamping on me from all sides, and I want to scream but close my mouth at the last second.

  There is pain everywhere. Hundreds, no thousands, of little needles poke at me all at once. My body finally comes to a standstill, and I move my legs to propel myself back up to the surface. The rush of the fall is still fresh in my mind, and when my head breaks out of the water, I laugh.

  “Again,” I scream.

  Colin’s eyes search for me. His expression is full of glee. Before he can stop himself, he says. “I knew you would like it.”

  His words make me wonder how much of this little route he had actually planned out. I remember him spending a lot of time on his phone last night. Did he really plan this? For me? Or am I reading into things?

  As much as it is fun splashing in the ice-cold water, it is ice cold, leaching all the warmth from our bodies, fast. It doesn’t take long before Colin has us get out and start the long ascend to where we left our clothes, which helps to get our core temperature back up to more normal degrees.

  My eyes glide to Astrid, who is bare-chested, climbing up the steep slope. She doesn’t seem to mind putting on a show, though, and I seem to remember reading somewhere that Europeans often run around exposed when around water.

  Whatever.

  More than one boy keeps losing his grip on roots or rocks and falls a few feet back down because they keep ogling Astrid. I’m already composing the story. I will tell Maggie later in my mind.

  Breathless, we make our way back up. It’s not fun to put our dry clothes over the wet underwear, but it was worth it. And the run helps to warm us as well.

  Alfredo has food ready for us as usual. His kids are under ten and way too young to join our little militia group. So, according to him, feeding is the least he can do for us for the protection we are giving him and his family. Plus, it’s common knowledge that he loves to cook.

  Alfredo is a magician when it comes to food and an enigma to me. Today he has a delicious meal of roast beef and mashed potatoes for us. I suspect the meat was canned since we ran out of fresh meat a long time ago. The food is still awesome, though. Green beans and corn accompany the feast, and my tummy couldn’t be happier, especially after how cold we got. Running with long, wet hair is not much fun in the frigid air.

  After lunch, we get a couple of hours to ourselves before we meet back up for training. This time the two groups are combined, and Colin tells us that we are to show off our hand-to-hand combat skills. Martin’s group is supposedly more advanced than Colin’s. We will find out, I guess.

  It’s quite interesting to see how far all of us have come. I think back to California. The guys back then were pretty athletic and muscular but compared to now, they were nothing. Everybody has put on muscle.

  And not only that, watching Drew and Cory spar off is a lot different from when we had to fight for our lives in California. They both put up a good struggle with each other, making it impossible to foresee who the winner will be.

  Finally, Cory feigns a hook with his right hand and lands a jab with his left. Drew goes down, and Cory is on him instantly, holding him in a chokehold. Drew yields, and we applaud the two.

  Next up are Maggie and Caren, and I have to hand it to both of them, they are amazing. Caren wins after a few minutes. Their mock fight is followed by Ben and Michael and so on until it’s Astrid and me.

  For a moment, I’m annoyed that Martin and Colin, who picked the opponents, are being sexist in matching boys to boys and girls to girls, but then I just count my blessings for finally getting the opportunity to smack Astrid around. Something I have wanted to do for a while now.

  Astrid looks cocky as she comes at me. I suppose she thinks her little military training in Switzerland has prepared her. But if she thinks this will guarantee her to win, she has another thing coming.

  I have been training with Martin a lot longer than she has, plus the last week or so, I spent almost every free minute on YouTube immersing myself in self-defense and fight clips. On top of that, I have actual fight experience. There is no way she can beat me.

  She jumps at me, and I sidestep her, landing a small hit against her hip in the process. I’m not cocky. I know I’m good. Especially since Colin has taken over.

  She spins back around and tries to kick me; I grab her foot and turn her around. She doesn’t fall, though, she keeps her balance and closes in on me, twirling all the while on one leg. How she’s still on her feet, is a mystery, but she manages to stay on her one leg and jabs me in my kidney. Hard.

  I let go of her leg, and she punches me right onto the knife wound on my arm. I let out a hiss of pain and see white, blinding stars for a moment. I stumble back, blood runs down my arm, and I’m fairly certain a couple of stitches popped.

  From the corner of my eye, I notice Colin stepping forward worriedly, but I’ll be damned if I give him the satisfaction of me ‘giving in to my pain.’

  I attack; I realize we are supposed to give our best in these mock fights, but we are also supposed to play for the same team, and we usually try not to hurt each other too badly. What Astrid did was foul and mean spirited, and I’ll make her pay for it.

  I’m a few inches shorter than her, but I make up for it with agility and fierceness. My fists are flying, followed by kicks until all she can do is fall back. People scramble out of our way as I force her out of the training circle.

  She raises her arms to defend herself and lands another kick against my leg, which will be bruised tomorrow for sure. I’m so furious with her, though, I don’t even feel the pain in my arm or leg.

  She stumbles against a tree, and I use it to my advantage to land a forceful roundhouse kick to her jaw. Her head goes back and hits the tree behind her. With a loud thud, she goes down.

  There is a moment of hushed silence before people clap, a little subdued, probably because they are worried about the blonde girl. Colin looks at me from under raised eyebrows and grins from ear to ear before rushing to Astrid’s side to find out if she is okay.

  “Go find Doctor Paton about your arm; I’ll be right behind you with Astrid.” Colin orders.

  I grind my teeth, and I watch powerlessly as Colin lifts the unconscious girl into his arms to carry her. Even losing, she seems to win. Here I’m, blood gushing down my arm, and she…. she smirks at me from beneath lowered lashes, not unconscious any longer.

  But she plays the part long enough for Colin to fuss over her, even after we reach the doc’s RV. While I’m forced to sit there, bleeding. Balefully, I watch Paton take care of her first.

  Chapter 39

  The next day is just the same as the day before. My arm is still hurting from the new stitches, but considering everything it was worth it, so I run smiling up the hill towards our waterfall.

  To my relief, Astrid decided t
o actually put on a bra today. My reprieve is probably on the same wavelength as the boys’ disappointment. With a smirk, I notice their long faces and suppress a laugh.

  The rush of jumping, however, is the same as the day before when I leap; I go down laughing. I feel like a daredevil, and I have the wounds to show for it. On top of all that, seeing Astrid flinch from me every time I come close is an added bonus.

  I think I could spend a week like this without getting tired of it. The only cloud in the sky is lunch, which is utterly disappointing. Some of the people went fishing while we were out running, and we have salmon for lunch. The smell alone makes me gag.

  I hate fish. And it doesn’t matter how many times I quote Nemo saying, “Fish are our friends, not food,” the others seem all too happy to eat the pink disgusting, stringy, bone filled meat.

  Since there is nothing else to eat, unless I want to open a can, which doesn’t sound very appealing either, I make do with some veggies and potatoes. While I wait for our afternoon training, which takes us back into the forest.

  Our group is supposed to find and eliminate Martin’s group and vice versa. Colin, Ace, Ty, and I are just about to sneak up on Maggie, Drew, and Cory when an ear-shattering roar freezes me. The roar is getting closer, and I raise my gun, fully expecting to see one of those dinosaurs. But it’s a mighty grizzly bear that breaks through the foliage. His eyes roll back in his head in panic, and he is coming straight at me.

  “Run, Vivian!” Colin yells.

  But there is nowhere for me to run; the bear is a lot faster than I could move and almost on top of me already, maybe a yard away; my back is pressed against the tree I was using for cover to sneak up on Maggie.

  It all happens in the span of seconds, but it seems much longer. I aim and shoot, and I know I hit him, but the bear doesn’t stop running at me. I empty my clip, but still, he keeps coming. Just when he is about to run me over, a loud boom thunders out, the reassuring sound of a large rifle—the grizzly flounders.

  I try to jump away from the faltering bear, but not fast enough. Falling, the immense paws of the grizzly wave into the air. On their way down, his claws scrape my left leg. I cry out in pain and fear and roll away from him; he is dead, though. Colin throws his rifle aside and darts to my side. “Vivian, are you okay?”

  I look up at him and think I detect a hint of panic on his face. But that can’t be; Colin is always arrogant, collected, and in control of himself. Always.

  “I think so,” I answer weakly. “My leg.”

  I sit up, and a wave of nausea rolls over me as I see blood spurting out of my thigh in rhythm with my heartbeat, which seems to be running a marathon.

  “Shit,” Colin exclaims while taking his belt off.

  I feel somewhat removed, as if I’m observing myself and him from somewhere else. Voices come at me, but they seem far away. Like somebody is pressing cotton balls against my ears. Three more shots ring out. I tilt my head just in time as two smaller dinosaurs hit the ground. They must have been what had the grizzly so riled up.

  “Viv, what happened?” I recognize Maggie’s voice. Ace and Drew are also drawing closer, but my vision is beginning to swim. I’m quite certain there is only one Maggie, not two, even though both study me concerned.

  “This will hurt; hang in there, Viv,” Colin warns.

  Right before an immense pain makes me cry out. He cinches his belt tight around my thigh. So tight, I think he cut it in two. A huge pool of blood accumulated already by my leg, and Colin is kneeling inside of it. For a second, I wonder if he’s going to be pissed that I ruined his pants. But then I mentally scold myself for the ridiculous thought and wonder where it came from. The blood flow seems to lessen, but blood is still seeping from the large lacerations visible through tears in my leggings.

  Colin tears his shirt off, and I curse my blurry vision for not being able to appreciate his bare chest fully. “Does anyone have another belt?”

  Drew takes his off and hands it to him. Colin puts his hand on my cheek and looks into my eyes. He seems so worried, completely different from the arrogant Colin, I know. “This is really going to hurt, Viv.”

  I nod against his hand, lost in his blue eyes, and wish he wouldn’t look away, that he would keep his eyes on mine. But look away he does, and I watch, almost detached, as he first cuts off my pant legs before pressing his shirt against my wounds.

  Wounds that are ugly, deep scratches, and expose tissue and muscle that shouldn’t be visible to the naked eye. I hiss in pain and lean back on my elbows while he loops Drew’s belt around the makeshift wound dressing.

  I scream out into the still forest when Colin cinches this belt tight too. Not as tight as the other, but on my raw flesh, the agony is almost unbearable. I fight against the darkness, trying to envelop me, but my mind is ready to shut down.

  When I wake up next, my head bangs against Colin’s naked chest.

  “I’ll run ahead and let doc know to be ready.” I hear Maggie’s voice.

  “Hurry!” Colin.

  I try to keep my head still against Colin’s chest, and for a moment, I listen to the rapid beat of his heart against my ear and smile. Then everything turns black.

  This is the End of Part I of The Rain series. Hopefully you enjoyed Vivian’s journey so far.

  You can preorder Part II of The Rain series here:

  https://www.amazon.com/Marietta-Standlee/e/B07DD5CRS6/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1

  If you want to see other books by Marietta Standlee, please visit her website:

  MariettaStandlee.com

  If you like a sneak peek of the next part or a voucher for any of Marietta Standlee's e-books for FREE, contact her at:

  MariettaStandlee@gmail.com

  A word from the author:

  Thank you so much for starting your journey to read through The Rain series. I hope you enjoyed reading it, as much as I enjoyed writing it. I would really appreciate it, if you left me a review on Amazon, they are very important to me and I love to read your thoughts on the story.

  Sincerely

  Marietta Standlee

  The Rain

  Alien invaders sent a rain to Earth that changes human behavior as well as flora and fauna.

  Vivian knows how to survive. Her ruthlessness when it comes to protecting her friends and loved ones is well known.

  Follow Vivian and Colin in their quest to defeat the aliens and save not only Earth but humanity itself.

  The Rain Part 2 Intermission

  During a mission to destroy the hated alien flower, Vivian is taken prisoner by the aliens. For the first time, she comes face to face with humanities greatest enemy.

  She witnesses cruel experiments admistered to her fellow prisoners and knows she will be next.

  Her only way out is escape.

  But how can you escape a spceship, orbiting Earth?

  Books By This Author

  After the Bombs series

  Ashley is a survivor. She knows how to dodge and kill the alien menace that is making themselves at home on Earth.

  Partnered with Cooper and their faithful canine Dexter, the trio has to dig

  deep to find a way to save as many humans as possible from the alien menace.

  Don't miss out on this thrilling complete four-part series.