When the Lightning Stopped

Another flash of light revealed a fist—dark, massive—driving itself into Nina’s face. Her contorted expression, frozen mid-impact, vanished in the storm’s next burst. She crumpled beside my chair. Blood spilled from wounds her teeth tore into his knuckles.

I stayed silent, paralysed. Who was he?

The room returned to black. I called out into the void. “Who are you? Why did you do that?” No answer—only the thunder’s roll. The house was sealed. No broken window, no open door. Someone had been waiting for us.

Had it been Lindsay? Her cruelty might’ve finally pushed him past reason.

I strained to hear breathing, to catch the rhythm of steps, but thunder masked everything. Lightning blinked across the room, too brief to make out a silhouette. Just dark, then deeper dark. I dared not move. Nina still hadn’t spoken.

She lay in silence beside me.

The intruder could strike again. Maybe I was next.

Fear swallowed rational thought. My best chance was to shift—move to a better spot, somewhere I could see both walls. But I didn’t know the room’s layout. Vases, tables… even chairs might trip me. The blackout made the place a minefield.

I clung to stillness, hoping the next lightning burst would give me enough to act.

But it never came.

Only thunder.

Only dread.

Only Nina’s silence.

[from SEETHINGS, downloadable and free for a limited time].