Human Nature (Book 4): Human Nature IV by Borthwick, Finlay (book recommendations website .TXT) 📗

“Are you ready to go?” Petra asked him as she held the doorknob firmly in her hand, ready to twist it.

Richard took a deep breath as he listened to just how harsh the rain outside was. Then, remembering who he was doing this for, he quickly nodded. “Let’s do this—”

But before Petra could open the door, Rubin butted in, “Hold on! I should probably come as well.

“What? Why?” Nikola was the first to question this decision.

“I don’t know… I guess, it just depends on who’s out there really.” Rubin shrugged. “I’ve just been thinking about Czechia a lot lately, that’s all. I made lots of good friends there, and so did you.” He reminded Nikola. “If Dawn, Alek, Anna, or just anyone that we befriended is injured out there, we owe it to them to help them.”

“Then by that logic, I’m coming as well.” Nikola deduced.

“I’m afraid not.” Richard refused. “I need somebody to stay here and look after Valorie. Sorry Nikola, but you were the last one to step up to the mark.”

Although she wanted to negate this, Nikola quickly noticed the expression on Petra’s face indicated that she agreed with Richard.

“Hey, we’ll be back before you know it, okay?” Rubin comforted his friend sincerely.

“You better be.” Nikola warned him, “If you die out there, it won’t get you out of admitting that I was right.” She grinned at him.

Rubin grinned back at her in kind, “I wouldn’t dream of dying without you by my side. Don’t worry.”

Despite how bittersweet the exchanges were, Petra was in a hurry to get moving, “We can not wait. People will die.”

“Yes, yes, we haven’t forgotten that, Petra.” Richard stated.

“Take care of Val.” Richard requested of Nikola whilst nodding towards his new friend.

“I think she’ll be the one taking care of me.” Nikola jested; it was evident that friendships had been made rather quickly. “Go on, we’ll be fine.”

“Now! Now!” Petra insisted as she stomped impatiently.

“Alright, alright! I’m coming.” Rubin hurried away from Nikola and to Petra’s side.

“Let’s go.” Richard gave Petra the go ahead as he toughened his arms up, preparing himself for the sheer chaos outside.

“That was… Magical.” Annabelle was left in complete awe after having just seen a lightning bolt strike a pillar directly. “Did you see all those sparks come flying off of it?”

“It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it?” Gwen was saccharine as she watched the feeling of joy lighten up her daughter’s face.

“Annie,” Elliot spoke up using his stepsister’s real name, for the family were in private this moment in time, “Are you serious about having never seen lightning strike something?”

“Nope. Not once!” She affirmed. “I’ve seen the sky flash, but I’ve never actually seen a bolt strike a pillar before!”

“Well, aren’t you the lucky one?” Elliot quipped in reference to his condition.

“What the hell are they doing out there?” Gwen gasped as she watched Petra, Rubin and Richard all being blown around in the hurricane outside. They were stumbling all over the place and just barely missing minor debris including sticks, stones, and curious sheets of metal.

“Who is it?” Elliot queried.

“I can’t quite tell.” Gwen squinted to try and make out the silhouettes through the thick and relentless rainy shit that hindered her vision. “With a haircut like that, the one in the middle is definitely Petra.” She was correct.

“The middle? Mum, I’m gonna need some more detail than that, please.” Elliot, once again, made an off-hand remark about his blindness.

“Oh right, sorry!” Gwen elaborated on the commotion, “There’s three of them, they’re all struggling to maintain the balance, and I have absolutely no idea what the hell they’re doing out there in a freak storm.”

“I think the one at the back is Rubin.” Annabelle presumed correctly as well. “Wherever Petra is, Rubin’s never far behind. Besides, I don’t know of any other living person who is that short and muscular.” She laughed at her own remark.

But the humorous nature of this sight quickly became harrowing.

“Christ!” Gwen exclaimed in disbelief as a glass bottle narrowly breezed past Rubin’s head. “If the wind was blowing even just a centimetre to the right—”

“He’d be dead.” Annabelle finished her mother’s observation, equally in disbelief over what she had just seen.

“I’m going out there.” Gwen nodded bravely.

“Uh, no you’re not.” Annabelle was confused by how her mother had thought this to be a logical move.

“Look, Annie, you can see how thick the rain out there is! They probably don’t even know where inside the safe zone they are. I’ll just lean out the door and invite them into the hotel, okay?” Gwen explained.

When her mother put it like that, the plan seemed far less dangerous to Annabelle. “Alright… But be quick, okay?”

Acknowledging her daughter’s instructions, Gwen nodded, and quickly ran out of the room, headed for the front doors.

In the basement beneath the semi-detached house, the water was quickly rising. Already, a shallow layer now covered the majority of the floor.

“How is it building up so quickly?” Cora was bemused at how the leaky streams were causing such a sudden flood.

“There must be other gaps somewhere.” Mac hypothesised. “Maybe in the wall, maybe in the floor. Maybe somewhere out of sight like behind one of those dusty bookshelves.”

But this hypothesis gave Cora another idea, “Other holes could mean other ways out, right?”

Instantly, Mac shook his head to shut her theory down. “If there were a hole big enough for us to squeeze through, we would’ve noticed it by now. Not to mention, the water would at least be up to our waists.” Mac commented heartlessly. His tone suggested that he had lost all hope.

But Cora was the polar opposite, for she still did not believe that either of them would die on this