March 11th, 2012
Pitcairn Island
1
Kendle winced at a brilliant bolt of white lightning forking across the cloudy sky, her stomach churning as the storm roared down on them.
"Nice night for a ride. Come on!" Luke shouted over the thunder, grinning, and Kendle moved faster, fighting the stiff wind and driving rain. She pulled the cabin door shut and shouldered the backpack while she ran for the idling bike.
The storm had been growing all day. When Luke had said to pack a bag, that they were going to higher ground, she hadn't argued, despite not wanting to be soaked and get a chill from a midnight ride. She would face anything that kept her off that merciless ocean. She threw her leg over and grabbed hold of his belt buckle.
The bike jerked forward, throwing her back, and Luke grabbed for her blindly. He snagged her jacket and pulled her back on behind him. He found her hand, wrapped it around his hips, and she buried her head against his strong back, heart skipping in her chest. The angry sky above them lit up again, lightning flashing wildly, and Luke wanted to comfort her when she jumped, but already had his hands full keeping the Yamaha moving steadily on the muddy path.
Kendle knew to mold her body to his so their matched movements would help him keep them balanced. She held on tight, feeling his muscles flexing, controlling, his heartbeat comforting against her ear, and these things were a relief in spite of the fear. All in all, she'd much rather take her chances on land, with Luke. There wasn't a road or any lights that signaled other people, the island natives miles apart, and she closed her eyes when the path they were on narrowed suddenly by more than half.
Soon they were under the protective canopy of a thick forest of tall, leafy trees. Sheltered from the worst of the weather pounding on the thick vegetation far above them, he took a moment to check on her. "You okay?"
She pushed closer against his back, not looking, as lightning flashed again.
"Be there in half an hour."
She nodded, miserable physically, but emotionally, she felt only unbelievable gratitude that someone else was in charge of this crisis.
They moved through the thick, black jungle at a steady pace for what seemed like hours to Kendle. Muddy, unseen, leafy plants and vines slapped at them from the dense darkness around their speck of a headlight, and the rain began to beat on them again when Luke turned onto an extremely narrow path that veered out of the trees and down a steep hill.