Member-only story
Fiction
The Shelter
“I don’t think we’re going to make it to the campsite, babe, look at those dark clouds,” said Maddie, pointing to the sky.
Jake stopped a few steps ahead of her and looked at the angry cluster of clouds gathering overhead. She was right. It looked like the clouds could let go any second. He and Maddie were still at least twenty minutes from the campsite. As if in cue, the sky thundered a warning at them.
Maddie grabbed Jake’s hand and pulled it close to her.
“We need to find shelter until it passes over,” said Jake, trying his best to sound more calm than he felt. They’d only been dating for three months, so he had to play it cool. “We’re too far away to go back to the car.”
He shifted his backpack and tried to think of his options. What did his dad always tell him about getting caught in storms? Try to get somewhere low, or take cover. Climbing the side of a mountain gave them no chance at getting low.
Lightning pulsed through the cloud, followed by another deafening clap of thunder.
“Okay, we need to find a big tree, or a rock or — “
“There!” said Maddie, pointing further up the mountain side.
Jake’s heart leapt when he saw it. An outcropping of rocks with a hole in the middle. From where he was standing…
