The Storm is Coming

A storm was coming. I hated thunderstorms.

I had always considered the countryside to be bright, sunny, and peaceful. Boring, even. I didn't expect it to be bright and sunny half the time, dreary and stormy the other half. These were no ordinary storms. They were always sudden, unexpected, and very, very violent.

I gazed out at the darkening sky and the heavy, greenish-grey thunderclouds hovering over the field and forest behind Uncle Jason's house. I could barely make out a figure running along the outside of the forest, towards a tree a little ways by itself. Another, smaller shape was near the tree.

It was probably one of those college couples that my Uncle continually drove away from the forest. They were still there, probably unconcerned by the bad weather, or not paying attention to it.

A heavy droplet of rain would fall every now and then, splattering against the roof, the railing... the stairs. I glanced back at the couple again, temporarily distracted by brief flash of lightning lighting the clouds. One of them had disappeared. From what I could see, the other was still sitting there.

Perplexed and curious, I stepped off of the back porch, glancing up at the two-story house once before sprinting across the field towards the tree. I considered myself crazy for even moving a foot away from the house in this awful weather, but I had to know who was at that tree.

It took only a few minutes to reach the tree, but by then it was nearly pitch-black, and it was slightly difficult to see. A brief flash of lightning blinded me for a moment, then I got a decent view of the person sitting in front of the tree.

It wasn't a person. It was some sort of creature. A creature with a somewhat human-female shape and multi-colored, lizard-like skin. The narrowed eyes were a shocking, blackish-green color that glittered brightly. The strangest thing of all was a long tail that ended in a sharp, tapered barb.

Never before had I seen such a creature. Naturally, I was frightened and backed away warily, close to running away. And there was the thought of that other creature coming back to kill me.

"Don't," the creature said. A hoarse, yet female voice.

It was then that I noticed the wounds covering the arms, chest, and stomach. Deep gashes that bled profusely, leaving a puddle around the base of the tree. I was too busy staring at the creature to cringe at a booming roll of thunder that shook the ground.

I didn't like seeing the blood, the gashes. I didn't like seeing another being, no matter how strange, in pain. I stepped towards her, then hesitated. I wanted to help, but what if she took it as a threatening sign...?

I started to speak, but didn't know what to say. She seemed to understand, and with difficulty, rose to standing position and looked at me. I felt strangely comfortable, despite the violent storm and the uncertain situation, and automatically moved to help her.

I didn't ask how she knew, and I didn't ask how I knew, but we both understood that I was taking her to my house, where I would help her.

I didn't think of how my Uncle would react as we both staggered onto the porch, her because of her injuries, and I because of our difference in height. I paused long enough to push open the door, then we were both standing on the wooden floor of the living room, which held red furniture and a comfortable warmth.

Leaving her on the floor, I went to the bathroom to search for the first aid kit, and the other supplies my Uncle left around the house. I returned to the living room with only the first aid kit, only to find the visitor standing up and perfectly healthy.

Confused, I dropped the first aid kit onto the couch and said, "I don't understand."

"All of your kind would've been gone before this night was over," She said softly. Not threateningly, not angrily. Just simply stating it as fact.

Another flash of lightning, followed by soft thunder, lit the house. The disbelief must've shown on my face, because she smiled knowingly.

"I told them that you were no threat, your kind is far behind us when it comes to technology, especially in preserving the enviroment while you use such technology. But they insisted that one day your evil ways would reach out to them."

She paused, but when I didn't say anything, continued.

"We argued many days over it, finally deciding on a test. We would choose a spot where the barrier between our world and your world is thin, and several of us would come through, with one of us pretending to be injured. The others were in the forest watching when you came along and they're probably on their way back home, to tell the others to call off the mission."

I couldn't imagine that I might've been the one to save the entire human race, so I didn't. I did know that I wouldn't be telling anyone about this... ever.

The storm was over.