Many dark and voluminous pine branches beckoned waves of rain from sky to earth. Night had fallen so completely that only Jesse and the porch were visible between spasmodic flashes of white lightning. The rolling timpani of thunder that followed only added to Sam’s dismay.

At last, with a trembling intake of breath, Jesse offered the first words:

“How did you-?”

A gunshot, a veritable explosion of lightning and noise lit the yard. In that brief second all sound was obliterated by the unearthly white glow. Sam saw Jesse’s wide eyes. Both were terrified.

“You left!” Sam blurted uncontrollably. “You are everything to me and you left! How could-?”

Another flash, another roar.

Both cowered, surging adrenaline tingling through their bodies, relaying an instinctual message: Escape! Find shelter!

But what shelter? Sam wanted to rush into Jesse’s arms, the nearest and most powerful fortress imaginable, but that fortress had fallen so unexpectedly. How could trust be rebuilt into its foundation?