Storm Chasing

Murray heard the faint rumbling first.

He cracked an eye open, adjusting to the dim light of the alcove he was tucked into. Water drips could be heard around him, trickling off the few stalactites above. The cool, damp interior did little to penetrate the thick skin of the old phish keeper, nestled in between some rocks. His younger companion, Talia, was still sleeping soundly beside him. Murray listened for a moment more, his eyes lazily glancing around, before sliding shut again. It was probably nothing.

The second time he heard the rumbling, it was louder and clearer. He huffed in annoyance, trying to ignore the sound by covering his head with his fins. Unfortunately, Talia was now awake, giving Murray a small squeak before shuffling towards the entrance of the alcove. Murray grunted, uncovering his head to stare at the turtle in front of him.

“It’s nothing, Talia. Go back to sleep,” he ushered but was quickly cut off by yet another rumble. This one disturbed the pools of water around them, sending ripples through their crystal-clear surfaces. Talia gave him a look and tilted her head, yapping at Murray again. He groaned and pulled himself to his feet, awkwardly waddling over to where Talia was waiting for him. She chirped happily before scurrying out of the alcove, causing Murray to speed up a bit.

When Murray finally got out of the alcove, he was immediately blinded by the harsh light gray colour of the sky, causing him to squint his eyes in pain. When he finally adjusted to the light level, he took a proper look around. Ah, that’s what was causing all that noise. There was a cluster of dark clouds rapidly approaching, occasionally lighting up with distant lightning. Murray gave Talia a disapproving look, to which she responded with a pleading whine and the deadliest puppy-dog eyes Murray’s ever seen.

Murray sighed, “No, Talia, we’re not going out during a storm, of all things.” Talia chirped sadly, but that didn’t stop her from shimmying closer to the water.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” She asked one final time, the ever-growing waves starting to lap at her back fins. Murray thought for a moment before breaking, heaving an exaggerated sigh at the young leatherback. He lumbered forwards, giving Talia a small smile.

“Alright, alright,” Talia lit up, already turning as quickly as she could to dive into the water, “ah, ah! But only for a little bit!” Murray called after her, but she had already disappeared below the waves. He chuckled before following close behind. It was difficult to get past the rough waters of the shallows, but after that, it was smooth sailing. Talia had swam directly towards the storm, and by the volume of the muffled thunder that echoed around the water every once in a while, Murray assumed the storm would be over them soon.

“Okay, remember, don’t swim too close to the surface. Don’t want you getting electrocuted, now.” Murray explained, watching as Talia happily spun and darted through the water, enjoying the undercurrents that had picked up with the worsening waves. He huffed out another amused laugh, trailing a few metres behind her.

It didn’t take long for the rain to reach them, and soon the water above was being disturbed by many falling raindrops. Talia squeaked in surprise when she looked up, swimming slightly closer to the surface to get a better look. Murray glanced up as well, watching as the rain pelted the surface of the water above. His gaze drifted back to Talia, who already had her eyes on him, and he winked at her, rising up to the surface. Talia squeaked in surprise but quickly followed after him.

The two of them broke the surface of the water and were immediately berated with heavy rain. Murray groaned in protest but stayed a few moments more to catch his breath. The waves were pretty high at this point, stretching beyond Murray’s head. Talia gawked both in fear and awe, looking up at the rolling, dark gray clouds that shrouded the once-blue sky.

Suddenly, a loud CRACK! rang out over the sound of crashing waves, and the clouds lit up with a blinding white light. Talia shrieked, ducking back down into the water and out of sight. Murray broke out into laughter, cackling to the wind and struggling to keep himself upright with the increasing ferocity of the waves. He continued laughing as he too retreated into the water to make sure Talia was alright.

And there she was, floating in wait for Murray a few metres down. She was shaking a bit but seemed to be more embarrassed by her scream than scared of the lightning. “Can we go home now?”

Murray snorted before he finally let the laughter die out, swimming over to his companion. “I think that’s the best idea you’ve had all day, kid.”