Treasure of Calliope: Chronicles of Zeus' Daughters - Book 1

Chapter 5: The Storm

Kyra was so tired that she skipped her shower that night and as soon as she laid her head on the pillow fell into a deep sleep. And for the first time she didn’t dream. When Kyra woke up and looked at the clock, it was just after 7 and the sun was rising into a clear blue sky. She changed into her running clothes, walked down the hall to Tessa’s room and knocked on her door.  

“Come in,” Tessa replied. She sounded wide awake.

“I was going to go for a run. Can you be dressed and meet me downstairs in fifteen minutes?”

“Sounds good,” she replied, and Kyra turned and headed downstairs where she filled up 2 water bottles and grabbed a couple of snacks.  As soon as she was finished writing a note letting everyone know she and Tessa were going for a run and their path, Tessa walked in ready to go.

Both were quiet during their 15-minute stretching session. It was perfect weather for a morning run. The sun was out, the sky was clear, there was a slight breeze and it was a comfortable 70 degrees. They started their run lost in their own thoughts over what they had learned the previous day. 

Tessa stopped mid stride and Kyra stopped with her to see why she stopped. “Kyra, look over there on the hillside, its wolves.  There are more over there.”

“Should we be worried?”

“I don’t think so, we are not a threat to them, and they are just sitting there. I am more worried about what I see over there,” Tessa said as she pointed forward towards the sky overhead of the path they were taking.

There were suddenly dark clouds in the sky and the temperature just turned cooler.

“Do you think we have time to run another mile or should we head back and warn everyone about that storm?”

“I don’t mind running in the rain. We’ve done it before, but there is something about that storm that I’m not sure if that is the best decision.”

Suddenly, a large brown wolf walked out of the field of tall grass and sat in front of Kyra and Tessa.

“What’s wrong buddy,” Tessa cooed petting him on his head.

“Tessa, look. The other wolves are heading this way too.”

“You have my attention. What is it?” Tessa asked the animal.

The wolf looked at Kyra and back to Tessa when the wolves who were sitting up on the hill walk down and begin nudging the girls back towards the house. “We need to go back home now?” Tessa asked and one of the wolves made a sound of approval.

“I want to run another mile or so,” Kyra said in response but the wolf who was standing in front of her gave a short growl. “But, clearly they don’t think that is a good idea.”

“We’ll head back towards home,” Tessa said as she stood back up.

Normally when we’re running, Tessa waited for me to start, and then she quickly gets in pace with me but this time, she was the one to start running first. I quickly get on pace with her as we run back towards home. The wolves hang back and instead of running alongside on the hill they are in the back of us.

“They were determined to make us go home.”

“The only reason for their behavior change is that they sense something wrong.  I read in a journal article about these studies that were done that proved how intuitive they are.” They followed Kyra and Tessa through the gate and then broke away running towards the clinic. “I’m going to follow them to the clinic. Maybe something is going on there,” Tessa said.

Kyra walked in the front door and sees Cassie and Alexis coming down the stairs. “There is a storm coming. Tessa and I were out running, and the wolves made us turn around and come home.”

“Where’s Tessa”

“The wolves darted towards the clinic once we were inside the gate. She followed them, just to make sure there was nothing else wrong. Would you two do me a favor and tell the parents that there is a storm coming and even the wolves are on edge? I need a shower.”

“Yep. No problem. Will you be down in time for breakfast?”

“I’m not really hungry but I’ll be done when I’m done getting cleaned up,” Kyra replied back to Alexis and then headed to her room. Once she is out of the shower and changed, she remembered that Atlas warned her that danger was coming. “Could that storm be the precursor and the wolves know it?” she whispered to herself. Concerned for her family, Kyra headed downstairs and into her dad’s office. She finds him sitting at his desk working.

“You’re up early.”

“Couldn’t sleep, so I came down here to try and get some work done. There is so much we have to do before we leave. With the number of animals under our care increasing and none of them seem like they want to venture out of the preserve. Your mom and I have been talking with your aunt and uncle this week and we decided that we have to not only expand the animal preserve, but we also have to add on to the clinic, which also means adding another full-time vet.”

“And more living quarters.”

“Yes, that too.”

“Can we afford to expand?”

“Yes. The government has been persuaded to provide us with a few more grants since our success means that animals are being protected which helps the ecosystem. Enough about business, how was your run?”

“Short.”

“Why? Are you and Tessa okay? Did anything happen?”

“Tessa and I are fine, but we noticed some storm clouds rolling in. At first, we figured we’d run another mile before turning around. But a certain wolf pack decided there weren’t going to have any of that and made us turn around.”

“What do you mean they made you turn around?”

“One of them got in front of me to make me stop while the others nudged us in the direction of home.”

“Do you think they know something is coming?”

“Tessa said they are very intuitive and smart, so I think they are trying to warn us.”

“I’ll get your mom up, so she has time to get her stuff done before the storm comes. Will you go up and get your aunt and uncle up. Tell them about the storm and the wolves. I’m sure Emi will get a giggle about how they made you do something that you didn’t want to do. We all know how stubborn you are.”

“Just like my dad,” Kyra replied as she turned around and headed back out of his office.

#####

The morning was really busy and went by quickly, but the impending storm kept everyone on edge.  Focus was placed first on getting everything that was outside done and then get started on what had to be done inside. Tessa who was the last to get done outside, no sooner walked into the kitchen and the sky opened up.

“I’ve never seen it rain so hard before,” Emi replied as she walked downstairs.

“The thunder getting louder as the storm gets closer to us. Why does it seem like we are seeing nature’s fury out there?” Kyra asked as everyone found a seat in the library to be comfortable in for a while.

Kyra’s dad started a fire after she and Tessa got home from their run and told him about the storm. “It was a really good idea to start that fire with the storm coming.”

“I figured it would help take the chill out of the air. Normally, we don’t need it this time of year, but it is comfortable in here.  If the storm lasts too long, we may need to light the fires in all of the bedrooms as well.” 

“We’ve seen some really bad storms here before, but this one seems much worse,” Cassie replied.

The thunder was really loud, and Kyra could see the concern grow on everyone’s faces. The lights flickered, and Aunt Emi stood up and lit candles around the room. 

Everyone jumped at the loud sound from a c***k of thunder as lightning struck an old oak tree which stood just outside one of the windows of the library and started a fire.  Chris ran into the kitchen to get the fire extinguisher. There is another large c***k of thunder as lightning which struck the side of the house and caused the room to shake and the house to go pitch black except for the candles that were lit. 

“Everyone stay calm,” Chris said as he came back from the kitchen with 2 fire extinguishers. “Let’s go get that fire out before it does too much damage to that tree,” he continued and gave Alex the other fire extinguisher. Emi and Rhea pull out enough flashlights that everyone can hold one. With all of the flashlights on and candles lit, there is plenty of light. Chris and Alex try to open the front door but are stopped when the winds sucked the door closed and then the howls of the wind grew louder.

When Alex and Chris return after their failed attempt to go outside, Helena looked around to her family. “I know I can’t be the only one in shock right now. My question is who is in shock because of the sudden strength of the storm and who is in shock because of what we learned today?” she asked.

“How about both?” Ellie was the first to reply and everyone agreed that it was both. A few hours later the storm calmed down. Chris and Alex were able to get outside to put out the fire as the lights came back on.

“When you go to bed tonight, take a flashlight with you just in case,” Emi suggested.

Rhea called Dr. Cooper to make sure they were okay and check on the animals that were in the clinic.  Exhausted, the girls say their goodnights and head upstairs to get some sleep while Rhea and Emi put out the candles. Once Chris and Alex had the fire out, they checked the rest of the property for damage. It was several hours before they made it back in.