#and then my mom left a window open during a rainstorm and i totally wiped out and fucked both my shins to hell

[nikosasaki]

I'm a woman on the verge of a mental breakthrough

[makayla-angelic]

Jashi Week-Day 4-Rain

The Force Between Us

Summary: Jack and Ashi comfort each other in the midst of a powerful Nor’easter. Modern AU.

“Many cities and counties across the East Coast remain in a state of emergency and under tornado watch as Perfect Storm Ikra moves across the area in an estimated three to four day period. High hurricane force winds with gusts reaching up to eighty miles per hour and rainfall totaling up to ten inches, as well as a flood warning issued for people on and near the outer bank region. If you plan on riding out this storm in your home, be sure to stock up on water, non-perishable food, batteries, flashlight, first aid kit, and a back-up generator. Move away from windows and watch for flying debris. More news at eight.”

Jack and Ashi watched this on the Weather Channel as they sat downstairs in the living room huddled together. The rain had started in the afternoon, but it hadn’t gotten heavy until two hours ago. Seeing that this storm had planned to last for over a three to four day period, Jack and Ashi knew they were in a rough ride. Jack had suggested that she and Ashi get the sleeping bags and extra blankets from their closet upstairs and bring whatever else they needed downstairs. Jack didn’t want him and her to be in the upstairs bedroom in case the wind took the roof off or something. They placed their phones on the charger because they knew the storm could knock out the power any second now and they wanted to get as much battery power as they could.

“If the power goes out, what do we do? We have everything BUT a back-up generator,” said Ashi in a concerned tone.

“We’ll just have to make do with flashlights,” said Jack. “I have that LED lamp I got from Lowes not too long ago, and we also have those little fake light up Christmas candles my mom gave us.”

“That’s true,” said Ashi. And she was also thinking about food. “What about the stove?”

“Well, we have the lighter,” said Jack. “If the gas still works all we have to do it light the gas with the lighter and we can heat up some food, like a can of beans and frank or something.”

“And, we have bottles of water,” said Ashi. “We have also have-”

Before Ashi could finish her sentence, the power went out and the house went dark. There was silence as they sat frozen for a seconds, nothing but the sound of the rain and wind beating against the window sharply.

“Welp,” said Jack. “There goes that.

Ashi sighed. The power was out, and there was no telling when it would come back on.

Jack let out a little chuckle and rubbed her back. “I’ll get the lamp and flashlights.”

Ashi removed her and Jack’s phones from the charger. There was no point in keeping it on now. Jack brought in the flashlight and lamp, and he put in the batteries. A bright light filled the house as they came on.

“Well, they work,” said Jack. “And wonderfully too.”

“So, what now?” asked Ashi, taking the flashlight.

“We haven’t much of a choice now but to wait it out,” said Jack.

Suddenly, a crashing noise came from the backyard. Jack’s eyes went wide.

“Oh crap, I forgot to bring the lawn chairs inside! That’s what I forgot!” cried Jack. He jumped up, put on some rain boots and a hooded jacket, and went to go outside.

“Be careful, honey,” said Ashi.

Outside, Jack was greeted with the strong push of the wind against him. It felt like invisible hands were fighting against him, as he pressed forward through the muddy backyard and cold rain, towards the tumbled over lawn chairs that had made their way toward the fence. Jack leaned down and picked up each heavy chair and folded them over, then he tried to pick up both in his arms at the same time. Ashi was watching him from the window. She didn’t think what Jack was doing was a good idea. Why didn’t he carry one at a time? Ashi went over to the back door and cracked it open.

“Jack!” She yelled out into the storm. “Just carry it in one at a time!”

Jack could barely hear her as he creeped toward the door Ashi had cracked open. Suddenly, a strong wind yanked the screen door from Ashi’s hand, and the frame swung backwards and hit Jack right square in the middle of his forehead.

“Jack!” Ashi cried as Jack dropped the chairs in surprise and his hand went to his forehead. Ashi grabbed Jack as Jack sucked his teeth in pain. Jack removed his hand and a trail of blood snaked down his forehead. Forgetting about the lawn chairs, Ashi helped Jack inside the house, and led him into the bathroom.

“Well, that happened,” said Jack.

“The wind just snatched the door out of my hand,” said Ashi. “I’m sorry.”

“Baby it’s okay,” said Jack. “It’s not your fault.”

Ashi used to flashlight to help locate the first aid kit. She pulled it out, and then took out some gauze, some alcohol wipes and ointment, and a large band-aid. Ashi used a piece of gaze to carefully wipe away the blood on Jack’s forehead that was dripping down his face. Ashi then opened an alcohol wipe and began cleaning Jack’s wound. Jack flinched in pain.

“I know it hurts baby but I have to make sure there are no germs inside,” said Ashi.

Jack smiled lightly at her. Next, after washing her hands, Ashi used the ointment and applied some on the tip of her finger and spread it evenly across Jack’s wound. Lastly, she placed the large band aid over top. She gave a small kiss on his forehead over the band-aid. Jack chuckled lightly.

“I hope no more injuries happen during the rest of the course of this storm,” said Ashi.

“Me neither,” said Jack. “So, who’s hungry?”

Ashi searched through the pantry for something quick to fix up for her and Jack to eat. She pulled out a box of Kraft Mac n’ Cheese, and Spaghetti O’s.

“Which one do you want?” asked Ashi, holding them up before Jack.

“Eh, Spaghetti O’s is fine for me,” said Jack.

So Ashi lit the burner with the lighter after she cut the gas on and then poured the food out of the jumbo sized can and stirred it around so it would heat up evenly.

“Looks like we might have to throw some of our food and dairy products out, such as the milk, and the cheese,” said Ashi as she opened the fridge and took out a carton of mango juice for her and Jack to drink.

“Yeah,” said Jack. “It’s always frustrating when the power goes out. That’s why it’s best to keep the fridge closed as long as possible during times like these.”

After Jack and Ashi ate, they washed the dishes in some heated up stove water, and then Ashi made a phone call to her parents using the main landline house phone. Luckily, it was still working, and she wanted to save as much cell phone battery as possible.

“Are you guys okay?” asked Ashi.

“Yeah, we’re alright, our powers out too, but we have a back up generator,” said Ashi’s mother.

“You do? Oh, well, Jack and I could pack our bags and come stay with you,” said Ashi.

“Not in this storm,” said Ashi’s mother firmly. “It’s very dangerous to walk outside, let alone drive in it, so, it’s best for you to stay where you are at, and if your power hasn’t come back on by the time the storm’s over or so, then you can come over.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” said Ashi. “I hope our power comes back on soon.”

“Me too sweetie, I hope you and Jack are alright.” said Ashi’s mother.

“Well...” began Ashi.

“What? What happened?” asked Ashi’s mother frantically.

“ Jack was trying to bring all the lawn chairs inside the house all at once and I was holding the door open when the wind came in a strong gust and pulled the door from my hand, and hit Jack on the forehead,” said Ashi.

“Oh no! Oh dear! Is he alright?” asked Ashi’s mother.

“He’s fine,” said Ashi. “Just a small cut with some bleeding. I cleaned it, put ointment on it, then bandaged it, and we carried on fine and had some dinner.”

“I’m glad he’s alright,” said Ashi’s mother. “And you too.”

“Thank you,” said Ashi.

Ashi stayed on the phone a little while with her mother, then she talked to her father, and then she called her sisters, they were all camped over at Avi’s house, who lived closest inland, and she had power too. Jack called his parents to check on them, and they were alright as well.

“I swear, everyone has power except us!” cried Ashi.

“It seems that way, but there’s plenty of other people who don’t,” said Jack. “We just have to ride out the storm.”

Ashi snuggled into Jack’s arms. “And I’m here with you.”

Day 2

The rain and wind was still going strong when Jack and Ashi woke up the next morning. Ashi arose from her sleeping bag and went to go look outside. It looked like a little river was flowing down their street as the rain continued to pitter patter on and on. It made her think of the movie Spirited Away, when it had rained so much that the bath house was surrounded by water. Ashi left the window and wandered back into the kitchen. What to eat for breakfast? She opened the dark fridge and felt that the milk was still slightly cold, but she knew it wouldn’t be for long. As she made herself a bowl of Frosted Flakes, Jack came in and gave her a kiss.

“Well, one thing I can say about a rainstorm, it sure makes you sleep like a baby,” said Jack.

“Yes,” said Ashi.

After eating, Jack and Ashi sat on the couch. 

“So, what now?” asked Ashi.

“I guess we could play a game or something,” asked Jack.

“A game like what?” asked Ashi.

“How about a classic match of Eye Spy?” asked Jack.

“Oh come on, really? Eye Spy?” said Ashi.

“Yes, I mean it,” said Jack. “Sometimes reminiscing with old childhood games are fun.”

Ashi sighed. What did she have to lose? If she was going to be stuck inside the house for the next two days or so without going nuts, she might as well do something

“Eye Spy, with my little eye, something red,” said Jack.

“The Flowers on the table?” asked Ashi.

“Nope,”

“My slippers by the stairwell?”

“Nope,”

“ This red pen?”

“Your lips,” said Jack with a smile.

Ashi blushed slightly, and then gave Jack a kiss.

“My turn,” said Ashi, sitting cross-legged on the couch. “Eye spy, with my little eye, something tan colored.”

“This couch we’re sitting on?” asked Jack.

“Nope,” said Ashi.

“The picture frame on the wall?”

“Nope,”

“I don’t know, this napkin on the coffee table,” said Jack giving up.

“The band-aid on your forehead,” said Ashi with a giggle.

“Oh really, come on,” said Jack, playfully. “Don’t make fun of me.”

After they finished Eye Spy, Jack asked Ashi what she wanted to do next.

“We have some board games in the closet for when family and guests come over,” said Ashi.

“Let’s take a look at that,” said Jack.

Jack and Ashi searched through all the games they had.

“Let’s play Would You Rather,” said Ashi.

“Sounds good to me,” said Jack.

They played Would You Rather and other games until noon, and then Ashi made them lunch. They got the bread, peanut butter, and grape jelly out of the pantry and made PB and J’s.

“Man, I wish we could watch TV or something,” said Jack. “But we don’t have a back-up generator.”

“Yeah, it’s all your fault,” said Ashi playfully, with a smirk on her face toward Jack. “Well, think of it like this. Little house on the prairie days there was nothing but the outdoors, books, parties, gatherings, and plays for entertainment.”

“Sure was,” said Ashi.

But after another hour of not much to do, Jack and Ashi cracked and whipped out their phones and started playing games that they downloaded. By the time they finished they both had near low batteries.

“I’m on thirty percent, how about you?” asked Ashi.

“Mine is on nineteen percent,” said Jack. “Looks like your phone lasts longer than mine.”

“Well, not much more we can do,” said Ashi. “Once our batteries are dead they will stay dead until the power comes back on. The best thing we can do now is switch to battery save mode and save what little energy we have left.”

So Jack and Ashi did just that. At around nine PM, they decided to call it quits and go to bed. They rolled out their sleeping bags and pillows again and crawled into them. The rain and wind had settled down for the time being, but was slowly picking back up again.

“I miss our bed,” said Ashi quietly.

“I know honey, me too,” said Jack. “But soon the storm will be over and we’ll have power again soon as well.”

Jack reached over and grabbed Ashi’s hand, and they both fell asleep like that, hand in hand.

Day 3

The third day was not much different, except that there seemed to be more rain than wind.

“The weatherman said that storm could be clearing out as early as tonight,” said Jack. “So let’s say our prayers.”

They ate a granola bar and had some mango juice to drink for breakfast, then sat back on the couch. Ashi read a book, and so did Jack. Some time after, Jack removed the band-aid to peer at his injury. It looked it was healing nicely already, and he applied some more ointment to it, and then let it be. He wanted the wound to have a chance to breathe.

“Want to watch movies on my laptop?” asked Ashi. She had been saving the battery energy on that as well, but now she was feeling fed up, and needed something more to do. So did Jack.

They watched movies on Ashi’s laptop until the battery was near dead. They had the rest of the Spaghetti O’s jar for lunch, and then played another round of Eye Spy and Would You Rather.

“Tell me a story Jack,” said Ashi as she laid her head on Jack’s chest. “Any story.”

Jack held her close and told her funny stories about things he did as a child that he thought he wouldn’t get busted for but his parents found out. Around 6PM, the rain and wind began to die down completely! Jack and Ashi were excited. Perhaps soon the power would come back on.

“I bet your sisters are probably living it up right now,” said Jack.

Ashi sighed. She could only imagine what fun they were having.

“I want to go over there, or to your parents house or mine,” said Ashi as she peered out the window. “But we try to drive out there now, water will surely get under the hood of the car and mess up the engine, then we’d have a dead car.”

“I don’t think we got ten inches,” said Jack. “But we’ve got plenty, that’s for sure.”

“I can only imagine those living the closest to the beach and on it must be suffering the worst,” said Ashi.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if they had most people on that side evacuate,” said Jack.

There was ringing from the phone in the kitchen and Jack answered it. It was his mother.

“Hey, the storm is dying down early. How are you and Ashi holding up?” his mother asked.

“We’re losing our marbles,” said Jack honestly. “But I guess you can say we’re hanging in there.”

“Yeah. I would ask you two if you could come over here where’s there power and hot water but trying to drive your vehicle through all that flood water probably isn’t the smartest choice, and there’s objects and other debris in the water as well,” said Jack’s mother.

“What else has the news channel been saying?” asked Jack.

“So far, in the past two days since, there’s been over 50 confirmed injuries, and two people have died. Over 5,000 people are without power and over 37 people had to be rescued from their cars from the flood waters,” said Jack’s mother sadly.

“Jesus,” said Jack in a concerned tone. “This storm has been no joke. I hope nothing else happens.”

“Me too,” said Jack.

Day 4

The night was mostly light wind and rain, but in the morning all was silent. Could it be? Ashi thought. Was the storm truly coming to an end? Would they be seeing the light of day soon? Ashi looked out the window once more and to her wonderful surprise, a bit of sunshine was peeking through the gray clouds. The storm was coming to an end! However, flood water was everywhere. All down the street, throughout the whole neighborhood was flood. Ashi chatted with a fellow neighbor from across the street from afar and they said it would probably be a few more days before the water receded. That afternoon, Jack and Ashi were yet again playing another round of would you rather, when the power came back on. They cheered and hugged and kissed in happiness, and both celebrated by taking a shower, with hot water. It felt refreshing to have the AC running, the fridge working, even though they had to throw the milk, cheese, and frozen meats out, and the TV on. A helicopter passed over their neighborhood, recording damage to show live on the news channel. 

After another three days of being stuck inside the house, but with electricity, Jack and Ashi went to the store to get groceries for the house. It felt refreshing to bring home food and other supplies from the store, and fill up your fridge and pantry. Jack and Ashi knew, they were lucky. The following day, Jack’s parents, and Ashi’s parents, along with Ashi’s sisters came over to their house, and they all celebrated with lasagna for dinner. That night, after the festives were over, Jack and Ashi lay in their bed, thinking.

“I’m so glad we survived the storm,” said Ashi.

“Me too,” said Jack. “Nothing can stop us, huh?”

“Nope,” said Ashi. “Nothing. However, come this winter, I’m really gonna need you to have that back-up generator.”

“Hm, you gonna bug me about it until I do?” asked Jack.

“Oh yes, and then some,” said Ashi. “Goodnight honey.”

Jack laughed. “Goodnight Ashi, I love you,”

“I love you too,” said Ashi.

As if things couldn’t get coincidental enough, I was driving home from work early yesterday evening around 7PM, and I got an EAS alert on my phone telling me there was a tornado warning in my area. I wanted to get home as fast as I could, so I started driving carefully through the pouring couldn’t barely see rain. As I neared closer to my house, the sky turned a greenish-gray color and I heard windy roar that sounded like a train. I knew in an instant that it was the tornado near me!!! I didn’t know whether to stop and pull over or keep driving! Luckily, I made it home and took shelter in the downstairs bathroom of my house until the warning stopped. The tornado happened about only a mile or so from where I was driving coming home, maybe even less. That’s why I could hear that awful roar. Well, as you can see, I’m home safe, my parents are home safe, and everything’s alright, except for where the tornado hit. With that being said, here’s a tip for any of my fellow Jashians reading this; if you see a dark greenish-grayish color cast to the clouds in the sky, rotating, spinning clouds, and wind that sounds like a train horn, it’s VERY possible it could be a tornado close by. So, take shelter in a windowless area! As always, see you in the next prompt!

-Makayla <3