Wesley and I had taken the new people to the medical centre and after their check up, we took them to the houses they would be staying in. The people were nineteen in total so they got two houses that were next to each other.
Once they had settled in, Wesley, one of the women from the new comers and Laleh had gone to the kitchen to get some of the cooks to prepare supper for them while I headed home.
It was night already but the street lamps illuminated my surroundings as I walked down the almost deserted street. A couple of people said 'hi' as they walked past me and I responded with a smile.
I began to speed walk when the sweet smell of rain filled the air. The houses that the new people had been assigned to were far from ours but that was because they wanted to stay together and the only houses that were empty and next to each other were beside the fence at the other end of the estate.
I lived closer to the gate.
Lightning flickered across the sky, immediately followed by deafening thunder and I let out a yelp. It began to drizzle when I could finally see the street that led to home and I ran. The few people on the street were also running into their homes as the wind howled.
The rain suddenly bore down mercilessly upon the town in waves, battering rooftops like a hail of bullets and turning the streets into sleek stones. It sounded like the heavens were knocking on doors, roofs and window panes.
The estate that always looked beautiful during the day looked haunted in the thunderstorm.
I got home after a couple of minutes and Clareta and Hae In looked up from the floor as I ran in huffing and puffing with my clothes totally soaked. They were playing chess.
"Oof," Clareta muttered as I took off my sodden shoes and began to shiver.
"Your supper is in the kitchen," Hae In said before she looked down to the chess board and moved a piece.
"Thank you," I replied as I quickly made my way upstairs while still shivering.
I needed a hot shower.
I accidentally shouldered Daniel as I turned into the hallway in my hurry to get to my room. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that I was the one.
"Where were you? I was going to look for you," he said and I saw that he was holding an umbrella.
"New people," I said and he placed the umbrella against the wall before pulling me to him when he noticed that I was shivering.
"Yeah, I heard. You need a hot shower," he murmured as he led me to his room.
I could hear the wind howling outside and the rain pounding against the closed windows like it was demanding entrance when we stepped into the well lit room.
"I'll go microwave your supper and bring it up," he said and left the room before I stepped into the bathroom.
------
It was still raining.
Alison had come to meet me in Daniel's room after I had my shower and ate my supper to convince me to bake with her. She found a recipe book in the pantry and wanted us to bake cup cakes because before the virus took over the world, baking cake was the default activity in our house.
When I agreed, her eyes became bright and her steps were bouncy as she dragged me out of the room and down the stairs while Daniel followed us. Clareta and Hae In were still playing chess in the living room. Jack was curled up on the floor next to Faye who had ear phones plugged in her ears as she stroked his fur.
When we got to the kitchen, Alison began to bring out the things we needed for baking and placed them on the kitchen island.
After a couple of minutes, we placed the muffin cups that contained cake batter into the preheated oven and were waiting for it to be baked in the living room. Daniel was the one playing chess with Clareta now since Hae In had lost and Faye had gone to her room.
Daniel had already made his move but Clareta was still staring at the chess board with an intensity that would make people think that her life was on the line.
"Are you going to move or keep staring at the board?" Daniel asked with a grin and she scowled at him before muttering something in Italian which was definitely PG-13.
"Well, I think before I make my moves. Do you know what thinking is, Daniel?" she replied as Hae In got up from the couch and went to the kitchen.
I grabbed the pillow next to me on the couch and launched it at her head. I wanted to say 'don't talk to my boyfriend like that' but the pillow landed on the chess board after hitting her face and scattered the game.
I grimaced when they both turned to look at me. "Oops."
Clareta let out a scream that was more than enough to deafen someone and I winced before throwing another pillow at her face. She immediately threw both pillows back at me before Daniel shook his head at us and began to arrange the pieces back on the board.
"We have to start the game from the beginning now. Thanks to you," she said as she glared at me.
"No need for that," Daniel muttered while moving the pieces. "I know where everything was."
She gave him a blank stare before she pursed her lips and got up from the floor. "Okay, fine. Whatever. You win."
"Oh, wow." Daniel placed a hand on his chest, "I didn't peg you as a quitter."
"I'm not a quitter," she shot back as she sat on a couch. "I just- oh whatever."
"You just quit saying what you were about to say," Hae In stated as she walked out of the kitchen.
She let out another scream and immediately stopped when the front door opened and Ezra and Zeke rushed in.
"You quit screaming too," Daniel muttered as he packed up the game and she glared at him.
"Where were you guys?" Hae In asked.
"Guard post," they replied in unison while they walked past me.
I narrowed my eyes at them but they didn't look at me. I still hadn't forgotten what Zeke told me.
I was about to tell them to take off their wet shoes when the sound of an explosion filled the air.