At once he could hear the TV blaring upstairs as he kicked off his shoes and hung his wet jacket on the banister, not really giving a damn if the water would drip onto the hardwood floor or stairs. Then he set up the flight of steps, running his fingers through his wet mop of hair. His mind’s eye reminded him on the Creepy Man smiling at him at the intersection. He shuddered and tried to shake the image away by greeting his sister, who, although he hadn’t reached the top of the stairs yet, he could tell was sitting on the couch in the living room.
  
“Hi, Rosie,” he said.
 
“Hi!” Rosie called back.
 
Alex finally reached the top of the stairs and looked directly to his right. There indeed was his little sister, her hair just now starting to dry from her own walk home from school. She sat with her legs crossed, a nearly empty bowl of soup sitting in her lap. She looked up at her brother and brushed her fingers lazily through her brown hair, then outstretched the bowl to him.
 
“Can you take this to the kitchen?” she asked.
 
“The sink is like ten feet away,” Alex said. He suddenly felt tired and just wanted to fall asleep. It was probably from the running.
 
“Please?”
 
Alex gave a grunt and took the bowl from Rosie’s hand. He moved to his left and entered the kitchen. Setting the bowl on the counter beside the sink, he continued to move down the hallway until he reached the bathroom. It was dark in there. That side of the small house was against the trees. A branch or two were close enough to rest against the frosted window.
 
Alex turned on the light and gave a slight jump accompanied with noise of surprise. The cat was sitting on the bathroom counter, its black tail hanging down and waving back and forth in front of the cupboards. Alex still wasn’t used to another presence being in the house.
 
The cat, Shagner (Alex rolled his eyes in his head), was looking at him with its murky yellow eyes and slits for pupils. Alex thought it almost looked displeased. The idea made his mouth twinge in a small smirk, but he pressed it down and walked into the bathroom. He snatched a towel off the bar fastened to the wall and dried his hair with it, then he tossed it back onto the bar. The moment it landed, a loud roar echoed outside and Alex jumped again. 
 
He heard Rosie give a whimper in the living room. “Alex?”
 
“It’s just thunder, Rosie,” Alex called back.
 
“I don’t like thunder!”
 
“Yeah, well…” Alex trailed off, unsure of what to say.
 
He turned towards the counter to fix his hair in the mirror, then noticed Shagner was still sitting on the counter, the strange look of not being very amused at the situation on his face.
 
“Huh,” Alex said. “You’re a brave little guy.”
 
The cat blinked.
 
Alex shrugged and tended to his hair in the mirror.
 
“Alex!”
 
“Wha?”
 
“Do you think Mom will be all right to drive in the storm?”
 
“I’m sure she’s done it before.” Alex opened one of the drawers and picked up a comb, then quickly dragged it through his hair. “It’s not like we’ve never had storms before.”
 
Alex dropped the comb back in the drawer and slammed it shut. Then he gave the cat sitting on the counter a quick scratch on the head and left the bathroom. He walked through the kitchen to the living room and sat down beside his sister. A cartoon he didn’t recognize was on TV. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the couch.
 
“Alex?”
 
“Yeah?” he said, not opening his eyes or moving his head.
 
“I’m sorry about yesterday morning,” Rosie said. Her voice had gotten smaller.
 
“Oh… that’s okay, Rose.”
 
“Are you sure?”
 
“Yeah. Sh—uh… stuff happens.” Alex yawned and stretched his arms up, then rested his hands behind his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
 
This is a nice thing here, he thought. Oh! And I took her bowl to the kitchen. Almost forgot about that one. Two down and it’s only been ten minutes.
 
“You seem tired,” Rosie observed.
 
“I am,” Alex said, then yawned again. “I dunno why. I was fine until I got home.”
 
The phone rang before Rosie could say anything next. It startled Alex, but only enough to make him open his eyes. He was starting to get irritated at how jumpy he had become since he had gotten home. No, he couldn’t lie to himself… since he had been smiled at by one very creepy man.
 
“Grab that please?” Alex asked.
 
Rosie leaned over the arm of the couch to where the phone sat on a small table. She picked it up and answered.
 
“Hello? … Hi! … All right … Yeah, he is … Kay … Bye!”
 
She held the phone to Alex, who looked at her with a ‘who is it?’ face. Rosie didn’t answer but just shook the phone in her hand at Alex. He took it from her and put it to his ear.
 
“Hello?”
 
“Hi, honey.”
 
“Oh, hi, Mom.”
 
“How was today’s session?”
 
Alex closed his eyes again and rubbed them. “You don’t have to ask every day.”
 
“It’s important, Alex,” his mother said, her voice getting more stern.
 
“I know, but… ugh, it was fine.”
 
“Good. Listen, I’m probably going to be home late because of the weather. How is it down there?”
 
“There was thunder not too long ago,” Alex said, looking out the window to confirm it was still raining heavily.
 
“I’m sure Rosie loved that. It’s really bad up here. I’m surprised we still have the phones. I’m going to wait around at the office until things get a little calmer, so I might be home late, okay?”
 
“Yeah, okay.”
 
“So if I’m not there by 5:30, can you make dinner for you and your sister?”
 
“Sure.”
 
“Thanks, sweety. I’ll see you soon.”
 
“Kay. Bye.”
 
Alex hung up the phone and let it fall down on the cushion next to him.
 
“What’d she wanna talk to you about?” Rosie asked right away.
 
“Uh, she said she might be home late, so if she’s not home by 5:30, I’ll be making dinner for us.”
 
“What if the power goes out?”
 
“Well then… God, I dunno, Rosie. We don’t have to worry about that unless it actually happens.”
 
“We should be prepared, shouldn’t we?”
 
Alex sighed and opened his eyes again. He wasn’t sure, but he thought the sky had gotten darker in the time his eyes were closed. More shadows were starting to appear all over the living room.
 
“I think we’ll be fine, Rosie,” he said. “I think I’m gonna take a nap. You should turn on some lights, it’s getting pretty dark.” He got up and started moving back towards to the kitchen. “Wake me up if it’s 5:30 and Mom’s not home yet. Or if something’s… generally wrong, you know. And… and lock the door,” he added as he entered the hallway.
 
He walked into his room and crashed onto his bed, not bothering to shed off any clothes or pull the covers over him. As soon as his head hit his soft pillow, the walls around him gave way to darkness and he was in a deep sleep.

“Alex!”
 
“Whaaa?” he moaned drowsily.
 
“It’s 5:30 and Mom’s not home.” There was some distress in her tone. She was shaking him gently.
 
“Wha?”
 
“You’re supposed to make dinner.”
 
“Well, uh… whattaya want?” he asked, trying to just buy more time until he had to get up.
 
“I don’t know. Will you get up?” she pleaded. “It’s dark out and I don’t want to be alone in the storm anymore.”
 
“It’s freakin’… 5:30, Rosie,” Alex said, burying half his face back into his pillow. “It’s not dark out.”
 
“Yes, it is! Get up and I’ll show you.”
 
With a few grunts and groans, Alex peeled his face away from his pillow and rolled off his bed. He yawned as he followed Rosie out his room and into the hallway. It was much darker than when he had gone to bed. Rosie had turned on more lights than he thought she would have needed to. As they entered the kitchen, Alex saw that she had even turned the light over the stove on, something that was only done when all natural light outside had diminished.
 
But now, looking out the only window in the living room, Alex realized that all natural light had diminished. Rosie had put the television on mute and he could hear the rain still pounding against the roof and the windows. He walked towards the living room window. The storm had worsened: trees were waving almost violently with the wind and the street had several tiny rivers running along them. The orange streetlights were indeed the only light outside now apart from other houses. Looking upwards, Alex could see nothing but blackness. Then a flash of lightning from far off illuminated the sky for half a second and Alex could see that there was still nothing but clouds overhead. They were thick and they were moving fast with the high winds, almost swirling in some places. They were so thick that they had turned black.
 
“Has there been lightning and thunder this whole time?” Alex asked, unable to tear his gaze away from the sight outdoors to look at his sister.
 
“Yeah,” Rosie said. “I turned the TV up real loud but it didn’t work.”
 
“Why’s it on mute then?”
 
“I thought I heard someone outside.”
 
Alex’s insides felt as if they had been ground into mush. He turned around at his sister and was suddenly overcome by a feeling of no security, of absolute dread. As if someone, anyone, anything, could get to him. “What do you mean?” he finally asked.
 
“I heard someone yelling outside,” Rosie said, not appearing anywhere near as concerned as Alex was. “Thought maybe a tree had fallen on someone or something. Then I noticed it was 5:30 and I had to wake you up.”
 
“I’m not very hungry. Are you?” Rosie shook her head at him. “Rosie, did you lock the door like I asked?” She nodded. “Okay… well… it definitely shouldn’t be as dark as it is outside. It’s only 5:30.” Rosie only stared at her brother. “You know, I think we should eat, anyway. Mom said I should make dinner at 5:30… and we shouldn’t eat too late at night. What do you say to some Kraft Dinner or something?”
 
“Okay,” Rosie said, giving Alex a weak smile. He could tell she was frightened. 
 
“All right,” he said as headed into the kitchen. “And, uh, while I’m doing that, can you turn the TV’s volume back on and change it to the weather channel?”
 
Rosie nodded and sat back down on the couch. As Alex took a box of KD out of the cupboard, the volume had returned, making what was a menacing silence now retreat. He then took out a pot and started filling it with water. A movement to his left caught his eye: Shagner was trotting from the hallway into the kitchen. He leapt up onto the dinner table and watched Alex prepare his and Rosie’s healthy meal. Alex stared back at the cat, perplexed by the feline’s peculiar fascination with him. After he turned off the water and set the pot on the stove to boil, he stood beside the dinner table and scratched behind the cat’s ear. Shagner did not purr.
 
“Turn it up, Rosie.”
 
The lady sitting behind a desk on the television became louder: “…turning out to be the biggest storm we’ve seen in a long time. Details are still coming in as to how far it stretches, or will stretch, but several weather posts and stations have been knocked out or are without power, so there will be a delay with that information. However, at this time it appears that every station within one hundred and fifty kilometers has last reported at least heavy rain. We’ll continue to bring to updates on this monster storm, including when it might change or—”
 
“What?” Alex said. “That can’t be right. One hundred and fifty kilometers? Find a, uh… a news show or something. The news should be on. Try channel six.”
 
The lady behind the desk reporting on the ‘monster storm’ gave way to a man in a wet gray suit. He was outside, yelling into his microphone as the wind blew his tie up and down, making it occasionally hit his cheek.
 
“…Without power, as well,” he was saying. “We’re not sure, uh, just how far these power outages go as everything seems to be literally in the dark.”
 
The man disappeared to another man sitting dry behind a desk. “Ian, can you tell us if there’s any word on flooding or any warnings at this point?”
 
Back to Ian being drenched in the rain. “At this point there is no word on floods or flood warnings, at least as far as we know. The water seems to be pretty much under control so far. What I’d warn about right now is the winds and the possibility of losing power for a while. I urge people to be prepared. As you know, Ted, this storm has been around for several hours now, but it just seems to be getting progressively worse and worse.”
 
Back to Ted. “Have you gotten word yet on the severity of the storm? Could this turn in to a hurricane or anything worse?”
 
Back to Ian. “If the clouds weren’t acting like they were, I’d say yes, this could definitely turn into a hurricane. But as it stands, I’m not quite sure either way. Right now it doesn’t look like this can become something such a hurricane, but I wouldn’t put the thought to rest either.”
 
“Jesus,” Alex said as Ian the Reporter continued to scream into his microphone. “Try… uh… do we have any international channels? Like BBC? Oh, try CNN.”
 
“What channel is that?” Rosie asked, looking up from the couch.
 
“Seventeen.”
 
Ian the Reporter gave way to CNN. A newsman was standing in front of a map of North America where dark clouds moved all over the place in great, big patches, the size Alex had never seen before on a weather blue screen. Underneath the man was the title “Storm of the Century” in big yellow letters. Alex felt like rolling his eyes and hiding under his bed covers at the same time.
 
“…And as you can see,” the newsman was saying, “there are some patches of clouds that are almost of size of entire states. They’re incredibly thick, unlike anything we’ve ever really seen before. We’re still working on getting in contact, uh, with someone who can tell us what exactly is happening… why exactly it’s happening and how exactly it’s happening. Until that time, we’ll continue to watch the storm and keep you continuously updated—”
 
“You can mute it again, Rosie,” Alex said.
 
In an instant, the TV was silent again. Alex could tell his little sister was more frightened that ever now. She had curled her legs up onto the couch and was looking out the window now and again. Alex heard the water behind him bubbling in the pot. He turned around and turned off the stove, then poured the scalding water down the sink. He knew she definitely wouldn’t have an appetite now. Any trace of one he might have had was gone too. 
 
He set the empty pot back on the stove and walked into the living room. Rosie was crying silently, tears spilling from her eyes. She had her fist pressed against her lips.
 
“Hey… don’t do that…” Alex said, sitting beside her on the couch and placing his arm around her. He couldn’t remember the last time he had ever been so affectionate with his sister. When he had felt close enough to be able to console her. “All storms pass, Rose.”
 
“This… is a big one…” she croaked.
 
“I know…” Alex said. “But it’ll go away. I promise. Probably tonight, I’ll bet. And then Mom will come home and everything will be fine.”
 
“I don’t feel good,” Rosie said between sniffles.
 
Alex felt at a loss. When he didn’t feel good, he took a couple extra strength Tylenol, but he figured Rosie was too young for those. When he was younger, he’d cry to their mom. And she would hold him and rub his back. She would always calm him down if he was afraid. She would always explain that his fears were always something under his control, but if things really seemed hopeless, then he could turn to the sky. She had taught him to pray. He remembered it vividly. And he remembered how much he resented being what he later called indoctrinated into believing there was a God and He could help with all of his problems.
 
But he didn’t know what he believed now. He knew that their mom had taught Rosie how to pray as well, but Alex himself hadn’t prayed in years. He couldn’t imagine how awkward it would feel after all his rebellious changes of heart. And if he suggested it to Rosie now, would it calm her down? Would she find a little piece of serenity and be able to go back to watching cartoons? Would their prayers even be able to penetrate the ‘storm of the century’? Alex didn’t know. All he knew is he wanted to stop his little sister from crying.
 
“Rosie, I have an idea that might make you feel better,” he said.
 
Rosie looked at him.
 
“Here, sit up straight.”
 
She moved her legs off the couch and straightened up, then rubbed her wet cheeks and continued to stare at him.
 
“Do you remember how Mom taught you to pray?” he asked.
 
She nodded. “Will that help?”
 
“We can ask…” He stopped and swallowed, then made himself press on. “We can ask God to stop the storm. He might not stop it right away, but if He hears us He might stop it soon.”
 
Rosie hesitated for a moment and looked out the window again. Then, rubbing her cheeks one more time, she nodded at her brother. “Okay.”
 
Very slowly, Alex dropped off the couch onto his knees. “We have to get on our knees like this, remember?”
 
Rosie nodded again and slid off the couch, kneeling beside him.
 
“Now we put our elbows up on the couch,” he instructed while demonstrating at the same time, “and place our hands together like this.”
 
Rosie followed his lead. “Do we have to close our eyes like Mom said?”
 
“I think so. Yes.”
 
The moment they both closed their eyes, the silence (save for the howling wind and the angry rain) was pierced by a very loud noise that made them both reopen their eyes and jump. At first, Alex thought it sounded like air rushing from a small hole in something like a deflating balloon. Then his eyes caught the cat still sitting on the dinner table. It looked mean… almost angry. It had hissed at them. 
 
“Shagner, shush!” Rosie called to the cat.
 
Alex stared at the cat for a second longer, then resumed his prayer position. He thought about what he was going to say to God while his sister prayed that He end the storm. It seemed he had put himself into a situation he wasn’t ready to confront yet.
 
“Ready?” he asked Rosie anyway.
 
“Yeah.”
 
They closed their eyes again. This time Shagner did not hiss. Instead, he gave a horrible, moaning mew as if he were being tortured. Again, it startled Alex and Rosie enough to open their eyes and look at it.
 
“What’s wrong with him?” Alex said, a little annoyed.
 
“I don’t know,” Rosie said, getting up and walking to the cat. “Maybe the storm’s upsetting him.” She picked up Shagner and held him in her arms, its black fur contrasting greatly with her clothes. “I’ll put him in the bathroom for now. He likes it in there.”
 
Alex looked down at the couch cushion his elbows were propped up on still. The cat had saved him twice now and he still didn’t know what he was going to say to God. He felt like an idiot stressing over speaking to an omnipotent being that he had once been convinced was not actually there. 
 
He heard the bathroom door close and saw Rosie walking back towards him.
 
“You can’t just lock him in the bathroom,” he said. Whether he liked it or not, the cat had somehow started to grow on him.
 
“He’ll be fine,” she said, kneeling down beside him.
 
“Let him out after this.”
 
“Okay, but you deal with him if he freaks out again.”
 
“All right. Ready again?”
 
She nodded.
 
They both closed their eyes again. And then Alex was praying. He asking things he didn’t even know he wanted to ask. He was asking God why it was so easy for others to have such strong conviction in their faith but it wasn’t as easy for him. He was admitting to Him that if he could believe just like that, he would probably be happier than he was now. He was asking if He existed… pleading to know if He existed… wishing it weren’t so hard to be religious… to believe…
 
He felt Rosie’s arm brush against his and he stopped immediately. Opening his eyes, he saw his sister looking at him. She was smiling happily as if what they had done guaranteed an end to the terrific storm outside. 
 
“Feel better?” he asked quietly.
 
“Yeah, I do. Thanks, Alex.”
 
“Sure.” He smiled weakly. “Now how about we go to bed?”
 
“It’s not very late…”
 
Alex shrugged. “I know. But I am so damn tired. Don’t tell Mom I cursed.”
 
“I’m not tired at all,” Rosie said as he stood up.
 
“Well… we’re bound to lose the power soon, anyway,” Alex said. “I should call Thomas and see if he’s got power.”
 
“Mom might call,” Rosie said.
 
Alex yawned at this. “All right then. Will you be okay if I have another nap?”
 
Rosie shrugged and nodded. “I might fall asleep soon, actually. I’m getting tired now.”
 
“Yawns are infectious,” Alex said with a lazy half-smile. Then he got up off his knees and started to sleepily walk into the kitchen and down the hallway. He stopped at the closed bathroom door and opened it up. Inside, Shagner had taken to standing next to the heater, away from the toilet and bathtub. At first peak of the hallway, the cat darted out and raced into Alex’s bedroom. “Okay then, cat,” Alex said, entering his room, “you can bunk with me.”
 
Shagner was sitting on the top of his headboard, his tail waving back and forth faster than it had in the bathroom. Alex paid no mind to him. Once again, he crashed onto his bed, too tired to get very comfortable. And once again, he fell into a deep sleep as soon as his head fell on his soft pillow.