The Inheritance Book 1

Ch 62 Bolt from the Blue: Graehm Yarrow [Thursday Morning, Week Three]

The world was all blurry flashes of yellows and greens. Graehm sputtered and flailed in marshy waters at the edge of the lake. Straining his eyes to focus on the reeds and grasses, he crawled up the sloping shore. He sat up, coughed, and shook the water from his ears.

Lennox, Sione, and Jarrett lay sprawled on the shore, soaked from head to toe. The puzzled looks on their faces surely mirrored his own.

"What happened?" Graehm's stumbled on soggy noodle legs as he tried to get to his feet.

Lennox threw his arms in the air. "I have no idea! One minute we were rowing toward the middle of the lake. The sun was in my eyes. And then--" his hands swooped down his wet clothes, "--this! Jarrett? Sione? Do you remember?"

Sione tilted his head sideways and squeezed the water from his dripping ringlets. "It's just like you said: We were almost to the middle of the lake. There was a flash of light and the next thing I know, I'm waking up in the water."

Jarrett looked around, rubbing his eyes. "What happened to the boat? I'm so confused. But that's all I remember too."

"Dang! Did it sink? My favorite shirt was on it!" Sione slouched his bare muscular shoulders. "What in the heck happened?"

There was only one thing that made sense. "I have a plausible theory," Graehm said thoughtfully. "We might've been struck by a bolt from the blue."

"What's that?" Jarrett said.

"Lightning. I know it sounds impossible because the skies look clear, but sometimes lightning can strike on a sunny day. I don't think any of us were struck directly, because we don't seem to have any of the other symptoms besides being knocked out and suffering confusion and memory loss. But maybe lightning burned a hole in the boat and it sunk. We all saw a bright flash of light. Right? Plus, the boat is gone, and we were all blown to the edge of the lake. I can't think of any other explanation. Can you?"

"No. But that's so weird! How long were we knocked out?"

Lennox patted his pocket. "Arrgh!! Of course, my phone's gone! I have no idea what time it is right now."

"Judging by the sun, I'm guessing it is around 1:30. That means we were unconscious for around three hours! We are lucky we didn't drown! How are we not sunburned to a crisp?" Graehm scratched his head.

"Well, all I can say is I don't know why I'm surprised. Just add this to the list of strange things connected to Trecorin." Lennox headed toward the four-wheelers. "Let's go on back. I have to figure out how to explain to Allora that her boat is gone. Well, it's been fun guys. I'm probably gonna get fired after this."

"Nah," Sione assured him. "Auntie will understand. It's not your fault."