BITTERSWEET

CHAPTER 48 / TYPHOON PT.2

REMMI SCREAMED AND COVERED HER EARS AS THE LIGHTNING HIT, curling herself up in a ball. She'd always hated storms, especially since they rang through her mind for hours on end. 

Without the lights, it wasn't necessarily dark but looked clouded and shadowed. Aaron rushed to the kitchen sink and turned on the water. It emerged from the sprout but its power thinned out within seconds. 

"There goes the pump. No electricity, no hydraulics, no bore, no pump," He summarised, putting his hands on his hips.

Nana got up from the fall and held onto Zane, "So, what do we do now?" She asked.

"Aaron?" Garroth questioned as he realised the attention was drawn to him. Aaron widened his eyes when he figured out Garroth gave up his unofficial position as the ringleader of their circus. "This is Aaron's call."

"W-well..." Aaron mumbled, beginning to fumble with his fingers. 

"What's the plan, Alpha?" Aph asked as Aaron drew up a smile. 

"Okay, we're going to need to round up all the plastic bottles and power banks. Bottles for water and power to charge our phones. We're gonna need to grab our things from the basement in case of a flood, and looking at the way the rain's falling it's going to happen," Aaron explained.

"Better safe than sorry," Dante added.

"Exactly. Then, we're going to need lamps, torches and batteries to get around. Some of us will need them, and some of us won't. We don't have any running water, especially in the toilets we're going to need buckets to bring down the flush. The Ro'Meave brothers and I know how to do it because we did it at Bunny Hill (the lodge) when we were little. Everyone got that?" 

The group nodded and Kasey saluted. 

"I'll get the power banks," Katelyn suggested.

"We'll get the cords."

"On water duty."

"We're in the basement since most of the stuff is ours."

"We're in charge of the torches." 

"We'll get the batteries."

"Make sure you don't eat 'em," Remmi called after Garroth. He pulled up the finger and she rolled her eyes. 

Zane and Nana gathered together the lamps and torches making sure each one worked one by one. 

Tatiana, Remmi and Katelyn checked on the power banks since they were supposed to charge them after the last time the power went out. Now, they were stuck in a typhoon. They also used it as an opportunity to practise their Japanese. 

Kim checked the phone lines with everyone's different SIM cards, which were all cut off. "The phone towers have been cut! The lightning and wind must've done something," She said raising her phone and doing the same with the others. She frowned as no bars nor WiFi were showing up with the mobile data, even with Aeroplane Mode. 

"Uh, guys? I think something's happened to the basement," Travis said pointing downstairs with a bag slung over his shoulder. 

"What now?" Katelyn complained. 

They stopped halfway down the stairs after they descended, watching as water dripped through multiple cracks of the wall and unsuspecting air vents. 

"Shit," Zane whispered.

"Language," Garroth said trying to mock his best Captain America accent. 

"Okay, new plan," Aaron finalised, observing the damage. Together, they tried to stop the leaks with sponges and buckets to prevent any impairments to the marbled flooring of their entertainment centre. 

After double checking each job was completed, four hours later they retreated to the couches in the common rooms and were able to relax. 

"Thank god for this villa," Aaron sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

"They thought of literally everything," Cadenza said bringing her knees to her chin. 

"Do typhoons happen often?" Lucinda asked, directing herself in Nana's direction. 

"At least once a dry season. They usually last for about two days before retreating to the ocean," Nana answered with a yawn. 

"What if we all slept downstairs tonight?" Laurance suggested.