The TimberWolf Effect (Book I)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Blood Drenched Fur

The substantial rain on the roof sounded like a lake was being dropped on them. At least that was how Timber described it to Grace and Chad. It had been storming greatly for four days almost nonstop and neither Chad nor Grace could get to work. The dirt road that they took to get there had been washed out and blocked by a fallen aspen tree that had been knocked down from heavy winds that moved in late the night before. Both elementary schools were at risk of being flooded and the high winds made driving dangerous, so everyone just stayed at home where it was safe and dry.

Growing up in Louisiana, Grace was used to hurricanes so she was prepared. As soon as she got news of the storm, she pulled the emergency kit full of batteries, flashlights, matches, and candles out of her closet and stocked up on fresh water and anything she could cook over the fire that did not need to be stored in the refrigerator or the freezer. The bathtub in the master bedroom was deep cleaned and filled up with emergency water and then covered to keep the water clean. The family was thankful for that because the power went out on day three of the predicted five-day storm.

The storm clouds themselves were so dark, they gave the landscape the appearance of midnight, rather than half past noon. The wind howled as violently as an enraged lover, destroying everything it could reach. The rain fell with such force, there was no pit-pat on the roof but rather a constant, loud humming sound like aggressive white noise. The waves were so strong, they were smashing weaker rocks to bits as they bulldozed the cliffs.

On the first full day of the power outage, Timber and Emily came down the stairs to find Grace in the living room by a roaring fire. She was in a full coverage apron, bent over two galvanized steel basins full of water on a wooden stand. There was an odd contraption in the middle, something sticking out of the soapy water in one basin, and at Grace's feet, there was a basket of Timber and Emily's muddy clothing.

"Mommy, what is this? What are you doing?" asked Emily curiously examining the basins.

"I'm washin' the clothes that you dirtied yesterday playin' in the rain," explained Grace.

Timber's eyes got round and she said, "They used to wash clothes like this a long time ago! I didn't know they still made these!"

"They do but they are hard to find," said Grace, adding Timber's t-shirt to the soapy water. "My mama taught me to wash by hand just like her mama taught her. I could teach you if you like. Would you like to learn?"

"I'd love to," said Timber.

"Me too," said Emily.

So Grace explained that the middle piece of equipment was called a ringer and it was for removing water from the fabric. The other contraption was a washboard for scrubbing the clothes. Grace grabbed a smaller washboard and added it to the water and showed Timber and Emily how to scrub. They took turns practicing. It was not a difficult task but it was time-consuming and required physical effort which was good for two little girls who were confined to the house.

Timber and Emily were both very proud of themselves when they completed their task and had hung up their clothes on a temporary line in front of the fire. Timber helped Grace clean up the washbasins and Emily cleaned up the water that splashed to the floor. By the time everything had been cleaned, it was time for a nap so the girls went upstairs to sleep for an hour.

The rest of the day for Timber and Emily was spent learning how to pass the time and entertain themselves without power. They came up with the idea to write a play so they worked and practiced for an hour and then went downstairs to perform their work. They told the story of the moon landing. Emily wanted to be the spaceship and the American flag so Timber played Neil Armstrong. When evening fell, the family went to bed right after dinner, all of them hoping the power would be on again in the morning.