12

Jack was a heavy sleeper, but the bone-jarring blast of thunder was so close and deafening, that for a moment he feared the house had been struck. Opening one bleary eye and looking around, he realised that it wasn't the house that had been hit. The power was off.

He had just turned back over with a grunt when a sound got his attention. There was a scurrying of feet in the hall, his door was pushed open, and there stood Yelina, the kitten in her arms, snuffling. Without seeking his assent, she went to his bed, dove under the covers, and clung to him like a frightened child. She was literally trembling with fear. It was in his mind to get up and put her back to bed, when another presence at the doorway got his attention.

'All right,' he mumbled tiredly, 'but just this once.' He lifted the covers obligingly for Kiko, who didn't need to be prompted.

The storm was directly overhead now, the flashes and rumbling non-stop.

Jack dozed fitfully throughout the storm, aware that the girls, though calmed by his presence, remained awake through most of it. At last, at around a quarter after three, the storm gave way to a torrential downpour, and soon the lowering clouds were utterly spent and moved off, revealing a rain-washed sky full of bright stars. Jack fell deeply asleep on his back, an arm protectively encircling each of the two girls, the kitten curled up into a ball on his chest.