12. DOWN WE GO

It doesn't take too long for the first emergency light to flicker and die. The battery life of these are not very long. I watch the dead light as if it will realise it's mistake and flicker on again.

Brent chuckles.

"You know what would have been a good idea?" He watches me as I shift my gaze to him. I don't know and I stay silent. "If we didn't use both emergency lights at once."

I smile at him and roll my eyes. Yes, that would have been a great idea.

"I will definitely keep that in mind when I prepare for my next storm." I smile even thought there is a nervousness settling in my chest. Brent must be able to see how uncomfortable I am getting. He tries to make small talk and joke about various little things. I cannot find a way to settle my nerves.

"We should eat something" Brent announces. We have been snacking for a while but I suspect he wants us to eat food rather than just live on snacks.

"Do you want to try to go to the kitchen?" I ask Brent, unsure of what his plans are.

"It does sound a bit quieter outside. Maybe now is a good time." He tells me as he opens the door a bit.

It does sound quieter outside. There is still the howling wind and rain coming down but most of the thunder and lightning has subsided and it seems a bit less dangerous outside.

Brent crawls out of the small door and I follow him. It is dark in the house. The power is out and none of the lights are working. The windows are all covered with shutters and the curtains are drawn, there is absolutely no natural light coming into the house.

Brent ducks back into the hiding place and comes out with the emergency light.

We make our way to the kitchen. Brent lights the gas plate and I take a few things from the fridge we can heat up. Brent quickly heats the food and sets it into two plates. The emergency light flickers once and then light up again.

Brent and I give each other a worried look but laugh a little at the predicament we find ourselves in.

We eat at the kitchen counter while listening as the storm outside gets worse again.

"I don't think we will be able to stay under the stairs for too long. You are really not set up for a storm." Brent says while listening to the wind outside.

I know he is right. I didn't know this area was prone to storms. I am not sure I would have accepted this house had I known how bad the storms were around here.

Brent goes through the cupboards in the washroom and brings out two old oil lamps and a bottle of oil to refill them with. He takes the lighter from the shelf next to the oven and places them neatly next to each other on the counter.

He goes through all the cupboards and collects any canned foods or boxed foods we can take with us.

"Do you have a crate we can put these in?" he asks me over his shoulder.

I feel my way to the study and find two large crates that was left after I sold its contents. I take the crates to Brent and set them on the ground next to him. He packs everything he got together in the crates and carries the crates to hallway next to the staircase. I follow him when he takes the second crate.

"Where is the basement?" He asks when we are standing in front of the door that leads to the storage space we just crawled out of.

"Here, in this hallway" I point towards the door even though I know it is now too dark for Brent to see anything I show him. I feel my way to the door and unlock it. I can feel Brent behind me when I open the door. The skin on my back tingles with him so close to me. He places a hand on my shoulder to keep me from entering the pitch-black basement.

I hear him click the lighter and a small flame lights the space between us. He is holding one of the oil lamps. He lights the pit of the lamp. There is more light between us and I look up at him. Even if he talks now, I will not be able to hear him. The storm has escalated and the thunder and lightning has started up again. Brent leans in until his mount is next to my ear.

"Go down, watch your step. Do not fall." He steps away and I nod at him.

I go down the stairs into the basement. There is only immediate light around the oil lamp. I set the lamp down on one of the broken appliances at the far end of the room. I turn the pit up a bit to make the oil lamp glow brighter. It lights the entire basement in a feint light. I go up the stairs to see where Brent is. When he sees me, he hands me the second oil lamp that he lit already. I stand next to the door leading down to the basement to give him enough light to carry the crates down.

After setting the second crate down in the middle of the room he comes again to collect the vase from the storage space. He carries it down with the utmost care.

I follow him down the steps and set the second lamp on the next broken appliance at the end of the room.

Brent looks at me and nods and makes his way up the stairs again. As he is reaching to pull the door closed a loud crack sounds and bright lightning shines through the small openings in the shutters. A loud creaking noise is heard before a loud crash of glass breaking. Brent pulls the door closed and bolts it from the inside.

There is an immediate silence when the door is closed.

I can hear the wooden stairs creaking as Brent makes his way down the stairs.

"Unbelievable" I tell Brent when he is standing in front of me. "It is like the basement is not a part of the house at all when you are down here."

"I have to admit. I am surprised at how sound proof the basement is. Did you hear the window breaking?" Brent asks me over his shoulder as he walks to one of the appliances that do not have an oil lamp on it. He pulls it to the middle of the room and goes back to get another of the same height.

He pulls it next to the other one and puts an oil lamp on it.

"I heard the glass break but I couldn't hear where it came from." I tell Brent as I adjust the pit of the second lamp to glow brighter.

"It came from the attic." He tells me.

"Oh no. That was the tree window. The attic has the most beautiful lead glass tree window." I feel sad knowing it is broken now. It was truly very beautiful.

Brent looks at me with sympathy. He has a love for beautiful things and he knows what it feels like when beautiful things break.

"Where is your vase?" I ask him. The thought of the beautiful things breaking making me think of the vase.

"I set it under the stairway" Brent tells me.

My eyes widen for a second, thinking of the door behind the wooden panel that leads to the past.

Brent shakes his head.

"Stay here, okay?"

I nod when he raises his eyebrows. He runs up the stairs, unbolts the door and disappear into the house. A few seconds later he tosses bedding and pillows down the stairs. He disappears again.

I make work of picking up blankets and quickly folding them and placing them in a neat pile next to the little workstation Brent set up in the middle of the room. When I pick up the last pillow to place it on the pile Brent tosses down the next lot of blankets and pillows. I quickly grab the pillows to get them out of the way and fold the blankets he brought. He bolts the door again and walks down the steps.

"If we need anything else now, we will have to go without it." He says as he runs his hands through his hair.

"That bad huh?" I hug a pillow to my body.

"I am afraid so. There is a terrible wind coming down from the attic. There are papers blowing everywhere in the house." He gives me a sympathetic look.

My eyes fill with tears when I look back at him.

Brent gives me a tender smile.

"Ah, Little Sapling, all is well."