Clouds swirled above the community with lightning pulsing inside them like strobes in the pitch-black sky. Every few seconds, a procession of electricity jabbed their fingers at the earth, forcing Magnus to run faster against the wind. By the time he made it to the wall, his clothes were soaked through, and his lungs were on fire, but he sprinted up the stone staircase to find Zemora.

Heading straight for tower two, he found her elbow deep with her crew as they pushed on a lever that wouldn't budge. Frustration rolled from her shoulders like steam, and when she spotted him, her greeting was anything but warm as deep creases formed across her russet forehead.

"What in God's name are you doing on my wall without a suit!"

"What's going on with the tower?" he shouted over the thunder.

"You need to put on a suit!"

He shook his head. "First things first, tell me what's wrong."

"No. Before we discuss anything, you need to put on a suit."

"Zemo-"

"I don't think so!" She held up her hand. "I command these men, and when you step onto my wall, you better be in a suit. Am I understood?"

With hands on his hips, still catching his breath, he nodded. "Ok. Happy?"

"Not until I see you in a suit." She smiled and opened the hatch on the stone floor. "Go on."

He jogged down into the lower level of the wall, taking two steps at a time while gripping the railing. It was an iceberg compared to what a person could see up top. Inside the wall were floor to ceiling glass columns that connected to each tower. Some already held lightning like flittering butterflies trapped in a jar—creating smaller branches of electricity within the cylinder.

The atmosphere was thick with the sound of chambers opening and closing as men from up top, forced lightning down through the glass, sealing it inside. Those working within the wall, had their own system of levers and dials to push the lighting further down into a collection chamber below ground. Samson was leaning against the masonry wall while giving commands through the radio, and the sight instantly aggravated Magnus. Not wanting to argue with him, he grabbed a spare suit from a hook on the wall, but his brother glanced up.

"Mag?" His brows crinkled. "What the hell are you doing down here?"

"I should ask you the same." He grunted while stripping down to his underwear. "You should be doing rounds, not just checking in with the towers via radio. You actually need to see what's going on."

"Excuse me?"

"What's going on with tower two?" He slid into the heavy rubbery suit. "Do you even know?"

Samson slammed his notebook onto the small desk near the radio and exhaled slowly. "For your information, yes, I know. I'm good at my job. In fact, I'm damn good, so I don't need you to come down here to supervise my work."

"I'm not. I'm here to help." He zipped himself up.

"Help?" Samson's brows lifted. "If you want to help, go back to the Weather Room. Zemora and I have the wall covered. So thanks, but no thanks."

"We need to get that chamber working," Magnus replied, his words muffled as he slipped the rubber mask over his head. "There's a lot of activity on this side of the wall, so-"

"You think I don't know that!" Samson cut him off.

"I'm not trying to argue Sammy, but I did this job for fifteen years, which is why-"

"Stop acting as if our father didn't teach us both how to do this job." Samson stepped closer and poked him in the chest. "So how about you get out of my way, and go back to the Weather Room."

"Oh, I'll get out of your way." Magnus nodded. "But if you need me, I'll be up top helping Zemora."

"I won't need you," Samson replied, and headed back to the radio.

When Magnus finally made his way to the top, Zemora was nowhere to be found as her crew stood around, their heads tilted back. He tugged on a worker's arm, asking where she'd gone, and the young man pointed his finger.

"Up. She climbed up."

"Has she lost her mind!"

"You know Zemora. She's stubborn, just like you."

Gritting his teeth, Magnus hiked a foot on the rubber-coated stairs that spiraled the tower and began climbing. The wall was already five stories tall, and the tower was another five, so he tried ignoring the long drop to the bottom as he set his sight on Zemora. The clouds above them continued to flicker like lungs expelling a cough, and with each bolt of lightning, a roar of thunder followed. Yet, Zemora seemed oblivious to the danger as she worked frantically. In any other situation, Magnus would've found humor in the fact that she resembled a cat in her black rubber suit, clawing at the emergency levers on the apex of the tower. However, the lightning spearing the surfaces around her made him anything but calm. So he climbed faster.

"What are you doing up here!?" he shouted once he reached the landing that circled the top.

"What does it look like?"

"Looks like you've got a death wish."

"Well, quit criticizing and help me. We need to get these mirrors open if we're going to collect lightning."

"Move aside." He nudged her. "You're not going to open them by fussing with the emergency levers. We need to pry the mirrors by hand."

"I was trying to avoid that..."

"Well, it's too late for caution now."

Together, they rushed around manually tugging on the petal-shaped mirrors that covered the opening of the tower. As soon as all of them were fanned open, a bolt of lightning zig-zagged across the charcoal sky and struck the mirrors.

"Hurry!" Zemora pointed at the emergency levers.

Magnus raced for them and shut the mirrors, trapping the lightning inside the chamber while Zemora used the radio on her hip to signal the men below. When they got confirmation, he pulled on another lever to send the lighting down into the second chamber—the glass cylinder inside the wall. They waited for confirmation again, and within seconds, it came through.

"All clear."

"Good. Now let's get out of here," Magnus said.

"We should do another run to make sure the mirrors aren't stuck again."

"Zemora. No. We caught one bolt, and that's good enough. We'll make it up with the next storm. Now come on." As he turned to leave, she latched onto his arm.

"I want to do another run. Look at all of this activity." She motioned at the pulsing clouds. "I can't let it go to waste."

"There are four other towers on this side of the wall. We'll just have to hope they're catching enough."

"No, damn it! I want to do another run."

"Zemora," he shouted. "I hate pulling rank on you, but I will for your own good, and I'm ordering you to stand down. Now let's go."

"Magnus, please?" She raced after him. "Just one more."

"Zemora, I said-" When Magnus glanced over his shoulder, his eyes widened. "Get down!"

Throwing his arms around her, he spun her out of the way right as a bolt struck the tower. His back collided with the railing, causing him to lose balance as his spine bowed over it.

"Get back." He shoved her away, but his arms flailed while trying to straighten himself, and he found himself flipping backward over the railing.

"Magnus!" Zemora shrieked, catching his arm.

Staring up at her, he knew that her hands were the only thing keeping him from plummeting one hundred feet to ground as he dangled in the air. His stomach roiled with fear as bile coated his tongue. To make matters worse, her gloves were slipping, and half of her was folded over the railing just to hold onto him. If she tumbled over, they were both doomed.

"Zemora," his voice wobbled. "You have to let me go. Or we'll both fall."

"Have you gone mad!"

"You have to. It's ok."

"No." She tugged.

"You can't hold me much longer, so just let go."

Magnus took another look at the long drop. It would kill him, but if by some miracle he survived, the injuries would be so severe that he'd want to die. Either way, the community needed Zemora, and if he didn't force her hand to let him go, then they would both fall. So, the choice was simple. Closing his eyes, he muttered a quick prayer to his mother.

"Nos vemos pronto..."

Then a firm hand slapped onto his forearm, and when his gaze shot back up, there Samson was—hauling him up.

"I've got you!"

Together, he and Zemora tugged him over the railing and landed in a heap of heavy breaths and pounding hearts. Samson threw his arms around him and squeezed. When they broke apart, Magnus couldn't tell if it was rain on his brother's cheeks or tears. Remembering they weren't out of harm's way, they scrambled to their feet and rushed down the winding stairs.

When they finally made it to the bottom, all of the workers on tower two were at the foot of the stairs, cheering. Magnus hooked his arm around Samson proudly, brining him in for nuzzle.

"Let's hear it for my brother, the hero!"

"For Samson!" they all cheered, and clapped his back as he sheepishly pushed through the small crowd.

The agitated sky gave one last rattle before the clouds began drifting out of range, and everyone glanced up, with their palms catching the dissipating rain.

"You did great." Magnus patted Zemora's back. "I have a feeling it was a good catch today."

"Magnus I'm so sorr-"

"Don't say it," he cut her off. "Things happen, and you're a great captain, so how about we focus on what today's successful storm means for us."

She cocked her brow. "A celebration?"

"Yep, so prepare to go toe-to-toe with me tonight, but I'll most likely drink you under the table like always."

"Not a chance! I've been practicing with Mira," she shouted as he walked away.

By the time he made it back to the Weather Room, he had forgotten all about Estera. It wasn't until he entered the dark bunker that he froze in his tracks when their eyes met. However, it wasn't just her staring back at him. The entire team appeared as if they'd seen a spirit risen from the dead. Mira made her way across the room, weaving around computer desks, and threw her arms around him. A coarse exhale escaped her mouth, and over by the radio, Rafi was rubbing his eyes.

"What's the matter?" Magnus asked. "Why does everyone look so miserable?"

"We thought you died!" Rafi replied.

"What?"

Mira pulled away, wiping her eyes. "The camera feeds blitzed out. The last thing we saw was you dangling from the railing!"

"What do you mean they blitzed?"

Magnus made his way around her and headed for the main control panel. He jabbed a few buttons and tried to type in commands, but the large screens continued to flicker squiggles across them. Frustrated, he threw his hands in the air and turned to face everyone again.

"What?" he asked when they continued to just stare at him.

"We thought you died, and you're more worried about the damn camera feed."

His expression dropped along with his shoulders, and he returned to Mira. Cupping her face, he wiped her tears with his thumbs and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare any of you."

"We're just relieved you're alive," Rafi said.

"If it wasn't for Samson-" he cut himself short, and waved his hand, dismissing the thought. "Tonight, when we celebrate today's catch, I want all of you to buy him a drink. Alright?"

"You know we will, but are you ok?"

"Of course, Mira. I'm fine. Not a single scratch. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to notify my father about tower two's issues, and the camera feeds, so if you need me, I'll be in my office."

As he walked away, their silence lanced his spine like poisonous darts slowing his steps. He could feel their eyes on him, so he glanced back, flashing a smile.

"Really, guys, I'm fine, so let's all get back to work."

He slipped into the small room before anyone could respond, and as soon as the door clicked closed behind him, a sob bubbled from his throat. With a trembling hand slapping to his mouth, he sunk onto the small couch against the wall and closed his eyes. If Samson hadn't been there...

He shook his head. It was best not to think about the what-ifs.

Smoothing down his hair, he blew out a deep breath and stood. There was still that call to make, and a celebration to be had.

***

Well, I'm sure you've noticed by now that this book will have 80s songs displayed at the very top! Honestly, I love 80s music, especially New Wave, and I'm mostly adding these songs for the sake of giggles... I mean, come on, "Holding Out For a Hero" as Magnus runs out into the middle of a storm?? 😂

Anyway, thanks so much for reading ❤🤗