"Yeah, tell me about it," replied Bobbie.

"And that’s headed our way?"

"Well, according to that weatherman on Channel 12, we’re going to get a lot of rain and wind."

"That’s it?"

Of course, Derrick Chase was hedging on the same optimism that was flowing through Jim Jacobs. They were hoping that
people in the path of Isis would only receive rain and wind, but that would require her to lose strength rapidly. And that was not
happening.

"I suppose I should call Elizabeth and tell her not to stay out too late tonight"

"That might be a good idea."

Bobbie’s face made an unusual twist.

"Bobbie? What’s the matter?"

"Oh, well, I was just thinking about Lucky. If this storm comes and Luke and Laura away, is he going to be OK?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don’t know where he’s staying, and it certainly isn’t at his home and it’s not with me."

"I don’t know. I’m sure he’ll be alright."

"I suppose you’re right. I’m just a little worried."

"Well, if he shows up with Elizabeth later today, I’ll make sure he doesn’t leave until the storm blows over. I really don’t think
anyone should be out if it’s going to be awful as you mentioned."

"Thanks Audrey."

"And I’m sure Elizabeth won’t object," Audrey laughed.

"I’m sure Lucky won’t either."

They knew. They had seen it a long time ago. They had seen Lucky and Elizabeth tend to each other, share their feelings,
experiences. They were inseparable.

"You know what she told me last night?"

They were like school girls catching up on the latest gossip. The hospital was quiet today and they had time to sit down and
chat. It seemed like there was so much time in the world. But tonight, they would think the opposite. The clock was ticking.

                    ********************************************************

He hadn’t slept all night. If his sluggish posture didn’t give it away instantly, his eyes did. He had laid there, in the boxcar, staring
into the blackness. His mind wouldn’t shut off, it was on overdrive. He was watching the stars, thinking of her.

That’s all he could think about. Their date, their dinner, their moment when time stopped and they had reached that place they
had feared to tread. He could still feel her lips on his. He could smell her vanilla scented hair. He could still feel her warm breath
vibrating off of his body. He could still envision his angel, sitting there beside him, feeding him, watching him, kissing him,
dancing with him.

The memories were on auto-replay. They wouldn’t stop. It was as if he was reviewing to see where he went wrong, trying to
figure out why she had wanted to leave so quickly.

He had felt something all evening, like she was still there, holding his hand. His left hand had been cold all night, but his right one,
the one she held, remained warm.

His feelings were driving him crazy. He didn’t know what to do now. He couldn’t stop thinking he had gone too fast, kissing her
too soon. He believed that he had gone too far. But he was wrong.

At 8 a.m., he finally decided to get moving. His body was sore, it had stayed in the same position all night, never moving. He put
on some fresh clothes. His stomach rumbled.

"Think I’ll go get some food," he said. He was off to Kelly’s.

The tone was set. The sky said it all. It foreshadowed something dangerous to come, something that would not retreat quickly.
There was no sun, and no place for it to break through. The sky was a wool blanket of clouds. Dark and thick, they crowded
the sky allowing it no room to breathe. The forecast called for rain to begin falling later in the afternoon. Winds had already
picked up. The High Wind Warning was posted that morning and would continue until no longer necessary. Winds were flirting
at 30 MPH, nothing to get worried about, yet.

                    ********************************************************

9:55 p.m. That was the exact time that Isis slammed into Connecticut. Shattering was an understatement to describe her wrath.
She devoured the homes, the streets, the tiny morsels that stood in her line of fire. Nothing could combat her. All the people
could do is hope. Hope that she would weaken quickly. Hope that she would move faster, pick up speed and head out soon.
Hope that the rain would lessen, that they would be spared a catastrophic disaster.

Isis glided through Connecticut. She was dancing along the border, waiting to cross into New York. She had weakened, but
not as quickly as hoped. She was down to 110 MPH winds. She was holding together. She had slowed down. She was drifting
again, slowly, meticulously. She could head anywhere Jacobs thought. He prayed for it, desperately. Isis had not given
forecasters the chance to prepare states properly. By the time mandatory evacuations were ordered, she was practically making
her house call. Any victory was being sought.

                    ********************************************************

Elizabeth sat in Kelly’s at the counter, sipping some orange juice.

Lucky walked to the door. He noticed her. He peeked through the window. He withheld the urge to run in to her.

Things weren’t the same. He couldn’t just go in and act like last night hadn’t happened. He wanted to go in there. His heart was
throbbing, the butterflies returned. He looked away, finally sitting at a table outside.

"Why isn’t he here?" she thought.

She had this feeling that he would stop by Kelly’s for breakfast. Her heart had summoned that, and she followed. She ran her
hands through her hair. She didn’t know what to say to him anyway. Her mind was still reliving that moment. She had thought it
was a dream when she awoke this morning, but she was ecstatic went she realized it happened. She was nervous. A feeling
overtook her, an urge telling her to go outside.

She got up and walked to the door. She could see him sitting there at the table. His side was to her. Her heart beat raced. Her
eyes didn’t leave him, almost as if she was tracing his body again. She wanted to run out to him, but she resisted.

"Why are you just standing here? Go out there," she said to herself.

"Come on Spencer, just go in there and act like nothing happened," he thought.

"Why hasn’t he come in here yet? Did he see me or something? Is her afraid to come in? Is he still as nervous as I am?" she
thought.

"I can’t take this anymore. I’m going in there."

He didn’t move.

"Going where?" she asked.

He could have left his skin for a moment. He knew it was her before she spoke. He knew her touch, how her hands felt, how it
created this amazing sensation through him, how it made him jump, how it made feel alive.

"Oh, nowhere," he replied.

"Wow, you look beat."

"Yeah. I didn’t sleep too good last night."

"Did you sleep at all? Your eyes are all baggy and you look exhausted. What’s on your mind?"

"A lot of stuff."

"Like what?"

He felt awkward. Should he bring it up? Would she be OK with it?

"You."

She blushed. She had hoped he’d say that.

"What about me?"

"Last night and everything."

She reached over to his hand sitting on the table. She smiled. She could feel his nervousness, and he hers. She didn’t know why
she picked up his hand, it was an impulse. But it felt right to her.

"Elizabeth, I didn’t, I mean I didn’t know if..."

He didn’t get to finish. Liz had a phone call. It was Audrey.

Lucky looked at his watch. He was so close to telling her, confessing his feelings. It would have to wait.

It was 10:37 a.m. Rain started to fall. Her welcoming party was arriving. Her core was still hours away, but Isis was here.
 

                                            Chapter 11

She was holding strong. She had weakened only slightly through the morning hours. She still maintained winds over 100 MPH,
barely. She had deluged the places she hit with inches upon inches of rain. And now she was stagnant. The rain would
accumulate even more than in the other places.

Port Charles was unprepared. People had still neglected the warnings. But hey came too late anyway. The people had
underestimated this storm, this powerhouse of nature. She was going to show them. She was mere hours away.

                    ********************************************************

Audrey wanted to meet Liz. She had called to let her know when to come to the hospital. They decided on 11:00.

She walked back to Lucky and told him the news.

"OK. You want to meet me at the boxcar later?" he asked.

"Sure. That would be nice."

She smiled at him and then turned away, on to General Hospital. He wanted her to stay. He was so close to telling her, so close
to finally exposing his feelings, not like she didn’t already know though.

She seemed different he thought. Almost confident, unlike the night before.

"Maybe she did like it," he thought.

The drops of rain turned into a light drizzle. He sat there for awhile in the mist, his hair becoming coated with water. He got up.

"I better get out of here," he said.

He walked back home. His old home. He stood there on Charles Street looking at the place he had spent a chunk of his life. He
saw his mother working in the garden she wanted so badly. He saw his dad driving up in the "pink dinosaur" as he called it. He
saw Lulu running around the lawn in her little blue dress smiling.

The rain brought him back to reality. All of those images stopped immediately. That was before things changed he thought.

"Before when I thought I knew them," he said.

Things had changed between him and his parents. He didn’t have this all consuming rage that he lived on the first few months.
He was still angry, but he didn’t let it become his dominant emotion. That had been replaced by love, a feeling he didn’t think
he’d ever be sure of again. And Liz had opened his heart up again. He could tell her anything and he did. He felt safe and good
around her. He wanted her right beside him know.

The rain started to fall a little harder. Lucky moved quickly, running to the boxcar, to shelter. About half an inch had fallen so far
that day. That number would increase at least ten fold within the next 12 hours.

                    ********************************************************

"Hi Gram."

"Hello Elizabeth." Audrey said.

"What did you want to tell me?"

"Well, there’s a storm headed this way and I just wanted to check up on you. I would like you to be home tonight by 6."

"That’s why you called me and told me to come?"

"Yes."

"Gram! I was with Lucky, couldn’t you have told me this over the phone?"

"Elizabeth!"

"I’m sorry. I was just talking with him, he wanted to tell me something..that’s all."

"Does Lucky have a place to stay tonight?"

"Yeah."

"Oh good. I wouldn’t want him to be out in this weather."

"6 Gram?"

"Yes dear." Audrey hugged Elizabeth. "And remember, I love you."

"I love you too Gram. Sorry about snapping at you like that."

She wouldn’t she Liz at 6, or 7, or 8.

Elizabeth walked outside and felt the pang of raindrops hit her clothes. They were deep stains that were increasing in frequency.
But that was not what was on her mind. Only one thing was, one person; Lucky.

"I wonder if he’s at the boxcar?" she thought.

She must have decided he was. She headed over there in the rain, arriving almost drenched. He wasn’t there when she arrived.
She looked around.

"Wonder where he is?"

She sat down on the floor, against his pillow. She rested her head on it. She could smell him, his odor filled the pillowcase. The
image passed through her head. They were dancing in the moonlight. He was holding her hand, and she his. They came closer
and their lips met. It was an amazing feeling to her. She loved it, but only because Lucky had done it. She could feel his lips on
her again. She wanted that again. She had not stopped thinking about him all day. The memory must have exhausted her
because Lucky found her asleep when he got there.

"Hey.." his voice trailed off.

He could see she was sleeping. She looked beautiful.

"She always does," he thought.

He quietly stepped into the boxcar and sat next to her. Her breathing was steady and soft. Her eyes were clenched tight, like
closed vaults. He stared at her eyelashes, curly and long. He noticed something on them, a spec of dirt perhaps. He lowered his
hand and gently brushed it off. The movement startled her.

"Lucky?" she said.

"Hi there," he grinned.

"What are you doing?"

"Just looking at you"

"Like what you see?" she asked smiling.

"Couldn’t ask for anything better."

"What is going on????" they both thought. "Why are we saying this stuff?"

It was their hearts talking for them, their feelings finally speaking.

"Hey, you wanna go take a walk?" Lucky asked.

"Lucky, it’s raining outside."

"So. Who cares? We can just run around or something, together, just you and me."

She didn’t know why she agreed, but she did.

"I’d like that, a lot."

"OK."

He helped her up and then brushed a strand of her hair back. She smiled at him.

"Ready to get wet?" he asked.

"I guess so."

They jumped out of the boxcar and into the rain. It was light again. The squalls had weakened. A good sign had Isis been a
typical storm.

"Hey, this isn’t so bad," she said.

"Where to?" he asked.

"I don’t know. It was your idea."

"I know," he said slyly.

"Where?"

"Do you trust me?"

"With my life."

"OK then."

He took her hand and they were off. They were halfway to Lucky’s secret destination when Liz looked at the sky. The rain had
reappeared and was strengthening. She noticed something about the sky.

"Lucky, what time is it?"

"I dunno, 6 or something."

She forgot she was supposed to be home now, and she wouldn’t remember until later. It was 6 p.m. but the sky looked like it
was midnight. The clouds were dark and deeply gray. The wind was brisk now, sometimes gusty. They were constant at 50
MPH throughout some parts of Port Charles.

Lucky and Liz were stopped at Charles Street.

"We can’t stay out here," he said.

"I know. The rain’s picking up a lot."

He rubbed his eyes. Where are they going to go he thought.

"Come with me."

He guided her up to the Spencer house and took out his key.

"We can stay here till this blows over. It should only be an hour or two."

He had no idea about Isis and in reality neither did Liz. She was there physically when Audrey had told her about the storm, but
not mentally.

The bottom fell out. A wall of water was descending over Port Charles. One thing was to blame: Isis.
 

                                            Chapter 12

They ran up the through the grass onto the porch. The rain was a sheet blanketing the streets. Its speed was rapid, its intensity
great.

"Lucky hurry up!"

He was jangling the keys trying to remember which one actually opened the front door. He hadn’t used them in months and had
almost forgotten which one it was.

"Ah ha! I remember now," he said.

He picked out the silver one with jagged edges. He remembered it immediately once his hands glided over it. He remembered
when he had cut himself on it a few years back. He inserted it into the lock and turned the knob. The door opened to a
darkened house, vacant and somber.

"Where is everyone?" Liz asked, looking around.

"Oh, they went on a trip. They wanted to get away. They tried to get me to come."

"And you didn’t obviously huh?"

"I didn’t want to. Besides, I have better things to do..with you."

"Oh," she blushed.

He shut the door.

"You better lock it. Just in case the wind gets bad or something."

"OK," he said.

"It’s so quiet here."

"Yeah."

She walked over to the table and pulled out a chair. There was a silence.

"Can I get you something?"

"Um, can I use your phone? I was supposed to be home at 6 and Gram’s probably worried."

"Sure. Here ya go."

He handed her the phone which she took. She dialed the numbers. She was nervous. She knew Audrey would be a little
annoyed that she wasn’t home. But that’s not what was worrying Elizabeth. She was nervous about what Audrey would say
when she told her where she was, with Lucky.

The phone rang. Each ring made Liz’s stomach turn more. Audrey picked up.

"Hello."

"Hi Gram."

"Elizabeth!! I thought I asked you to be home by 6."

"I know Gram. I was, um, well I was with Lucky and time just got away from us."

"And where are you now?"

"I’m with Lucky. We’re at his house. The Spencer’s house."

"Well, I’ll come get you then."

"No Gram. We’ll be OK. Lucky and I are just going to sit here and wait till the rain clears up a bit, then we’re coming home."

"Elizabeth I would prefer.."

"I know Gram but it’s only going to be an hour or two. I mean, this thing will blow over right? It’s just some rain."

Audrey didn’t want to say yes but she had no choice. It would be deadly to go out and try and get Liz and Lucky. She was,
however, glad to know Elizabeth was in a house though, and out of the rain and wind.

"OK dear. But when the rain clears up, I want you to come straight home."

"I will Gram."

"And I suppose you can bring Lucky too."

"Thanks Gram," she giggled.

"Be safe."

"I will. Bye Gram."

She hung up the phone.

"Guess she wasn’t too mad huh?"

"Well, I could tell she wasn’t thrilled but I have to come home once the rain clears up."

"Cool. It should be over soon anyway."

Isis disagreed. Upon Lucky’s remark rumbled a dull thunder. A crash ensued. The sky lit up and lightening illuminated the sky.
The lights in the house flickered.

"What was that?" Liz asked.

"Nothing. Just the thunder. Guess we’ve got a storm or something."

They could hear the wind whipping maniacally outside. It sounded apocalyptic. It would prove to be soon enough.

"Hey. What ya thinking about?" Lucky asked.

"Nothing. Just remembering a storm back in Colorado. I was outside and I saw lightening hit a tree. Never have liked it."

"Me either."

"You’re just saying that," she smirked.

He returned the gesture.

"Well, what should we do?"

"There’s some games in the closet."

"I have a better idea."

"What’s that?"

"Well, you practically know my room completely. I think it’s only fair to return the favor," she smiled.

"OK. After you."

She walked up the staircase and down the hallway. He opened the door to his room and led her in.

"Well now, this is interesting."

The room looked exactly like it did when he left it in March. Nothing had been changed. He could see where Laura had looked
at things and returned them to their original place. He could see Luke’s shoe print in the carpet. It was more than he could
handle. He hadn’t expected to feel that way when he saw the room but it had an overwhelming effect on him. He sat on the bed.

"What’s the matter?" she asked. She could tell something was up.

‘Nothing. No, that’s not it. Just remembering stuff."

"About your parents and everything before.."

"Yeah."

"I’m sorry Lucky. I didn’t mean to.."

"It’s OK," he looked at her.

She laid beside him and leaned up against him. She placed her head on his shoulder.

The lights flickered again. This time they flashed longer. Liz looked up.

"I wish it would stop that," she said.

"It’ll pass."

The crash was shattering. Its whip-like sound was electrifying. It was grating and brutal, sharp and swift. Elizabeth jumped. He
took her hand and put his arm around her, trying to calm her down.

The next one came out of nowhere, a wicked sound that touched ground. The moment was brief, but the aftermath was costly.
Charles Street went dead. The picture was a canvas constructed of one color-black. Nothing could be seen.

Lucky looked at Liz.

"The power’s out."

They were in complete darkness.


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