Welcome back to the next chapter of the Advent of Smouse,
Chapter 18,
Aftermath.
Martin Black is the first to recover from the shock.
The tornado has completely disappeared.
The late afternoon sun casts a brilliant golden glow onto the lifeless figure of Smouse and the shattered glass on the balcony that are the only sign that it came so close.
Before anyone else can react,
He leaps up,
Unlocks and slams open the door and rushes onto the balcony.
He gently picks up Smouse and cradles him in the palms of his hands and carefully carries him inside.
Manta is instantly by his side as he places him tenderly on a cushion next to Peri who moves over to let her father sit down.
Bubbles struggles from her father's arms to get close.
Tears flow from her eyes and she catches one on her finger and gently dabs it on Smouse's nose.
As the families gather round,
Manta places her paw on his heart while Martin Black softly strokes his head.
Bubbles talks to Smouse in her strange language and Sam quietly plays his clarinet.
They have no sense of time passing,
But it is well and truly dark before Smouse stirs.
It's as if he's in a fog that shifts between Imperium and Earth.
One moment he's with Angelica and the next he's with Martin Black.
At the back of his mind is a memory of a huge red devil attacking him.
He can still feel the faint taste of his fear as the bright red light hit,
Shattering the glass and tossing him into the air.
And then that magical surge of energy,
Of love that drove the devil away and the soft loving hands that picked him up.
He blinks several times.
It's quite dark,
But through the haze he sees,
Rather to his surprise,
The very concerned face of Martin Black and then the familiar loving faces of Manta and Bubbles.
He opens his eyes wide.
There is a huge collective sigh of relief,
Followed by Perry's voice babbling on.
Oh,
Smouse,
We were so worried.
We thought you were dead.
You did it,
You know.
You did it.
She moves close to her dad,
Gives him a kiss and then bends down and gives Smouse a kiss.
The warmth of her kiss flows through him and makes him blush.
He sits up.
Beyond the balcony,
Light sparkle across the bay.
Despite the storm damage,
A few cars are moving along Beach Road.
Their lights catch the fragments of glass that litter the balcony.
The sky is clear.
Stars twinkle in its depths.
A full moon is rising.
It's hard to believe there was a storm.
He looks up at Martin Black and offers him his pour in thanks.
Martin Black smiles and high fives him and carefully stands,
Leaving him cocooned on the cushion between Manta,
Bubbles and Perry.
A drop of whisky,
Perhaps,
And some peanut butter,
He asks.
Everyone laughs.
Smouse manages a small smile.
He nods and struggles into a sitting position in order to thank Sam and the group for their help before leaning over and hugging first Bubbles and then Manta.
Manta anxiously scans him for serious injury.
He is emotionally rather shattered.
Smouse leans close to her and in a weak,
Trembling,
Almost accusatory voice,
He whispers so no one else hears.
You said he wasn't here,
That I wouldn't see him.
Manta strokes him with her paw and softly replies,
He wasn't really.
Confused,
Smouse sinks back into the cushion until Martin Black returns with a full,
Small glass of whisky,
A spoon and jar of peanut butter.
Perry and Bubbles help him eat and drink.
Satisfied that Smouse is okay,
Martin Black leaves him in the safe hands of Manta,
Perry and Bubbles.
Sam,
X and Tamari go out onto the balcony,
Keeping well back from the destroyed glass fence to survey the damage,
While the adults finish preparing the dinner.
Fortunately,
Because they have underground power supply,
Their electricity is still working.
Most of the street lights are still on and the full moon casts ample light.
They are amazed at the amount of damage inflicted by the storm.
It has cut a wide sway through the vegetation from the red bluff to their place.
Smaller limbs off trees and foliage are partially strewn across the road.
X checks his iPhone for a news update.
Several suburbs are still inundated with water.
Some houses have lost their roofs.
Despite the carnage,
No one has been injured.
The Weather Bureau,
Unable to explain the bizarre weather phenomena,
Is already justifying its forecast.
The teenagers try to sort out the sequence of events,
But none of them is quite able to describe what occurred.
At first,
Dinner is a fairly animated affair,
As they try to sort out what actually happened.
It's very difficult to define.
Each of them saw it differently.
A variety of theories and questions fly across the table.
Was it just a freak weather pattern?
Did Smouse really stop it,
Or was it the glass safety barrier?
What role did they play?
Did Sam's music make a difference?
Was it aimed specifically at them,
Or a coincidence?
Were they in danger?
Explanations are difficult to find,
But the atmosphere is congenial.
Gradually,
The conversation changes to less challenging topics.
Vera Black's delicious food and fine wine easily loosen tongues,
And the two families swap stories of their lives.
Scat and Raz are stretched out together under the table.
Mentor has disappeared.
After the soothing drink of whiskey and several spoonfuls of peanut butter,
Smouse has drifted into a deep sleep that takes him home to Imperium.
He finds Angelica resting in her grandparents' home,
Recovering from a huge electric shock.
She is relieved and delighted to see him.
When she describes to Smouse how everyone gathered in the gardens and sang and sent their support,
While she tuned into him,
He realizes that he hadn't been alone.
They were there with him,
And that he and she faced Madrog together.
She tells him how proud her grandparents are of his role in breaking Madrog's influence.
When he recounts the last moments,
When he saw Madrog in the tornado,
She reveals the truth of the matter.
That it was just the manifestation of his fears.
His unconscious mind created an image of what he feared the most,
And the apparition appeared before him like a three-dimensional hologram.
She admits that she had the same experience,
But Pax has assured her that Madrog never leaves his home on Tatars.
His network is huge.
His minions exploit the weak to spread his disruption and corruption.
They gather the negative energy wherever,
Whenever,
And however they can,
Converting it into power.
With this power,
He is able to harness some of the destructive elements of nature.
Smouse,
Unconvinced,
Ponders this as they rest together for a while.
He awakes to find a very tired Bubbles curled up and asleep on the couch beside him.
He watches her mouth curl into a smile as she moves in her sleep.
Contented that all is well and still very fragile,
He settles back and listens with amusement to the dinner table discussions.
Dinner is just finishing.
When Mentor arrives back at the house,
She appears suddenly without drawing attention besides Smouse.
She looks rather worried.
He immediately senses her disquiet and quickly sits up.
What's wrong?
The question is silent.
Mentor hesitates,
Unsure of what to divulge.
He still looks pale and weak.
It's all right,
She assures him.
It can wait until you're feeling better.
Smouse frowns and tries to tune into her thoughts,
But he is too tired.
He nods and flops back into his cushion and is soon fast asleep again.
Mentor lies on the floor next to the couch.
She tries to connect with Ag,
But her skill is not as fine-tuned as Smouse's and it takes a long time.
At the end of the session,
She is exhausted and she too falls asleep.
Neither of them hears the sheroes leave,
Nor the clearing of the table and the washing of the dishes.
And that's the end of Chapter 18.
Come back one more time for Chapter 19.
