The Last Rain Maker

I race for the door and undo the latch. The door flies open and slams against the superstructure. The echo off the hull is almost deafening, but is quickly drowned out by the wind, and the sand as it blasts against my skin. "Zoey!"

Without warning I'm grabbed and hauled backwards.

"What are you doing?" Stirling shouts over the roar. It's hard to hear him, so I know I have to raise my voice.

"Zoey is out there!"

"You're going to get yourself killed, Kayla, it's a death sentence if you go out there."

Ash walks up behind Stirling. "If that breaker is tripped, it's a death sentence for all of us if nobody goes out there."

"Did Zoey know where it was?" Stirling asks.

"I don't think so."

"I'll go," Stirling states.

"Do you know?" Ash asks Stirling.

He shakes his head. "No but how hard can it be?"

"Visibility is zero out there. You'll be lucky to find Zoey, let alone the breaker box."

"I know exactly where it is," I tell them.

Stirling raises an eyebrow. "How?"

I sigh. "The breaker tripped is next to the forward mast. I turned it off this morning when I was closing the storm shutters."

"Why would you do that?" Ash asks. Stirling looks at me, rage in his eyes.

"The Rain Maker is broken, and everything to do with it has been turned off. That's what Dad told me. So, I turned off the breakers because that's what we do to all broken things. Turn them off at the breakers until they are fixed. Let me go."

Ash nods, then looks at Stirling. "Go get me two long ropes."

Stirling hesitates, then nods and runs to the boatswain's store. Ash removes his jumper, then pulls a pair of grinding goggles from his pocket and hands them to me. "When Stirling comes back, tie the rope around your waist; if you get stuck give it a tug and we will haul you back in. Find Zoey, give her the second rope, then go make the breaker."

I nod and comply as Stirling returns with the ropes. I tie it to my waste and wrap Ash's jumper around my face, then put the goggles on. I step into the threshold of the door and immediately get blasted with sand. It stings my hands, and I'm thankful for the goggles.

It's hard to walk; the wind is so strong, each step I feel my feet being swept out from under me. Sand covers the deck. It's slippery, but I push on. Even with my torch I struggle to see my hands. A dim glow extends from where the fog lights are, but I can't make out anything more than my hand in front of my face. I keep moving until I come in contact with the guard rails, then I stumble forward over something. I attempt to get my bearings and realise it's Zoey.

"Take the rope!" I yell, but soon realise she can't see. Her eyes are closed, and the skin on her face is red raw. I tie the second rope to her. I know she can't talk, but I know she can understand me. "Pull on the rope. Take it slow, and you will get back inside the Rome," I tell her, then help her to her feet.

Within a moment she disappears into the sand, and I turn back toward the guard rail. Lightning cracks overhead followed by a loud rumble of thunder. The rope gets snagged on something. I turn and try to free it, but as I do it breaks, and I fall onto the deck, injuring my leg. I reach down and feel something jagged, warm, and sticky. My skin feels raw like it's being sandblasted. I pull myself against the guard rails and struggle for what feels like an eternity.

Sand is getting in through the goggles; my eyes are filled with tears, and my breaths are short and sharp, but I make it to the forecastle. I pick the direction I remember the mast being in and crawl blindly. I have to do it; I have to make it for everyone onboard.

A few more moments pass, and I find the control box. I pull it open, but as I do the door flicks open and breaks off, flying away in the wind. I reach up and force the breaker to the on position, then take shelter in the small covered area under the Rain Maker. I guess it really is broken, I tell myself as I hear nothing from the machine. I don't feel like I can make it back from here, not without help. I feel safe out of the storm and hope that all the pumps have been restored.

I sit against the breaker box. I remove the jumper from around my face and use it to bandage my leg. I wince in pain, my raw sand-blasted skin not helping with the feeling. I hear something, a rumbling sound, then something like a steam pipe venting. I lean out and look up seeing a yellow cloud spewing from the Rain Maker. It looks exactly as Dad described.

It only lasts a moment until it stops and then there is nothing. I look down, disappointed. It really must be broken, I tell myself. It makes me think of Dad and how much I just wanted to see it work.

Tears well up in my eyes, and I pull the goggles off. The sand isn't blowing here where I am thankfully. I know my stupid mistake caused a lot of pain for everyone onboard, and I really hope the pumps are back on and more importantly, Zoey is okay. I feel a tear hit my hand, then another, I never wanted anyone to hurt and right now I really just want Dad. I wish he was here with me.

Another tear, I put my hand to my face, and another strikes the back of my hand. The back of my hand? I look at my hands, then my legs. I'm wet, these aren't tears. It's water?

It's raining.

I look up at the Rain Maker and a steady stream of yellow gas floods into the storm. The sand clears and visibility opens up. Lightning cracks all around, but I don't care. It's raining, and heavily. I put my tongue out, and taste the water. It's dirty but it's water, and it's falling from the sky. Tears stream down my face, but not of pain, of happiness. I look back across the deck towards the superstructure. It's just like I imagined, except now it's real.

Dad used to tell me about the rain. What it was like to watch the clouds bleed water and how the lifeblood of the land falls from the skies above. The Rain Maker works; I only wish he was here to see it.