Darkness surrounded him and rain pelted down on his bare head. He should have remembered his umbrella. Lightning flashed, illuminating the deserted street for a brief moment before plunging him into darkness once again. The young man continued walking and two steps later, thunder crashed around him.
He moved forward steadily, unhurriedly, heedless of the rain that poured around him.
“It was stupid,” he said to himself. “I should have been more careful.” He shoved his wet hands into his wet jacket pockets and kicked a stone dejectedly as he continued to walk.
“But of course, you do stupid things all the time,” he continued. “Like deciding to walk home but leaving your umbrella behind.”
Rain dripped from his dark eyebrows into his green eyes. It dripped from the tip of his sharp nose. It collected in his normally brown hair, turning it almost black and dragging the ends of it onto his forehead.
He kicked another stone.
The stone jumped and skittered away, scaring a cat seeking refuge under a bush from the storm.
He kept walking, unconcerned.
Lightning flashed again, and the street was visible to the end of the block for half a second before the light died away again.
The young man didn’t flinch.
Not at the lightning.
Not at the rain.
Not at the thunder a few seconds later.
He just kept walking. Muttering to himself about how big a fool he was.
He walked all the way to the end of the block and never noticed the dark van slowly trailing him.
The lightning flashed again and the van sped up, pulling next to the young man. As the resounding thunder rumbled through the sky, the side door opened and the young man was pulled inside.
The door slammed shut and the van took off all in the same moment that the thunder died away.
Through his fear, the young man thought again of what a fool he was.
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