The wind started to whistle through the trees, and it wasn't a nice sound. It felt cold, biting at Kiara's thin clothes like it was trying to pull them off her.
RUMBLE.
The ground shook just a little bit. Kiara froze. That wasn't a car. That was thunder, and it sounded like a big, angry dog growling in the sky.
"Mara... stop," Kiara gasped. She tripped over a thick root and stayed down this time. Her chest felt like it was full of hot needles, and her breath was coming out in short, scary pokes. "I can't... my lungs. They hurt, Mara. I'm too tired to run."
Mara turned around fast. Her hair was blowing all over her face, and her eyes looked wide and dark. She ran back and grabbed Kiara's arm, pulling her up.
"We have to go, K! Look at the sky!" Mara pointed up. The clouds were turning black, swallowing the moon. "If we stay out here, we're going to get soaked. The rain is coming."
"I don't think I can," Kiara cried, her voice small against the rising wind.
Mara looked at her with sad eyes, like she wanted to cry too, but she just squeezed Kiara's hand tighter. "Just a little bit more, I promise. See? The big cars! We'll find a place to hide before the water starts falling."
They scrambled forward, the wind pushing against them like a giant hand. They reached the edge of the park where the old, broken-down buses and massive lorries sat in rows. They looked like giant shadows in the dark.
BOOM!
The thunder was much louder now, and a flash of light lit up the sky for a second
"Sit here," Mara said, pushing Kiara into the shadow of a huge, rusted blue lorry. The tire was taller than Kiara and smelled like old dirt. "Don't move. I'm going to see if the back of one of these is open so we can get in.
Kiara nodded, hugging her knees to her chest. She watched Mara disappear into the rows of big cars, feeling very small. Then, the first heavy drop of rain hit her forehead, cold as ice.