RAYNMEN F.E.O.N.A. • Book One of the RAYNMEN Universe • Written by Joseph J Washington
RAYN DIVISION FILE
Doc No. (RAYN-C1E-N\A-6872-DIS001)
The first thing a storm takes is certainty.
The second is what you thought you could save.
By the time the windows break, it’s already inside.
The Darwin family was asleep when the weather alerts beat the alarm clock.
Rayner had worked another long night and barely registered the sirens. Phylicia stirred, mistaking the noise for routine. Without opening her eyes, she reached for the bedside table and smacked the snooze button.
The sound didn’t stop.
Her phone rang. Still half asleep, she declined the call.
Seconds later, it rang again.
She answered.
Patricia’s voice hit her like cold water. After only a few words, Phylicia jolted upright, shouting for Rayner to wake as she threw the covers aside and ran to get the girls.
Chapter One: Window Pain
The sky over Lidar Island was bruised.
Not the soft gray that promised rain later. This was the color the world wore when it was holding its breath.
Rayner Darwin stood at the kitchen window. His phone stuttered a robotic warning.
High winds. Flooding. Outages.
Lidar Island braced.
People moved with the calm of a place that knew the cost of panic.
Patricia had called twice. “Come now. Don’t wait for the bridges to become a problem.”
Rayner lowered the phone. Outside, a trash can toppled, caught a curb, and spun away.
Behind him, Phylicia packed the twins into coats. She sold it as an adventure—one night at Aunt Patricia’s, blankets on the sofa, hot chocolate. The safe kind of storm.
The twins argued in the living room with an intensity only five-year-olds could sustain.
“It’s my blanket,” Elizabeth said.
“No, it’s mine,” Rayna snapped.
“It’s mine, Rayna. Mommy said.”
Phylicia’s voice cut through. Controlled. “Elizabeth. Rayna. Enough. We’re packing. Another fight, and you ride without cartoons.”
Instant quiet.
Rayner turned. Phylicia stood in the doorway holding a laundry basket. Her gaze was fixed. She had already made the list of what mattered.
“Patricia called again,” she said. “We need to go.”
“I have to stop at the lab,” he said. “Ten minutes. I have to secure something.”
The something lived in a freezer. Months of work. Years of research. No second copy.
Phylicia stepped closer. She lowered her voice. “Our children are here. The storm is—here. We’re leaving.”
Rayner looked at the living room.
Elizabeth sat cross-legged on the rug with a stuffed rabbit. Wide eyed. Waiting.
Rayna stood on the couch, watching the window like she could see the storm coming.
“It’ll be destroyed,” he said. “If the power drops, everything in that freezer is gone.”
Phylicia’s face tightened. “Is that what you will tell your daughters if we end up in a ditch? You died protecting a freezer?”
“That’s not fair.”
“It’s true.” She nodded toward the coats. “We are not staying for your job.”
Rayner converted the timeline into steps.
Three blocks. Generator check. Pack the critical sets. Return. Beat the bridge traffic.
“Ten minutes,” he said. “If we lose those samples, we lose everything.”
Phylicia held his gaze. “Patricia expects us before dark. If we don’t make the bridge—”
“We will.”
“You don’t know that.”
A rumble rolled through the house.
“Daddy, are we going to Aunt Patty’s?” Elizabeth asked.
Rayner forced a smile. “Yeah, love. We’re going.”
“Can I bring Mr. Hops?”
“Yes.”
“Do we get snacks?” Rayna asked.
Phylicia answered. “Yes. But only if you put your shoes on right now.”
The twins scrambled like it was a game.
Rayner grabbed his keys.
Phylicia followed him to the door. “If you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m taking the girls and leaving.”
He paused with his hand on the knob. “You wouldn’t.”
Her stare was absolute. “Try me.”
Wind slapped the house when he opened the door. Cold rushed in. Rain hit his face like grit.
The storm was becoming impatient.
He drove fast. The Volvo worked hard. The radio crackled with emergency updates. Chopped static. Warnings repeating.
He parked crooked and ran inside. The storm went muffled. Rain replaced by fluorescent buzz and the hum of machines.
The freezer room bit through his clothes.
He checked the panel.
Stable. For now.
He didn’t trust for now. He moved. Generator. Switch. Listen. The engine coughed, caught, and held a steady growl.
He grabbed the insulated container and transferred the critical sets.
As he sealed it, his phone vibrated.
Phylicia.
He answered. “Almost done.”
A crash on the line. Something heavy tipping. A short scream. A hard, frightened quiet.
“Phylicia?”
“The tree out front.” A sharp breath. “A branch came down. Rayner, the wind is getting worse.”
“I’m leaving. On my way.”
“Now.”
“Walking out the door.”
The line went dead.
He hoisted the container and ran. The lab lights flickered. One dim warning. He didn’t stop.
Outside, rain hammered sideways. The street shone like a flooded mirror. Asphalt turned slick and deceptive.
He drove back with hands welded to the wheel.
When he pulled into the driveway, the trunk was open. Half their lives stacked inside.
The twins stood on the porch in puffy coats. Watching him.
Phylicia met him at the car. “What is that?” She pointed at the container.
“The samples.”
“You brought your freezer.”
“It fits. It’s sealed. It’s safe.”
“You know what would be safer? Leaving it.”
“It’s in the car,” Rayner said. “We’re leaving.”
Hesitation. Then Elizabeth tugged Phylicia’s sleeve. “Mommy, I’m scared.”
Anger folded into practical motherhood. “Okay. Everybody in the car. Now.”
Rayner adjusted the container in the trunk. He didn’t look at Phylicia. Looking meant acknowledging the damage.
Buckles clicked in the back seat under Phylicia’s quick hands. Rayner started the engine.
The Volkswagen shuddered, then steadied.
Phylicia got in and stared straight ahead.
“Seatbelt,” Rayner said.
She clicked it without looking at him.
They backed into the storm.
A gust slammed the Volkswagen sideways.
Phylicia’s hand shot to the door handle. “Rayner—”
“I’ve got it.”
Another gust hit.
The tires found a slick patch. The steering went light. Rayner corrected.
The car didn’t listen.
The rear end fishtailed. Headlights swung, catching wet trees, a ditch, and then nothing.
“Rayner!” Phylicia’s breath hitched.
The twins screamed.
The Volkswagen slid. One helpless spin. Headlights swept the trees. The road vanished.
The car jerked. Phylicia’s head snapped sideways. Her temple hit the window. A heavy thud.
“Phylicia!”
She didn’t answer. The seatbelt held her upright. Her head slumped against the glass.
Daughters behind him. Wife unmoving beside him. Impact was imminent.
He craned his head. The girls clung to each other.
“Rayna. Hold your sister’s hand. Do not let go.”
Rayna’s fingers tightened.
“I don’t wanna die!” Elizabeth sobbed.
“You’re not going to die,” Rayner said. “You’re not.”
The Volkswagen lurched left. The nose dipped. The car committed to a direction it couldn’t take back.
Impact.
A tree met the driver’s side. Metal folded. Glass burst. The steering wheel kicked. The air bag punched him in the mouth and snapped him back.
A second impact. Another trunk slammed the rear.
Windows became shrapnel.
Glass blew outward. Momentum dragged Rayner with it. The seatbelt locked, stopping him halfway out the frame. Breath ripped from his lungs.
Glass bit. Dozens of cuts. Rain hit his exposed skin. Freezing. Relentless.
Inside the cabin: steam, rain, blood. Engine hiss. The radio faded to nothing.
Rayner forced himself back inside. Grinding against bent metal. Pain flashed white.
“Girls,” he rasped.
The girls were still in their belts. The back window was gone. Shattered inward.
Blood streaked Rayna’s face. A cut split her cheek. She sobbed in frantic bursts.
Elizabeth wasn’t sobbing.
She made a thin, broken sound. Panicked. Her hands hovered near her face.
Her eyes.
Rayner’s stomach dropped.
“Daddy?” she whimpered. Looking past him. Toward nothing.
He dragged himself closer.
“Elizabeth. Baby, look at me.”
Her head turned. Not toward him. Aiming by sound.
Rayna saw it. Her sobbing sharpened. “She’s not looking! Daddy, she’s not looking!”
“Rayna,” Rayner snapped. Holding the line. “Hold her hand.”
Rayna grabbed Elizabeth. Trembling. Elizabeth clutched back like contact was oxygen.
Rayner turned forward. Phylicia slumped in the passenger seat. A swelling rose at her temple. Blood threaded into her hairline.
“Phylicia.” He leaned toward her. “Phylicia, wake up. Please.”
Nothing.
His phone.
He fumbled near the pedals. Fingers scraped broken plastic. Something sharp opened his skin again. He found it.
Cracked screen. No signal.
A short laugh escaped him. It turned into a cough. Warm blood rose in his throat. He swallowed it down.
“Daddy,” Rayna asked, forcing control into the word. “Are we gonna be okay?”
Rayner stared at her in the mirror.
He couldn’t lie. He couldn’t hand her the truth.
He gave her structure. The last protection he could build.
“Listen to me,” he said. “Keep holding your sister’s hand. Don’t move her head. Don’t touch her face. Just talk to her.”
Rayna nodded. Tears slid off her chin.
“Elizabeth,” she whispered. Desperate and obedient. “I’m here. I’m right here.”
Elizabeth kept making that broken sound. Breathing too fast.
Rayner braced a hand against the dashboard. He shifted. Glass moved inside him. A reminder with edges.
He leaned toward the shattered window. They were off the road. Trees crowded close. Rain blurred the shadows.
No passing cars. No house lights. Forest, water, and cold.
He hit the horn. A weak sound.
Again.
Again.
Each press sent a spear of pain through his ribs. He didn’t stop.
He leaned out and screamed. “HELP! SOMEBODY HELP US!”
His voice tore. The rain swallowed it. The forest gave nothing back.
Rayna screamed too. Small and sharp. “HELP! PLEASE!”
Elizabeth didn’t scream. She just breathed. Fast. Confused.
Time stopped behaving. Shivering hit him hard. Cold and shock working together. His vision pulsed.
He kept talking because his voice was proof. Proof he was still there.
“You’re doing good,” he told Rayna. “Keep talking.”
Rayna’s lips trembled. “I’m here,” she whispered. “I got you.”
Then Elizabeth. Small and flat and final.
“I can’t see.”
This chapter belongs to RAYNMEN F.E.O.N.A., Book One of the RAYNMEN Universe by Joseph J Washington.
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