Thor dropped to his knees, grabbing his throat, barely able to breathe. All around him, the others did the same.
“Water!” Elden pleaded beside him.
There came a great rumble, like the sound of a thousand thunders, and Thor looked up to watch the sky blacken. A single storm cloud appeared, racing towards them at incredible speed.
“GET DOWN!” Indra screamed. “The sky is reversing!”
She had barely finished speaking when the sky opened up and a wall of water came gushing down, knocking down Thor and the others with the force of a tidal wave.
Thor went rolling over and over in the wave of water, tumbling he did not know how long. Finally, he surfaced back on the desert floor, the wave rolling right past them. This was followed by sheets of pouring rain, and Thor threw his head back and drank and drank, as did the others, until finally he felt hydrated again.
Slowly, each of them regained their feet, breathing hard, looking beaten up. They turned to each other. They had survived. As their shock and fear subsided, slowly they burst out laughing.
“We’re alive!” O’Connor yelled out.
“Is that the worst this desert can give us?” Reece asked, joyful to be alive.
Indra shook her head, somber.
“You celebrate prematurely,” she said, looking very worried. “After the rains, the desert animals come out to drink.”
An awful noise arose, and Thor looked down and watched in horror as an army of small
Thor memperhatikan ketika sisa airnya melonjak ke atas dari kulit, dan kemudian menyaksikan kulit itu sendiri berderak dan mengering, jatuh ke tanah sebagai garing kering.
Thor berlutut, meraih tenggorokannya, nyaris tidak bisa bernapas. Di sekelilingnya, yang lain melakukan hal yang sama.
"Air!" Elden memohon di sebelahnya.
Terdengar gemuruh hebat, seperti suara seribu guruh, dan Thor mendongak untuk menyaksikan langit menghitam. Awan badai tunggal muncul, berlari ke arah mereka dengan kecepatan luar biasa.
"BAWAH!" Teriak Indra. "Langit berbalik!"
Dia baru saja selesai berbicara ketika langit terbuka dan dinding air mengalir deras, menjatuhkan Thor dan yang lainnya dengan kekuatan gelombang pasang.
Thor pergi berguling-guling dalam gelombang air, jatuh dia tidak tahu berapa lama. Akhirnya, dia muncul kembali di lantai gurun, ombak bergulir melewati mereka. Ini diikuti oleh lembaran hujan lebat, dan Thor melemparkan kepalanya ke belakang dan minum dan minum, seperti yang lain, sampai akhirnya dia merasa terhidrasi lagi.
Perlahan, masing-masing dari mereka mendapatkan kembali kaki mereka, terengah-engah, tampak dipukuli. Mereka saling berpaling. Mereka selamat. Saat kejutan dan ketakutan mereka mereda, perlahan-lahan mereka tertawa terbahak-bahak.
"Kami hidup!" Teriak O'Connor.
"Apakah itu yang terburuk yang bisa diberikan gurun ini kepada kita?" Reece bertanya, gembira masih hidup.
Indra menggelengkan kepalanya, muram.
"Kamu merayakannya sebelum waktunya," katanya, tampak sangat khawatir. "Setelah hujan, hewan-hewan gurun keluar untuk minum."
Sebuah suara mengerikan muncul, dan Thor melihat ke bawah dan menyaksikan dengan ngeri sebagai pasukan kecil
