CRACK!!
A deafening thunderclap exploded.
Unlike the rolling thunder from before, this clap was singularly terrifying, its volume ratcheting up by several notches.
His eardrums throbbed from the immense sound. Lin Chen frowned. He had just taken a step when a black shadow in his peripheral vision suddenly lunged at him.
"Mamma mia!!!"
Erica screamed and jumped on him, clinging like an octopus as she curled into a trembling ball.
"?"
Lin Chen's hands, raised instinctively, hovered in mid-air. For a moment, he had no idea where to put them.
"Aren't you supposed to be a wilderness guide? You can handle animal guts but you're afraid of thunder? Where's all that professional competence now?"
"Y-Y-You... Everyone has a weakness! What's wrong with being afraid of thunder? It's perfectly normal!"
Erica jumped off him but kept her hands on his shoulders, staring warily at the sky outside.
