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you clean it up,” Lily offered. It was the least she could do.
    Dante gave a small smile. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to stand the mess too long, but, no, I’m okay.”
    Jamie hobbled to Lily’s side and sat next to her with a huff. “So.”
    “So.”
    “Are we going to talk about the obvious thing?” Faith asked, a trace of fear woven in her normal snarky façade.
    “What?” Lily asked. “Like the fact that the eight of us might have been struck by lightning and are alive to talk about it without any obvious serious injuries or burn marks?” Some of the fear from Faith’s voice wrapped around Lily’s heart and squeezed.
    This wasn’t normal. Seven women and one man living through a lightning strike with only a few cuts and bruises just couldn’t happen. It was improbable boarding on impossible. Yet, here they were. Proof that odd things happened and with no explanations.
    Faith gave a rough laugh. “Yeah, that.”
    “You’re the scientist,” Amara said, still clutching her arm. “This is weird, right?”
    Lily swallowed hard and winced at the ache in her side. Did she lie to her friends to make them feel better or tell them the truth? The answer was easy.
    “Weird, scary, and unheard of.”
    Her friends sat in silence, wide-eyed and still.
    “Okay, what does that mean?” Becca asked.
    “I don’t know,” Dante put in. “It’s crazy, and anyone who hears us talk about this will say the same. They’ll say we’re certifiable, and those who do believe us will hound us for answers. The lightning that attacked and shocked us didn’t do any real damage to us. Yes, we’re banged up, but we should be dead.”
    She looked around at her friends and took a deep breath, careful of her bruises. “So, I suggest, if you want to keep your privacy and your sanity, keep the shocking truth to ourselves unless someone mentions it. Even then, I wouldn’t say anything. I don’t want you all to be hurt because of this. It might be better to come up with a story that it was just the strong wind that blew in the door and leave out the lightning.”
    Lie? Seriously? Maybe not a true lie, but a lie by omission. She was a scientist who craved order, stability, and solving the unknown. Deceit and fabrications weren’t in her genetic make-up. Could she do it?
    Lily looked around the room at her friends who, except for a few cuts and bruises, looked perfectly okay. No one would believe what had happened to them.
    “Okay, Dante. I agree,” she said.
    One by one, her friends nodded in agreement, sealing their lie ready to hide the truth.
     
     
    ****
     
     
    Lily walked into her apartment and set down her purse. She winced as she sat on her sofa and took off her once-cute boots; they were now covered in scrapes and dirt and were beyond redeemable. Darn. She’d really liked those boots.
    She laid her head back, the soft cushions of the couch comforting her, and then she shot back up. What was she doing? She was filthy and spreading her dirt all over her clean house. With a gasp, she stood up, darted to the bathroom, and stripped out of her clothes. Once naked, she balled up the clothes and put them in her hamper.
    Lily turned on her shower and let it run to let the water heat up. It always seemed to take forever. She tried to ignore the mess she’d left in the living room. It wouldn’t do any good to run out there naked and start cleaning when she was cut up and dirty.
    The paramedics had arrived just minutes after Lily and her friends had made a pact to keep the lightning event a secret. None of the women or Dante had any broken bones or signs of internal bleeding, so they were allowed to go home after a quick exam. They were advised to call 911 if they felt dizzy or anything, but since they’d all lied and didn’t divulge the fact that they’d all lost consciousness, the paramedics were none the wiser. Dante had told the authorities that it was just a gust of wind and a strong storm. The officers seemed to