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With Max safely, though unhappily, confined, I returned to the apple tree, the ladder standing silently, waiting. A flicker of unease still lingered from Max’s bizarre outburst, but I pushed it aside, determined to finish the task before the rain began. My hand reached for the cold metal rung, my foot poised to ascend, just as the sky above me unleashed a fury that shook the very ground. A blinding flash of white light tore through the heavy gray clouds, momentarily incinerating the world in its raw intensity. The air crackled with an otherworldly energy, followed instantly by a thunderous CRACK that was less a rumble and more a physical blow, vibrating deep within my chest. In that same terrifying, impossible instant, the ancient apple tree, the very one I was about to climb, erupted. It wasn’t just struck; it exploded, splintering into a thousand jagged shards of wood, showering the yard with burning debris and a wave of searing heat.
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