Estes

The song that I decided to use was [|"Fahrenheit"] by Immediate. I'm not sure why, but when I listen to this instrumental song, I imagined this happening. Vigorous Storm It turned into utter chaos once the announcements turned on during third period. They had said that a tornado had been spotted, and was heading toward town. An evacuation to the town’s strongest fortress, City Hall was being called for immediately. Students started up out of their desk in a panic, grabbing their things together quickly before rushing out into the now clustered halls. They ignored all of the teacher’s words to stay calm. Everyone wanted to get to City Hall as quickly as possibly.

I followed their lead, diving into the rushing body of teenagers to leave school. I was shoved and pushed the whole way to the double doors, but I ignored it, and tried to focus on getting my rear to safety. When I pushed through the double doors to the parking lot, I looked up to see not a sky of blue but swirling, puffy, ominous clouds. It felt muggy outside as a light breeze whispered across the lot. It felt… wrong. Just wrong. That was always how it was before a tornado came. Wind didn’t feel the same. No. It felt like a demon itself was sucking in the air needed to conjugate the swirling vortex of destruction.

I rushed to my car, scrambling for my keys before unlocking the door and jumping into the drivers seat. After closing the door, I finally turned the engine on. Hearing’s deep humming sounded like music to me right now. My heart was racing as I put my car into drive and drove out of the parking lot with the rest of the student body. I couldn’t stop seeing the darkening sky out of my peripheral vision. Thunder began to growl and rumble the atmosphere, just before a siren started to sound through out town in a high-pitched warning. I swallowed a lump that had formed into my throat, my hands tightening around my steering wheel. Everything felt tense.

I shrieked when my phone rang, scaring the crap out of me. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t jerked the steering wheel. While driving—and being precocious about the other people driving in a panic to City Hall—I reached into my purse and pulled out my iphone, quickly pressing //talk// before putting it to my ear as I attempted to drive with one hand.

“Hello?” I began.

“Kate—“ It was my mother, using her frantic, freaking-out of voice. I flinched away from the phone as she screamed my name out. “—where are you?! Aren’t you at City Hall yet? Don’t you hear the sirens? The tornado is on its—“

“I know,” I cut her off. “I’m on my way right now. They just let us out of school.” I took a sharp left as I spoke.

My mother let out a deep sigh. “Good. Hurry up and get here.”

“Did you get Oliver?” I suddenly asked, thinking about my fluffy, orange kitty. I loved that cat…

My mom said nothing. There was only silence, and I started to believe that the signal had been cut off. Then, she murmured grimly, “I’m afraid not, sweetie.” My heart stopped and I think I nearly wrecked into the guy driving in front of me. I barely slammed on brakes in time.

I swallowed before choking out, “why?!”

I could tell by her pause that she had flinched away from the phone from my sudden increase in volume. “Honey, we couldn’t find him. The weather station said to get to shelters immediately. Your father and I looked for him, I swear it, but we just couldn’t find him.”

I felt like crying. I felt like crawling into a corner and just sobbing from how crushed my heart was feeling right now. Oliver wasn’t just a simple pet to me. He was //my// cat, my best bud. He had been mine ever since I was eight years old. He always would help me when working, getting in the way in a cute manner, sleep with me, and cry whenever I would leave for school. I couldn’t lose him. He was family.

I wouldn’t be able to survive with knowing that my cat was swallowed up by a tornado, probably wondering why I had abandoned him before he met his end.

Tears stung my eyes as a lump formed in my throat. I swallowed it, and tried to force my emotion back inside so that I would sound strong when speaking to her again.

“Mom, I… I can’t leave him there.” My voice trembled, but held strength.

“Wh—What?!” She choked out.

I turned my turn signal on, turned into a vacant parking lot, spun back around and headed the other way, away from City Hall.

I said nothing.

My mom definitely sensed something was amiss. “Kate… Kate! What are you doing?!”

I pressed the gas harder, ignoring the speed limit as I passed a long line of cars heading to City Hall.

I was the only one moving away.

“I said I can’t leave him,” I repeated coldly. “I just—I’m sorry, Mom. But I just can’t.” The urge to cry was returning, but I kept in control. “Kate. Kate, //no//! Are you insane?! //The tornado is coming//! You wont make it!” I could hear her beginning to sob, and my distant dads confused, deep voice questioning //what was going on//.

“I’ll make it,” I assured in a chilly voice as a maneuvered through the town.

The clouds were beginning to lower, swirling in a circle as thunder crashed and lightening snaked across the sky like a striking serpent. The clouds rumbled. Then, rain began to fall so hard that I could barely see in front of the hood of the car only a mere second later. I exhaled slowly to calm myself, gripping the steering wheel tighter as wind slammed against the car, causing me to swerve for a second before I recovered control.

“Don’t worry. Okay?”

“Kate Marie Hathway! Turn your rear around right now and get to City Hall!” It was my dad, now. He must have snatched the phone from my mom’s hand. He sounded pissed.

I didn’t have time for this. I needed both hands on the wheel whiling driving through this weather. “Sorry, Dad. You can punish me once I have Oliver with me.”

He started to protest, but I hung up on him, tossing my phone into the passenger seat before having both of my hands on the steering wheel. It started to buzz a second later, jumping on the seat to tell me that I had a call coming. I ignored it and let it go to being a missed call. Then, I pressed on the gas even harder, reaching over sixty as I left town and into the subdivision right outside its domain.

The wind was going crazy, now. Trees were bending over in defeat as the gusts of wind shot gallons of pouring rain across the terrain. I chewed on my bottom lip nervously, deathly afraid of running into something because of this poor driving sight. But I kept faith.

After a few short minutes, I pulled to a stop on the edge of the street, in front of a two storied white house. My home was simple with a wooden porch and class windows. It was a cubed house with very little rooms, but apparently large enough to lose a full-grown male cat in.

I turned the car off, staring into the swirling rain and debris that was outside the safety of the vehicle. There was no use in trying to use an umbrella. I would just be swept away. As lightning roared across the sky, I opened my door, and plunged into the pouring ran. It felt like bullets against my skin. Instantly I was drenched as I rushed to the front porch. Wind attempted to push me down to my knees, but I resisted. Then, my shoes landed onto the creaking wood of the porch.

The front door was unlocked. I stormed in, hearing whispering wind swirling outside, as if to consume the house. For some reason, the hairs on my arms and neck stood on ends. I had an uneasy feeling. A //very// uneasy feeling. Something was wrong.

I needed to find Oliver and //get out//.

“Oliver!” I called, running down the front hall and into the living room, my eyes scanning over the carpet, deep blue couches and coffee table to find any sign of an orange fluff ball. “OLIVER!!!” I cried louder, storming through the house as I tore through everything to find him.

I went up stairs.

The whispering wind turned to screeching.

I had to hurry.

“Oliver!” I slammed the door to my room open, then stopped.

A sunny head with blinking eyes rose from behind my pillows. The eyes blinked a few more times with drowsiness, and then the head yawned before a full cat body jumped out to stretch its legs out. I smiled, feeling like crying at the sight of my feline companion just waking up. “Oh, Oliver,” I said in relief as I rushed to him, swooping him up into my arms before giving him a tight squeeze. He made a tiny wine in protest, probably from not liking being held, and from touching my wet clothes. I grinned and laughed with tears in my eyes. But I didn’t have time for a reunion. I needed to get to City Hall before the tornado hit. From how it sounded outside, I didn’t have long.

I felt so proud of myself when I took the cat cage out of my closet and forced a meow-complaining cat into it. For no odd reason, I had decided to keep a carrier in my closet to make sure I knew where it was for any emergences. Not a tornado, but like for a serious vet visit or something. But heck, I sure was glad that I didn’t have to waste time searching for it.

I dashed down the stairs and outside, instantly having more rain smacking me in the face like needles. Oliver cried out as he got wet. I apologized silently in my mind before lunging myself into the storm. It was winder, now, and was hailing. I shielded my eyes with my free hands as the hail mixed with rain pelted me. I ran down the sidewalk, around the front of my car, and jumped in, shutting the door in the process before setting Oliver in the passenger seat. When I got ready to turn the engine back on, I stopped. My heartbeat began to race as a wave of nervous heat slammed into me. It was still at a distance, but I could //see it//. A towering, swirling vortex of black-clouded wind, sucking up everything it came across. It’s body moved and bent like a snake. It looked evil. Ominous.

I didn’t stay to gawk. I turned the car on, put it in reverse, slammed on the gas and began to fly backwards before I did a gusty turning maneuver of spinning the wheel as fast as I could to cause the car to face the other direction. I put into drive. I raised my right foot into the air and hit the gas so hard that I think I got lost in my seat from how fast the car began to go. Tires screeched as I bolted down the road. The car swerved for a second, probably beginning to glide on the water. I prayed I wouldn’t crash. I didn’t. I gained control, and sped to get to City Hall.

I could hear the tornado approaching from behind. They were right when they said it sounded like a train. It was like the wind was blowing so fast and powerful that it //had// to produce such a fierce sound. My palms were sweating against the steering wheel. The town was completely vacant. Cars were abandoned. Stores shadowed from the inside. Debris blew across the road, causing me to have to be very careful from all of the branches and other junk flying around with the hail.

Something slammed into the windshield, causing me to shriek in shock as a huge crack exploded across the glass. I was surprised that I kept driving without crashing into something, because I was freaking out so much that I think I could have caused an accident without being in severe weather.

Oliver cried out, his meows sounding like painful moans of agony. I flinched at everyone, my heart clenching with a sting in my chest. I was about to coo to him that everything would be all right, but something stopped me. There was a loud noise, like a large trunk snapping, and then, through the blinding rain and hail, I saw a phone poll falling, static zapping around it as gravity pulled it down. I screamed as I turned the wheel, the car following to the side as I slammed onto the breaks. The car hit the pole head on from the side, causing it to tilt as it collided. Glass shattered as I heard the sound of electricity buzzing in the air. I took a moment to recover. All I could hear was Oliver crying with the roaring of the tornado that was coming closer and closer.

I had to get out.

I grabbed Oliver’s cage and got out of the car. The hail was coming down heavier. It felt like it could break my skin from the amazing force. I could see the tornado. It wasn’t far off, now sucking up house with its large mouth that swept across the ground. I looked around, seeing that City Hall was too far away to run for. The tornado would get me before then. I looked to my side. My only option was to seek refuge in a store. The buildings were brick, so if I found a safe spot in the middle, I could be fine. //Could//. The sense to cry returned, but the fact that I was in a life-threatening situation made me stop myself. I ran.

I ran as hard as I could as puddles of deep water splashed onto me with the falling rain and hail. But the further I went, the harder it got to move. The wind was pushing against me, forcing me back. I gritted my teeth and kept on going, my eyes sighted on a near by door. I reached it a few moments later and grabbed the bar, pulling with all of my strength as the wind attempted to keep it shut. It cracked. I slipped through with the carrier before allowing the door to slam shut. The weather sounded horrible from the inside. Wind was letting out this terrible screeching sound as I heard things being thrown against the brick building.

I was in the local food mart. There were only five isles of food with freezers being the walls. I ran for the back, my heart racing as my lungs burned from the serious amount of running I had done. Oliver continued to cry. It only made me want to sob in defeat more. But I pressed on. I searched for somewhere to hide as the roaring tornado came closer and closer. All I could find was a supply closet. It was better than nothing.

I dived in, shutting the door before falling into the corner while clutching onto Oliver’s cage in my lap. I could barely hear his crying, now. The blaring vortex was so loud now that it was impossible to hear anything but that. The building began to groan and shake. I closed my eyes, holding my breath as I waited for my fate.

I prayed. I prayed that I wouldn’t die. I begged God to spare both of our lives. I didn’t want to die. I was only a teenager. I had barely lived! This would be the most horrible way to die!

//God, please save me!//

A crash. Wood snapped. Then, everything fell. There was howling wind as everything crashed around me. I screamed. Then, something struck my head, and all I remembered before blacking out was feeling as if I heard the tornado itself laughing at my pathetic end.

//Thump, thump. Thump, thump.// That’s all that I could hear after some time of silence, darkness, and cold. //Thump, thump. Thump, Thump.//

It was… my heart.

I groaned as I came back. Everything was sore, and I felt like I was being pressed down on by something heavy. My head throbbed, and I couldn’t feel my right leg. I whimpered out, my eyes still closed. I could no longer hear the roaring of the tornado. I assumed that it was long gone. Where I was I? I couldn’t help but wonder. Obviously I wasn’t dead—

I gasped. Oliver!

My eyes shot opened to only see the colorful, bright blue of Oliver’s carrier. My face was in it, and I could barely breath. I tried to straighten my back, but I couldn’t. I attempted to move, but couldn’t. I was completely immobile. Soon, I felt claustrophobic, and began to hyperventilate. I knew what had happened. The store I had been was struck by the tornado, and crashed on top of me. I couldn’t take this. I had to get out!!!

“Is there anyone alive out here?!” I heard a distant man yell. “Anyone? Please. If you can hear me, make a noise!”

Of course I attempted to scream, but I couldn’t. My lungs were dry, and whenever I sucked in air, I coughed. I coughed hard.

“Hey… Did you here that…?” The voice said.

“What?” Another replied.

“Hold on. I hear something. Come on. Over here. It sounds like coughing!”

Rubble and debris began to move. I could hear it scrapping and groaning against one another as they were forced to depart. Then, I felt nothing on my back, and light stung my eyes. I grimaced. Hands took under my arms and pulled me away, I held tightly onto Oliver’s caged as I coughed. I heard him meow desperately. It felt like a relief to me. It meant he was alive.

Someone took Oliver from me, and I began to panic, struggling to get him back. I stopped and screamed when pain burned through out my leg. Someone forced me down on my back. When I looked up, I flinched at the blinding light before a young face covered in dirt became clear. He had a red helmet on, and his clothes were a dirty yellow.

He was a fireman.

“It’s okay, sweet-heart,” he said soothingly. “It’s okay. We’re going to get you and your cat to your family, right after we treat your injuries. But first, tell me your name so we can contact anyone who needs to know you aren’t dead.”

That was kind of harsh, but I nodded, and mustered up all of my strength to hoarsely whisper out, “Kate Marie Hathway, and that’s Oliver.”