The Perfect Storm Teaser

 Thursday, May 27^th, 2021

1:21pm
Elgin High School Gymnasium

“Where have you been, Mrs. Whitlock?” hissed Dr. Abraham angrily. He saw her disheveled appearance and arm strapped to her chest, but thought little of it. “We needed you!”

“And my sons needed me more,” Bella argued. “But, that’s irrelevant at the moment.  There’s a huge tornado heading this way …”

“We’d hear the sirens,” said one of the board members.

“The alarm system is down,” Edward explained. “This tornado is bigger than anything ever registered. The most intense tornado was an EF-5 with sustained winds at greater than 200 miles per hour. According to the radar returns, the winds are registering at greater than 300 miles per hour with the width of the base being over two miles wide.”

“The high school is a tornado shelter,” Dr. Abraham argued.

“Not for this,” Edward replied. “This high school is in the direct path of the destruction and will not survive this tornado. If you stay here, all these people will die. I saw buses. If we load everyone up, we can evacuate.”

“I don’t know,” Dr. Abraham frowned.

“The longer we sit in here, the more than likely everyone will die,” Bella said. “Come with me, Edward.” She tugged on his hand, running down the hallway. She used her keys to open the transportation office. She swiped the bus keys and arched a brow. “I can’t drive one of those things, but …”

“Right,” Edward nodded. He took the keys, and they ran back to the gym.

Bella grabbed the bullhorn they used for PE and held it up. “Everyone, can I have your attention please?” she said. People were milling around, still having conversations. Bella couldn’t handle their bullshit, so she shouted, “LISTEN UP!” The crowd stopped. With a smirk, she handed the bullhorn to Edward. “Explain, please.”

“I’m a scientist, not a public speaker,” he blanched. Bella gave him a look and he took the bullhorn. “There’s an extremely dangerous and deadly tornado heading in this direction with winds exceeding 300 miles per hour. The warning system is broken and if you stay here, you will die. We need to load up on the buses outside and get out of here. It’s your best option for survival.”

“If you have a commercial driver’s license, come see me for a set of keys and everyone head out the back entrance of the gym,” Bella shouted. “The bus number is on the key chain.”

“You need to head south, away from the high school and toward downtown. The tornado is traveling in the opposite direction, coming from the airport,” Edward said, looking at his tablet, tracking the storm system.

Thank you to Clo for this beautiful manip!!

 

The Perfect Storm Teaser

 Thursday, May 27^th, 2021
12:04pm
Elgin Paper Mill
Elgin, Oklahoma

“Do you have a signal?” Jane asked, shakily trying to hold her phone out to get anything.

“No. Do you?” Alec asked.

They were stuck in the offices and couldn’t move from their safe haven underneath the desk. It was dark and damp in their hidey hole, not to mention hot. “I’m scared, Alec. No one knows we’re here.”

“My brother does,” Alec said. “I told him where I was going before I left. He’ll let my mom know and …” He groaned, scrubbing his face. “I’m probably grounded for the rest of my life.”

“Me, too,” Jane groaned. “That’s if we can get out of this mess. My ears are still ringing, Alec and it sounded like the building collapsed around us.”

“I agree,” Alec frowned. “Are you okay?”

“I am,” Jane said. “Freaked out, but physically, I’m okay.” She shifted and tears welled in her eyes. Fat tears fell down her cheeks.

“Hey, we’re going to be fine, Jane,” Alec said, pulling her into his arms. “Our phones are on and despite us not having any service, they can still ping our phones.”

“Really?” Jane asked dubiously.

“Probably not, but I’m trying,” Alec sighed. “I’ve lived in the world of pessimism since my dad turned out to be a douche. It’s hard to turn that off. You know?”

“I do know,” Jane said, snuggling closer to Alec. She’d found some solace in his arms, despite the warmth and stuffiness of the tiny space they were sharing. “It’s got to be hard, Alec. Holding in that much disdain and hatred for a ghost.”

“When I was younger, my dad was my hero. He was smart, funny, and he loved my mom. Loved. Then, he got this new secretary who was his soul mate. The love he had for my mom dissipated so he could fuck her,” Alec sneered. “He died driving back from her apartment. My mom never knew. He made me promise to not tell her. So, I treat my mom like crap. I don’t want to be the one to tell her that the man who promised her forever figured that fifteen years was enough.”

The Perfect Storm Update

 The Perfect Storm Ch. 8 on FFn

The Perfect Storm Ch. 8 on AO3

The Perfect Storm Ch. 8 on fanfiction.online

The Perfect Storm Ch. 8 on Stars

The Perfect Storm Ch. 8 on Wattpad

Thursday, May 27^th, 2021
12:04pm
Downtown Elgin, Oklahoma

Edward was driving the van and he was trying to contain his grin, despite the situation. His hypothesis had proved to be true and they’d tracked at least two different tornadoes through Elgin, Oklahoma. Things had calmed down a bit, but the weather was still highly unstable. There was a break in the super cells and they were trying to get onto open highway. Paul was leading the caravan of vehicles through the abandoned town.

“Whoa, look at that SUV. It’s moving awfully erratically,” Seth said from behind his camera. It came to an abrupt stop.

“They’ve got a flat tire,” Edward said, pulling up to the SUV. He hopped out of the van, checking on the driver. “Hey, you need to get inside. The weather is really bad.”

A woman looked up at him, her brown eyes wild and her hands shaking. She was dressed professionally, but her clothes were damp. “Do you have a car? I need to get to the paper mill. My son …”

“He’s right next to you,” Edward said.

“My other son,” the woman snapped, tears welling in her eyes. “We were at the high school at the commencement ceremony and we got hit by a tornado. My older son is at the old paper mill, filled with equipment that could kill my child. I can’t get there. I got a flat and I can’t change the tire. I’m not strong enough …” Her eyes watered, tears splashing on to her cheeks and she clenched her hands on the steering wheel. “Can you get me there? I’ll do anything. Please?”

“No, we can’t,” Jacob said coldly from his spot behind the wheel of the Titan. He leaned out of the window; his nose wrinkled. “We’re here to film the tornadoes, not rescue damsels in distress. Get inside, lady. We just drove past the paper mill and it was leveled. Besides, it’s the opposite direction of where we need to go.”

“Jacob, you can go and we’ll catch up with you,” Edward said. “I’ll help …” He blinked to the woman, who was in tears, crying hysterically. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Bella Whitlock. This is my son, Riley,” she muttered as she tried to calm down, picking up her phone and purse. “Thank you so much.”

“I’m Edward and this is Seth,” Edward grinned as the air grew still.

“Riley, were you filming when the tornado hit?” Jacob asked, gesturing to the camera in Riley’s hand.

“Really, Jacob?” Edward snarled.