May 11th, The Storm

     Today were were prompted to concentrate on an action.  I'd planned to go to the park and let inspiration hit, but the weather didn't cooperate as much as I'd like.  Although I do love thunderstorms, I'm not quite as adventuresome as Carrie.  I did, however, learn how to attach a picture that I took the last time I was at my favorite spot.

     It was a perfect day.  At least in Carrie Saunders book it was.  She was off today, so that made it even better.  She’d dressed for the day in jeans and a sweatshirt, and to appease her mom she’d brought her winter ski jacket along in the car.  A quick trip through the drive-through at her favorite chicken place and she’d been good to go.  Now here she was pulling into the parking lot of her special place. 

     She pulled the keys from the ignition and grabbed her drink and the sack that held her lunch. 

     The wind whipped around her as she stepped from the two thousand two Grand Am, and she had a hard time keeping her lunch from ripping out of her hands and blowing away.  The meteorologist on the morning news had issued warnings for thirty mile an hour winds with temps in the low fifties.  She let loose with a laugh of pure exhilaration as she fought the wind.  Grabbing the backpack from the back, she locked the car and made her way toward the shelter. 

     There were several in the park, but this was her favorite spot because it was the closest to the water.  The wall facing the parking lot was made out of brick and there was a roof so she’d be protected from the worst of the storm.  On either side there was a half wall, leaving the front completely open.  There was a fireplace inside where food could be grilled, and this particular shelter had one picnic table set right in the middle of the cement floor.

     She sat down on the table with her feet on the seat, making sure that her leg was between the strap of the backpack and the bag itself.  She took a sip from her drink before setting it down behind her as she reached for the bag of food.  Today her lunch consisted of two pieces of original recipe chicken with sauce and bacon between them, hold the cheese.  It was messier than she would have liked since there was no bun, but the chicken was worth a little mess.

     Carrie kept her gaze on the view in front of her as she ate.  These were the moments that she loved the best, ever since she was a little girl and had been in the car with her father as they tried to outrun a tornado.  She’d been five at the time, and her father—a decorated Major in the Army Rangers—had been home on leave. 

     After taking her last bite of chicken, she wadded the paper up and tossed it in the sack before finishing off her soft drink.  There was a trash can against the wall behind her and she got up to toss her garbage inside before retaking her seat on the picnic table.  This time her feet were on the seat, but the backpack was on the table beside where she sat.

     She looked out at the sky, noting that the gray clouds were moving out as darker clouds rolled in.  If clouds were to have an emotion, these would definitely be angry, possibly bordering on sinister.  The air cooled and the wind gust started making their way into the shelter.  The smell of rain was evident in the air around her. 

     She reached for her backpack and pulled out the camcorder her dad had given her when she’d graduated from college.  Slipping her arm through the strap of the backpack, she lifted the video camera to eye level and she started to record.  As she did, she spoke loud enough for the machine to pick up her voice as she said…

     Clouds rolling, twisting, turning…

     Light filtering in from above.

     Trees bending, swaying,

     as the wind whips through.

     Dark emotions running through,

     as water crashes on the shore below.

     The camera panned down to where the wind was hitting the river causing the water to grow choppy as the waves hit the rocks at the banks.  Her mind raced as words popped up and were discarded, then the camera returned to the sky and she gasped.

     Amid the turbulence, a tail emerges.

     Spinning, twisting, then licking down to hit the ground.

     Trees exploding, uprooted and thrown.

     Safety sought, but never found.

     Releasing the button to end the recording, she knew she’d done all that she could do.  She searched the shelter, weighing the benefit of each location for her chances, and then she moved to the deepest part of the building and curled up on the floor with her backpack pressed between her chest and up-drawn knees as she covered her head with her hands and waited. 

     The sound of a train heading right for her was all she could hear as the air around became oppressive.  Once again her mind went to that day when her father had outrun the tornado they’d run into on their way home from town.  Excitement raced through her and she turned her head for a peak. 

     The tail hit the tree closest to the opening and ripped it from the ground before lifting it in the air and spinning it around as rain poured down and hail the size of golf balls pelted the ground not far from where she sat hunched over.  The storm raged on for several tense minutes.

     Suddenly, the dark clouds dissipated as the sun broke through to shine down.  She paused, wondering if the danger had passed, or if she was in the eye.  A few more seconds and then she stood, making her way to the side of the shelter so that she could look out. 

     The ground was littered with hundreds of uprooted trees, leftover hail that had yet to melt, and broken wood she guessed was from the picnic tables throughout the park.  Her gaze went to the parking lot and another gasp was torn from her as she looked at her car, smashed beyond recognition. 

     She carefully made her way to the parking lot, then turned and looked back at the Shelter where she had weathered the storm.  It was as if the storm had never been, at least around the shelter.  The rest of the park hadn’t fared so well.

     She pulled out her phone and tapped in a number.  When it was answered, she said, “Hey, Daddy, I need a ride.”