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Life-Altering Night 2 |
| Written by Brian Miller | |
| Saturday, 09 February 2008 | |
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Share it:      The damage was immense. The carnage was unbearable. This was like nothing Mike Wisner had ever seen in all his years on the police force. What this twister had done was awful. A team of storm chasers close to Cofton Falls had measured the tornado as an F5, the strongest a twister could possibly become. How anyone had survived this mess was a mystery. Mike stood in the middle of what had once been someone’s home. Six feet to his left laid the body of a four-year-old child. To his left, the boy’s mother laid face down, a large piece of sheet metal protruding from her back. Every house that had been checked so far had been this way. No survivors. So far the only people in Cofton Falls that survived were a group of teenagers that had shown up after the destruction. Apparently, they had been at a party just outside of town when disaster hit. One of them, a teenage girl, was running towards him now, her long blonde hair blowing in the air behind her as she ran. “Miss, you can’t be here,” Mike said. “It isn’t safe.” “Please, you have to help me!” “What is it? Is someone hurt?” “I don’t know yet,” the girl replied. “There was a house up on that mountain.” She pointed up to a large pile of debris, right on the now-barren path the twister had taken. “Have you guys checked up there yet for survivors?” “No ma’am, we haven’t. We’ll get a team up there right away,” Mike said. He turned to his team leader. “Get a squad up there pronto to check for possible survivors,” he told the officer, pointing to the same location the girl had pointed. He turned back to the young woman. “Do you know who lived up there?” “Yeah,” she said. “Jacen Granner. I go to school with him.” “Okay.” Mike turned back to his team leader. “Their name is Granner. Get up there. Pick up who you can.” The young woman tapped the team leader on the shoulder. “Do you mind if I come with you? I promise I won’t get in the way.” The team leader started to say “No,” but he could see by the look on the teens face that it was important to her. He sighed. “Alright, hop in.” The two got into one of the numerous squad cars and began to pick their way through the fallen trees and debris towards the remains of the Granners’ home. “What’s you name by the way, young lady?” the team leader asked. “Amber Peterson.” With that, a pair of two more squad cars and an ambulance began the ascension to the crushed house above. Amber prayed that Jacen and his family were okay. She would hate to get up here only to find that the one guy she ever really liked was lost or dead. But she had to face the facts. That very well was a possibility. There hadn’t been any survivors found in the town yet. She had already found her own home leveled. But her parents had been nowhere to be seen. She hoped they had gotten away or had had a chance to get to shelter. Right now, it wasn’t what she had lost that was on her mind. It was someone else. Someone that meant the world to her, and she hoped they would find him alive. Jacen Granner walked through the rubble that was once his kitchen, thinking back to the fight his parent’s and he had had that very afternoon. He thought about the things he had said to his mother and father. “Drop dead!” he had screamed at them. “Go to Hell!” If he had known that was the last time he’d get to tell them he loved them, he’d have done things different. His parents had died thinking that he hated them. That he resented them. He didn’t. He walked on through the remains of his home. He thought about his sister Krystal. How he had never been nice to her. How she had wanted to be like her big brother and do the things he did. He had hated it at the time. But now…now he wished she was still alive to copy his every movement. The last image he had of her was of blood and carnage. The ceiling in her bedroom had collapsed onto her bed, crushing her before she had a chance to escape. The puddle of blood that had ran from below the pile had told him instantly that she was dead. It saddened him deeply. He thought about Amber. Jacen had had a crush on amber for years now. The day before is when things between the two had finally started happening. He thought back to that after noon when she had invited him to Steve Lawrence’s party. Having told her he’d go, she gave him her number. That was lost now, too. Somewhere amidst the rubble and dirt it was hiding. Not that he’d need it now anyway. She probably hated him for standing her up. The party had been the reason for the fight between him and his parents. They had told him he wasn’t going. Jacen had blown up at them. The thought of his parents again brought a fresh stream of tears from his eyes. When he had climbed from what was left of the cellar after the twister, he had noticed a parade of emergency vehicles coming up the mountainside. He didn’t want to be crying when they got there. He quickly wiped away the tears and turned to look down the mountain again. Cofton Falls was a total loss. Not a single building stood anymore. Jacen knew the loss of life was great. He could tell, even from his perch up on the mountain. The police cars were almost to the edge of the Granners’ property now. He slowly walked to a small tree stump and sat down, hanging his head and interlacing his fingers. He heard the police cars pull up close to him. He heard the doors open. Then he heard a young woman’s voice call his name. “Jacen?” he heard. He looked up to see a group of police and a teenage girl run for the house. Was that Amber? It was. Why was she up here? “Over here,” he said quietly, just loud enough to get their attention. At once, they all turned to see where the voice had come from. Amber spotted him first. She broke out in a full run towards him, trying not to step on the many hailstones that litered the ground. “Oh my God, Jacen!” She threw her arms around him in a tight hug, causing Jacen to yelp in pain. Amber jumped back. "I'm sorry," she said quickly. Jacen lifted his battered and bloody tee shirt up to reveal a deep cut about five inches long running horizontal just below his rib cage. The police team leader turned back to the EMS. "This boy need medical attention!" he yelled. At once, a pair of medics rushed over to Jacen and took him by the arms, leading him to the ambulance. Amber followed close on their heals. They quickly cleaned Jacen's side and placed a large bandage over the gash. While patching him up, the medics also noticed a small trickle of blood coming from the top of his head. "What happened here?" one of the medics asked. "Hailstone," he said flatly. "You're lucky it didn't break your neck, kid." The medics stanched the blood flow. "You're all set kid. Do you know if anyone else is alive up here?" the medic asked. Jacen hopped out of the ambulance. "No," he said flatly. "They're all gone." The police team leader and medics glanced away, knowing what this kid must be going through. But if they only had a clue as to what he was feeling now. Amber watched as Jacen slowly walked back to the pile of twisted metal and wood and began to slowly search for anything he might find that he wanted to keep to remind him of the life he had once had.
Copyright 2008 Brian Miller |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 12 February 2008 ) |
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