The Writers' Circle

(Just a fun story to pass time. Had to take a break from my many story)

TWO STORMS (Short)

Jessie watched the strong wind brushing along the beach tossing sand inland as the waves crashed further up the beach with each wave. She could see the hurricane over the ocean moving in fast. The clouds drained dark color from the sky creating a horizon of dark grey. White caps could be seen from shore each time lightning struck. It was going to be a rough.

The rain had not started yet, but the wind sure had. Jessie took a few more snap-shots of the storm and then headed back to her jeep. She timed her return just perfectly. When she shut and zipped the door the first drop landed on the windshield. 

The last weather report said the hurricane would miss town. Jessie wondered if she should spend the night in the community storm shelter, just in case the storm turned into town. It wouldn't be the first time she spent the night down there. She had bad memories from that night she last stayed in the community storm shelter.

"No, don't think about it." She grumbled to herself. She made a promise to herself just over a year ago to never think about that night again. It only brought her pain and a sense of loss. A tear rolled down her cheek. She couldn't help but cry when the past snuck up on her. She could feel her own self-pity filling up her mood.

She started the jeep and reversed violently away from the rocky beach parking lot. Little stones became bullets as they flew out from under her jeep's tires. She wasn't going to let a storm scare her or her past upset her. 

She turned up the radio and switched through some channels, but all she got was the extreme weather warning. The loud noise was annoying so she turned off the radio. She wanted to get home before the storm hit full force, so she picked up the pace.

Everyone was already off the roads home with their families, which made it easy to get around the neighborhoods. Some people might be gathering at the community storm shelter. Most of the police officers would be directing the parking and community shelter, which also allowed her to drive faster than normal. 

Jessie listened to the wind's attempts to tear apart her jeep. The violent flapping from her zipped doors snapped back and forth as the wind tried to get in. The wind called for reinforcements and moisture was sent in to seep through the zipper doors to get her. Water was forming at the zipper and dripping to the floor. 

Outside the protection of her jeep, she could see that maybe a trip to the storm shelter might not have been a bad choice. This storm was obviously not going to miss town, but head straight into it. The storm's force twisted and pulled on every tree wanting to uproot it and hurl it about. Tree trunks were swaying further than Jessie thought possible. The bursts of wind pushed the jeep hard enough to cause hydroplaning on the road every now and then. 

Jessie didn't panic and made the correction needed and continued on her way. She was almost to her house. As she made that last little stretch, she put her photograph equipment into a trash bag.

"Homemade weather protection," she thought. She did not have a garage, so she prepared to bolt for the door. She jumped out and sprinted through the rain to the steps. She climbed the slippery wooden steps to her front door making sure she didn't fall. 

Inside she could hear the howling of the wind as it whipped around the house and drumming on the roof from the rain. The door did not want to shut and rattled its hinges. The wind and rain continued to blast into the door trying to get inside. Everything near the entrance to her house was now soaked, just like her.

The storm was getting worse by the second. Jessie checked the lights. The power was out and Jessie was alone in the dark with a terrible storm outside attempting to break in with any chance it could find. She regretted not going to the shelter.

She decided after a few minutes, she would go to the shelter. It wasn't safe here. She rushed to gather some valuable film and her pack. She made sure to get all of her backed up film and backed up digital photos. She grabbed water from the fridge and a bag of chips. As she made her way to the front door, a snapping crack erupted from outside. The next thing she heard was a crashing metallic crunch. 

It was her jeep. She could see the tree from the front door. Luckily it didn't hit the house also. The coincidence of this situation reminded her of the past once again. This time she was unable to stop the rush of memories and emotions. 

Memory of Susie's death rushed into her head. Jessie remembered that Malcolm couldn't get to her house in time and Susie died alone. If Malcolm didn't drop Jessie off first before heading to Susie's place, he might have been able to save here her. She wouldn't have been killed when the tree her house causing structural collapse, which killed her.

Malcolm didn't speak to Jessie much after that night and eventually conversation dropped off completely until they acted almost like strangers. Jessie knew that he blamed her for Susie's death and that was why he wouldn't talk with her. She knew that he hated the fact that Susie died because Jessie was scared of the storm. 

"I'm not scared now!" Jessie screamed at the windows with her voice cracking at the end. "I'm not scared!"

The memory of the trip to the shelter rushed into her mind. She remembered Malcolm on his phone telling her he would pick her up. He told her not to worry a bunch. He told her to stay inside and wait for him. He told her not to drive. He then dropped Jessie off at the shelter and drove off to get Susie.

The guilt Jessie felt over being the reason Malcolm was too late upset her stomach. The sick unease was growing fast and she sprinted for the toilet. She threw up pain and her last meal then sank down to the floor crying.

When Susie died, she had lost her two best friends because of her fear of that storm. Ever since then she had conquered her fear of storms to an extent, but it wasn't the storms that upset her now; it was her memories of that particular storm.

From out of nowhere red and blue lights starting floating through her windows. Jessie could see from the bathroom that a police car had showed up. The next thing she heard was the front door opening. 

"Jessie!" the dominating voice of a police officer called. "Jessie, are you here?" Then she realized that it wasn't a police officer. It was Malcolm's voice.

"I'm here." Jessie said with a little reluctance. She was ashamed that he had been forced to come help her when he hated her so much. His commander must have told him to search the houses in the area. 

"Thank God you're alright, Jess." He said as he made his way to her with his flashlight out. "Jessie, we need to leave now. The storm is going to total the town." He helped her up and urged her to the police car. She grabbed her bag and they rushed through the rain to the police car.

Jessie got into the front seat and wrapped herself in the blanket she found there. She buried her face in the blanket to avoid looking at Malcolm. She could tell that he must have hated to be ordered to come check houses for people. She then wondered when he became a police officer. He wasn't the type that becomes a police officer.

"When did you become a police officer?" she asked surprising herself at actually having started a conversation.

"Well, I'm not." He said ashamed. "I stole the keys from a cop at the shelter when I noticed you weren't there."

"I don't understand." 

"No one could get you on the phone, so I checked all over the shelter and you weren't there."

"Okay, but why did you steal a car to come pick me up?"

"My car was blocked in." Malcolm answered confused.

"No, Malcolm, why would you care what happens to me. You hate me!" Jessie raising her voice a little at the end.

"What! I don't hate you Jessie. It was you who always ran away from me. You wouldn't talk to me or see me after-"

"Because you hated me!" Jessie interrupted.

"I don't hate you Jess." 

"You hate that that we stopped at the shelter first for me. If we had gone straight to her house she would be alive, but I was scared and you dropped me off first."

"Jessie, S-" Malcolm he started, but Jessie wouldn't let him speak yet.

"I know you had strong feelings for Susie and because of me, you lost her." Jessie finished with tears flowing like the rain outside.

"No, Jessie you're wrong. Susie insisted that I take you to the shelter first. She was worried about you and didn't want me risking you on that road to her house." Malcolm explained to Jessie this time.

"That does sound just like her. She was so over protective." Jessie said softly into the blanket. She stared out the window for a moment. The weather was explosive. How could Malcolm think or even talk while they were driving in this. It was making her nervous, so she didn't say anything else. She could not make out anything with an sense of clarity. 

"Jess, this past year I thought you were mad at me for telling her to stay in her house and wait for me to pick her up in stead of driving herself."

"Well, that was a good call. We both know how bad a driver she was. Remember when she hit that curb and she let go of the wheel and screamed. She almost hit your house?" Jessie said as she continued to let the pain out. 

Malcolm having started crying also, just nodded and said, "I remember."

They continued on into town. The storm was blowing the car around quite a bit. Malcolm was not able to talk anymore and Jessie was too nervous now to think of anything but Malcolm's driving. 

The community shelter had already pulled people inside. The location looked abandoned from the outside, but that is because everyone would already be waiting out the storm in the safety of the inner chamber. A few minutes later they were inside the building and working their way to the inner section that was constructed to withstand the strongest of hurricanes.

They banged on the entrance door and a few minutes later a police officer opened the door. Malcolm smiled at the officer and returned the keys. The officer did not look happy, but after taking a look at Jessie he nodded his head and directed them both inside. He took his keys and mumbled something about it making little difference. The car would be totaled after this storm.

After they both got dry towels and a blanket, they made their way to the top floor and found a dry spot to sit down. 

"There is something else I remember." Malcolm said after they settled down under the blanket together. "I remember when we were close friends."

"Yeah, we haven't been close since Susie died." Jessie said as she gave Malcolm a friendly hug. "We should have had this talk a long time ago."

THE END