Disclaimer: I don't own Friday Night Lights or its characters. This is for entertainment purposes only!
Summary: A hot and muggy morning. An unstable atmosphere in the afternoon. The small West Texas town should've been ready.
Nature's Fury
Coach Taylor loved spring time. Besides autumn it was his second favorite season. He liked fall for the obvious reasons -- the start of football season, the brown and orange foliage that covered the ground so beautifully and the cold weather that was soon too follow. Spring however meant the beginning of new life and most of all, storm season. Many didn't know it but Eric loved storms. Since he was a kid he liked to sit out and spot them, enjoying the scent of rain in the air. It was a fresh, country smell with a small hint of the ozone mixed in.
Spring also meant shorter afternoon football practices. Since they were in the off season he could only hold his athletes until 3:30 which meant more free time at home with his girls.
"You headed home Coach Taylor?" Coach McGill slapped him on the shoulder as Eric locked up his office, duffel bag in hand.
Nodding, he grabbed his keys from his pocket and smiled. "I think so. Gonna go get Gracie and enjoy some time at home. Hell, maybe even cook Tami some dinner or something." He laughed. "Enjoy your afternoon off Mac, I'll see ya tomorrow."
He didn't even give his defensive coordinator time to respond and was out the door, walking towards his SUV. The weather was warm and sticky and it felt as if his shirt was clinging to him the moment he walked outside. He headed downtown to Gracie's day care, turning his air conditioner on full blast. Every now and then he'd glance up at the sky, noticing odd patterns in the clouds. He was sure that the atmosphere was very unstable just by the motion of the grayness that seemed to be growing by the second. He turned on the radio but still no one seemed concerned about the dry-line setting up just west of town. Maybe it was his wishful thinking wanting some type of storm tonight and his imagination was overdoing his view of the sky. Nonetheless, it was the first real feel of spring the town had experienced since April had began and he was loving it.
Gracie was right in the middle of a nap when he picked her up. She remained asleep as he buckled her in her car seat and he smiled at the sound of her nose whistling as she took in deep breaths, her eyelids fluttering just a little bit as he tightened the belt over her chest and stomach. "Shh.." He tried to soothe her as she stirred and she quickly fell back into her slumber.
Glancing at his watch he quickly got back in the driver's seat and headed home. If he was going to surprise Tami with dinner he needed to get home and get it started. It was almost 4:30 already and he wanted it to be cooked and on the table when she walked through the door. He had let the fact that Shelly was going to be there slip his mind and remembered how much she objected to his chili. He didn't care though, he'd make it anyway. Tami and Julie liked it and that's all that mattered.
Dialing her number he waited patiently as the other end rang.
"Tami Taylor." Her tone was a bit perky.
He parted his lips with a small laugh. "Hey babe. I was just making sure that Julie was going to get a ride with you before I get back to the house."
"Yeah, you did get Gracie right?"
He nodded as if she could see him. "Yeah, she's asleep. I take it your sister will be there for dinner tonight? No special plans on her agenda?"
He heard Tami scoff. "Can you and Shelly please act civilized for once? She is family ya know?"
He clicked his tongue, trying hard not to say something sarcastic. Afte rall, Shelly had worn out her welcome when she first moved in. "Okay, you and Julie be careful coming home. It looks like it could storm at any minute."
"Okay hon, I gotta go. I'll see you in a bit." He heard a click before he could say bye and closed the face of his phone. The wind had picked up from the east and the temperature had dropped about five degrees since the last time he had looked at the digital thermostat that flashed on his rear view mirror.
It was obvious that a storm was forming southwest of town by the direction of the cold air being fed into it. He had to put a hand on his baseball cap as he got out of the vehicle to avoid it blowing away. He turned it around backwards so he could free both hands for Gracie and her diaper bag that weighed a ton. "Better watch out Gracie, that wind might carry us away." He smiled down at her, her eyes wide from the wind that took her breath away. "Let's get you in the house."
The screen door blew hard against his back, knocking the breath out of him as he fumbled with the mess of keys on his key ring. Finally finding the right one he pushed the mahogany door open and heard the glass screen slam behind him with a loud thud. Any harder and it would've shattered. He took his hat off and put it on the coat rack and glanced one more time out of the front window. It was 4:30 but it was seemed later. A few rumbles of thunder echoed overhead but nothing to be suspicious about, it was still miles away.
He placed Gracie down in her bouncer seat, grinning at her yet again. He could tell that the weather was scaring her even if she didn't know what it meant. The wind was so strong that it probably could've frightened anyone, kid or not. Lightly kissing her on the forehead, he turned his attention to the TV. A thunderstorm warning had been issued for Dillon County. The super cell was located about ten miles southwest of Dillon moving northeast. He studied the doppler image for a moment, noticing the hues of color within it. Since he had grown up in Texas he knew what the shading meant. He knew what the flashing bolts stood for and could keep up with the meteorologist that was broadcasting information on the bottom of the screen. So far it was just an intense storm with a lot of lightning and possible pea sized hail.
Shelly was at the kitchen table and it was the first time he had noticed her presence. She had a few books scattered across the surface, her face buried deep in one of them. "Hey there Eric, you blow away out there?"
"Yeah." He really wasn't focused on her and turned back to the television.
The storm was estimated to hit Dillon around 4:45 which made his nerves relax a little bit. Julie's dance practice usually didn't wrap up until after five and Tami had mentioned that she had meetings until around 5:15. Maybe the brunt of it would be gone and they'd have a safe journey home. He sank low in his recliner, completely forgetting that he had plans to make supper. His focus was on news channel eleven.
Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw something fly down the street. He turned the volume of the TV down and stood up, debating on whether or not he should walk to the window. The first thing they taught you when you were young was to stay away from outside walls no matter how violent the storm was. He always was one of the morons out in his front yard, standing there until the last possible minute. Today was different though, he had Gracie with him and he swore he could see debris flying down the road. Trees swirled in a circular motion in his front yard. He swallowed hard, turning back to Gracie who was wide eyed and on the verge of tears.
He grabbed her and pulled her close to his chest, trying to calm her down. His pulse was racing and his palms were sweaty. He'd never had an infant with him during a severe weather event like this.
Horizontal rain began, followed by shards of hail that flew in at random directions. It wasn't the perfect round hail that you often saw on weather reports but more like spikes of different sizes, some small, some enormous. He gripped Gracie hard, thinking of the safest place in their house. They didn't have a basement or a cellar so his first instinct was to get to the bathroom. It was located in the center of the house, right down the hallway from the living room. Before he thought to move hail broke through the front picture window and he instantly ducked over Gracie to guard her from the pieces of glass and ice that flew at them. He yelled for Shelly, hoping she too had realized that they needed to take cover.
"Shelly, get to the bathroom! NOW!" The decibel of sound was so loud that his yells were barely audible over the wind that rumbled through the house.
His back took the full impact of the debris that flew in, knocking him flat on his stomach. Gracie was still in his grasp and he fought with all of his strength to keep his weight off of her. Grunting, he tried crawling but the pain that shot through his body made it almost impossible to move. She was now screaming at the top of her lungs and he moved his body to where she couldn't even see what was going on. He gripped the carpet with one hand and felt the suction of the wind pull at them as he tried his hardest to get to the central part of the house.
He tried looking up to find Shelly and saw her under the kitchen table. She didn't have time to move anywhere else. "Shelly, can you get to the bathroom?" He yelled again, his voice cracking from the strain on his body.
Eric couldn't make out what she was saying and instantly had to shield his face from more objects that flew around them. Picture frames, decorations, clothing, a lot of personal belongings in their home were now airborne.
Something began to sting his eyes and from what he could tell it was blood pouring from his scalp. So much had happened that he wasn't even sure how he sustained a head injury. He let out a grunt as he heard a loud crash and saw a tree branch shoot through the front door about ten feet from where they were in the living room. Gritting his teeth, he moved to the left and avoided the flying pieces of wood that shot at them. A stray branch broke off, slapping him across the face. Dizziness overtook him and he began to black out but fought against his body, staying awake.
Before he knew it he opened his eyes, seeing piles of wood over the top of him. He was in a position where he couldn't move and he noticed his legs were pinned down by another tree that had caved in the roof above them. Gasping, he saw Gracie safely stowed in a cubby that was shielded by his body. Somehow a blanket had landed under her, protecting her from the trash that had accumulated around them.
Just as soon as the storm had made it's entrance it was gone and things calmed down. More loud ripples of thunder clattered down the street but the wind subsided and the sun began to show. He looked down at Gracie who was still crying but didn't have a scratch on her. Despite the pain he was feeling he smiled and let out a low raspy laugh. Gracie was okay and that was all that mattered to him at the moment. He moved his eyes towards where the kitchen once sat.
"Shelly!" He paused, hoping he could hear some form of movement. "Shelly, you okay?" No response. Maybe she was just passed out or in shock. He knew he couldn't get to her to check though, his body was wedged in pretty good. He tried reaching for his cell phone in his back pocket in hopes of getting in touch with Tami and Julie. They were still at school when it had hit and he could only pray that they had better warning than he did. There was no way he could twist his body around so he gave up, leaning his head on a piece of wood below him. He was tired, but fought the urge to sleep. He had to stay awake. The chances of another storm developing were good.
His mouth grew thirsty as he patiently waited. He licked his lips but felt no form of moisture on his mouth. How long was it going to be before somebody discovered that they were trapped? He swallowed hard at the sign of blood dripping from his forehead down to the rubble below him. He wasn't in much pain but the mere sight of that much blood caused a wave of nausea in the pit of his stomach. Thankfully Gracie remained calm. He was glad that she was young enough not to comprehend what had just happened to them despite the fact that a few minutes ago she was terrified.
Gaining some strength, he tried pushing his legs through the debris. His body was so tired that it wasn't possible and he went limp, letting out a loud and painful groan. He called out to Shelly again but still got no response. Sirens wailed in the distance which meant that the police department was probably out looking for victims.
The sun was setting on the horizon and he hoped they'd be found before night fell on them. He closed his eyes but could hear some footsteps in the distance and some low murmurs of conversation. He hoped it wasn't his imagination as he tried to make as much noise as he could.
"Hey! We're over here!" His voice was raspy from lack of something to drink but it was loud enough for the crowd of people to hear. So much was lifted off of his mind when he saw Tami and Julie present along with a few firemen and police officers. Sighing, he could tell from Tami's facial expression that he looked horrible.
"Trust me, Tami, it looks worse than it is." He smirked, moving his body enough to where she could see Gracie who was sound asleep beside him. "Gracie is fine."
Tears fell from Tami's eyes as she knelt down. "Eric, are you okay? You look horrible, hon."
He gritted his teeth as a sharp pain shot through his body. "I'd be better if they would get me out of here." He paused, his mind going back to Shelly. "I don't know about Shelly though. I haven't heard her move or anything." His voice was soft and he creased his brow in worry for Tami.
"Folks, move back and we can get Coach Taylor out from under this." Four firemen stood in a circle, lifting up the large pieces of tree and ceiling, allowing Eric to sit up. "Don't move now, we need to take a look at you."
Eric ignored them, grunting as he maneuvered his body to a standing position. "Look at Gracie Belle first." He handed her over to the paramedic and grabbed Tami's hand. "You two okay?"
Tami nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek. It was the first real look Eric got of their former home. Every wall was gone. The only evidence that the Taylor family had once lived here was the scattered belongings that were now too torn up to even think about repairing. That's when his eyes spotted Shelly's hair buried under layers of bricks and wood. Another bout of nausea overtook his senses as they slowly walked to her motionless body.
"Eric..." Tami's voice trailed off as she tried pulling off the mortar and sheet rock.
It was apparent that she was dead. Her eyes were wide open, staring up towards the moon that now cascaded over them. Guilt shot through Eric as he saw the mental turmoil Tami was experiencing. He should've tried harder to get to Shelly. He could've protected both Gracie and her. Why didn't he get them to the bathroom before the storm had even entered the city limits? The moment he got home he should've pulled her from the kitchen and barricaded them in a central room with blankets and mattresses padding them away from any form of flying object.
"She's gone.." Tami sobbed into his chest and he felt her warm tears sting his skin through his blood soaked shirt.
"I'm so sorry Tami." Tears flooded his eyes as well. "I should've tried harder to get to her. If I wouldn't have gotten trapped maybe I could've helped her." He pulled away from his wife and sat down on an EMS stretcher. "It's all my fault," he whispered, not even able to look her in the eye.
"No, Eric, it's not your fault! Don't put this on yourself!"
The paramedic walked Gracie back to them, placing her in Tami's arms. "She is just fine. Not a scratch on her. What a lucky little girl."
Tami cradled the infant in her arms, and Eric felt the irony in the medic's statement. It was the wrong thing for him to hear. "Eric, you saved our little girl. What else could you have done?"
"Tami, don't try and convince me that I did everything I could. I'm sorry that Shelly is gone."
It was as if the news had just hit Tami and tears fell down her cheeks like torrential downpours. Seeing her sob like that was like a dagger to his heart. The four of them sat together on that gurney, wrapped in a tight hug. Life as they knew it would be different from that point on. The place they once called home was leveled to the ground. Shelly was gone. It was going to take Eric a long time to get over it. He knew he could've prevented it with a little more willpower.
A week later the preliminary damage report was released to the public. It was ruled that a super cell in southwest Dillon county became tornadic at 4:35 PM on April twenty-first. It quickly grew into an F5 tornado that hit the east side of town dead on. Twenty people were declared dead and hundreds were listed as injured. Fifteen were ruled as missing. It was amazing how the community came together and helped the many victims who were now homeless, including the Taylor family. Since it was a small town everyone knew someone that had died or went missing. No matter how hard the city tried the pain was still as strong as the day it had happened.
School resumed after a two week break and things were on the path to getting normal. There was a memorial set up at the courthouse square where pictures of the dead and missing victims were displayed for all to see.
Eric finally gained up enough courage to go down to the courthouse on a Saturday afternoon a few weeks after the event. He began at one end and slowly paced himself down the long hallway. He knew a lot of the people, some on a personal level, some he just waved at and said hello to at social gatherings. Each picture had their name and a brief summary of the person they were.
He glanced over a lot of them but came to a complete halt when he saw the picture he dreaded seeing. There she was, the woman that he could've saved. The woman that he should've saved. Her picture was taken just recently, in fact he was the one that took it one evening when they were goofing off with her new camera. She had a huge grin on her face and for once looked thoroughly happy in his presence.
He couldn't hold back the tears as he read the excerpt about her.
Shelly was a loving sister and friend. She was a semester away from completing real estate school and had aspirations of selling homes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Dear Shelly, you will be missed. May angels lead you in! -- Love, Eric, Tami, Julie, and Gracie R.I.P. August 25, 1972 - April 21, 2008
He ducked his head when he heard a side door open. To his surprise it was Tami and his stomach settled a little bit. He hoped that the moisture on his face had dried before she got there but to him but there was no hiding it from her. She grabbed his hand, pulling him in close for a tight hug.
"Eric Taylor, you should be proud of yourself."
Her warm breath could be felt on his ear. "I let your sister die."
She pushed away, looking him in the eye. "You saved our little Gracie Belle. You aren't Superman. I don't want to hear anything else about it." She touched his arm, guiding him towards the exit.
He glanced back at the picture of Shelly one more time, taking in a deep breath. How could Tami be so strong about her sister's death? His voice cracked as he parted his lips. "I'm sorry, Shelly," he whispered, gripping Tami's hand tightly.
The door slammed behind them and he closed his eyes hoping one day he'd be able to wipe the images of April twenty-first from his mind.