A/N: Jen: Anything you recognize... we don't own, so please don't sue. We're poor people. All we own is ourselves and a ninja. (and Jackie & Lydia, of course)
Holly: Sorry, the ninja ran away.
Jen: Okay, all we own is ourselves.
Holly: You sold us, remember? To the ninja.
Jen: Dang-nabit! I forgot! By the way, you were only worth a piece of lint.
Holly: Yum.
This story is dedicated to Jen's cousin and our good friend, Shelby.
Chapter One
Another clap of thunder shook the house, and lightning illuminated the dimly lit dining room. Jackie stood by the backdoor of the house, watching the windblown trees outside the window. She frowned in concern. The weather had grown increasingly severe throughout the day, and though she was worried, her best friend was more than content to order her around while lounging on the sofa and watching T.V. In fact, at that moment she was supposed to have been collecting an assortment of chips and cookies from the pantry, but the howling wind and pounding rain had drawn her attention to the nearest window.
Lydia's voice carried from the living room. "Jackie! You wanna hurry up?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Tearing her hazel eyes away from the storm, she hurried into the kitchen pantry and grabbed several cans of pringles and a package of oreo cookies, sighing in aggravation. She would have preferred to keep the pantry stocked with healthy snacks, but she had made the mistake of letting Lydia do the grocery shopping the week before. Attempting to keep the stack of goodies from falling onto the tile floor below, she made her way into the living room of the small house she and her best friend shared.
Lydia was seated on the couch, her feet propped up on the wooden coffee table, watching a program on MTV. Her long blonde hair was pulled up in a messy bun at the back of her head, and she was wearing pink fleece pajama pants and a white lace tank. Even on a lazy day she managed to look stunning, and Jackie couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. Of course, Jackie was quite pretty herself, although she lacked Lydia's graceful gait and flair for style.
Placing the snacks on the coffee table in front of Lydia, she plopped down by her friend. Yet another gale carrying a torrent of rain blasted the house. "Hey, Lydia, can I check the news really fast?" Jackie asked, holding her hand out for the T.V. remote.
Lydia glanced at her and gave her a defiant pout. "No," she answered. "I'm watching this." Turning her emerald gaze back to the television screen, she grasped the remote that had previously been laying on the small table by the couch and held it at her side. Jackie glared and reached over Lydia for the black device. Smiling, Lydia held it out beyond Jackie's reach.
Jackie sighed. "Come on, Lydia. Please?"
"No," Lydia chuckled.
Jackie growled in irritation and crawled over her friend, stretching for the remote, but it was always just beyond her fingers. "Lydia! Give me the remote!"
"You gotta reach for it!" Lydia taunted.
"I'm trying!" Jackie was almost completely on top of Lydia, and she could just touch the side of the remote with the tip of her middle finger.
"Not hard enough!" Sticking her tongue out, she slid out from under Jackie and stood from the couch.
"Urgh!" Jackie growled, standing as well. "I said please! You're just being a jerk now!" Lydia smiled once again, an eyebrow cocked in spite. Jackie went for the remote at Lydia's side but she held it just out of her best friend's reach. "Lydia!" Jackie huffed angrily as she stretched for the remote clutched in Lydia's fingers. "You know that's not fair!" Thunder crashed outside, rattling the windows, and a heavy rain pattered the roof. 'Dead and Gone' by T.I. blared through the television speakers. "I need to watch the news! The weather has been getting worse!" She attempted to jump for the device, but Lydia simply stretched her arm higher, a smirk playing at the corner of her lips.
"Jackie! Calm down. It's just a bit of thunder." She tossed the remote onto the couch, and Jackie snatched it up quickly before Lydia could decide that she wasn't done playing keep-away.
Suddenly three loud, drawn-out beeps emitted from the speakers, and the television screen turned blue. Scrolling across the screen in large white letters was TORNADO WARNING. The two girls stared at the T.V. in silent surprise. "No way," Lydia muttered. Another earthshaking roll of thunder, accompanied by a flash of lightning, sent the entire house into chaos.
Lydia let out a scream of panic when the lights flickered and failed, startling Jackie into action. "Lydia!" she yelled over the deafening pound of rain and thunder. "Run upstairs and get blankets and flashlights! I'll clear out the closet!" Eyes wide, Lydia gave an anxious nod and dashed up the stairs.
Jackie hastened to the hallway closet and yanked it open. She was met by an avalanche of inflatable beach toys. She tossed everything toward the kitchen entrance, not caring enough to watch where it wound up. It took her a good few minutes to get it all cleared away, and she stumbled back through the mess. She stopped suddenly, once back in the doorway of the closet, and listened. In her moment of haste she had not realized the absence of rain pouring onto the house, nor the missing wind howling through the trees in the backyard. Everything was still. She hurried into the living room and leaned over the back of the love seat until she could peer out the window. Nothing moved but the small stir of a few leaves. Pressing her face against the glass, she gazed beyond the houses of their neighborhood. The clouds were an eerie green color and Jackie's heart began to pound as she watched the sky. A funnel was forming not far in the distance and it slowly reached for the ground. She could hear Lydia still rummaging through the storage closet upstairs.
"Lydia!" she called, swallowing her panic. "You may want to hurry!" A door slammed and footsteps came from the above hallway.
"Coming!" Lydia bounded down the stairs, clearing the last two with a single jump. Her arms were full of blankets and clutched in each hand was a flashlight. Handing one to Jackie, they made for the closet.
Lydia felt Jackie shove her through the closet doorway. She stumbled against the wall and turned to find Jackie shutting the door as she entered behind, thrusting them into darkness. Lydia fumbled with her flashlight, finding it difficult to turn it on with shaking hands. Suddenly Jackie's flashlight lit the small space and Lydia gave up on her own. Tossing a blanket at Jackie, the two of them huddled against the wall in the floor of the closet. It seemed like days had passed in the moment they sat in apprehensive silence. But not long after they had taken shelter the wind whistled menacingly around the corners of the house. The wood began to creak threateningly and the girls clutched their blankets tighter as the foundation of the house began to shake. A great roaring filled the air around them.
"What's happening?!" Lydia shrieked in fear.
They could hear the sound of glass exploding from the windows and Jackie cursed herself for forgetting to open them. Furniture crashed through the living and dining rooms and the sound of wood being stripped from the wall, followed by the clang of many pots and pans, came from the kitchen. There was a loud creaking as the doors were ripped from their metal hinges and multiple crashes as they were blown throughout the house. Long seconds passed, the sounds of their house's destruction reverberating in their ears. Suddenly there was a great shudder, and Jackie and Lydia were thrust against the opposite wall. The entire house shook with unsteadiness and with an abrupt, rough jolt everything was tranquil.
The girls were momentarily paralyzed with shock. "I think it's over," Jackie finally said in a hushed, shaking voice. Lydia simply nodded, pushing away her blanket.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Jackie nodded. "You?"
"Yeah... I'm fine."
Jackie glanced at the closet door and sighed. "Come on."
Helping one another up, they prepared themselves for what they'd see. Jackie grasped the copper handle of the door and turned. Yellow sunlight streamed through the opening.
A/N: Jen: Oh noooo!!!!!! What's gonna happen now??? Please review and you can find out!!! :D