Chapter 4

As it is early fall, there are still some hot days and a few thunderstorms, most of which aren't very bad, but a few were. You have now been in this Universe for a week. You are getting quite comfortable with the Davenports and Donald seems to like having you around now. Eddie, of course, is still a pain in the neck, but he's not so bad when you tell him to stop being a snob. As you are walking to school with your new friends, you feel a buzzing in your head and feel the air pressure rise. You notice the wind blowing hard today and you smell the rain coming. You even think you hear distant thunder. Chase confirmed the rumbling, but he mistook it for a train. You know he has bionic hearing, but he can't seem to hear all the pitches you can. "I think it's going to storm." You say. "Why do you say that?" Bree asks. "Because my storm senses are going crazy. There's rain on the wind, the wind is blowing real strong and the air pressure is rising rapidly. I heard thunder too and my head's buzzing."

"The air pressure falls drastically when there's a storm, it doesn't rise. And are you sure you heard thunder? I thought I heard a train, but no thunder. And the head buzzing could be your social senses." Chase states in a matter of fact way. You shake your head. "No," You say, "I can hear and tell the difference between the pitches of a train and thunder. There is a different sort of vibration in the air. One rattles my head like a train running over it and the other doesn't. And the air pressure rises a lot before the storm gets close, and then about an hour or less before it hits, the air pressure drops like a rock. And the buzzing from social senses is more of a thrumming whereas storm buzzing is definitely buzzing. And can you not smell all that rain?" Chase sniffs very hard at the air. "Well," He says, "I can smell some rain. I think you're senses are stronger than mine."

Later on in the day, around lunchtime, you start dropping everything you lay your hands on and forgetting everything midthought or midsentence. You start to doubt if you're senses are right even though they are never wrong. Then you feel the air pressure drop. You aren't afraid. You feel like you're moving in a fog. You recognize very quickly that these are the signs of a very large storm. You decide that it's of enough concern to warrant telling the history teacher, since you're in history which is your last class before lunch. He thinks you're over concerned and says so.

This storm is taking forever to get here, and since it's traveling slowly enough that wind shear won't rip it up, you know when it hits, it's likely to stick around. After math class, the last class of the day, the sky becomes black as night. Flashes of lightning are apparent in the distance. This doesn't look good. The buses are about to start running to take the kids not within walking distance home. You suddenly realize that they are going to be safer here. "Principal Perry, you have to stop the buses from running. This storm is going to have far too much wind and rain for drivers to see safely enough and it's quite possible that this storm will have a tornado somewhere within it." "Ha! You still think you can run this school! That's funny. NOT! You shut your smart mouth right now Miss There's a Tornado Out There! Or would you like to run this school for this storm huh?"

Perry just gave you a challenge. You have seconds to decide. If you accept, then whatever injuries or deaths occur as a result of poor leadership are on you. If you decline, it's very likely that all these kids will die. You aren't sure if you can even lead yourself without an adult's help through storms. Then you realize something. You have force fields. You don't have to fear these storms anymore. You try for just a second to control the storm, then realize it could upset the atmospheric balance to stop it. "Well? What's it gonna be kid?" Perry wasn't giving you time to think this over! Suddenly, you feel all the life pulse in the school. You decide that much life shouldn't be exterminated because you were afraid to step up to the plate. "Ok Ma'am. If you think I can do it, then I will." You say.

"Of course I don't think you can do it! But it's on you now! So what are you gonna do?" She looks like she's waiting for your orders. "Are you putting yourself under my command too?" You ask. She nods. "Yep! Gotta make sure you have all the responsibility and maximum discomfort holding it!" "Ok. I need you to round up the teachers. I'll get most of the students. Order the buses not to go out and get the drivers inside. Get everyone into the halls farthest from the outside and preferably no windows." She scurries off to do your bidding. You hope it's to do your bidding anyway, because whatever was coming in this storm was likely to tear this school apart.