Sauntering back into the cafeteria, I scanned the room for Brian and Sam. After a moment or two of searching, I saw them, standing at the refreshment table, in deep conversation with one of the male students of Pinehurst.

"There they are." J.D. pointed, ushering me through the sea of students. "They're talking with Lenny." J.D. made a path for me, and I squeezed through until I stood in front of them.

"Hey Laura." Sam said, handing me my drink back. "This is Lenny." Brian introduced me to a longhaired boy, with glasses. "Lenny, this is Laura." "It's nice to meet you." I shook his hand, and shortly after that, Lenny excused himself, and I watched him disappear into the crowd.

"He was nice." I commented, trying to break the silence. There were murmurs of "yeah" and "very nice" between Sam, Brian and J.D.

"May I have your attention please?"

The judge of the meet stood on a small stage in the front of the cafeteria, a microphone in his hand.

"There has been a terrible tragedy. We ask that you dress in your normal attire, and meet in the rec room, for further instruction."

A little confused, I waved goodbye to my teammates, and went back into the room I shared with a blonde haired bimbo named Shelby. I threw on a pink sweater, and ripped jeans, and met with Brian in the rec room. Sam joined us a few seconds later.

The television was already on, a newscaster on the screen, talking about something going on in California. I had an Uncle that lived in Los Angeles that I visited once or twice a year.

"And for our National Audience just joining us now, we are going live to Downtown Los Angeles right now. Tommy?"

The screen cut to a man standing on some street in LA, and right behind him, about two blocks away, was an actual tornado, ripping a house to shreds.

Over the roar of the twister, Tommy managed to shout, "If you look overt there behind me there's a tornado! Yes a twister in Los Angeles!"

The camera panned back to the tornado. "It's one of many tornados that are destroying our city. There's another one just along the Los Angeles skyline!" The cameraman turned, and there was a massive twister, the black funnel swallowing a skyscraper whole, blackness taking up half the TV screen.

Tommy continued. "It's unbelievable! It's huge! I've never seen anything like it. It looks like some sort of huge, horrific, terrifying nightmare, only thins is the real thing---"

"TOMMY!"

There was a shout from off camera, and just like that, Tommy was gone. I watched in horror as a billboard bigger the Tommy broke loose from a building, and smashed into him. Even over the screaming of the wind, you could hear every bone in his body shatter in one sickening sound.

The screen cut back to the same woman newscaster, who as apparently in a state of shock.

"What you're seeing is what's left of Downtown Los Angeles." They showed an aerial view of the wrecked city, the buildings falling apart, and streets torn up. Brian who had been missing for five minutes, walked back into the room.

"Um, excuse me you guys I'm really sorry, but we need to change the channel." There was an instant uproar as Brian switched the channel to a different new station.

There, they talked of how the President had suspended all air traffic. "Unfortunately, the order came to late for two planes that were brought down by sever turbulence in the Midwest."

I did hear Sam say grimly, "So much for one in a billion."