Chapter 7
Lucky for Kevin, there was no traffic out of Los Angeles; it was all Valley people going to work. He kept glancing up at the sky; black with the all too familiar bumps of mammatus clouds found in the Midwest. He kept muttering to himself, praying that the sky will hold. Sure it's been no secret that his wish was for something like this to occur in LA, but now he regretted it completely. As he went over the mountains, he could see the rotation on the sky, and the formations of cloud walls in the valley.
Before he knew it, he was crossing Burbank, and discovered the sky had fallen. As he looked across the Valley he could clearly see three tornadoes, with two others forming. Almost immediately he was attacked by falling debris; and watched normal, Angelino buildings get ripped to shreds. He looked down at the instrument between the front seats with no avail; he never finished installing them. He reached down a grabbed his cell phone instead. He could see it was still a little dark, and that the morning was trying to break through the clouds, with no luck. He turned on the radio, and turned it off after hearing a commercial. This wasn't going to work. He then took the time to look down again at the mini TV set used to monitor news and stuff to tell storm chasers of an impeding storm. With a sigh of relief he noticed that it was connected, and turned on FOX News. He saw the weatherman, but alas he was at the beach talking about the surf, not the tornadoes that just touched down in the Valley. Now completely pissed off, he dialed the office in downtown.
Four rings later, he hung his phone up and threw in down. "Damn you Bob! The only time something happens and your too busy making out!"
He glanced back at the news, which had switched to the anchors. And cursed at the sky. He made the interchange and literally flew into Canoga Park, watching people frantically run in all directions. Out of the corner of his eye, Kevin saw in horror a minivan come flying at him, the woman in the front clutching the wheel and gritting her teeth. Kevin swerved out of the way and watched the van crash and spin out, before bursting into flames. Kevin turned back in shock. He just saw a woman die. More, since a minivan meant a family. He pushed harder on the gas, speeding down Topanga Blvd. His phone vibrated, and the LCD screen told to check the Weather channel radio station for a Los Angeles weather forecast update. He switched his radio on and changed the station.
…this is a weather news bulletin. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles has issued a tornado warning for all of the San Fernando Valley, Simi Valley, Ventura, Palmdale, Lancaster, Palm Springs, Calabasas, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, and the entire Los Angeles basin. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles has issued a tornado watch for Anaheim, and Orange County. If you are in the area, seek shelter immediately. Stay away from windows and doors. Go for a basement, center room, or central bathroom. If on the freeway, or a street, leave your vehicle immediately and find a ditch or another place of nearest shelter. Repeat, this is a weather news bulletin. The National Weather Service in Los Angeles…
Kevin looked up and kept his mind on the road. It was about time Bob paid attention, no doubt the boss called him on it. Kevin reached down and picked up his cell phone, and dialed the office once again. It picked up on the second ring.
"National Weather Service, if this is in regards to a tor-"
"God damn you Bob! It took you long enough to get out the bulletin! Tell me Tina's not there!"
"Kevin, look, I just thought they were dust devils…I mean, tornadoes don't form here. And so what if Tina is here? Where the hell are you?"
"I'm on, uh, Topanga Boulevard, coming up on the mall and the high school."
"And you're fucking yelling at me, what the fuck are you doing in the Valley?"
Kevin paused. "It's Allison, she's caught in the storm in Simi. I'm going over there now to pick her up and her husband. I'm taking them to a safer location. Since they couldn't get the warning in time, I don't know how they will be."
"You never said she was…"
Kevin cut him off. "Now's not the time, Bob, you have a bigger problem. We have LA morning traffic gridlock, and a swarm of tornadoes."
"I'll do what I can with emergency personal. Kevin, how many twisters are there?"
"Right now 4 and one more forming, but they are literally forming at a fast pace. I don't know about the Basin, is the sky holding up?"
"Right now, yeah, but I don't know how long that will last."
"Ok, do your best, and I want you on top of the boss getting there, got it?"
"Yeah, ok, I've got phones off the hook here, I'll talk to you later"
Kevin hung up and dropped the phone in a cup holder before speeding off again. He was just passing the Westfield Mall, located next to Canoga Park High school. Another twister, however, was presently chewing the mall to pieces. Parts of walls, roofs, windows, and cars came flying out of the funnel, and pelting the streets. Cars were either trying to get a closer look, or stopped altogether, as if the danger of the storm did not apply to Angelinos. It figures, he thought, as he prepared to pull out his light siren. Though probably illegal here in LA, it served a purpose to help chaser vehicles get to where they need to go, without being held up. At this point Kevin didn't care. Kevin placed it, turned it on, and then turned to the mall, just in time to see a piece of the broken skylight on a collision course with his jeep. There was no avoiding it. Kevin put the gas just an inch more, making it hit the floor, and hoped that he wouldn't get hit himself. As it came closer, Kevin braced for impact.
Kevin closed his eyes, and heard the screeching of metal, the tearing of fabric, and the movement of the jeep before he opened his eyes, and realized that he had been holding his breath. He turned around to find the entire roof of the vehicle and the back of the covering was gone. He was suddenly driving a jeep with a windshield, and nothing else. In fact, the windshield, too, was cracked, but useable. Kevin realized that he cheated death, and knew that if he was taken out, that his closest friend and her husband would be guaranteed to be dead. Kevin turned back to the mall, and saw that twister was heading for the school. Kevin slowed a bit, and started screaming at kids and teachers to get out, as the twister hit. Its first target ended up being the band room, and soon the air was filled with parts of instruments as well as debris, and to Kevin's horror, and backpack. Kevin once again hit the gas and sped off, dodging horns, and at least hitting a sousaphone head on before it flew back up. He tried to ignore the thoughts of the mounting death toll as he sped off headed for the freeway, leaving the school and the surrounding neighborhood to be demolished.
On the freeway to Simi, Kevin spotted at least 5 other twisters, and damage from at least 10 more. This was ridiculous! Things most people here just read about were destroying his beloved home city. No one here had any idea what to do in a tornado. It just didn't happen. There were cars strewn all over the place, and it wasn't supposed to happen. By the end, at least thousands of people were destined to die. Kevin tried to shut out those overwhelming thoughts and just kept his mind on one thing. To save just two people. The girl he loved as a sister, and the guy she chose to marry, the guy who Kevin got along real well with. Before long he was in Simi, with three more twisters in the area. But the twister here weren't what he noticed. This place was already devastated. Most of the area was flattened, and the rest were presently in the line of fire. This place was dead. Kevin found the exit, and sped down the off ramp, hitting fallen cars on the way.
Suddenly he was at their home. And parked the car in front of a horrid site. The house was already hit. Shrapnel and wood pieces were everywhere. Kevin jump out, praying that she was still alive. Please don't be dead, please don't be dead, was the thought that ran into his mind. He searched the remains of the house, screaming her name. With no luck, he was ready to turn back, when he heard a rustling of wood, and found a bathroom door trying to open. He raced back, and started lifting pieces away from the door, allowing it to open. There he saw Allison, fine except for a few nicks and scratches on her face and arms. Without thinking he grabbed her and hugged her, his fears trickling away
"I almost thought I lost you," he whispered.
"I wasn't sure if you would be able to make it here" she replied.
Kevin looked up and saw her husband in the doorway, his right arm red, bandaged, and in a sling. "I'm glad you came."
"I said I'd be there. C'mon, its not safe here, Simi is gone."
Her husband cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, that the city of Simi Valley is presently in ruins, almost entirely flattened."
Allison looked ready to cry, but shrugged it off. "Ok, lets go, I'll drive." She looked up at her car, overturned and wrapped around a tree. "Still driving, but it looks like it's your car, Kevin"
Kevin was already planning on Allison driving anyway, so he can finished hooking up the equipment, but he wasn't gonna say a word. Just then he heard his phone ringing. "Alright lets go."