Chapter 9

"Watch out!" yelled Kevin, as the forth chopper they've seen came crashing down.

"You'd think they'd get it by now!" Allison screamed.

"This is LA!" screamed Daniel.

The jeep sped up the hill and stop there for a second. It was a truly amazing site. There must have been 50 tornadoes in the city, like long black snakes stretching up to the clouds, or down to the ground. Down the road a bit, they saw a twisted piece of metal, almost in the shape of an H. They instantly knew what it was, part of the support beams of the Hollywood sign, now gone. It seemed a quarter of the city was now gone already. Allison hit the gas and sped on down the Hollywood freeway.

As they neared Yucca and Vine, Kevin saw first hand the Capitol Records building. At this point it was nothing but a hollow shell, barely held together. The top point of the building was gone, and they could see the other side of building through it. Kevin looked down at the street, but it was cleared already. Jeff was nowhere to be seen. Daniel spoke up, killing the silence between the three. "What's that noise?"

Kevin heard it too, but it wasn't from a tornado, he turned to Daniel before turning back, as it got louder. The steel supports, while built to withstand earthquakes, couldn't deal with being uprooted, and they watch in horror as another symbol of Los Angeles prosperity collapsed; another landmark gone.

They sped on, ignoring the death and destruction, and trying to the best of their ability to not hit cars on the highway, all of which had been abandoned, or killed. In front there was a total highway mess from one of the twister. It was a wall of cars, all abandoned, or with dead drivers, and it was not gonna move. Allison turned to Kevin. "What do I do?"

Kevin looked down the freeway. There were no more off ramps between them and the pileup, and of course there were K-rails blocking the rest of the highway and the sides. Kevin stopped and studied the scene. There had to be a way. Time was running out. Daniel started poking him on the shoulder. "Kevin?"

"I'm thinking!"

"No, I have an idea, how adventurous are you, and does this thing have insurance?"

"A little, and yeah why?"

Kevin followed his gaze to the far lane, and the gears in his head kicked in. There, at the end of the far lane, one of those large car transporters, with no top vehicles on it. Behind that, he could see the road, a surface street. He knew what Daniel was thinking of.

Allison was starting to panic. "Do you have an idea, yet? Cuz we're almost out of freeway."

"Ok, Allison, see that truck? Line up with it, and hit the gas."

"What?"

Daniel chimed in. "Trust us, we have a plan."

"Alli, we are gonna use the top of the truck as a ramp to the road next to the freeway. Just press the gas and hang on."

"That's crazy! What if we-"

"Allison, do you trust us? Do you trust me and your husband?"

"Yeah, but-"

"No, Alli, look at me. Do you trust us?"

Allison hesitated, but then relaxed. "Yes, I do."

"Then lets do it. All three of us."

Allison tightened her grip, took a deep breath, and changed lanes, lining up with the truck. Kevin put his hand on her shoulder, and gave a small squeeze of confidence. Allison pushed the gas all the way down, and felt the jeep pick up speed. In the span of a few seconds, a lifetime passed, and the jeep was suddenly airborne, shooting off the truck. Allison had eyes closed, screaming as the jeep plowed through a bush and ended up on the road, bouncing once. A pat on the back by Daniel opened her eyes, and she regained control of the jeep, bringing it to the main roads, straight to downtown.

The skies were hung low and black, as the city went under siege of a force too powerful to be controlled by man. Twisters formed, made a path of destruction, and dissipated, allowing another to form and continue its route. As Allison made her way down the road, the scene out of a war movie unfolded in frond of them. People panicking and running, buildings damaged and collapsing, and totaled vehicles everywhere. There were hydrants blown, and fires raging. It was a total war zone. As Allison made her way to West 3rd street, a road straight to downtown, her cell rang. Kevin hooked it into his handset, and hooked that into the cigarette lighter, so that Allison could drive. He hit the answer, and the car speakers blazed with the sound of screaming, the voice of Zack, one of their high school friends, going in and out, with static.

"Allison… I…. don't know if your gonna believe… south of downtown…got back from Anaheim… Disneyland hit by… tornado! Yeah, a tornado! There's…one down here, I need help!"

Allison turned to Kevin, who instantly knew what she wanted. Daniel, on the other hand, gave the answer. "No, we can't."

"What? Daniel-"

Kevin chimed in. "No, he's right, I don't think we can. There isn't time."

Zack was listening on the other line. "Kevin… that you? What… mean…."

"Kevin, we have to, he's our friend." Allison's anger started to fill, and tears started to form.

Kevin turned to the phone. "Zack? Where are you?"

"I'm… Downey. Tornadoes are forming… the place. Oh shit!"

Allison turned to Kevin. "Zack!"

From the phone there came yelling, and then a large crash, like a car accident. Zack was screaming. After a few minutes, he came back on. "Sorry about that, my car was hit by an airborne car. Shit this thing is big. …know what to do. What do I…?"

"Allison, there is no way, we can't, there is no telling how much more damage will be caused."

"Damn it, Kevin, stop acting like this will be stopped by you going to work! You have a friend in danger. What the fuck happened to your 'friend's first' bullshit you were always so high and mighty with?"

Kevin was taken aback by this remark, and an instant in time came back, when he once told Allison, Of course I'll come help, I'll drop anything to help my friends. All those years, busy with his education, he had forgotten that. He had become the person he swore not to be; the guy who cared for himself first. Kevin knew what had to happen. "Your right, Allison, let's go get him. Zack? Be careful, we're coming for ya."

"That's…. Kevin. Don't worry, I'll be fine, just hur-." On the other line they heard someone shout 'What Out!', followed by a sickening thud as the sound of slicing and a drop filled the phone, and then, nothing. They heard someone on the other line say, "Oh my god, that billboard got him, the guy on the phone, oh god I don't believe it!" Allison was silent, and Kevin tried to confirm it. "Zack?" Nothing. Then another voice was heard. "Watch out for that car!" With a crash, the phone went dead, leaving them to listen to the sounds around them. Kevin could help but feel guilty for Zack's death, and Allison was gonna let him know it.

"Kevin, you happy?"

"Alli, don't."

"You killed him, ya fucking killed him."

"Oh, so now I'm responsible for the tornadoes?"

"You were the one who always wanted tornadoes in LA," she taunted.

"You can't honestly believe that I did this."

"You left him for dead."

"I didn't see you hitting the gas to get him, driver."

"I'm also the one carting your sorry ass around!"

"I am not gonna be blamed for him by myself, Alli!"

"Yeah ya are, you murderer!"

"There have already been enough deaths that I could have stopped, but failed in doing so!"

"Wow, your record is growing."

"Fuck you!"

"Hey!" Daniel screamed, shutting them both up. "Maybe when you two siblings stop fighting, Allison can turn the car."

Allison turned to him. "And why is that?"

"Cuz I'm the only one who's noticed the incredibly large tornado next to us, starting to chew up downtown!"

Kevin turned, and saw nothing but the sides of buildings, and a large, moving wall of wind, dust and debris. It was larger than anything Kevin had seen, mostly due to the close-up factor. But it was still large.

"Shit, I'm turning!"

Kevin kept his eyes on it, but he knew the dark truth. "It's too late, we're gonna get sucked."

And with that, the jeep started to move, and lifted into the funnel. The airspeed was amazing, its was way past 200 hundred miles per hour. Kevin immediately started to protect his face, already scratched by debris. As he felt himself lifted out of the car, he reached down to grab Allison, and Daniel. They had to stay together; there was no option. Soon, the jeep disappeared from his legs, and it was just Kevin holding Allison, and Allison holding Daniel, all in a line. Kevin saw flashed of the city below; they must have been over the 1,000 ft mark. He saw glimpses of tornadoes tearing things up, and for once, the city looked peaceful. That is, until he felt himself getting heavier, and he saw his jeep close behind. He was about to get shot back down, and the jeep was coming with. Suddenly, the jeep started to go faster, and moved to the outer wall of the twister, and with a thud form their line, it was shot out, heading for a building. Kevin looked back and saw Allison, but no Daniel. That thud had knocked him out with the jeep, and he was sailing towards a building. He was gone. Allison was screaming, mostly at Kevin, about Daniel. The tears in her eyes were quickly swept by the winds, and her face was also getting scratched up. Kevin brought her closer, and hugged her, not wanting the same to happen to her. After reaching the top, Kevin felt them fly lower, till he was shot out a foot above the ground, down South Flower Street. He sailed for a block with her, before hitting a stack of newspapers, and rolling on the floor to a stop. When they stopped moving, he got up, in immense pain, and picked her up. She was still weeping, and rightly so. Kevin too had tears, but mostly it was guilt of not working harder to save him. Kevin was ready to commit suicide in 13 different ways. He turned back, and saw the twister bearing down on them, as it hit Library Tower; the tallest building in Los Angeles. The building best known for its destruction in Independence Day was slowly being skinned alive, people being sucked out of windows on all floors. Kevin knew he had to get out of there. He ran with her a total block, before seeing the offices of the National Weather Service a block ahead. His first reaction was to run for the building, the twister was a direct course, and Kevin knew what to do. He dug into his pocket, where he placed his phone after his last call, and dialed the office. After 4 rings, it was no luck. Bob was either too busy, or not in the room. Kevin turned back to Allison, who started wandering off. Kevin grabbed her, but she shrugged her off.

"C'mon, we have to go."

"Leave me alone!"

"Alli, we have to-"

Kevin turned back at the things being churned in the twister, while Allison took off. Kevin chased after her, and made it outside the downtown area, before catching up. "Allison, I-"

"Don't."

With a sigh, he turned back, and saw a helicopter shredded before his eyes. Soon a piece of the fuselage shot out, the edges all mangles, right at Allison. Without thinking, Kevin ran up and pushed her out of the way, just as the metal object sliced through, saving her. Kevin had never felt so much pain in his life. He felt the fuselage slice into him with a clean, yet ragged stroke into his lower right side. At the same time, a piece hanging off it struck him in the face, leaving a nice sized gash from his cheekbone to the side of his head, over his ear. The shock of the blow was enough to make him less active, and he look down at the horrified look on Allison's face. He dropped next to her and fell unconscious, a pool of blood growing under him. Allison, sat up and put her hand on his shoulder, and started screaming for help, as the F5, most destructive twister, tore away at the NWS building, before dying out. Before anyone knew it, it was all over. The remaining twisters slowly died and withered away, leaving a once thriving city in ruins.

There were an amazing 214 reported twisters, something never before seen in history. The entire Los Angeles County, Orange County, Simi Valley, Ventura County, and the desert regions were destroyed completely, or left dead. The Santa Monica Pier indeed was destroyed, as well as the Capitol Records, Hollywood (the city and the sign), Disneyland, Dodger Stadium, Staples Center, and just about every major or minor landmark in the area. The death toll was outrageous. Because this was something never expected or even thought of in Los Angeles, out of 9.9 million people, 8.6 million were killed, with 1.2 million injured. An entire city was wiped off the map, and most of its residences due to inexperience and Los Angeles stupidity. LA harbor would never again be able to be a major port city for the west coast, and the movie industry was nearly wiped out. For once, Hollywood's idea of its own destruction never came close to its new reality. There were no working governments left in LA; the mayor of the city himself was caught in his office, as City Hall was dismantled. Not one person in the world, which had been left in shock after the story went national, could deny it. The beautiful City and County of Los Angeles, founded in 1781, was truly now a city of angels. A dead city.