Trapped – Chapter 2
(I do not own Glee or any of the characters.)
The wind was howling outside when the lights at McKinley flickered once, twice, and then dissolved the hallways into darkness. When the power transformer exploded outside there was a brilliant flash of light followed by a deafening boom.
Rachel screamed, "Help!" as she held onto Blaine's hand even tighter. They were suspended in the black oblivion for a moment before the emergency lights responded and bathed the hallways with a yellow glow.
"Rachel is that you? It's me Finn. Where are you?" Finn screamed into the empty hallways.
"Blaine and I are over here. Keep talking and we'll follow the sound of your voice," Rachel yelled back in momentary relief.
When Blaine and Rachel found Finn and Kurt they were back in the school lobby. Relieved to have found each other but overwhelmed by the show Mother Nature was putting on outside the front windows. The American and Ohio Flags had been ripped from the pole and now only the rope banged against the steel pole.
"Children, what are you doing here? You should be with your test monitors crouched in the hallways! You know the tornado drill; we've done it dozen of times!" Principal Figgins demanded to know when he saw the students.
Standing behind Principal Figgins was Shelby Corcoran. Apparently she had stayed to talk to the principal after her interview and school tour were over.
"We had to find each other," Rachel said meekly.
"Well we can't stay here with all of these windows. They could blow out at any moment. We need to get to the boiler room down in the basement," Figgins instructed as he herded the small group in the direction of the boiler room door.
"What about the others?" Finn asked. "We can't leave them in the halls, there're too many windows there too. How many people are here today? Can we get everyone into the boiler room in the basement?"
"There are twenty seven students here today taking the SAT, three teachers, two coaches, and one guidance counselor, plus myself and Ms. Corcoran," Principal Figgins answered Finn quickly.
"That's thirty five," Kurt said doing the math in his head, "We should all fit down there if we can get everyone here before the tornado reaches us."
"Wait, Becky Jackson is here today too," Rachel added. She's helping Coach Sylvester, but Becky left to find some coffee for Coach right before the tornado alarms went off."
"With no electricity, the intercom won't work. Children do you have your cell phones with you?" Principal Figgins asked urgently.
"No, the teachers took them up before the test started. Coach Sylvester has all of ours on her desk," Blaine answered.
Principal Figgins thought for a second before he handed Finn his key to the boiler room door.
"Finn, take my key and take these people to the boiler room. The emergency lights should be on down there. I'll use my cell phone to call the teachers and have them bring their students to the boiler room."
"Rachel, stand by the door and take a head count as everyone heads down the steps. Kurt run into my office and grab the weather radio. It's on my desk. Bring the flashlight that's on the filing cabinet too."
Within moments after Figgins called the teachers, the students were streaming quickly down the steps to the boiler room as the winds picked up speed outside. Tina and Mike were pushing Artie in his wheelchair toward the boiler room door as fast as they could. Azimio scooped Artie up from his wheelchair and carried him down the steps.
"Thanks man," Artie said as he hung onto the left guard's broad shoulders.
"It's okay," Azimio said as he sat Artie down. "I may not like you, but I'm not going to let you die either."
The building was shaking as Principal Figgins slammed the door after the last student headed down the steps.
"Is that everyone?" Principal Figgins asked Rachel frantically.
"No!" Rachel cried, "We're missing Coach Sylvester and Becky Jackson!"
"Coach Sylvester sent us here and then went to find Becky when you called her," Tina panted still trying to catch her breath.
"I'm right here," a small voice spoke up as the crowd parted to expose Becky standing with Brittany and Santana.
"We saw Becky coming out of the cafeteria with a cup of coffee so we grabbed her and pulled her along with us," Santana volunteered.
"Teachers, count the students that were assigned to you for the test. I'll see if I can call Coach Sylvester on my cell phone. If any of you have your cell phones with you call your parents to tell them that you're okay and then stay off of them. We may need to save the batteries."
"It's no use," Mercedes piped up. "I've already tried to call my parents, and these walls are too thick to get a signal."
"My dads!" Rachel cried as Finn tired to keep her from running back up the boiler room steps. They were going to Columbia today!"
"Rachel they'll be okay. If they went to Columbia, they probably missed this storm," Finn said trying to calm his girlfriend down.
"What about Mom and Dad?" Kurt asked Finn solemnly.
"Mom's at the hospital and that building has stood up to a lot, and Burt's at the shop. He and the other guys can get down into one of the pits under the lifts.
Finn was trying to sound brave, but deep down inside he was scared to death.
"Everyone grab a buddy or two and find a place to sit down until this storm passes," Principal Figgins instructed. "We have four emergency lights, and there's plenty of water in the boiler. There's a door to the outside in the back, but everyone stay away from there for now. Don't go anywhere without your buddy."
Finn already had Rachel's hand firmly in his. He directed her to a corner and sat down in front of her like a human shield.
"What are you doing?" Rachel asked Finn.
"I'm not going to lose you," Finn said as he took off his letterman's jacket and wrapped it around her with a worried smile.
"Would the two you mind being buddies with me?" Shelby asked as she walked over to Finn and Rachel.
"Sure," Finn said as he got up and offered Shelby a seat with them.
"Shelby, where's Beth?" Rachel asked her mother quietly.
"She's at my house near Carmel High School. Jesse's watching her for me today," Shelby answered. "There's a storm cellar there if the storm reaches them."
"Jesse? Jesse St. James?" Rachel asked in disbelief.
"Yes, Jesse has been staying with me since he flunked out of UCLA and his parents kicked him out," Shelby said looking at her hands that were trembling.
Puck was already sitting with Quinn on the far side of the basement when Lauren joined them.
"What's with the pink hair Blondie?" Lauren asked Quinn as she sat down on the other side of Puck.
"It's my badass side," Quinn said without looking at anything in particular. "I've tried being the good girl and look where it has gotten me? I've lost Finn. My dad is never coming back. Good girls finish last."
"I like Badass Quinn," Puck said squeezing Quinn's hand.
Lauren noticed Puck holding Quinn's hand and asked him, "Do you have room for more than one badass girl in your life?"
"Yes Lauren I do, but you know that Quinn's the mother of my child. We share a connection that will link us together for the rest of our lives," Puck said attempting to hold Lauren's hand with his other hand.
"I see," Lauren said as she got up and moved away to sit with Tina, Mike, and Artie.
Mr. Schue walked around the hulking boiler to check the outside exit door in the back. When he came back, he pulled Principal Figgins aside and said to him quietly,
"There's a pile of old cotton gym mats over there blocking the rear door. We have to get some of the guys to help us move them in case we need to go out that way."
Principal Figgins moved around the group and asked Finn, Puck, Mike, Azimio, and Karofsky to come with him. The boys pulled the mats down and spread them around the boiler room floor for everyone to sit on. The steel exit door was shaking but still holding. The winds were forcing leaves and water around it.
"I don't know why those mats were there in the first place. It's a fire hazard." Figgins complained loudly to Mr. Schuster.
"I do," Brittany volunteered. "When the Cherrios bought new mats, Coach Sylvester told us to bring the old ones down here. She didn't want them to ugly-up her gym. This was the biggest space we could find."
Principal Figgins just shook his head as he tried to use his cell phone again near the rear door. It was no use. Between the approaching storm, the thick basement walls, and all of the steel in the basement, his cell phone was useless. The weather radio was working but barely. The weather report was breaking up as the storm was getting closer.
Figgins cut the radio off to save the batteries as he walked around to where Will was waiting with the students.
"Schue, I don't want to scare the children, but Lima is right in the path of a F5 tornado that's spinning off smaller ones," Figgins whispered to the Spanish teacher. "The tornadoes in the south and west have converged to form a massive F5 and it's coming right at us."
The students huddled together listening to the roar before they heard what sounded like the building collapsing over head. No freight train had ever sounded louder. When the door at the top of the stairs was ripped away they were hit with a sudden blast of wind and water that raced in at gale force speed down the steps. Debris was falling down the stairwell and then stopped. The roof had fallen over the stairwell and the steps were blocked.
"Everyone, get under your mats," Schue screamed over the roar of the tornado that was right on top of them.
The ceiling was bucking and pipes were groaning around them. Just when they thought that it couldn't get any worse, they heard a loud crash in the direction on the rear exit door.
"Has it ripped the rear door off?" Rachel asked holding tightly to Finn and her mother.
"I don't think so," Finn yelled over the roar. "We haven't been sucked out the door."
As quickly as the storm had hit, it was now dead calm.
"Is it over?" Brittany asked sticking her head out from under the mat that she was sharing with several other students.
"No, this is just the eye of the storm passing over us. Everyone stay put. The back side of the storm will hit us at any minute," Mr. Schue said trying to remain calm.
Rachel moved even closer to Finn and cupped her hand over his ear. "I'm glad that we finally did it this summer, I'd didn't want it to be anyone but you, and I didn't want to die a virgin," she whispered in Finn's ear.
Finn smiled his one sided smile as he pulled his letterman's jacket closer around Rachel's shoulders.
"You're not going to die. I won't let you. You're Rachel Berry. You still have to rewrite Broadway history. And you and me will be 'doing it' for many more years to come long after this tornado has been forgotten," Finn whispered back into her ear with a peck on the side of her head.
"You think so?" Rachel asked shyly.
"I know so," Finn smiled.
Waiting for the inevitable back side of the tornado to hit, Shelby took Rachel's hand and looked straight into the chocolate eyes that looked just like her own.
"Rachel, if I don't get another chance to tell you, I want you to know that I've always loved you, I couldn't be prouder of you, and I'm so sorry for everything that I have done to you. That's why I wanted to take this job at McKinley, so I can get to know my daughter. I hope one day you'll forgive me," Shelby said with pleading eyes.
"There's nothing to forgive," Rachel said as she held tightly to her mother's hand.
The roar of the back side of the tornado could be heard getting louder as it approached them.
"This is it! Round two! Everyone take cover!" Mr. Schue ordered.
The ceiling over them was bucking. It sounded like someone was dragging the entire school across the ceiling above them. Insulation was falling around them along with water coming through the opening cracks. Rachel was glad that she had the warmth of Finn's jacket and his arms around her as everyone sat with their eyes closed praying.
For what seemed like an eternity the roar and banging continued as everyone was sure that they and their loved ones were all going to die. When the wind and roar finally subsided Mr. Schue asked if anyone was hurt. Then he told them to stay put while we he went to the outside door to look.
Slipping Figgins' key into the lock, Schue pushed the door open, but it would only open about a foot before the door hit something solid. Looking further he realized that the tornado had thrown a dumpster up against the door.
"Who's the smallest one here?" Mr. Schuster called to the group.
"That would have to be me?" Rachel said crawling out from under the gym mat.
"Come here and see if you can fit through this opening," Mr. Schuster call to her.
"No, Rachel's not going out there," Finn said holding her back. "I'll go."
"Finn if I can't fit through that opening then you know you can't. All of us have parents out there who know we're here. Someone will come looking for us soon. Just let me try. I can tell the rescue workers where we're at."
Finn reluctantly let go of Rachel's hand as she made her way to the door. She handed Finn's letterman's jacket back to him before she squeezed through the narrow opening.
"Here take my phone," Finn said as he shoved the phone into her hand. "Use it to call for help."
Once outside Rachel was shocked by what she saw. The high school was gone. All of their cars in the school parking lot were gone except for a few that had been chewed up and spit out like a bad seed. The only recognizable thing that she could see was the quad and it was full of hunks of debris the size of cars. Total dispair hit her when she dialed 911 and the cell phone only flashed, "No Network Available."
Stunned, she squeezed back to the narrow opening of the outside boiler room door.
"Rachel, what did you see? Did you call for help," Principal Figgins asked frantically.
"The school is gone. There's no cell phone signal," Rachel whispered in shock. "The tornado cut a path right through the middle of town. I'm not sure there's anyone left out there to rescue us."
Once inside Finn wrapped his jacket around Rachel's shaking body.
"What did you see?" Finn asked as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Finn it's like someone took a knife to the town and cut it up. Some things were spared and some things are completely gone. All that's left of McKinley is the floor and the quad," She paused before she spoke again. "I don't think it is over either. The sky is black, angry, and churning like I've never seen it before."
"Children, please remain calm," Principal Figgins urged them. "We have all made it though a F5 safely, but the weather radio said this tornado had created a line of tornadoes up and down the Ohio River Valley. We have survived a F5 down here; we can ride out what ever else this storm has to throw at us. It is safer in here than out there. The school above us is gone."
"What about our families?" Mike spoke up with his arm wrapped around Tina.
"Our families would want us to all stay here where we are safe for the time being. Rescue crews have to be on their way. When we hear the fire truck sirens we will send Rachel back out there to flag them down," Principal Figgins told the students.
"Principal Figgins, Rachel went out there the first time and she's scared. I can fit through that space too so I'll go the next time," Becky said offering her help.
-/- Until chapter 3, thank you for reviewing. Your suggestions and opinions are important to me. Sincerely, Whistler Nights