The weather has gone weird. Is it a natural phenomenon or is something more sinister at work ? Mad men and survival.
They heard windows smashing around the house and a fierce wind blew all around them tossing pieces of paper into the air. They could hear tiles sliding off the roof and smashing on the ground outside. They all crouched together on the floor, hanging on to each other. Some people screamed, but most just held on to their friends, hoping and praying that they would get out of this.
Tom watched in horror as the miniature tornado swept out of the enclosure at the rear of the mansion. "That could kill someone !" he gasped.
"Do you have any idea what the consequences of massive climate change would be on the human race ?" demanded Storm. "Our species has multiplied across the globe. Any significant change in climate would be devastating. It could possibly wipe the human race off the planet altogether," he shouted. As he became more excited, his eyes widened and he started spitting as he spoke. Tom was starting to wonder if the man was entirely in control. He seemed to be getting increasingly manic.
At this point, another staff member stuck his head round the door to the control room. "Mr. Storm Sir, there's someone at the gate, saying that two boys have been reported missing from the school group. They're demanding to come in. What do you want us to do ?" he asked.
Storm looked irritated. He glanced between Dan and Tom before pointing to Tom and saying, "Oh, take this boy and get him to speak to them." He turned to Tom, "Tell them we're showing you both around the house. You'll be back with the school group shortly," he instructed Tom. "If you are not sufficiently convincing, the consequences for your friend here will be severe," he warned. Tom nodded and followed two of the rangers out of the room after one backward glance at Dan who now had two red thumb marks on his throat.
When Tom reached the front door, a police car had drawn up at the front of the house. Two police officers got out. Tom did a double-take when he realised one of them was Stella. They walked up to the front of the house and the ranger reluctantly let them in the front door. Glancing around the hallway Stella looked at Tom. "Are you Thomas or Daniel ?" she asked.
"I'm Tom," said Tom. "Dan's just at the back," he said. "We were being shown round the house by Mr. Storm's people," he said. "I'm sorry if Mr. Flatley got worried about us," he added.
"Daniel is here also ?" checked Stella. Tom noticed out of the corner of his eye that while Stella had the attention of the rangers, the other officer was drifting towards the security console near the door and was surreptitiously placing a small black device on its side.
"Yes, he's here. We're both fine. Sorry about the trouble," said Tom apologetically.
"Oh well. No harm done. Could we see Daniel as well ?" asked Stella.
"No ! I mean, he's a bit busy. He's fine. We'll both be going back to the group in a short while," said Tom rather quickly.
"I see," said Stella, obviously picking up on the implications of what Tom had said. "Well, we'll let you get back to your studies. Thankyou for your cooperation gentlemen," she said to the rangers, who were looking relieved. They obviously weren't much good at acting. Stella and the other officer left the building and got back into their police car. Tom watched them go rather forlornly. He had half hoped that a whole commando team would be hiding in the back of the police car and would leap out to rescue both him and Dan. He knew in his heart of hearts that this would be a mistake while Dan was effectively being held hostage. When the door had closed on Stella, he was led back through the house.
Once Tom was taken from the room, Storm stood in front of Dan, staring down at him with contempt. "So, do you now believe that I can control the weather ?" he demanded.
Dan tried to speak, but his voice was croaky. He coughed and hoarsely said, "You can control local weather conditions. That's pretty obvious," he said. "What is that thing ?" he asked, nodding towards the outside area.
In spite of his obvious dislike of Dan, Storm couldn't resist boasting about his abilities. "This is the machine I proposed years ago. Nobody was interested. Nobody would provide funding. I did however convince a wealthy American recluse who left all of his fortune to me in his will. I was able to devote time and money to its development and purchase this site to test it safely."
Dan snorted. "You call that safe ! Me and a friend nearly got killed by a tree in the gale yesterday. It only just missed us."
"I don't believe you," hissed Storm. "You and your kind are all liars !"
"Yeah, well have a look at my back if you don't believe me," retorted Dan, coughing dryly.
Storm looked across at the only ranger left in the room. "Lift his shirt," he ordered. The ranger pulled Dan up out of the chair and lifted his hoodie and sweatshirt. On his back was the long black and purple bruise left by the tree branch. "Hm," said Storm, sounding slightly less sure of himself. The ranger dropped Dan's shirt.
"You don't know the effects of your experiments," Dan accused him. "If you just sit comfortably in your big estate you won't know what happens outside. You've just sent a tornado through the grounds where our friends are for goodness sake !" he complained. "You could have killed someone." He didn't have to feign distress at this point. He was genuinely worried about Zoe, Aneisha, Frank and all the others.
"Hm," said Storm. Dan waited for him to say more, but he remained silent. "Tie him to the chair," instructed Storm. "We'll have to decide what to do with him later."
"We can't keep him here forever," said the ranger tentatively as he tied Dan's arms and ankles to the chair. "His organisation will be expecting him to report in."
"Yes, you are right," said Storm thoughtfully. "What organisation do you work for ?" he asked Dan. Dan remained silent. "Tie him more thoroughly. He probably knows how to escape from these sorts of things," he said, waving his hands vaguely. The ranger scratched his head and then fetched more rope before tying Dan's waist and the tops of his legs to the chair as well. Dan was starting to feel like a trussed chicken. Not even KORPS would bother to tie him up this thoroughly. He suspected that Storm had been watching way too many spy films.
The school group cowered in the shelter of the farm buildings unable to speak because of the thunderous noise being made by the tornado. Then as suddenly as it had come, it was gone. As everyone started to lift their heads and look around them, they could hear the roar travelling away from them, accompanied by the creaking and crashing of trees. The building stank of grass and leaves. A few more tiles slid off the roof above their heads.
"Everyone stay where you are for a minute !" ordered Frank. He had abandoned his caretaker persona with the need for leadership of this group. He knew that Mr. Flatley would be in no state to take charge. Then again, it was debatable whether Mr. Flatley ever was capable of being in charge. He and the ranger got up and stood just inside the door, trying to assess whether or not it was safe to exit the building. "I can't hear any more tiles coming down," said Frank. The ranger nodded. "Do you know where that tornado came from ?" asked Frank quietly. The ranger looked at his feet, then looking Frank in the face nodded.
"You're not a school teacher are you ?" asked the ranger quietly. Frank shook his head. "It's Mr. Storm. He's been experimenting with trying to control the weather," said the ranger. He paused and sucked his teeth. He seemed to be struggling to make up his mind. "The thing is, I think it's affected him," said the ranger. Frank had to lean in to hear him because he was speaking so quietly. "I've heard the others talking about how he creates this sort of field from some machine under the ground. Nobody's allowed to walk into it now, but I think Mr. Storm had been out in it quite a lot before he found out it was dangerous. He's become quite odd. He was quite a decent bloke before. Now he seems really paranoid. He sees conspiracies against him everywhere. He hates all authority figures and anyone he thinks is working for the government," said the man. "I think you need to stop all this before it gets out of control," he added.
Frank looked worried. "I've got two agents in the house. He knows one of them is an agent, but he thinks the other one is just one of the students," he said. "They're in danger. I've got to get them out ! Can you help ?" he asked.
The ranger took a deep breath and then nodded. "I'll try," he promised.