by thedoctor, Grimm, Sonhaven and GoozX
The MBL Consulting team had loaded as many vehicles as they could find with the refugees of the storm. Their reasoning was that the mountains on the northeastern side of the island should provide enough cover from Hurricane Jason. That was where they decided to take the people that they had saved thus far. Dirk Bell was pushing Tayden into the last car.
"There's no room for everyone," Tayden exclaimed as he sat on the laps of the people in the back seat. "How will you ever fit in here?"
"I'm not," Dirk said as he shut the door and pounded on the roof.
The car took off, and Tayden tried his best to look over the bodies of his fellow passengers, hoping to get a look at the man with enough faith to stand against a storm with the power and fury that only God Himself could tame. But he was wrong. Dirk didn't have that faith. In fact, he doubted that he'd ever live through this. But the fact of the matter was that there wasn't enough room in that car for him.
Maybe, he thought to himself, if I can get the rest of the group, we can get out of here before the storm hits.
Danny Hearn drove the lead car with Edulcore Cicciotto, Phil Smith, Ameristar, Grissom Montag (with an unconscious Priest in the back), and Chance following behind. Each had a carload of people. Each were praying that they got to the mountains before the storm got to them.
The smell of charred remains attacked Dirk's nostrils as he made his way back to the teammates left behind. A stream of smoked trailed up from a mass of burnt bodies. Grimm and Blackwulf stood around the site while M'xy hovered about. "You guys had a barbecue, and you didn't invite ME?" the gunslinger said as he approached them.
M'xy began to chuckle as a chef's hat, spatula, oven mitts, and an apron that said Kiss the Chef appeared on him. This undoubtedly broke his concentration on holding back the forces of Hurricane Jason, because the four felt tremendous winds and stinging rain hit their bodies.
"The storm's right on top of us!" Grimm yelled above the howling winds. "We've got to get to cover!"
The only building still left standing was the apartment complex that they called home. "It is being our only chance, comrades," Blackwulf said as he pointed to the structure. They ran for it. M'xy flew along behind them slowly as his kite trailed behind.
Once inside, they closed and braced the door behind them. "Now, down to the basement," Grimm said.
Dirk shook his head and pointed out the window. "Not enough time."
A huge wall of blackish-gray swirling wind was moving toward them. It devoured the vampire kabob that had been sitting in the front of the MBL Consulting building. Dirk took the rope that he had gotten earlier from the hovercraft and tied himself to one of the support beams. Grimm lifted his axe behind his head, then buried it into the floor, and held on for dear life. Blackwulf wrapped his massive arms around a support beam.
The wall of destruction hit the building. Shards of glass flew through the air like missiles. Wind brushing past the men's ears at excesses of sixty miles per hour deafened them. The force of the hellish winds pushed against each man. They all held on for dear life, except M'xy, who was now dressed in all black, white gloves, and white face-paint, with a baret on his head. He was acting like he was trapped in a box; and, oddly enough, the debris let loose by the attacking hurricane missed his body and looked as though it was moving around a cube.
It seemed like days before the wind stopped. All was quiet. Each didn't know if his hearing was gone or if there truly was peace in the air.
"That was fun! When's the next show?" Dirk, Grimm, and Blackwulf heard M'xy say, now knowing that they had not gone permanently deaf. "Ohhh! What's that?" M'xy asked, pointing out the window behind them.
"That looks like our roof," Dirk said, eyeing the mass of brick. "But we've got bigger problems to worry about."
Grimm nodded. "Right now we're in the eye of Hurricane Jason. It won't be long before the other half moves over us."
"That is being the part most worst of the hurricane." Blackwulf was examining the rest of the building for any structural damage to the ground floor. "We must be asking important question right now."
"What's for dinner?"
Ignoring the imp, Wulf continued, "Is building safe enough for next onslaught?"
Noticing a large crack rapidly appearing in the far wall, Grimm answered, "I'm guessing no..."
Suddenly, there was a large sound, as if a giant were moaning, and the MBL Consulting apartment complex headquarters began to fall inward.
Dirk yelled out, "M'xy, quick!" moments before the eastern side of the building fell inward.
The western side, however, remained standing. Dirk, Grimm, and Blackwulf looked up at the imp floating upside down, wearing a grin that seemed twice as large as the rest of his face. "I saved what I could, but the other side of the building was too damaged after the storm and the attack. I couldn't let Sam's home, OUR home, die."
"It's okay, M'xy, we'll worry about it." Dirk felt a slight tingle in his side.
"What the?!" The gunslinger reached down and felt around his belt until he found his cellphone. "Ah, my cellphone."
"Comrade, you are having your cellphone on vibrate?" Blackwulf asked, raising his left eyebrow.
"Of course I don't have my cellphone set to vibrate. Must have got knocked around the during the fight." Dirk answered his cellphone.
Grimm and Blackwulf looked at each other, then back at Dirk. "Suuuurrrre..." they said in unison.
While Dirk answered his phone, Grimm peered up at the remaining half of the building. He looked up to around the fourteenth floor, where he could swear he saw something moving; it appeared to Grimm that were was a family of three standing on the floor looking back at him, and then they were gone.
"Comrade, what are you looking at?" Wulf said, approaching Grimm and peering upward.
"Nothing. Nothing at all."
The car stopped at the base of a mountain.
The door opened, and the refugees were asked to move to a large truck by the island's emergency services personnel that were there, in order to go further up above sea level. The extremely wounded were carried off to a makeshift field hospital at the camp. While the soldiers were dealing with a kid in a Misfits shirt who was screaming to stay because this was the baddest shit he'd ever fuckin' seen, Tayden slipped away.
Dirk's face appeared in his mind. Brave... and practical. Ya gotta love mankind, Tayden thought.
The Harbringer appeared in Tayden's mind as well. His presence was starting to make sense, but his actions were still a mystery. Saving lives was not exactly his modus operandi.
As Tayden entered the hospital tent, the smell of blood penetrated the rain as it swirled in mud puddles. Men, women, and children were screaming and crying, and a woman ran past him with an IV in one hand and tourniquet in the other.
Then Tayden's new heart stopped as a familiar doll caught his eye. Tayden walked over to one of the cots and saw young Emma, dead. Her eyes were open and staring directly at Tayden. With his thumb and index finger he gently closed them.
Every plan he had failed. He thought back. The Light boy who could have been a hero couldn't return to the fight, even with Tayden soothing his nerves. The terrified teenager lost control of his current state and burst in a pop of photons, like a nineteenth-century flash bulb. The men who he wanted to help were probably now dying, if not at the hands of a storm, then at the hands of anti-life abominations. And now Emma was gone, too.
Suddenly, like thunder in his head, he heard: Tayden... stop being a shmuck.
"What the...?" Surprise and joy filled Tayden's body. Goosebumps rose. "Father," he whispered with excitement.
You heard me. Do you really think I've abandoned these people and those men? You can't save everybody, because it's time for some of them to come home. Emma is with her mother and me, which is right where I want her. Now go back out there, and don't make me tell you again!
Tayden kissed Emma's forehead and stood up. He grabbed a nurse's arm. "What can I do?" he asked.
"What blood type are you?" she quickly responded.
"Good question... but I have the feeling it's going to be whatever you need."
Tayden started to roll up his sleeves.
Priest slumped his body on the hard cave wall.
The cold sent shivers down his spine. He had been knocked out cold after exhausting his strength. His vision was blurred, but his mind was still clear, clear on what his mission was. His time was quickly passing. It would be less than a few months before all would be lost.
Priest looked over the mountains. It reminded him of home. He cracked half a smile.
His hand traveled down his leg, stopping at a small pouch. From it, he pulled out a device about the size of a quarter. Looking around, his eye caught Danny Hearn. Danny was helping to bandage one of the survivors, as were the others. Priest looked down to the device in his hand and back up to Danny. He was close enough.
He just had to press the button, and his mission was done. As his finger slid over the button, Grissom Montag sat down next to him.
"How ya feeling?" Grissom said as he bit into beef jerky. "That was some pretty amazing stuff before."
Priest kept to himself and covered the small device in his hand.
"I've only been with the guys for a little while now," Grissom continued, "but they really are trying to make a difference. Heroes, if you will."
Grissom snapped into another piece and handed some to Priest. "I think you're gonna fit right in." Priest looked at him for a moment and nodded his head.
Priest opened his right hand, letting the wind take burnt ash into the air. He took a piece of the jerky and bit into it. "Thanks."
The two men sat there eating jerky as the island was covered in darkness. Now they could only wait and hope for the best.