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47pictures · 3 years

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“Cataclysm” (Horror/Thriller)

The outside sky yawned a growing storm, rumbles of thunder so loud I felt it shook inside here. Looks like my cue to be on my way. I knew I shouldn’t get another shot of whiskey - my mind had wandered enough in the passing hours. Where was I headed? Who knows? Who cares? It didn’t really matter right now. I just needed to get away…

The bar was brightly lit and decorated with pink and green neon lights on the outside, contrasting with its light golden brown interior hue. It was clear that the hangout stood for decades, but you wouldn’t know that by its hospitality and noticeable renovations.

I and only a few other people sat in the bar (two other older gentlemen chit-chatting at the barstools). I had no clue where I was. Kansas, I was pretty sure, or maybe Oklahoma. Wherever, I was hours and miles apart from where I was supposed to be. Again, none of that mattered.

The bartender, an older man in his middle ages, came over to me from the other side of the bar.

“Probably best you start hittin’ the road, son,” he spoke in a smoky but chipper voice. “Looks like a storm’s comin’ any minute now, and around here, that typically turns into something much worse.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Tornado,” he says. “It’s that time of the year. I’m guessing you’re not from around these parts?”

I smiled bashfully. “You guessed right.”

“Well, no harm in that. I’d be more than happy with you staying here, but I gotta start closin’ up here soon myself. I’ve got babies to take care of. Eh, they’re getting about close to your age, I should say.”

I nodded.

“How old are you, twenty?” he guessed.

“Close,” I said. “Twenty-one.”

“Ah, little older than I thought” he nodded. “You in school?”

“Yeah…”

“You like it?”

I shrugged. “If my grades say anything, I guess not.”

The man nodded with understanding.

“I never did it myself, just worked,” he added. “For some of us, that’s all we need."

I looked at my phone and saw that I had two missed calls and unread messages from Seth, my buddy from campus. I rolled my eyes. We were good friends… were good friends, as of 17 hours ago. Good laughs, trips, deep conversations, secrets, inside jokes, exchanges of advice… all ruined in a matter of moments in an exchange of heartless, callous words to one another.

At this moment, I read the messages, asking where I was and to call him, and a voice message I didn’t bother to listen to. With a swift few taps, I blocked him. Who knows if I’d forgive him for what he’d done. That was the least of my worries now, though.

I stepped out of the bar and looked out at the distant field. There were a few other small buildings in sight - a small convenience store and gas pump - but I was dead smack in the middle of the rural midwest. Fields of grass and occasionally corn for miles.

The sky was turning a dull dismal green, puffy clouds forming above in an unusual shape clumping next to one another. The bartender was right, it was about to get ugly.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I got on the interstate and kept heading north. I swear it’d been damn near 20 minutes ago since I’d passed an exit. I was on the longest highway, it seemed, a long line of concrete that stretched for eternity, nothing but endless fields of grass at my sides. As a kid, those were the worst road trips with nothing interesting to look at for hours. Years later, that hasn’t really changed.

In the short amount of time from when I left the bar to getting back on the interstate, the sky darkened to damn near pitch black. I couldn’t see a thing beyond the vision of my headlights and the occasional cars or trucks that passed by on the opposite lane, as well as a few dazzling but ominous flashes of lightning hidden beyond the clouds.

I turned on the radio to play some music, but at the moment, the local station was giving out a tornado warning that was imminent in the area, telling everyone to take shelter immediately.

The AI-prompted voice from the broadcasting system delivered a forbidding message caught some seconds

“...national weather service in McPherson has issued a tornado warning for: McPherson County, Kansas, south central Saline County, Kansas, until 11:47 P.M. Central Standard time, at 11:10 P.M. Central Standard time. National Weather Service Doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. This dangerous storm was located…”

In a low subtle tone, I heard what I could only describe as the faint howling of the wind, tuning out the broadcast as background noise. To be sure, I turned down the radio and listened carefully. I heard just fine. It was a faint whistle of wind. It had been so quiet a moment ago - up to this point, matter of fact. Was it really that windy outside? Guess so.

With a crack of lightning and thunder illuminating the darkened sky, it was there that I saw it perched in the distant field on my right. The silhouette of a towering funnel-shaped cloud, a towering giant of rotating wind nearly as black as the wind surrounding it. No way… was that really it?

I wished to do a double-take, but just like that, the flash was brief, and the tornado vanished from my sight, the sky shrouded in darkness once more. If I hadn’t blinked for just another millisecond I may have been certain-

Another flash lit up the sky, and my suspicions were confirmed. Goodness, it was huge! I’d never seen anything like it before. Maybe on TV and in movies and pictures, but never in person. It was astronomically indifferent to its surroundings in both scale and potency, a relentless force of nature, just waiting in the darkness in silence. It was unreal… and unnerving.

The silhouette of the vortex was gone from my sight again once the lightning ceased, but at least I was well aware of its position. It was hard to say exactly how far it was, but it was a good distance away, at least for now. Again, like a steady rhythm of a tune, the lightning illuminated the darkness, and when I shifted my eyes to take another glance at the twister, I was in disbelief.

It was gone. The damn thing was nowhere in sight. I knew I wasn’t crazy. It was just there. I couldn’t be seeing things… how did it just-

Suddenly, a bright flash of lightning lit up the sky once more, revealing the colossal whirlwind of a monster, just to the side of the shoulder on the interstate - right next to me.

I’d felt fear many times before, but not like this. Not like this…

I was at the mercy of something I had no hope of subduing if my life depended on it. In those next moments, I’d forgotten about my physical body, as my soul already left and my life flashed before me, and the next thing I knew, my car swerved to the opposite side of the road. Seems I hit the brakes right then and there. My instincts decided for me that it was too late. It caught me. I’d have to accept my fate…

But as I regained composure, feeling my hands tightly gripped on the wheel, my foot pressed so hard onto the brake pedal I felt I could snap it, my heartbeat skyrocketing, there was silence. Dead air. Nothing.

Sitting in my car parked perpendicularly in the middle of the road, I turned my head every which way and didn’t spot a twister in sight. Baffled wasn’t even enough to describe - utterly stupefied was more suitable. Where was the roar of the vortex or the gust of wind? It’s as if it never existed.

Soon after, another car pulled to the side of the road from behind, their brights blinding me, and the driver stepped out and walked a good distance my way.

“Are you okay?” the passerby asked.

I was still in shock, I could barely speak properly. “D-d-did you see it?” I stammered, pointing my finger towards the direction where I last saw the colossus.

“See what?” they asked.

“The tornado. I-It was right there. Right on the side of the road.”

They were perplexed, as they looked to where I was pointing, another brief flash of lightning illuminating the area, showing nothing but more endless fields of grass ahead. They faced me again.

“Were you sure?” they said. “There’s nothing there.”

I was at a loss for words. Dammit, it was right there. I know it was. How could it vanish and be out of sight so swift? A giant swirling mountain of gust? Impossible!

"I mean, there could be,” the driver spoke. “It’s best if you keep heading towards the nearest exit to find shelter. There's tornado warnings a couple miles ahead of us - ‘ahead of us’ as in towards Saline. Best to stay clear of that whole area for now. Might get real bad from what my folks are saying.” He looked at me, seeing how noticeably petrified I was. “You good, pal?”

I looked at him. What could I say? That he was wrong? He proved otherwise.

I nodded. “Yeah. Thanks. I’m probably just getting tired is all.”

He nodded. “Stay safe, man. Probably a good idea to, you know, get out the middle of the road.”

“Yeah,” I chuckled.

He got back into his car and drove back down the interstate, and I soon did the same.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Still had 5 more miles to go before I’d make it to the nearest exit. That’s all I needed. Then I could finally get the fuck off of this road. I just needed a recharge. An energy drink maybe. No, what I really needed was rest. I knew that much. But the nearest motel was still some ways ahead, about another 28 miles.

I heard a light tap on my windshield, then another, then several at the same time, until finally I saw the tiny drops of rain hitting my windshield. I smacked my mouth. Of all times it chooses to rain, now? In a matter of seconds, light rain turned into heavy rain, forcing me to adjust my wipers to the highest setting. It was a struggle to keep my eyes fixed on the road through the blurred glass as they wig-wagged left and right.

Crackles of thunder boomed through the night. The storm wasn’t letting up anytime soon. It had a point to be made. But even through the boisterous sound, I could still hear a faint howl of wind, like the one I heard moments before…

It was so low, yet so resonant, gradually protruding my ears, almost like the hum of a creature.

In the blink of an eye, the area flashed a bright purple hue from bolts of lightning, revealing the shape of the vortex in the distance, now on my left. The lightning bolts ceased, blinding me to its presence again. I’d have to wait for the lightning to reveal its location.

“What the hell?” I said to myself. I couldn’t believe it.

Another cluster of lightning sparked, and I saw the shape again, but I could swear it was getting closer. Again, the clusters ceased, and it was gone in a flash. Once more, this repeated, confirming my beliefs that the twister was indeed edging closer to the freeway, directly in my path. How could it be doing that? How was it keeping up with me so fast - so precisely?!

I pressed on the gas, speeding down the wet highway as all get-out. It was dangerous, yes, but as was the twister. There was no time to consider the risks right now. There’s no way I wouldn’t be able to outrun this thing by hitting 65, or even 70 miles per hour.

Another flash showed the twister gaining on me, moving dangerously fast and close to the edge. It’s as though it were matching my speed. It was keeping up with me all the way, like it was intentionally chasing me. Like it had a mind of its own.

The lightning flashed again, the twister now just several yards away from the shoulder. I looked at the speedometer, the needle sliding into 70 mph now, slipping into 75.

“C’mon, c’mon,” I uttered through clenched teeth.

I was about to hit 80 any second now. Geez, I’ve never had any business to drive this fast ever, but there was a first for everything. The crackling sound of thunder began to hover over me, and I knew what would inevitably follow. It would be right there. It was going to get me…

I’d hit a slight bump in the road, and my car began to swerve diagonally along the pavement. Fuck, I was beginning to skid. I straightened out the car with the alignment of the road, only to have the same result in the opposite direction. I was hydroplaning in the middle of a thunderstorm and a tornado right on my ass. The car lost all control, and as it skidded towards the road off into the side, I closed my eyes. This was it…

The bright flash of lightning followed, lighting up the night sky in a spectacular display of purple electric tree roots. I went off the road and into a field of grass, the vehicle coming to a brutal halt. I experienced whiplash as my neck jerked violently to the side. I couldn’t feel the pain at the moment, however. I was still hooked on adrenaline.

As I sat in the car waiting for my inevitable demise, I noticed that odd sensation as with before when I stopped myself in the middle of the road.

Silence.

I leaned my head forward, peering under the windshield, searching for the monster. Nothing. Nowhere in sight. I stepped out of the car in the middle of the grassy field, glancing every which way, only to find thunder and lightning hidden under the dark clouds. And another thing I just noticed, was that the rain was gone as well.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Once I’d made it to the exit, I got off the highway and pulled into a gas station so I could grab a quick energy drink and maybe a snack or two. I was a bit tired but not that tired. I know what I saw. I don’t ever hallucinate like that. I don’t do drugs, LSD, nothing of the sort. I didn’t imagine it. I couldn’t have.

I'd gotten a call from Trish, one of my friends in our group, Seth included. I wondered if Seth asked her to speak to me, or if she was doing this out of the genuine interest of a friend. I'd hope for the latter. Trish had a good heart and only wanted peace between us and everyone around her.

"Hey," she said on the other end.

"Hey," I shyly answered.

"How's it goin'?"

"I think you already know."

"Well... yeah, Seth did tell me what happened. But I didn't call because of him. I'm just worried, is all."

From my car, I gazed out into the ghastly black sky, the gas station the only source of illumination for miles in a twenty-foot radius, as though I were sitting at the edge of the universe.

"I know," I assured her. "I'm fine. As for Seth... well, not really my problem."

"C'mon, I want you two to work this out."

I shook my head. "No. He crossed the line. I'm not interested in this whole 'I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said so-and-so' or whatever. No, screw that."

She sighed on the other end.

"I'm not against your side, by the way," she remarked. "I think he was definitely in the wrong, but..."

"What? You agree with him?"

"Well, you did say your grades aren't exactly... stellar."

"They're not. That's my business, though."

"It is. But I don't think his intentions were truly bad. I think he's just worried. I am, too."

I chuckled sarcastically. "If I wanted to be lectured by my parents, I would’ve just moved back in with them. I decide when it’s time to throw the towel in."

“Look, my sister used to struggle for a while in school. Very smart, very bright just like everyone else in her class. And after a few doctor's appointments we got her the medication she needed and she was right back on track. It wasn't a crutch, it wasn't a handicap. It's just... a different challenge she had to deal with. It didn't make her any 'less than' than anyone else.”

“That's great, Trish. And I'm happy for your sister. But that's got nothing to do with me.”

There was a moment of awkward silence between us. I'd never been so aggressive towards her before, and I'm sure she didn't know how to react. I felt bad for raising my voice at her, but my point still stood. That's what I believed, anyways.

"Where are you?" she asked. "I knocked on your door earlier, but you weren't there. Derrick said you weren't in class either."

I swallowed timidly. "Somewhere," I answered. "Miles away from campus."

"Please come home. You don't even need to go right back to class, but just please, I want you back here. I want to fix this, even if you don't. Even if it’s not my problem. I just…”

She wasn’t wrong, I didn't want to fix it. Not now, though. Right now, I wanted to run.

I hung up the phone.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

While I was in the store, I emptied my bladder (since I didn’t shit my pants enough earlier from the whole ordeal) and grabbed two Red Bulls and two roller bites. As I was checking out with the cashier, the lights began to flicker until they eventually shut off entirely.

“Great,” the clerk uttered.

This storm was no joke. The power line was likely hit. The clerk fumbled with the register trying to get it to work, but it also was having issues reading my card.

“Sorry, just a moment,” they said, as they handed me back my card and stepped from the counter and into the back, probably to activate a backup generator.

I leaned on the counter as I waited. It was still and inaudible until I heard the faint whistle of wind from outside. The same as before when I was on the road. I slowly stepped toward the large windows to take a look outside. It was dark both in and out of the gas station. Not so much as the faint glimmer of moonlight seemed prevalent in the night sky. Only thing was the outside fluorescent lights at the pumps. They were enough, if not a lot to make up for the lack of visibility. Standing there looking into the black abyss of the night sky in the field ahead, an unsettling sensation itched me, as if wherever I was currently staring, something was staring back…

I stepped outside, standing by my car in the parking lot, keeping my eyes fixated on the black void of space. I didn’t blink for one second, as if doing so would be the difference between life or death…

Something inside me knew…

A burning sensation at the side of my temples, an electric charge of static rushing through me…

My eyes had nowhere else to lock on, and no intentions of looking elsewhere…

...

And then there it was.

Creeping more and more into the frame of light emitting from the pumps, the behemoth emerged from the shadows in a circling wall of wind. And as with before, what was most unsettling was not only its sheer size and how close it was at this very moment. It was how noiseless it appeared. How it snuck up on me with no sign or warning. It was almost as silent as a predator in the night. I couldn’t exactly hear the roar of the beast, but instead felt it. The mass and ferocity of the monster shook me at my core, a strong vibration oscillating through my chest and down to my knees through the ground.

It’s as if it… followed me.

I quickly got in my car and sped the hell out of there, heading in the opposite direction down the highway, pressing my foot hard on the gas. I had to have hit 100 mph or more. If there was ever a more appropriate time to speed, this was it.

I hadn’t bothered looking back. Five, maybe seven minutes passed before the rush of adrenaline finally died down, and I slowly began to hit the brakes, bringing the car to a gradual stop. I took deep steady breaths, regaining my composure. What was I thinking?

I looked in the rearview mirror, able to see the faint light of the gas station behind in the distance. I stepped out of the car and stood by to take a better look. The distant lightning and thunder rumbled together, a spectacular instrument sounding throughout the night sky, showcasing the tornado in all its glory. It was captivating to look at from such a safe distance, yet likewise terrifyingly beautiful. A force of nature unlike any other.

But I knew, it wasn’t real. And as before, it was merely a facade - a trick of the mind. I don’t know if I was ridiculously that tired or what, and the stress certainly didn’t help either, but-

The lights of the gas station began dimming in the distance as the towering titan engulfed it in darkness, tearing the structure apart to bits in a matter of seconds. I watched in horror at its sheer power. The clerk was still in there. That poor man…

“God...” I uttered.

It was real. The goddamn thing was real.

Then, a stroke of wind tickled the back of my neck, like the brush of a hand, and goosebumps trailed throughout my body. My skin grew stone-cold with dread. The howl of wind returned, but from multiple directions this time. From my left, right, behind me - everywhere.

I turned to face behind me, staring at the pitch-black wall of night. I could hear the thunder rumbling trailing through the clouds, its growl growing closer and closer to where I stood. And strangely, for a moment, there was pure stillness. Dead silence, as though the world around me came to a standstill.

I stood in darkness on the side of the road, turning to face the twister in the distance, but it was nowhere in sight. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of lightning, followed by a deafening roar of thunder, revealed three monstrous tornadoes surrounding me in all directions. I was cornered. There was nowhere to run.

As I looked up at the towering titans, I got down on my knees, raising my arms to shield my face, feeling smaller than I ever have. I was an ant to them. Meaningless. Kneeling to such power fitting for god - or whatever deity had dominion over this land and universe - was only appropriate. At this moment, I’d die the worst possible way imagined.

In fear.

No. I couldn’t.

I ran to the side of the interstate, watching as the funnels began to close in on me, and scanned for an overpass. There was the one across from me that I’d driven under when I took that exit, but that was much too far for me to reach at this rate. I can’t outrun a twister, let alone three.

Instinct overtook me again, similar to the first run-in I’d had. My body began to act, as there was no time to stand around and think. Whatever split decision I was going to choose at this very moment had better be the right one.

I jumped down and rolled into the ditch at the side of the road and huddled in a ball position, covering my head and neck. I felt so defenseless and powerless. But this was the best I could do.

The rumbles and belting of the twisters drew closer, akin to the roar of a jet blast or rocket. It was the loudest sound I’d ever heard. It drowned out everything else. I clasped my hands against my ears, risking any protection from my head, as the noise was too overbearing. Even still, it was too much to handle.

The high-speed winds passed atop me and the ditch, leaving me unscathed. The twisters were without a doubt nearly above me now, if not about to pass this way. Several feet ahead of me, my car slammed violently into the ditch, shattering every window and smashing every metal into a large dent.

I screamed at the top of my lungs, though, it was useless and mute against the overpowering roar of the titans. In my head, I remember praying that it would all be over soon…

And just as quickly and vigorously as it began, it was suddenly over. The deafening roar began to die off, the winds gradually slowed to a light breeze and eventually ceased altogether. It was a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon to witness, especially in the aftermath, so calm and serene, so quiet and tranquil, as if nothing ever happened.

I didn’t move at first. I refused to leave the ditch for a long period, uncertain if each of them was gone. I knew the twisters subsided, yet I lay there for minutes - hours for all I know. My sense of time and relativity to the cataclysm felt nonexistent. The whole thing lasted maybe five minutes tops. It felt so much longer than that.

I finally got up and pulled myself out of the ditch. I took a glance at my car again. It was totaled. I could either stay here and hope to catch a ride from a good samaritan or get to stepping. After what I’d just been through, I’d take anything, including walking for miles upon end rather than relieve that nightmare once more.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I disconnected my mind and body from one another to keep pushing forward. I had to keep going. I trudged for maybe an hour (or as I said before, might’ve been longer) before I heard the whistling again. I halted in my tracks, turning my head to the side, staring into the abyss beyond a large cornfield. I stood there and faced the sky wall, waiting. I knew it was there. It was waiting. There were no nearby ditches, no forms of shelter in sight. This was it.

The low audible rumble gradually increased. It was getting closer. Only a matter of time…

A flash of bright light began to drown me, not from lightning, however, but something else entirely. The rumble was now directly across from me on the road, and I turned to face two giant headlights charging at full speed, accompanied by the blaring horn of a semi-truck.

I dove into the shoulder of the highway, barely avoiding being pulverized. The roar of the semi passed, like the bellow of a monster of its own. I laid there on the ground again, rattled by the last of many close calls tonight.

Some ways ahead, the trucker brought the 18-wheeler to a full stop, pulling into the shoulder as much as possible. They stepped out of the truck and began to approach me.

“Are you all right? Hello?” the man called into the night.

Like before, I was unable to move. I trembled uncontrollably.

“Hello?” the trucker called again.

For the life of me, I couldn’t speak either. There was a lump in my throat to where I couldn’t utter a single syllable. The trucker pulled out a flashlight, the beam of light pointed above me, and the man began jogging towards me. I could tell he was out of shape by the width of his waist and the way he hurried. But when he finally did make it over to me, the light was now beaming directly on my face, irritating my pupils, forcing me to squint.

“Sir, you okay?” the man worriedly asked.

I slowly stood up to face him, still unable to muster any words. My throat was still restricted. However, one noise did utter from my mouth, with a constrained effort. It was a sob.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I sat in the passenger seat of the semi next to the man. He was in his late to early forties, guessing by a glance. I didn’t ask either. What I knew for certain was that he was kind. He offered to take me to the nearest roadside motel. At least there I’d be able to rest and figure out what I would do from there in the morning.

“I thought for sure I’d hit you,” the man said, sounding relieved. “What are you doing out here? There’s tornado warnings, you know?”

He saw that I was still visibly shaken, and I still had a hard time speaking. He didn’t pry too much, seeming to understand. Even if I told him, would he?

“You seem like a young guy,” he talked some more. “You got any family?” I nodded. “Got a car?”

“I did,” I answered. It almost sounded funny.

“I won’t ask too many personal questions, don’t worry. Just curious, is all. I don’t have much of a family myself. Just a daughter. She’s my world, as far as I’m concerned. She’s around your age if I could guess yours. How old are you?”

That question again? “Twenty-one,” I answered.

The man chuckled. “Yeah, that’s about right,” he said. “Still young, but old enough to do what you want, yeah?” I shrugged. “Look, I know it’s none of my business, but whatever you’re going through at this moment now in your life, it’s only temporary. Like a bad storm - it dies eventually.”

“How do you know?” I retorted.

“Because I’ve lived. We’re all different. Got different experiences, of course. Not always the best role models, not always the best people around you with your best interests in mind. But… I know through the wreckage, through pain, there’s always a way out. We don’t have to stay where things make us feel less than. Or you can do like some people and stay and fight, grow stronger. But you might be missing out on a ton of other things you could’ve done. It’s up to us.”

At the time I didn’t think much of what the man was lecturing me about. But looking back on it, it’s exactly what I needed to hear.

We’d made it to a roadside motel and I thanked the man for not only the ride, but for saving my life. He was humble, not thinking much of it, but of course, I didn’t tell him about what I’d endured. As he said, we’re all different in our walks of life, and it didn’t matter to him.

I checked in a room for myself with nothing but my phone and the clothes on my back. My phone battery was at ten percent, and I didn’t have a charger on me. I stared and watched as the number dropped to nine, periodically checking on it, then watching it change to eight.

I sighed. I kept hesitating. I was exhausted and could pass out at any minute, but knew that if I did, I wouldn’t have a working phone in the morning.

I immediately went to my contacts and tapped ‘call’ to the person I needed right now the most. I waited as it rang, hearing my own heart thump between my ears with anticipation. Would he even answer?

Then, a voice came on the other end.

“Hello?” they answered.

“Hey Dad,” I responded.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“Um… I’m at a motel in Kansas. I don’t know exactly where but… can you please come get me? My car's ruined. I don't have anywhere to go.”

“Kansas? What’re you doing there? Don’t you have school?”

“Yeah… about that… I don’t think it’s for me.”

Brief silence. I was waiting for the lecture, but it never came.

“Send me the address, okay?” my father said.

“Thank you,” I said, a tear rolling down my face.

“Don’t go anywhere, okay? I’m on my way now.”

“Okay.”

“I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

The line disconnected.

I used the last bit of battery that I had on my phone and sent my current location to him. After I did so, I collapsed onto the soft bed, not bothering to take off my clothes or shoes, and finally drifted to sleep.

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