We heard a storm was coming. Normally we would not pay much attention but this storm was supposed to be different. Media said it was the biggest storm in 100 years, conspiracy geeks said it was the end of the world as we know it, and governments did not comment… we didn’t know what to make of it but decided to be on the safe side and take it seriously. So, we got ready… We closed the doors and windows with wooden planks and plastic sheets, put a little probe outside the window to warn us when the levels of sulfur in the air rise to alarming levels… and started gathering supplies to put under our king-size bed (which we moved to the lower floor, just to be safe). We had to make our lives livable under there for at least 3 days and we still needed enough space to fit our family – me, my husband, and two kids (who, coincidentally, were about 5 and 3 years old – just like they’re gonna be in 2012). So we gathered some food, blankets, flashlights, and poop bags and as soon as we were finished, the probe started beeping. We pulled it in, closed the window with some nails, and quickly hid under the bed.
“But shouldn’t we turn off the electricity as a whole,” asked my husband: “you know our luck… I bet we let the light on in a hallway and by the time the storm is over, our generator’s gonna be depleted.”
Indeed we did.
Luckily, we managed to get under the bed just in time. The last glance out of window revealed a huge, black and lightning-filled storm cloud that was quickly approaching us and destroying everything in its path. We hid under the bed, huddled together and felt the strong vibrations as the storm hit our house. It shook. Some windows broke. Glass shattered just next to us. The noise was overwhelming. We listened to the radio as the reporter talked about the storm. And then, just like that - it was over. All the noises stopped. We heard just the strong wind outside. And the radio went to static.
The winds, silent distant screams and roars lasted for three days. The hardest part was to keep Martin under the bed with us while trying to explain how one uses a poop bag. On the fourth day, we finally didn’t hear anything and the 3-day-long night seemed to be over. It was light outside. No cloud in sight. We went out.
Our eyes hurt from all the sunshine… and from the fact that our neighborhood was transformed from lush and green scenery into a desert-like wasteland. There were almost no houses left. All the trees were gone or destroyed by the storm. There was really little but the sand and dust… and a couple of survivors. We saw a small group of people in the distance. They seemed to be getting ready to strip some cars for parts… we carefully approached them and after listening to them for a some time, noticed, that they had no idea what they are doing – and why. We suggested that there was nothing left for us to do here. And since it was truly a wasteland, we needed to find a better place to live. So, we got together, stripped the cars for parts, gas and other supplies, loaded a big bus that was standing by, and left that damn city to look for survivors and places not hit by this mysterious volcano-like storm somewhere else… somewhere south and warm. Next stop – California.
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