𝐝𝐞𝐣𝐚 𝐯𝐮, peter parker

l. the black cat comes home

chapter fifty
the black cat comes home

    "BLOODY HELL, we're going to die!"

    Even a gigantic, lightning-storm monster could not stop Flash and his horrible faux British accent. He had his phone high above his head, craning his neck to try and film the disaster around them. The double decker shook at each crash of thunder━Nina's classmates screamed and clung onto their seats and the second storey barrier. Her heart was pounding━any scream she had was stuck in the back of her throat as the wind picked up; it billowed against her clothes and pulled her hair from the scrunchie she had used to tie it up. She watched the sunflower fabric hair-tie blow away in the gale. Water sprayed up from the Thames; hitting the bricks of the Tower Bridge━the gale wailed and tunnelled; above them, a grey vortex of storm clouds churned and twisted into a furious funnel.

    Her hands shook, horrified as a pair of ghastly, hollow eyes peered back down at her from the skeletal face of Mysterious fabricated nightmare. The monster howled and disappeared back inside the depths of the clouds.

    When Mr. Harrington resurfaced from down below, Mr. Dell scrambled to the front, "What did the bus driver say?!"

    Mr. Harrington flung his hands up, "Bus driver's gone!"

    "WHAT?!" exclaimed the students.

    Harrington tried to calm them down, but his frantic stance told them that he was just as━if not more━scared as them. "It's okay!" he cried over the loud wind. "Mr. Dell and I have it under control!"

    "Oh, no, no, no, no━!" Mr. Dell shook his head, stepping away from the group of them. "Don't you drag me into this, Roger!"

    Mr. Harrington snapped, "I'm doing my best, Julius!"

    Nina gaped as an entire geyser of water erupted from the Thames behind Mr. Harrington. Dell screamed with terror, "THE WITCHES ARE BACK!"

    Harrington noticed. His face dropped. He screamed as well: "OH, MY GOD━GET OFF THE BUS━!"

    They all pushed and shoved, screaming in their effort to race down the single aisle stairwell that took them back down. Above, water crashed down onto them. It rocked the bus and gusted upwards against the tarmac━the water twisted with a mind of its own, writhing and jetting in different directions like coordinated blasts. Lightning continued to strike and thunder rattled Nina's bones. She was one of the last people off the top of the bus, dragging Jason in front of her who had been stuck in the rush. She pushed him towards the stairwell and together, they helped each other out of the bus and towards their teachers and friends just as the wind picked up. Jason screamed for her to duck and she listened, clutching onto him as lightning struck the tower behind them━rubble cascaded down; breaking apart just inches behind them and showering them in tarmac and stone. The rest of them screamed when the wind tunnelled so fast and so strong, it lifted their tour bus right off its wheels; it bent and it twisted and then it shot upwards into the sky━

    BOOM━!

    It exploded into a billowing cloud of fire━the metal casing melted and sparked; it fuelled the monsters power, turning the grey storm clouds into an apocalyptic burning orange and red.

    "WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO US!?" Mr. Harrington cried out in exasperated misery.

    "IT'S THE WITCHES, MAN!" answered Mr. Dell. "THEY'VE CURSED YOU!"

    Lightning struck the bridge once more. People screamed━they screamed. Fire sparked and burst upwards. Around the Tower Bridge, more and more funnels of storm clouds twisted upwards in raging tornadoes, like this monster had planted its feet and legs around them━trapping them underneath.