Storm (G/T)

Blown Over

There's an unnerving silence that comes with being alone over winter break, a time when you should be with your family. Thick snowfall blows onto the windowsill near me and piles up onto the glass, and the wind swirls the blizzard around outside, giving the snow life. It's beautiful, but a sign that I shouldn't be going out for at least a few days.

The frames of the house creak and rumble. The house could just be settling, but it never settles this... loudly. After all, it's really old and dilapidated at this point. The thin walls can't take too much damage, but the weather is usually kinder than it is now.

It's probably in my best interest to sit down and relax. We've had storms before, it's nothing crazy new. The creaking is definitely worrying me, but I guess I'm just paranoid. God, what's the temperature? My phone says -3°F. Not terribly cold, but surely not good to go out in. Oh, it dropped down to -5°. As I keep reloading, and it keeps dropping all the same. One more reload. How's it dropping even more-?!

My phone practically flies out of my hands as a massive cracking sound alerts me. I turn over to the front wall, where the door has flown open, sending a shockingly cold flow of snow into my house. I am absolutely not dealing with a blizzard in my house. I throw myself over to the door and use all my might to close it. The lock's shot now. Blowing hair out of my face, I look around for something to hold it closed.

One door stopper, two tennis shoes. I don't have any other shoes, so this'll have to work. I stand back, waiting for it to knock open again. Nothing happens. Perfect. Turning away, the door cracks. It physically cracks. Thankfully, I run out of the way just in time for it to fall off the hinges and down onto the ground. The cold hits immediately. Just when I think it's at the worst, a sudden gust of more intense wind shatters the glass of my windows. My house begins to fill with snow again.

This isn't going to work. The storm is too intense for this beat up little house to survive in. Do I want to leave? God no. But I have to unless I want to get hit with debris and have my body found under a pile of snow-kissed wood. Guess it's time to pack the essentials. I need a backpack. Where do I have one...? My eyes scan the room, landing on a back corner. Bingo. School backpack. Yeah, school's important too, but I'm sure the administrators will understand if my house is physically blown over into an even more dilapidated mess. 

Emptying the deep green bag of its folders and notebooks, I fill it with things I can bring to last a few days. Phone and charger, money, rations, medicine, band aids. The box only has about thirty left in it from the original sixty-five, but I don't see a situation where I'd need to use thirty. Anything else?

I look over on the counter. A switch blade rests on the corner. I'm not gonna pack that. I'm just going through the snow, I won't need to fight anyone. And if I do, I can use fists. Throwing on my coat and backpack, I hear another loud crack and shoot my eyes to the walls. They're starting to crack too. Better get out there before I get crushed. Running to the door frame, my hand rests on the side where it was hinged. A major crack sounds again.

I turn back, grab the knife, and go on my way.

-hi!! This story is based on my two one-shots called Cold, and I want to expand the chapters a lot. The chapters will also get longer from here-