~Sadie

As we sit in the basement, safe from the winds, I glance at the girl sitting next to me, Charly. I've seen her around the greenhouse, one of my favorite places, but we've never really talked. That should be an inspirational quote-

'Good friends are often met when you are in mortal peril.' Because that makes a whole lot of sense.

People around us are whispering about a Kast causing the tornado. I believe that it could be a possiblility, but I don't think they wish Uvete harm. They put themselves in danger as much as us. Everyone is just being paranoid, but with good reason. I could hear the wind blowing, things crashing, and people yelling in a panic. Whereas everyone else was scared out of their mind (me included), I was also a little relieved that I had decided to take the art class. The last time there was a tornado, I heard the warnings from the radio in the hall. My mother is a heavy sleeper, and I mean a really heavy sleeper, and I knew she would yell at me if I woke her up. I was only five, and I couldn't handle it. I just sat under my bed with my hands over my ears, waiting for it all to stop. It was better to be somewhere with a routine, something to do. I have routines for everything, organized ways of going about my day. My walls are covered in lists, and it distracts me from everything else. I slipped a sticky note out of my pocket.

"Do you have a pen?" I whispered to Charly. She passed me a ballpoint pen from her bag, and I wrote:

1. Stay calm.

2. Take a deep breath.

3. Go to a safe place with no windows.

4. Put your arms over your head.

5. Don't panic. Breathe. Don't think about your heart almost pounding out of your chest. Don't think about the tornado. Don't think.

Don't think. 

Are the weather witches going to be able to control the tornado? There's been a lot of entries about characters getting to a safe place, and I think pretty soon we should get a resolution (ish) and move on from the tornado.

I stop by the library on the way home to grab some books for a research project, but as soon as I step through the entryway, I hear a familiar sound that I'd hoped I would never hear again. It's the WEEE-WOOOO of a tornado siren. Evidently, the librarian hears it too, because she runs to the PA system that broadcasts through the entire library. 

"Patrons, please make your way downstairs to the basement floor of the library. I'm afraid that we have just received a tornado warning. Please stay calm and make your way downstairs."

I push my way down the stairs filled with throngs of people, mostly senior citizens (it must've been bingo day or something) to the basement floor, which coincidentally is where all the reference materials are kept. Not that I'd bother researching during a tornado or anything. 

~~~

Sorry for being so inactive on this! I do really like it. 

Devon

~~ 

I swear, it feels like everything is ten degrees hotter during a lecture. I'm pretty sure I began to sweat in the middle of it, even though the place was air-conditioned. Whatever- it's over now, at least. I could see my words resonating on some student's faces, which was a good sign. Especially a girl in the front row, probably some sort of a weather witch. I suppose I should have asked her name, but that moment's passed.

Gathering up my papers and shoving them into my briefcase, I glance down at my watch and realize I'm supposed to be getting out of the auditorium now. Stepping up my pace, I skid out of the hall and make my way down the hallway, dodging around KAMTI students left and right. Suddenly, an alarm shrills through my ears with a piercing wail, almost making me drop my case. Heart thudding in my chest, I look around in confusion until I realize that a tornado bell just went off. Oh, wonderful, I think in exasperation. Just what I needed. Everyone around me is beginning to panic, and just as I'm trying to gather my nerves, a student appears in front of me from seemingly nowhere, and with a grunt I crash right into them.  

Sorry for such a long time without a post!

Sal~

I exited the building, and immediately was almost blown over by the wind. I desperately tried to control it, but was unsuccessful. Finally I got up in the air. Weather witches from all over Chicago were flocking towards Navy Pier. Oh no, I thought. That's a very important Uvete area, and if anything was damaged... what was going to happen to me?

There was no denying it. I screwed up big time.

The sirens sounding were starting to give me a headache, and with all of this wind it was impossible to concentrate. I struggled in the direction of the tornado- from what I could see it seemed like it was getting bigger and more uncontrollable. If I could start something like that, maybe I could stop it. I had to try. As I started towards the other witches, I heard a yowling.

Far below me, on the street, a giant light orange cat was being tossed around, struggling to find shelter. I looked at the tornado, and at the ground, and my perfect angel side got the best of me. As quick as I could, I picked up the cat and shoved it through the doors of an apartment building. Debris was flying all around. I didn't think it was possible for the wind to pick up anymore, but it was- I had to get to the tornado, fast.

~~~

As I approached, I discovered that not just weather witches were trying to control the storm- Kasts and Uvetes alike were riding broomsticks, attempting to help. I twirled my fingers around. Nothing worked. A loud incantation was being said aloud by all of them, but I didn't think it would work. I had to...

All of a sudden, a big chunk of something struck me straight in the head. I couldn't even scream, and I just kept falling and falling and falling... 

~~~

Green.

It's all I could see when I opened my eyes. I was seeing double and my head felt like it was splitting in two, but I noticed that the walls were painted an obnoxious, lime green. I tried to speak. "Whath happeneth?"

I touched my tongue to my front teeth, and discovered that one of them was missing. Great. I remembered the tornado, and falling out of the sky, and wondered if and how they'd got it under control. A nurse came in, and I tried to sit up. "Didth they stop ith?" I asked.

He felt my head. "Yes. There is a lot of damage, but it's going to be okay. You need to rest right now, you've been through a lot."

I wasn't going to argue. Trying to ignore the pain all over my body, I fell back asleep.

~Jack

I hear the winds fade to a stop.  I decide to call Vienne again.

"Jack, the tornado is gone, I think.  I don't hear the wind anymore," she says breathlessly.

Then it hits me.  We don't have a basement.  My eyes immediately tear up.  "Are you okay?" I ask.

"Yeah.  I mean, mostly.  I guess," she says.  This confirms my fear.  Vee is out there, injured or lost.  

"Are you sure?  You don't sound confident," I say, my voice barely a whisper.  A tear rolls down my cheek.

"Yeah.  I'll be fine.  Just come home as soon as witchly possible," she says, using a joke we've always used to try to lift my spirits.

"Alright.  I'll be there in fifteen minutes," I reply, my heart beating out of my chest.  I hang up, and the tears pour out. 

Hey, Bluebirdy, do you mind posting the Uvete school logo and stuff? I'm using my drawing of Charly running as my final project for art, so I need something to put on her shirt pocket. Thanks!

Oh, if you don't have it drawn could you tell me what it looks like so I can figure it out? Thank you! 

Ella~

Pierre and I make it to the designated hallway and manage to slip in without the teachers making a big deal. We stand there with the other students, all of us waiting anxiously for the tornado to end.

I turn to Pierre. "Are you bored, or is it just me?"

He smiles. "Me too," he says, "Um, where did you move from?"

"New York," I reply, glad to have something to think about, "My parents decided that I really needed to be here. How about you? Where did you come from?" Before he can answer, the teachers start herding us out.

"The tornado's over," one of them says.

Oh, phew, I think, now I can get home. I hope my parents are okay!

I practically run home, relieved to see my parents waiting for me at the front door. "We're just fine," my mom says, "You stayed at school?"

"Yes," I tell her, "That's what they wanted us to do."

"Good," she nods, "And how was the rest of your day?"

"Boring, as always," I say.

She knows this. I can never be challenged. Still, she sighs in sympathy and invites me to have a snack. 

Uhh, could you post please?  I kinda don't want to charrie control Imagine, and Jack's in his own little world anyway, so I'd really like it if you could post on the "homework bringing" plot thing that we have going on.

Marshall~

All of a sudden, the tornado sirens shut off. The people around me slowly sat up, rubbing their sore backs and blinking. We were all in a state of confusion- what had caused the tornado, and what had it done?

I heard a yowling sound. "Cream Puff!" I exclaimed. He- she was sprawled out on the ground near the broken window. "How'd you get in here?" She scrambled to her feet and jumped out the window.

I hugged my parents, listening to the other people in my apartment building comfort their children and reassure themselves that it was all going to be okay. I wondered if the greenhouse again and if Mrs. Lam was okay. I wondered if... oh god, I forgot about Charley! I searched my pockets for my phone, but it wasn't there- I must've left it my room upstairs. I walked up to my apartment, and I found I was right- it was right next to the Encyclopedia of Flora. One Missed Call. Hopefully she wasn't too worried about me. Although I wouldn't be surprised- I am pretty great. 

Before I called, I listened as someone turned on a radio. "...Reports confirm that the storm was in fact caused by a Kast weather witch, although what witch is unknown..." It turned to static for a few seconds, while a collective gasp rose up from everyone in the lobby. "While the weather witches were able to keep it under control long enough for the people to get to safety, much of Near North Side was destroyed..." Even though I wasn't magic, everyone knew that both sides weren't the best of friends. What if the Kast witch had done this to try to catch the Uvete off guard, or destroy their buildings? They wouldn't put lives in danger, would they? Frankly, I always thought that the Kasts were too uptight and materialistic, but this, this was on a whole new level. 

I dialed in Charley's number. Hopefully, she was okay. If not, I'd find that Kast witch and give them a piece of my mind.

~Imagine~

I’m still trying to sort out my feelings. I usually don't develop crushes, so I’m not sure if I like him or not, which is strange for me since I’m pretty sure of myself. The storm has recently stopped, and the basement is still cold.

Jack takes out his phone to call someone, probably a family member.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

He pauses as the other person talks. “Are you sure? You don't sound confident,” he says softly. A lone tear rolls down his face.

“Alright. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” He hangs up.

“What happened?” I ask.

“My sister . . .” he trails off. He seems at a loss for words, especially to a classmate he doesn’t know well.

Ah. “I see,” I say, trying to stay calm since he is close to panic. “Let me come with you.”

“It's okay, you don't have to--”

“My power is words, remember? Talking to a person, if you do it in the right way, can help them heal. When Cindy sprained her ankle, the doctors said it would take four to six weeks to heal. I would talk to her every night, telling her that she was healing, and she had completely recovered in two weeks. Trust me, Jack.”

That did it. He nods, and after I get the okay from my parents, who are comforting Cindy, we ran out of the basement together.

~~~

Jack leads me down the broken streets with uprooted trees to where his house is.

“What's her name?”

“Vienne.”

The girl was outside at the time of the tornado, in the garden. Although their house hadn't completely collapsed, part of the roof is right next to her, and had probably fallen on top of her! She’s lying on the ground, almost unconscious, with her phone in one hand. There's blood.

If this was a Kast witch, I will punch whoever it was. Not with fists, of course, but I’ll give a sharp talking-to.

“VEE!” Jack dashes to her side. “Vee, Vee, oh no!”

“Jack, calm down. Let me talk to her.”

I kneel down. “I’m Ginny, Jack’s classmate. He was in my basement during the storm, and he's fine.

You feel relaxed despite the pain. Don't tense up like that, breathe deep. That's it. Breathe, relax, I know it's painful.

Imagine a white ball of light hovering above you. It's grounding you, centering you, healing you. You are alive, and you are healing. The light is shining on you, soothing you, nourishing your body. Take another deep breath. Very good, very good.”

I continue on for some time, and her cuts seem to shrink until she sits up.

“Wow,” Jack says.

“Thanks,” says Vienne.

“I’m not a Healer; we still need to get her to a hospital. Let's go.”

~Jack

As we walk down the sidewalk with Imagine in the lead, I ask Vienne a question.

"Why don't you tell me stuff?  I know when you're keeping stuff from me," I say, looking up at her.

"I don't want you to worry about me," she replies.  "You know how much I care about you, and I really don't want you to worry."

"When you say things like that, it makes me worry more," I explain.

"Hey, don't say that, you know I don't want that," she says, rubbing my shoulder. 

Top! Is there going to be another major event after the tornado, or should we just write them doing their normal lives? I don't know what I should write.