RohannaFalcon
08-01-2010, 02:18 AM
Tapping my pencil against my teeth, I stared at the stark black and white sheet of paper. Useless!!!! If only I didn't have school tomorrow, I could take a break from this and finish my science report. My laptop was on full charge and was still storing up extra power, but there was no chance of a freak spring snowstorm to pile drifts on my school.
A low rumble of thunder distracted me and brought my thoughts to the wind-storm we had last year. The school's power had been out for a whole week, and nobody had been able to go to school. I frowned and sat up a little straighter, thinking hard. Placing the pencil carefully down, I pushed my chair back and stood slowly, staring through the door of the dining room and out the west windows.
Bad weather always comes from the west, I could hear someone say... Oh, yeah. It was Mr. Huff, a kind park ranger who had run a summer camp for many years that dealt with living without people in a wild place.
Sure enough, past the huge bulk of a tree that scored the sky with its branches, the sky was swollen with heavy, purple-gray clouds. They bulged underneath as if the rain could barely be held within the damp confines of the thunderhead. As I watched, lightning lanced down from the sky and struck somewhere close by. The light faded as the wind picked up and drove the storm closer, shutting away the sun.
This was great! I leaped forwards and raced out of the dining room, through the living room, past the kitchen and into the sunroom, which at the moment was not very sunny. The birdfeeder, hanging plants, wind chimes, and other odds and ends on the trellis were swaying in anticipation, but the storm had yet to unleash its fury. I wrenched the porch door open and threw the screen door open, not caring as it slammed behind me. Running out into the middle of the deck, I held my arms out and wiggled my fingers in the still air. I could practically feel the electricity hanging there, waiting to feel the lightning scorch the sky and the wind break the air into a thousand shards and eddies. The clouds above me were just hanging there, like a lumpy upside-down blanket, only far more sinister.
I giggled. Perfect! Farther away I could just see the tops of the transformers that lined the highway. Narrowing my eyes, I looked back up to the storm to see tiny birds wheeling before the wind's gust, their sleek bodies taming the small breezes to their will. Outstretched wings formed a dark sooty crescent moon, and I widened my eyes, then laughed. Scientifically, they were called Chimney Swifts, a type of swallow, but they could actually connect to storms in a deeper way- they were the very birds of the air. They barely had any legs or feet, because they spent so much of their time flying. I called the Storm-birds.
They wheeled and pivoted on the storm's breath, twittering their happiness into the ominous sky. The wind blew my hair slightly and I gave a slight smile as the sky tensed, then cracked the air with lightning. It split the sky in half, lancing from behind the huge tree over my head and to the other side of my house. At the same second as the lightning ripped the sky, a barrage of rain was unleashed from the thunderheads and lashed against the house. A few shingles were ripped from the roof as the wind clawed at the frail man-made structure. However, not a single drop of water touched me.
Concentrating on the transformer, I sent my thoughts high above me into the storm. Many people think storms are caused by the sky being angry, or mad about something, or upset and crying. But I know storms are a whole different thing entirely. They take the greatest joy in throwing lightning through the air. Rain, both pattering gently on the trees and whipping through the air like so much gravel, is something they take great care to throw just the way the storm wants it to.
Tapping into the storm's fierce joy, I let it know that yes, as a matter of fact, I could hit this transformer. I moved one hand up and pointed out the exact transformer and I could feel the storm's interest follow my finger, then leap away like a wolf chasing a new, better piece of prey.
Lightning rent the sky and the world flashed white as the storm hit the power lines again and again. I smiled as I felt the power blow out and laughed into the sky, then ran inside to eagerly await the darkness that would surely come.
The storm assured me the power would stay out once cut. They soaked up the electricity that pervaded the air from the broken lines, and no team in their right minds would attempt to fix the lines in this weather. I unplugged my laptop from the wall and took the plug out, coiling up the cord and stowing it back int the computer case. I counted down the seconds as the storm did and suddenly, the house was plunged into darkness.
For a moment, my eyes were blind. Then they began to adjust to the blackness of a human dwelling without electric lights, and I grinned in triumph as lightning flashed outside again. The storm threw rain, wind, hail, even tree leaves, twigs, and the occasional branch at the house, shuddering the roof or walls and making me jump.
Heh. No doubt the people would wonder why the storm had struck the transformer- it certainly wasn't the tallest thing around. I smiled and sat back on the couch with my laptop and emailed all my friends.
Sender: RohannaFalcon
Receiving parties: Ariel <watergirl@failingmail.com>, Fate <jjjchan@failingmail.com>, Esta <starbaby@failingmail.com>, Sam <wolfcyborg@failingmail.com>, Lyanaka <bloodandshadows@failingmail.com>
Message:
Hey all! Power's out, how about that? No school tomorrow! Heh heh heh.....
A low rumble of thunder distracted me and brought my thoughts to the wind-storm we had last year. The school's power had been out for a whole week, and nobody had been able to go to school. I frowned and sat up a little straighter, thinking hard. Placing the pencil carefully down, I pushed my chair back and stood slowly, staring through the door of the dining room and out the west windows.
Bad weather always comes from the west, I could hear someone say... Oh, yeah. It was Mr. Huff, a kind park ranger who had run a summer camp for many years that dealt with living without people in a wild place.
Sure enough, past the huge bulk of a tree that scored the sky with its branches, the sky was swollen with heavy, purple-gray clouds. They bulged underneath as if the rain could barely be held within the damp confines of the thunderhead. As I watched, lightning lanced down from the sky and struck somewhere close by. The light faded as the wind picked up and drove the storm closer, shutting away the sun.
This was great! I leaped forwards and raced out of the dining room, through the living room, past the kitchen and into the sunroom, which at the moment was not very sunny. The birdfeeder, hanging plants, wind chimes, and other odds and ends on the trellis were swaying in anticipation, but the storm had yet to unleash its fury. I wrenched the porch door open and threw the screen door open, not caring as it slammed behind me. Running out into the middle of the deck, I held my arms out and wiggled my fingers in the still air. I could practically feel the electricity hanging there, waiting to feel the lightning scorch the sky and the wind break the air into a thousand shards and eddies. The clouds above me were just hanging there, like a lumpy upside-down blanket, only far more sinister.
I giggled. Perfect! Farther away I could just see the tops of the transformers that lined the highway. Narrowing my eyes, I looked back up to the storm to see tiny birds wheeling before the wind's gust, their sleek bodies taming the small breezes to their will. Outstretched wings formed a dark sooty crescent moon, and I widened my eyes, then laughed. Scientifically, they were called Chimney Swifts, a type of swallow, but they could actually connect to storms in a deeper way- they were the very birds of the air. They barely had any legs or feet, because they spent so much of their time flying. I called the Storm-birds.
They wheeled and pivoted on the storm's breath, twittering their happiness into the ominous sky. The wind blew my hair slightly and I gave a slight smile as the sky tensed, then cracked the air with lightning. It split the sky in half, lancing from behind the huge tree over my head and to the other side of my house. At the same second as the lightning ripped the sky, a barrage of rain was unleashed from the thunderheads and lashed against the house. A few shingles were ripped from the roof as the wind clawed at the frail man-made structure. However, not a single drop of water touched me.
Concentrating on the transformer, I sent my thoughts high above me into the storm. Many people think storms are caused by the sky being angry, or mad about something, or upset and crying. But I know storms are a whole different thing entirely. They take the greatest joy in throwing lightning through the air. Rain, both pattering gently on the trees and whipping through the air like so much gravel, is something they take great care to throw just the way the storm wants it to.
Tapping into the storm's fierce joy, I let it know that yes, as a matter of fact, I could hit this transformer. I moved one hand up and pointed out the exact transformer and I could feel the storm's interest follow my finger, then leap away like a wolf chasing a new, better piece of prey.
Lightning rent the sky and the world flashed white as the storm hit the power lines again and again. I smiled as I felt the power blow out and laughed into the sky, then ran inside to eagerly await the darkness that would surely come.
The storm assured me the power would stay out once cut. They soaked up the electricity that pervaded the air from the broken lines, and no team in their right minds would attempt to fix the lines in this weather. I unplugged my laptop from the wall and took the plug out, coiling up the cord and stowing it back int the computer case. I counted down the seconds as the storm did and suddenly, the house was plunged into darkness.
For a moment, my eyes were blind. Then they began to adjust to the blackness of a human dwelling without electric lights, and I grinned in triumph as lightning flashed outside again. The storm threw rain, wind, hail, even tree leaves, twigs, and the occasional branch at the house, shuddering the roof or walls and making me jump.
Heh. No doubt the people would wonder why the storm had struck the transformer- it certainly wasn't the tallest thing around. I smiled and sat back on the couch with my laptop and emailed all my friends.
Sender: RohannaFalcon
Receiving parties: Ariel <watergirl@failingmail.com>, Fate <jjjchan@failingmail.com>, Esta <starbaby@failingmail.com>, Sam <wolfcyborg@failingmail.com>, Lyanaka <bloodandshadows@failingmail.com>
Message:
Hey all! Power's out, how about that? No school tomorrow! Heh heh heh.....