Storm Runners

"We're running out of time!" Giana said, as she hurriedly packed what little belongings we had into our backpacks.

Ever since they started changing the weather things have been different. The storms grow stronger everytime they come and don't stop for days. They bring tornados and floods. At first, everyone thought they were normal. We were happy to have rain where there was usually droughts, sun where it was usually cold. It was supposed to be a good thing. They promised our world would be great, no hunger because crops could grow bigger than ever and all year long. People would be able to live off the earth again. At least that's what the televisions said. I didn't get to hear much because Giana knew it would be bad. She said it all the time. 'You can't change mother nature'.

Our parents died when we were young, in a car accident, so we had to go live with our aunt. She wasn't around hardly at all. When Giana turned eighteen she moved us into our own apartment. Giana was smart and I looked up to her. She's always taken care of me.

"Okay Hailey. Enough daydreaming. We really do need to get moving." Giana said. She wanted to get ahead of the storms. We knew they were coming when the sky would start changing all kinds of colors, the lightening could be seen from miles away, and the strikes would cause fires everywhere. The funnels would start before the rain and that's when we really needed to move. The tornados and fires were awful enough, but the rain and flooding was the worst. It took out entire cities in a matter of minutes.

I grabbed what was left of our food and water. I threw my backpack onto my shoulders and we set off again.

"How many people do you think are left out there?" I asked my sister.

"I dunno, if they were smart and left before the storms started to get too bad, then some should have made it."

"A lot of people hoped the storms would eventually go away didn't they?"

Giana sighed. "They believed what the news was telling them. 'Everything would be okay. There would be a few hiccups with the weather machine' I always knew it wouldn't work. Nobody wanted to listen. They were promised a perfect world and would stop at nothing to achieve that. You know something Hailey?"

"What's that?" I pondered. Giana had such a big mind. I wondered how she kept track of all those thoughts of hers.

"There's no such thing as a perfect world, you see, it's just not logical!” she exclaimed “And you definitely can not control the weather. Maybe in their little science labs with their  pressure controlled rooms, they could do whatever they want. But out here? No, mother nature controls everything and they were stupid for even trying.” she scolded, motioning back at the wastelands behind us, storms brewing on the horizon. “Now she's angry, just think about it! Half of the world has been flooded, or burned. Wiped away like nothing!" Giana cried, and threw her backpack down on what was left of an old picnic table. We'd been walking for awhile and were getting hungry.

"What does that mean for us Gi?" I asked her as I threw off my stuff and sat down.

"Remember that story of Admiral Byrd I told you?"

"Yes. Very well actually. But you don't think it's true, do you?"

Giana thought it over and then responded, "Why not? What he wrote could be true. This place in the Arctic could exist. 'The inner world of the Earth' The people he met said our world would cease to exist and few would survive the storms to come. They brought him down there so he could warn humanity, but he was thought to be crazy when he tried to tell people. Of course, who would believe him?"

"Gi, even if this place does exist, how do you plan on getting us there? We don't know how to fly and we don't even know where it is!" I screamed at her. Our lives were at stake and we really had no idea what to do but I thought she'd have a better plan than this. The next storm was coming soon and we really needed to get somewhere safe.

"We can fly, it cant be that hard. It's in our blood anyway. All of our family did it. C'mon Hailey we've been in a zillion cockpits. We can figure it out. As for where it is..Well..It's somewhere over the north pole. We'll just keep flying until we find the green patch and mountains that Admiral Byrd wrote about in his diary!" She seemed excited.

"I hope you're right or we're done for." I said solemnly.

We finished off the rest of our food, while we looked at a map to figure out where the nearest town and airport were.

"Are you ready? Are you sure you know where we are going?" I questioned through bites of food.

She tossed her hair into a bun and looked at me. She had fire in her eyes and appeared ready for war. I admired her strength.

"Now or never, sis!" She yelled as she began running off towards town. It was actually only a few miles from here. We'd get there before sunset.

"Slow down Giana!" She was running so fast I could hardly catch up.

"We don't have time to slow down! She hollered back. "Let's go Hailey!"

I ran as fast as I could. Just as I caught up to her we both heard a loud crash behind us. We could see the town just ahead and we were too scared to look back, so we just kept running. We made it to town, well, what was left of it anyway.

"Danggit! I thought..I hoped..Ugh...Wait! What's that?" Giana was frustrated but I saw what she was pointing at and got excited. A gas station, still standing and a car too! If the car worked we could get to the airport a lot faster.

"Someone is looking out for us right now." I said, as I finally turned around to see what we heard earlier. Giana turned too. The sky was the most intense red we've seen yet. There were hints of pink and blue and where funnels swirled they looked purple. The lightening was bright and loud. We watched for a minute or two.

"Whoa." She said. "It's so scary and beautiful. It's still pretty far away, so lets see what that gas station has to offer."

We walked through the store and picked up anything we could eat. There wasn't much that wasn't spoiled or already ruined. We did find some canned foods in the back and chips. There was also a case of water. I gulped down a whole bottle and grabbed the rest of the case. Giana had the food and we walked towards the car, praying it would work. When we got to it, some of the windows were broken and the seats were beat up from wind and rain. Not a good sign. My sister opened the driver door and brushed off the glass.

"Hailey! The keys are on the floor! Wonder where the owner went." Giana seemed to get her hopes up again.

"Well, try it! What are you waiting for? A personal invitation?" I teased. Opening my door was a little harder, it seemed my handle had been smashed a bit. I jiggled it and finally got it open. Just as I slid in the passenger seat the car sputtered and spit, but it started!

"Oh my gosh! Someone really is looking out for us. How freaking lucky are we?" Giana said excitedly.

"I bet it's mom and dad. They always had our backs. Just because they aren't here doesn't mean they aren't protecting and guiding us everyday." I still remembered the way they smelled and how they looked at us. I miss them all the time.

"You're right Hailey." She pulled me in for a hug and I kissed her cheek. "Let's get out of here." She said.

Giana doesn't like to talk about them much. I think it makes her sad, and she thinks she has to be strong for me.

We drove in silence to the next town with an airport. There was only half a tank of gas left in the car when we found it and the airport was about 100 miles away. We should make it before dark. I layed my head back, it felt good to be getting somewhere without walking and we could stay ahead of the storm.

I woke up still in the car. "Where are we?" I asked Giana.

"Just outside of town, we should be at the airport in about 20 minutes." She replied.

"Good. I'm tired and hungry." I looked around. This was the first town we've seen that wasn't completely destroyed. There were still houses standing, but the people were gone. Maybe they evacuated. We drove up to a house to see if they had anything inside we could use. We got in through the front door and looked around. Everything had a strange colored dust on it. What happened here? I reached out to pick up a book off the shelf.

"Don't touch anything!" Giana screamed at me. "We need to get out of here! Whatever this stuff is all over the house is deadly. Mass suicides. I saw an article about it when all this first started happening. I didn't want to believe it. People who didn't want to die a horrible death to the storms were filling their houses with toxic gases and going to sleep. We need to change clothes and wash ourselves right now!"

"Geez, this is terrifying!" I wanted to cry so badly. I wanted to give up just like them but I couldn't imagine going to sleep knowing it would be the last time.

We cleaned ourselves off, hopped back in the car and drove as fast as we could to the airport.

When we got there, we could see a few small jets. Perfect! We drove up to them and decided it was early enough that we could take off now.

"Hailey, you grab our stuff from the car, while I go check these things out."

After grabbing our stuff, I went to find her. She was walking around inspecting the aircraft.

"Fuel tanks are a little under full. We might be able to find more somewhere if needed." She looked ready. I, on the other hand was a nervous wreck. "Seriously Hailey, don't look so worried! Mom and dad are here with us!" She pulled out a locket I've never seen before and handed it to me. I opened it and immediately started crying. Our parents pictures!

"You can wear it and keep it safe on our flight. I've been wanting to give it to you but was waiting for the right time." Giana started crying too. "I miss them too you know. But I couldn't be sad when we had to figure out how to live. Our aunt was useless and you needed me."

"I love you, Gi." I sniffled and opened the hatch so we could get in.

"I love you too, Hailey." Giana grabbed me and gave me one last hug before we entered the plane.

We took our places in the cockpit and I started to feel more comfortable. After all, we have been in airplanes almost are whole lives. Giana looked right at home.

"Buckle up missy! It's gonna be a wild ride." She whooped and threw her fists in the air.

Giana started pressing buttons and controls like she'd done it a thousand times. When the engines started, I looked at her in disbelief.

"Have you done this before?" I stared at the control panel. It looked foreign and confusing. How could she know how to use it all?

"Well maybe a little. When we were younger, before mom and dad passed. Dad would take me out on his friends plane and showed me how to do it. I wasn't sure if I would remember so I didn't say anything." She continued, "We are ready for take off. To the north we go!"

She actually managed to get us into the air! A little turbulence but so far so good. My worries finally faded away and I sat back in my seat. My eyes got really heavy. I heard my sister mumbling to herself, asking for guidance on our journey, right before I fell into a deep sleep.

All of a sudden I was startled awake by turbulence and wild beeping inside the cockpit. I looked out the window and saw alot of snow and ice. Off in the distance I could see a tiny green patch. I must be dreaming. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I think so!" Giana had a giant grin on her face.

We flew closer and examined every inch of this new territory. Green moss, mountains, springs, and not a storm cloud in sight. We couldn't believe our eyes. It is real!

"We made it, Sis!" She gasped as our plane was taken over by a new force. "Just like Admiral Byrd wrote, Hailey!" Relaxing herself from the controls, I could hardly believe it.

We were moved by this force into the cavern below, people in strange outfits came to greet us as our plane was gently touched down. They were kind and celebrated our arrival into this inner earth. Giana and I exited the plane together, arms wrapped around one another. “I think we’re going to be okay, Giana.” I said, looking round at the lush, exciting new world around us.

“Me too, kid, me too.” she said, walking forward into the crowd with me. 

This was it, there would be no more worry, no more fear and no more running. Just peace.