Night Rider- Tyunning

Record blizzard

"Good evening Minneapolis, Minnesota! It's your number one news anchor for 3 years in a row! My name is Francesca Choi and you're watching channel 5 news! First, our top story of the night. I hope those of you tuning in now, are at least 3 ours away from the Twin Cities because the blizzard we're going to get in the next few hours, promises to be a historic one. Winds are expected to reach 45 miles an hour and snowfall is promised to be 30-40 inches within the next 24 hours. The following days, up to a week after that, temperatures are expected to plummet with highs around 5 degrees! If you havent left central Minnesota, LEAVE NOW! You WILL be trapped in dangerous conditions if you dont!"

11 year old Taehyun was watching the nightly news, eating a bowl of cereal because his mom didn't bother to make dinner. The entire country knew about the blizzard for weeks now. After seeing it destroy eastern Minnesota, most of the population left to the surrounding states or to the north.

Taehyun begged his mom to leave before the storm comes but his mom said they had no where to go. That may have been true but he was smart enough to know that nowhere was better than here.

His mom laid on the dirty couch, passed out from drinking too much the night before. Taehyun wrapped himself in as many blankets as he could as he continued to watch the news. His hands were shaking as he tried to eat his bowl of cereal. His entire body was close to freezing.

The old heater broke a long time ago. His mom didn't have the money to get it fixed so every night, they struggled for warmth. He found it in blankets, his mom found it in booze.

Taehyun lost his appetite but he forced himself to finish his cereal. It was hard to eat it every day. The milk was almost empty which meant he had to eat it with water when it ran out. He dumped his empty bowl into the sink and turned the oven on. Even that was starting to give out with how cold it was becoming outside. It warmed him enough for Taehyun to fall asleep in front of it.

The wind picked up. It almost started to scream. Taehyun woke up when the oven went out. It hurt to shiver but that was all his body could do for warmth. He looked outside and saw the snow falling hard. His mom was still passed out on the couch.

He tried shaking her awake but she wouldnt move. "Mom! Get up please! We need to leave! Mom!"

His cries were met with no response. He tried harder to wake her but nothing. She felt cold. Maybe she was already dead. Maybe her skin was just a reflection of the temperature of the house.

The TV beeped it's warning signal. Beep. Beep. Beep. "Warning. Find warm shelter now. Snow is expected to reach 30-40 inches. Winds will reach up to 45 miles per hour." Beep. Beep. Beep. The message kept playing over and over. Taehyun's time was running out.

He grabbed his blankets and ran outside to the next house over. He banged on the door, praying for someone to let him in. No one answered. He ran to the next house over and tried there. Nothing. Everyone in the region left. He was all alone. The wind bit his face. The blankets did little to shield elements from his skin. If he didnt keep moving, he would have frostbite.

Taehyun decided to run back home. He tripped over one of his blankets and landed face first in the snow. Slowly, his layers were becoming soaked. The wetter they got, the more they froze his skin.

He found himself locked out of his own house. The wind picked up speed like the snowfall. He was too weak to break a window so he tried banging on the door.

His mom was still fast asleep. She would be dead by morning.

Taehyun wanted to cry but it was too cold to. He turned to the woods and thought maybe the trees would protect him from some of the snowfall so he ran. Cuts started forming on his hands from the wind chill. His body stung.