Vortex

Part One Chapter Four

The storm above them continued to spin towards the city. Abie and Iris could see the wall cloud descend behind them as they started to move into town. "We need to turn on our siren!" Iris told Abie. Their meteorological instruments included a tornado siren to provide advance warning to towns in the path of potentially dangerous storms. But as their own siren activated, the city's sirens sounded as well. Since they were now in town, they couldn't see the base of the rotation and couldn't tell if it was on the ground. People abandoned their cars in the middle of the street and Iris struggled to weave through the mess of traffic. "Power flashes." Abie pointed out. Power flashes were a sign that a tornado was on the ground. It meant that power lines were snapping. "Drive Iris!" The two drove to the edge of town where a blockade of cars was covering the road. "What now? We can't get past them!" Iris exclaims. "Go there!" Abie points at what looks to be a ramp down to a partially underground parking area. Iris pulled down under the overhang. The two jumped out of the car and saw the tornado behind them, coming over the trees, looming over them. It was a huge landspout with a tall debris cloud. Abie grabbed Iris' arm and started dragging her towards the building stairwell. "We have to go!" Abie yelled. Iris took one last look at the tornado before turning tail and running for cover. The stairwell was completely exposed to the outdoors but it was something over their heads as they sheltered. The last thing Iris saw before the tornado hit was her car being dragged towards the vortex.