Coming Home

Last Forever: Part 1

"I'm not sure there's any other solution besides hiding out and outlasting the tornado."

Max considered Kate's conclusion. Truthfully, Max had no idea how devastating the storm would be. She had seen only a glimpse of its destructive powers, but even that glimpse scared the crap out of her.

Warren spoke up. "I suppose that's our best option. If the storm really is accelerating like I hypothesize, then we have almost no time to get people to evacuate. The best thing we can hope for is to convince people to hide out."

"Yeah," Chloe spoke up. "But where the hell are we going to find shelter from a massive tornado?"

The obvious answer was, of course, the Dark Room. It was heavily solidified and could possibly withstand the storm, but there were too many awful memories for Max to go there. She could tell with one look that her friends were considering it, but none of them wanted to say it out loud.

"I know!" Kate exclaimed. "One of the churches I used to go to was built in the 1950s! There is a bunker underneath that was meant to outlast nuclear blasts. I'm sure it will survive the storm."

The four friends considered the solution. As if on que, all four nodded. Chloe spoke up, "I never thought religion would save my ass, but I'll hand you this point, God."

Kate wasn't sure how to take this sentiment, so she took it as a joke. Chloe shot her a playful smile, which Kate returned.

"How many can the bunker fit, Kate?" Warren, always asking the obvious questions. Useful, but obvious.

"Max? About 12-15 people."

"Interesting, I'm sure we can have others hunker down with us while the storm passes."

"There's one thing we're forgetting," Max couldn't help but outburst. The other three stared at her in confusion. Max almost wanted to scoff at their forgetfulness. "What are we going to do anout Jefferson?"

"Good thinking, Bat-Max," Chloe nodded. "We need to teach that fucker a lesson."

"I'm not sure that's a great idea, guys," Warren spoke up sheepishly.

"Why the fuck not?" Chloe angrily retorted.

"We're at a Catch-22. I suspect that the tornado is coming tomorrow. If we go after Jefferson, that will leave us no time to prepare for the storm. If we spend all our time preparing for the storm, well, who knows with him."

"You're saying that we shouldn't go after that ass-clown because you guess the tornado is coming tomorrow?" Chloe's fury could easily be heard across the junkyard.

Kate tried her best to break the tension. "As much as I want revenge, Warren's right. It took you two at least two days to get Jefferson. And even then, you died a good 2 or 3 times. Max was captured multiple times too. And the tornado still almost killed all of us."

"Max?" she turned to Max. Hopefully if she had Max backing her up, Chloe could convince Warren and Kate to see her way.

"As much as I hate this, Warren's right, Chloe. Our first responsibility is to save our loved ones. Jefferson will pay, but he is secondary. And don't even think about doing anything on your own, Chloe. Last time you did that, you were almost captured and killed by Nathan Prescott."