Eye Of The Storm

It was the worst tornado Jeff had ever seen. Would he live to tell about it?

“Watch out,” was the shout, almost unheard. Jeff could taste the change in the air. It vibrated in his bones. There was no stopping it., All the signs were there.

There was no way out. It was way too late for that. Every time the tornado watcher found himself close to a situation like this the adrenaline charge was extreme. The rush is what he lived for. Perhaps? This time? To die for. “Am I too close?”

Living on the edge wasn’t for everyone. It took extreme judgment, razor sharp focus. Others around him were already caving, screaming, sobbing, throwing themselves under whatever they could find. Jeff hung on by a thread, past experiences raging through his mind like the tornado that was coming.

“Curious.” Jeff’s eyes swung to one man who sat nearby in shock. The shapely woman at his side was frozen in place. The tableau felt unreal. It couldn’t last and didn’t.

Things in the restaurant started flying before Jeff could see the source. A whirlwind of activity centered around a rising scream of shrill sound. A large mirror cracked when it was struck by a flying projectile, turning his image into a hundred shiny fragments. “Better that than me.” But? He was fast becoming the direction of the violent force of nature.

He rose to face it. It was time to save lives. This was no mere whirlwind. Nothing could stop the destruction. The screaming noise hurt his ears. “If I can reach the eye of the storm.” Jeff pushed through the wall of sound to the man and woman’s side. “Get down.”

He pushed. It was like trying to dislodge an immovable stone. In the sudden silence, Jeff heaved a desperately deep breath. “Don’t do it.”

There she stood, a human tornado like he’d never seen before. The gun in her hand flashed silver, pointing first at the man and then the woman. “Caught you.” The scream became a raspy accusation not to be denied.

The first shot drilled a hole in plate of spaghetti the man had been eating. Strings jumped, trying to get away. Red sauce splattered the man like blood. The woman at his side fainted.

“He’s not worth it,” Jeff hissed.

“Who are you? His protector?” The barrel of the gun turned his way.

“No. I am yours.” Jeff watched the rain start to fall from the human tornado’s eyes. The second shot hit Jeff’s shattered image in the mirror behind him. He couldn't help winching.

It felt like he was moving in slow motion before he reached her side. Her skin felt ice cold. The heat in her flushed face looked hot as hell. “I’ll take that.” The gun was in his hand, her finger still curled around the trigger. It almost took a toe off as the third shot went through his shoe.

“You can’t stop me.” Her eyes went wild. The storm within them heightened. Jeff prepared himself for his own doom. Two more shots thundered together as they wrestled.

In her rage, she had inhuman strength. Jeff couldn’t control her. He was on the other side of the storm. It was all he could do to hold on to the gun, much less seize the woman and stop her. More shots rang out, then the click of an empty gun.

Jeff prayed no-one else had been hurt. He’d done his best to keep the woman’s arm raised skyward. “Stop it. It’s over.”

She wrenched free, sobbing fiercely, a single cry erupted from her throat as she threw the gun at the seated man, staring blindly into his own death. “I’ll strangle you.”

The human tornado was fast becoming exhausted. She tripped over the fallen woman as she lunged. Jeff swung her aside from the man she was attacking. “You’d best leave while you can. She’s unstoppable. I won’t be able to hold her for long.”

The gunfire had emptied the room, except for them. The sound of sirens grew. The seated man stood shakily holding onto the tipped over table at his side. “Thank you, whoever you are.” He didn’t try to take the woman he’d come with, just left her as she was, unconscious to the threat above her.

“Come on. We’ve got to get you out of here before the police come.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I’m a storm watcher. Your’s was a beauty, a category five.”

“I don’t understand.”

Jeff had her walking now. “He cheated on you. Your father went to the authorities. They told him there was nothing they could do unless you committed a crime. He found and hired me to prevent one. I deal with human nature at its most extreme. I've been watching you. I'm a storm watcher. I specialize in tornado's like you.”

Jeff handed her gently into the inside of his car. The motor hummed contentedly and they were on their way, leaving the devastation behind.