The Nightmare Begins (Alchemy)

[Zero Zag]

Zero walked up and down the aisles of the library, rather bored. He would stop occasionally to glance at a book, but then shrugged and continued his wanderings. Although Zero had lived at Shifter's for a long time, he had only been in the library ten times. They had all been for academic purposes, whether it was for an essay or research paper. Books bored Zero, unless they had action in them. He was never big on reading Writing was another one of his weak points. His papers always fell short of the teacher's expectations, it seemed. Zero leaned against one of the bookshelves and crossed his arms, looking at the books across from him.

Why am I even in here? Zero asked himself.Zero pulled a random book off the shelf and walked over to a chair by a window. He cracked open the book, flipping through its pages without much interest. He had to read two books this summer for a class, one that he struggled with. Zero was determined to start the year right and actually read over the summer. Usually he blew it off, but not this time. After all, he had to write an essay the week he got back to school on the books he read.

Little droplets of water tapped on the window, as if it was purposely trying to distract him from reading. Zero glanced up, and watched the rain. At first it was just sprinkling, but the rain began to fall at a much steadier pace. Before long, the sound of hail reached Zero's ears. Large white blurs flew past the window and bounced off the ground below. All around him, people were running to the windows to see what was going on. The once peaceful library began to roar with the sound of pounding hail and the murmurs of curious onlookers. Zero closed his book, his eyes glued to the window still. An icy feeling passed over Zero. He had seen this before, on a television. This could only be one thing.

A hurricane.

Zero instantly backed away from the window. His family had lived in Florida, many years ago. But when a hurricane was said to be coming towards them, his family packed up and moved. Everything was destroyed. Not one building had the strength to resist the hurricane's winds. Zero walked back and put the book back where he found it, his hand trembling a bit as he did. His nightmare had followed him to Shifter's Academy. [/blue]

[Alchemy Igelkott]

Aly's purpose for coming to the library was questionable. She told herself that she was coming to find a good book on martial arts, but she was able to tell that the reason was a lie.

She wasn't exactly sure why she had come, but the library was pretty empty, and she was glad for that, solitary shift that she was.

Wandering around for a little, not quite paying attention to her surroundings, she had no luck finding the books on martial arts. Not that it was a big deal of course, for if she found them, they would just be something empty to do on the cold and dreary day.

Aly hugged her jacket closer around herself, shivering. Her hedgehog instincts were telling her that something was wrong. She just wasn't sure what it was.

It was the feeling one got when something huge was about to happen. She wondered if it had to do with the weather, but she wasn't completely sure.

One foot moving in front of the other, Aly kept moving, trying to stay warm.

Ugh, she thought. I hate being cold.

What surprised her the most though was that it was cold during the summer. The school was on an island, for Pete's sake, off the coast of Hawaii.

She pushed that thought aside, and tried to focus on finding a book to read. Her eyes flitted back and forth, and she felt like the bookshelves were watching her on the ominous day.

Something caught her attention, though, and she rushed forward, grabbing the book off the shelf, glad she had found it. It was a little dusty surprisingly, and she puffed some air into her cheeks and blew on it. That was a little better, but she didn't mind the dust too much.

Aly continued forward, but was stopped, as she accidentally ran into someone that she hadn't noticed.

"Oh my gosh," she gushed. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you--oh, hey, Zero," she added, recognizing him from class.

Feeling a slight blush rise on her cheeks, she asked him, "What brings you to the library today?" awkwardly, though, for she had a slight crush on him.

She moved to where she could see his face, and paled at the sight of it. He looked pale, at least to Aly, and his gaze was held by the window.

Following his gaze, Aly gasped. If she wasn't mistaken, that was a hurricane.

"Please tell me that's not what I think it is," she whispered, more to herself than to Zero.[/color]

{Clothes.
Tag: Zero.
Word count: 425.
Notes: Storm!!!}

[Zero Zag]

Zero tore his gaze away from the window, and blinked when he saw Alchemy. "Oh, hi! Sorry, I didn't see you at first." His eyes traveled back to the window. A shiver traveled down his spine. "I never thought this would happen. A hurricane?" He shook his head and held his right hand in his left in an attempt to stop shaking so much. He turned to focus on the rows of books instead, knowing that just looking at the terrible weather was making him shake.

"I used to live in Florida, many years ago. I was eight when a hurricane came along and blew everything we owned away." Zero frowned. "Anyways, I'm just browsing. I have nothing better to do. Now i can't even go outside and surf." Zero pulled a random book out, glanced at its cover, and shoved it back in place. Around them, everyone was starting to get fidgety. The librarian was talking frantically on the phone, looking over at the windows frantically every now and then. Suddenly, in the middle of her frantic conversation, she was cut off.

"Hello? Hello?" The librarian's voice rose several notches. Zero shook his head. "This isn't a good place to be during a storm. These bookshelves don't look like they could survive a hurricane." Zero touched Alchemy's wrist lightly. "Come on, we need to find somewhere safe to hide. We're on the fourth level, right? It would probably be best to go down to the first floor, I think. A hurricane could topple this thing easily." Zero paused, thinking for a moment. He didn't recall the library ever having a basement. Obviously whoever built the place wasn't thinking about hurricanes at the moment.

Zero led Alchemy out of the isle. The librarian cussed while trying to get the phone to work as they passed her. Zero laughed softly to himself, mostly out of nerves. "Never thought that today would turn out like this." He looked back over at Alchemy, wondering how she was handling this. He didn't know a whole lot about her, though he had talked to her here and there. Suddenly the lights started to flicker. Zero stopped in his tracks, knowing what was coming. Screams of fear filled the entire library as the building fell into darkness.

[Alchemy Igelkott]

"Never thought that today would turn out like this," Zero had just said, and Alchemy agreed to herself, but not completely.

She had known something was going to happen, she just hadn't thought it would be this.

Taking some deep breaths, she let Zero pull her along. He was right about going down some levels, for a hurricane was more powerful than construction, that was for sure.

The lights were flickering, and Aly told herself not to scream. Zero stopped, and Aly stopped with him. There were screams, of course, that much anyone would expect, but Aly heard more than she expected.

She frowned slightly, and whispered, no, mumbled to herself, "Okay, people, the lights went out. Not the worst thing happening right now."

Putting the book she had grabbed on a random shelf, she tried to say calmly, "C'mon. We need to get downstairs, like you said."

She reached into her pocket, and pulled out a mini-flashlight, glad that she was always overprepared for everything.

She held it like a real police officer would out of habit, close to her head and ready to use as a weapon, though she wasn't exactly sure how much damage such a little flashlight could do to an inanimate thing like a huge hurricane.

She laughed silently in her head, and started to pull Zero along, for he seemed to be frozen.

Deciding that standing there would get them nowhere, literally, she tried to take charge of her emotions, incredibly glad that she hadn't screamed earlier, otherwise she wasn't sure how well she could do that.

They were out of the aisle, and Aly moved her flashlight around, highlighting the faces of the people around them.

She attempted to project her voice and said, "Stay calm, everybody, and get to lower ground. That's the best thing anybody can do right now."

The hand holding the flashlight felt sweaty, so Aly tightened her grip on it, clenching her teeth as well.

She was still pulling Zero along, and she tried to stay calm by making a little conversation, a little joking with him, to take her mind off of the storm. "Never had hurricanes in Utah, I can tell you that, Zero," she said with a slight laugh.

The laugh was out of nerves more than the attempted joke, so she swallowed down her fear, and continued on.

"I can't even imagine what those hurricanes were like in Florida," Aly added, turning her head towards Zero.[/color]

{Clothes.
Tag: Zero.
Word count: More than 4oo (412, to be exact [unfortunately] )
Notes: N/A.}

[Zero Zag]

"Then I should move to Utah as soon as I graduate," Zero replied, shaking off his nerves a little. "Still, there's no ocean in Utah..."

Zero relaxed a bit, glad that Alchemy had a flashlight. The librarian had started to heard people downstairs, the sounds of hundreds of feet drowned by the shriek of the wind and demanding pounding of the hail. Zero stayed close to Alchemy as they entered the third floor. Behind him, someone let out another scream as they slipped down the stairs and ran into him. Zero landed on the ground, but quickly got himself back on his feet. Zero helped the stranger up and told him to follow the crowd to the first floor before running back to Alchemy. His left arm throbbed, but Zero refused to pay attention to it. "There's so many people. I hope no one gets trampled." The crowd only grew as they descended, with more people adding with each floor. People pushed against each other in an attempt to save their own life, and soon people started to yell at each other. Several people got in a huge argument, and wrestled each other to the ground. Zero nudged Alchemy and pointed over to the fight, which was at the top of the stairs on the third floor. He pushed past the crowd as he tried to reach the infuriated shifters.

"Break it up!" he shouted, grabbing the closets guy by the collar and dragging him towards the stairs. The boy was light weight and a good couple years younger then Zero. He stumbled down the first couple stairs but then got his bearings and took off after the crowd. The others broke away from each other, and coming to their senses, took off down the stairs. Just then, the building let out a loud groan and the sound of crashing glass added to the commotion. Zero shielded his face with his arm as a piece of glass flew past him, cutting his shoulder as it did. The sound of the hurricane magnified now that the windows were no longer.

Zero ran back down the stairs, making sure he held on to the handrail. He merged back into the crowd, and began calling for Alchemy.
"Not a good idea to break up that fight, probably," he told himself, feeling a little stupid. Then again, Zero almost felt as if it was his responsibility to keep everyone safe. A couple students had pulled out flashlights, and a few even had their cellphones out to use as a guidance. Zero cursed himself for not having his own cellphone, and made a mental note to get one as soon as he could. Even if it did cost more then he'd like to spend.

[Alchemy Igelkott]

Sure, Aly was solitary, but she didn't want to be alone during a hurricane, that was for sure.

She had seen Zero go to break up a fight (Who fights during a hurricane?), like a law enforcement major would do, but she started to panic a little when the windows were gone, the sound of the hurricane louder than ever.

The crowd was making her feel claustrophobic, but she tried not to focus on that. She needed to find Zero.

If Aly had been stronger, she probably would have broken her flashlight in half, due to the grip she had on it. Her teeth were still clenched, probably the only thing to keep her from screaming like the rest of the frantic crowd.

A sound barely managed to reach her ears, thanks to the loud wind rushing in from the windows, but she heard it nonetheless. It sounded like her name, so she edged her way out to the fringe of the crowd, her flashlight searching for Zero's face.

She was pretty sure she had found it, so she carefully manuevered throught the crowd, going against the flow of traffic.

"Zero?" she asked, well, yelled, really, considering the volume of the hurricane. Flashlight raised, she sighed in relief when she found him, and also glad that she had just put new batteries in her flashlight today.

She grabbed his arm and started pulling him along, not even thinking about her little crush on him. She was focusing on getting to the first floor, and she wasn't going to leave Zero behind.

It was easier going down the stairs than up, so she managed to get them down to the first floor with relative ease, despite the accumulating mass of the crowd.

The wind was blowing harder than before, and that made it all the more dangerous, for now their was broken glass in the equation.

Aly was surprised when she felt something cut her cheek. If she hadn't ever been beaten by her dad, Jed, she would have dropped the flashlight. But thankfully, she had known worse pain than that, so her grip on the flashlight remained as tight as ever.

She was pretty sure they were at least on the second floor, but she hoped that they were on the first. She moved her flashlight to the wall, seeing the first floor sign, and sighed in relief.

But what she didn't expect was to stumble. Her ankle twisted underneath her, and she grimaced in pain, though she kept moving, still dragging Zero. She had to.[/color]

{Clothes.
Tag: Zero.
Word count: 426.
Notes: N/A.}

[Zero Zag]

x

Zero kept up with Alchemy, glad that they had found each other again. Alchemy tripped, and he grabbed her arm tightly. Before he could help her up, she was already back on her feet. He could tell she was in pain, though she refused to slow down or to admit she was hurt.

Zero moved to her side, wondering if he should ask her if she was alright. If there was one thing Zero knew, it was that most Law Enforcement majors didn't like to ask for help. Or receive help, for that matter. So he decided to keep his mouth shut about it. He was, however, going to keep an eye on her to make sure she wouldn't fall or trip again. His shoulder and arm ached badly, but it was nothing new to Zero. He could tolerate it alright.

A strong wind rippled through the room. Most students had begun to spread out in small groups, many hiding in the aisles were the wind wouldn't be so bad. A lot of students, even a few librarians, took off out of the building and scattered. Zero watched helplessly as the people that ran outside soon resembled rag dolls as the wind pushed them around like a small child. Luckily the first floor was fairly large, so that everyone wasn't packed in like sardines. Zero called to a couple students and told them to move out of the aisles if they could, but the only answer he got was a glare.

They must think we're trying to steal their spot.

"The bathrooms would be the safest place, I think, Zero yelled to Alchemy, hoping she could hear him. A lot of people were sitting on the ground, huddled together. A couple people were crying. Everyone had a glossy-eyed look to them, one of dismay and fear. Zero couldn't imagine what was going through their heads at that moment.

The building creaked loudly once more, this time with more emphasis. Zero cringed. This building was going to collapse on them, he knew it. After all, there were six levels to the Library. Plus the place wasn't exactly built hurricane-proof. Zero closed his minds and tried to shut out all the noise. It was so loud that he couldn't even think. He opened his eyes and blinked hard. The wind stung his face, penetrating his skin. Hail flew in from the window, pelting people near the walls.

Zero bit his lip. He wanted to help everyone, but how could he?

[Alchemy Igelkott]

"The bathrooms would be the safest place, I think!" Zero yelled, and Aly was glad that she could hear him. She nodded, and kept moving.

She didn't want to think, she didn't want to remember. All of the faces, the pain in them, the fear. They reminded her of when her mom saw that her husband had killed her daughter. They reminded her of her own face, bruised and beaten, after the first time her father had hit her, when she had looked in the mirror, in shock and hurt.

She hoped she didn't look like that now.

The wind was whipping in through the windows, and she felt like she couldn't hear her own thoughts. That was good though. She didn't entirely trust her thoughts right now, and the sound was keeping her mind off of her ankle, though she could definitely feel it.

A bookshelf fell from the strength of the wind, almost crushing a few people who had taken shelter by it. She sighed in relief when she saw that everybody was now out of the aisles, scared that they could be crushed.

It was like a bomb had gone off, it was that bad. But unlike a bomb, this wasn't over. This hurricane couldn't be stopped, wouldn't stop. It seemed like it would never end. Aly wished that it had been a bomb and not a hurricane. It would have been better: less damage, quicker.

The books were scattered everywhere, so Aly grabbed two of the thickest ones she could find, handing one to Zero, as she yelled, hopefuly over the wind, "Put this over your head in case the ceiling collaspes!"

She clenched her teeth, fighting through the pain of her ankle.

Oh, God it hurts, she thought, but she couldn't allow herself to focus on it.

Her head was whipping around, trying to find the bathroom, and as soon as she saw it, she nudged Zero and pointed in the general direction of it, not trusting her voice anymore.

She started to go towards the bathrooms, putting her book over her head, but she was stopped. She stumbled again, but she picked herself up, determined to not be weak.

I hope it's not broken, she thought, but decided that her ankle was low on her list of priorities. They needed to get to a safe spot, as safe as one could be in a hurricane at least.

She knew that things like this would be the hardest when she was a police officer. Dealing with tragedies like this, the faces...

"I wish I could help," she said at normal volume, but she doubted anyone could hear her.[/color]

[Zero Zag]

Zero was surprised to hear Alchemy echo his own exact thoughts. He stumbled when the words reached his ears, but recovered fast enough. "I know, I feel the same way." Zero said softly, but he knew Alchemy most likely didn't hear that. At this point in time, the two had reached the bathroom. Zero opened the door for Alchemy and let her go in first, then glancing over his shoulder at the bewildered students and teachers, ducked in after. The door closed with a soft thud, and the cries and the howl of the wind softened.

"There's no one else here," said Zero in a surprised voice. He looked back at the door, as if expecting a herd of people to explode through it at any time. Exhaustion took over him in a wave of dizziness, and he leaned against the wall for support. He knew it was a bad idea to stay up so late last night.

"I wonder how long we'll be stuck here." Zero bit his bottom lip, trying to not think about the chance that they might not survive this hurricane anyways. He quickly shook the thought away. There was no way that was going to happen.

"Too bad we aren't aquatic shifts, huh? If we were, then all we'd have to do was dive in the ocean and wade out the storm." Zero's shoulder felt wet and sticky, but once again, he paid no attention to it. After all, Alchemy seemed in a far worse predicament then he. "Is your ankle alright? I saw you limping a bit." Zero wanted to kick himself as soon as the words came out, knowing that Alchemy wasn't the one that would admit that she was hurt. Then again, he was the same way. Zero admired Alchemy for being so strong during the entire event. She was one of the few Law Enforcement majors that were female. Zero couldn't imagine the pressure that Alchemy probably has because of that.

"The school's going to be a wreck," murmured Zero, more to himself then anything. Shifter Academy was his only home he really ever had, and it stung to think that it was being destroyed. Good things never last. Soon Shifter Academy will all be but a dream.

[Alchemy Igelkott]

Aly smiled slightly when Zero asked if she was okay, but it wasn't a full smile. She wasn't sure if she could smile completely in a time like this. Aly was tough, and she didn't like admitting pain, that was for sure.

"I'll be okay," she said, trying to put him at ease, kind of, but then her eyes caught Zero's shoulder, something soaking through his t-shirt, and they widened in surprise.

She walked over to the paper towels, limping only slightly, and grabbed a whole bunch of them, wet a few of them, then wondered what she could use as a bandage.

Biting her lip, she tore the end of her jacket sleeve off, thinking that she could use that. Indecisive, she tore the other one off, too, and now they matched as well.

She moved his shirt off of his shoulder, clenching her teeth as she saw the blood. Using the wet paper towels, she cleaned it off, then dried it with the others. She put the edge of the jacket sleeve on it, and put the other one in her pocket, in case she needed it later.

"There," she said. "That should work for a little while, at least."

She put her back to the wall, and slid down to the floor, feeling better now that she didn't have to stand on her ankle.

"I wonder how many aquatic shifts have done that," she said, more to herself, her curious nature coming through.

"I've never really liked water," she mused out loud to herself, trying to take her mind a little bit off the hurricane. "Now I really don't like it."

Aly got up again, restless, and looked out of the bathroom door, wondering why nobody else had come in, then walked back to where she had been sitting, standing this time, telling herself that she just needed to get through the pain.

She had an idea then, and she pulled out the other cloth strip, and took out the string from the hood on her jacket.

Rolling up her jeans, she wrapped the cloth around her ankle, and then used the string to tighten it so it wouldn't fall off.

The pressure felt good, and she knew that she'd be a lot better now, since her ankle didn't hurt as much.

She sighed, and replied to Zero's mutter, trying to be positive, "Even if it is, then hopefully all of us can put it back together."[/color]

[Zero Zag]

Zero watched as Alchemy secured her ankle. It was a good idea, and Zero was impressed. He looked at his own shoulder that Alchemy had helped with. It felt a lot better now, and Zero was thankful. "Uh, thanks for helping me with my shoulder. You really didn't need to do that." He shifted his shoulder slightly, immediately regretting that he did. The burning sensation flared, and it was making the wound hard to ignore. He hadn't been this hurt since his father had beat him. Zero slid down on the floor next to Alchemy and clenched his teeth as his shoulder brushed against the wall.

"Remind me to buy you a new jacket or something after this," he said, nodding to her now torn sleeves. Zero lapsed into silence. He imagined the school after the hurricane, nearly destroyed. Would its students come together to help Shifter Academy? He knew that there were a lot of shifters that were forced to be here, but he also knew Shifter Academy was like home to many shifters as well. Even the thought of Shifter Academy being torn apart at the seam made Zero feel sick. How could this happen? This stuff was only in nightmares. Haven't these shifters been through enough already? It seemed unfair that this would happen to them. But when has life ever been fair? This was reality. And as a Law Enforcement major, Zero was going to deal with it. This was his chance to help others in need.

"Guess we'll have our work cut out for us," replied Zero to Alchemy's earlier comment. "This school is going to need a lot of help after this. I wonder what this hurricane is categorized as?" Zero paused to listen to the howling wind, as if that alone could give him the information he wanted.

It was hard to believe that something that strong and frightening could even exist in this world. It could rip even the sturdiest buildings apart. No one was safe from a hurricane. Not even the shifters.

"Let's see here...we should name this hurricane. What would be a good name? Hurricane Terrance, perhaps. No, it needs to have a scarier name. Hm. Hurricane Evil...yeah, definitely not. What about you? Do you have any ideas for this monster of a storm?"

[Alchemy Igelkott]

Aly was startled when Zero commented on her jacket. "Oh no, it's no problem. I think I like it better like this," she replied with a slight smile, she didn't expect him to say that, it was nice of him, though.

Her ankle started to throb again, so she tightened the string around it, trying to make it numb, that way she wouldn't, couldn't, feel anything. She had learned that if you were numb, you wouldn't feel anything, wouldn't feel the punches...

Aly closed her eyes as she thought of her father, no, Jed. She had to remember that he wasn't her father anymore. He was simply a name, a memory she hated to acknowledge. But much to her dismay, her hate of him was still swirling around inside like the wind of the hurricane. She didn't want the hate she still carried, she just wanted to let it go, but it was so hard, even for tough Aly.

She opened her eyes, and she found the bathroom the same way she had left it. But it felt different, like she was taking a step in the right direction, farther from her father.

Aly chuckled quietly at Zero naming the hurricane, Hurricane Evil was a good name, it was such a horrible storm after all, and then the perfect name hit her.

"Jed," she said. "After my evil father," she added quietly, slightly hoping that Zero wouldn't hear her. Despite the step she was taking, she couldn't get away from Jed, and she didn't like talking about him, but she felt like she had to at the same time.

She resigned herself and continued, "It's the perfect name for such an evil storm. He was an evil man, he beat me and killed my younger sister." Her fists were clenched, so she tried to relax and take a few deep breaths. She felt surprisingly better after saying it though, she had been internalizing all of her feelings for so long, it felt like a calming of her own storm, now the hurricane just had to end.

She decided to change the subject, she wanted to stay away from any memory of her father. "I'm surprised that the bathroom is holding so steady. The library was a mess," she said. "I guess it's because there are no windows in here." She looked around a little, making sure that she didn't say something totally wrong, because she didn't want to look like an idiot.[/color]

[Zero Zag]

Zero wrinkled his nose. "It's kinda gross in here, and it smells. Oh well. Better then being out there, like you said." He thought about Alchemy's suggestion for the hurricane. "Hurricane Jed, huh? Sounds evil enough. I like it. Hurricane Jed it is then. I've never liked that name. That and my father's name. Barry. Who names their son that? A drunk and a thief, of course. Barry." A shiver traveled down his spine. What an odd name it was! For Zero, it was like hearing nails against a chalkboard.

"At least my father didn't name me something ridiculous. Surprise there. That's probably the nicest thing he has ever done for me. Of course, I still changed my name after I shifted. So I guess it never really mattered." Zero shrugged, acting as if he was talking about yesterday's football game or last night's dinner. He had no problem talking about his history to others. He figured everyone had similar stories.

"I hope Hurricane Jed runs out of steam soon, because I don't want to be stuck in this disgusting bathroom for another second. How long can a hurricane last? I wish I paid more attention in science class." Zero rolled his neck, which was getting terribly stiff. "I have to admit, this is way more exciting then reading a book. And now I can say I've actually been in a hurricane." Zero pumped his arms in the air. He was trying to be positive about the whole hurricane thing, and trying to distract his mind from all those traumatized shifters in the other room.

Zero watched as a fly hit against the above light again and again, making a little buzzing noise as it did. Most likely, it wasn't a shifter. Zero decided that he would try his best not to kill any insect or bug while h was here, just in case it was a shifter. You could never be too sure. When he first came here, he was freaked that he would step on a bug while walking to class. He didn't want to know how many insect shifters have died because of an accident like that. Zero watched as the fly hit the light once more before falling to the ground like a rock. He pressed his lips together and shook his head.

[Alchemy Igelkott]

“It's kinda gross in here, and it smells. Oh well. Better then being out there, like you said. Hurricane Jed, huh? Sounds evil enough. I like it. Hurricane Jed it is then. I've never liked that name. That and my father's name. Barry. Who names their son that? A drunk and a thief, of course. Barry. At least my father didn't name me something ridiculous. Surprise there. That's probably the nicest thing he has ever done for me. Of course, I still changed my name after I shifted. So I guess it never really mattered. I hope Hurricane Jed runs out of steam soon, because I don't want to be stuck in this disgusting bathroom for another second. How long can a hurricane last? I wish I paid more attention in science class. I have to admit, this is way more exciting then reading a book. And now I can say I've actually been in a hurricane."

She smiled at the name Barry, it was pretty funny, but mostly Aly just listened quietly, contemplating the length of the storm with Zero. Aly had never liked water that much, but hurricanes were ten times worse than anything she'd ever faced.

She wished that she'd paid attention in science better, too, even though it was her least favorite subject. Just another thing her father had ruined for her, and she racked her brain for anything, anything about hurricanes at all, but nothing came to mind.

The fly in the bathroom was bothering her, she was tempted to kill it, but then she wondered if it was a shifter. She couldn't kill it now, she could probably never kill another bug at this school again.

Her vocal chords remained still, her voice was nonexistent, she didn't know what she could say in a hurricane. And what was there to say? It wasn't like they could really make any conversation, naming the hurricane was probably the only semi-normal thing that they could talk about. All that they could talk about was their impatience, or if they were in danger...they were safe in here, of course, but for how long?

The door blew open, and Aly automatically jumped to her feet, set on edge by the wind that was now blowing into their temporary haven. She took a step towards the door, but then wondered if she should.

“Do you think it's safe to go near it?” she asked, louder than normal, trying to be heard over the wind, but the books flying in answered her question for her.

[/size][/blockquote]

{Tag: Zero.
Word count: 426.
Notes: Nope!
Clothes: Click!
Listening to: "Revenge of the Bridesmaids"}

[Zero Zag]

Zero winced as the door was flown open. Suddenly dangerous flying objects were coming at them in high-speed. Great. Just when he thought things couldn't get worse. A book hit him on the head. His head throbbed uncontrollably, adding to Zero's discomfort. The last thing I need is a migraine, here.

Zero motioned to Alchemy to follow his lead as he moved into one of the stalls. He pushed back his disgust, and tried not to think about how gross this place actually was. The important thing was that they stayed safe. To be honest, the bathroom didn't exactly have a nice smell to it. Zero wrinkled his nose as he sat back down on the cold tile. This storm better end soon.

The wind seemed to laugh at him as it threw books, one after another, against the side of the stalls. As soon as this storm is over, my clothes are going straight into the laundry. thought Zero, watching an ant crawl around on the ground. He had left the stall door open, and it was banging back and forth, adding to the already deafening noise.

"Rain, rain, go away. Come back another day...." sang Zero. He switched over to humming, since he really didn't know any other words to the song. Zero wasn't the best singer ever, but he had learned how to sing a little in theater.

"Can you sing, or play an instrument?" Zero asked Alchemy. She didn't seem like the type was into singing in public, but it never hurt to ask. Zero could play a little guitar, but he could only play simple songs and not much more. Songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. It was almost embarrassing, actually. Then again, Zero hardly ever gets embarrassed. He was just himself, and he never cared about what other's thought. Zero didn't have a whole lot of enemies, only Trent Lawson. Even though both of them were in Law Enforcement, there was something about Trent that Zero didn't like. The two could tell right away that they would be enemies.

Zero tilted his head, remembering the heated conversation he had with Trent. It was one of the few arguments he's ever had. Zero wasn't the type to get into a fight, unless he really hated that person or was defending someone.

Zero sighed, glad that Alchemy was there with him. Being stuck in a bathroom wasn't fun at all, but having her there made things a little easier.