A Night To Remember

by Meg Jones


"Nature does not have the heart of a human."

Note From Author: This story was inspired by the show "Fatal Twisters; Fury On The Plain" that has been shown on HBO a number of times. I would like to dedicate this story to all the people who have lost loved ones in the fury of one of nature's most deadly storm. This story is by all means fictional, but what does that matter, since it comes straight from the heart.



Like Jim Carey said in the movie Simon Birch, you're never prepared for the event that will change your life forever. I know that I sure wasn't.
    Let me start from the beginning, back to the date of July 4, 1997. The weather that morning was beyond perfect when I awoke next to my beloved husband Daniel. The air was soft on your skin, cool and sweet to the smell, and the sunshine touched everything on the land with it's golden fingers.
    A rush of excitement shot through my veins as I thought of how fun this day was going to be. My best and most loved friend Lindsay and her wonderful husband and my husband's best mate were coming to town. Her and I hadn't seen each other since Easter and we were quite looking forward to our little get together to celebrate our country's independence.
Darren and Daniel never did celebrate the Fourth, since it wasn't a custom in their home country, yet they cheerily agreed to join our small festivities, despite the fact that this wasn't really their country where they felt complet ely at home.
Careful not to wake my sleeping husband I slipped on my white robe, leaned over the bed, and planted a small kiss on his lips. He didn't wake up, yet he smiled slightly and turned over in the bed. Smiling to myself I tip toed out of the carpeted room and down the glossy wooden steps, holding on to the railing since I didn't quite have my balance back from sleep. The sunlight hit my eyes like a thousand flashing cameras. The whole living room, with windows from floor to ceiling, seemed to glow from the 6 AM sun. The white and midnight blue furniture was painful to look at, the glass coffee table reflected light beams onto the marble fireplace. Slowly my vision became adjusted and I turned around and made my way to the kitchen to make coffee.
    I was sitting outside on the screened in porch when Daniel opened the door and sat down next to me in the swinging bench. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, smiling to himself and shutting his eyes as he inhaled the beauty of the morning. Then, turning to me, he scooted closer and put both of his hands on my face, and pulled me in for a light good morning kiss. "Sleep well?" I asked, taking a sip of my coffee and then setting the cup on the arms of the bench. He nodded and smiled at me. "I could get used to the sun waking me up every morning before noon." I laughed lightly and slapped him playfully on the thigh. We were silent for a moment, and then out of nowhere Daniel spoke: "I love you, you do know that don't you?" I was a little surprised, yet touched deeply. "Yes, I know. I love you too honey." I replied, laying my head down in his lap. His fingers touched my hair, and then his whole hand was running over my head, touching, playing, brushing my hair from my eyes.
    Inside the phone rang, breaking the moment between us. Daniel sighed with frustration and carefully pushed me off of him and stood up. He turned and knelt down in front of the bench, so that our eyes were even. "I'll be right back." He whispered, touching my face gently and then dashing off to get the phone.
    He was back shortly, a wry smile on his face as he sat down heavily and pulled me into his lap. "Who was it?" I asked, turning to my left so that I could look up into his eyes. "Darren." He answered, rolling his eyes. "What'd he want?" "To let us know that he's leaving." "So he'll be here around noon right?" Daniel nodded and laid his left hand on my shoulder. "What's the matter honey?" I asked, sitting up and taking both his hands into mine, feeling the smooth wood of the bench rub against the bare skin of my ankles. "Nothing." He shook his head and did his best to smile. "You sure?" I asked, laying both my hands on the soft cotton of his T-shirt. He nodded again. Not wanting to bother him anymore I shut my mouth and laid back down, feeling the soft fabric of his plaid shorts against my face.
    Daniel began to run his hand up and down my arm, massaging the muscles and pulling the collar of my robe down just a little bit, so he could stick his hand inside and run his fingers along my neck and down to my bare breasts. "Daniel!" I teased, slapping his hand away and pulling my robe back up. "Sorry." He replied, his voice light and cheery again, so soft and sweet was his accent. Everything just seemed so perfect. How could have everything in my life that was going right, suddenly go to hell within minutes?


"Meg, Darren and Lindsay are here." "Shit! I haven't even finished the salad!" Daniel placed his hands on my shoulders gently and kissed my neck. Immediately I was filled with calmness and could think clearly again. "It's all right sweety, just stay cool and everything will be fine." He whispered, giving my shoulders a little reassuring squeeze. "Helllllooo, anybody home?" Lindsay called from the front door. "No! Go away!" I yelled back, my laughter cutting me off and blowing my cover before I could finish the sentence. "Meg The Peg Leg Pirate!" Lindsay came around the corner and greeted me with open arms. "Cap'n!" I shouted and ran into her arms and gave her a sisterly hug.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see Daniel giving us both a confused yet amused look. I grinned at him and pulled away from Lindsay, stepping back a few paces to look at her.
    In my opinion, Lindsay had always been the more beautiful one of us two. She had this long brown hair that was always shiny and completely straight. I sometimes doubted if she ever had a bad hair day in her entire life. Her face was long and thin, her eyes almond shaped and always mysterious looking. Her light gray-blue eyes always made her look serious, even when she was in hysterics laughing. Occasionally she would wear her small round glasses to enhance her vision, which pretty much squared off her face and added a brighter touch. Her lips had always been thin, and she hardly ever smiled in pictures, though she was quite happy most of the time. She had been wearing gothic make up ever since she turned 14, but today she was just simple old Lindsay that only came out in personal gatherings. No make up, nothing special done with her hair, no fancy silks and laces, no nothing. Just the regular Lindsay dressed in cream colored cargo pants and a silver and blue jersey.
    "How's my favorite sister?" Daniel asked, taking Lindsay into his arms and giving her a friendly pat on the back. Lindsay smiled and laughed. "I'm doing just fine. How about my favorite brother?" Daniel grinned back and playfully punched her on the arm. Lindsay and Daniel weren't related in any way really, it's just that the four of us were really close, so we were practically family.
    "Hey! Yall forgot me!" Darren walked into the kitchen, his bottom lip stuck out, trying to look pathetic. "Oh Dazza, how could we ever forget you?" I shouted and jumped into his arms and hooked my slinky little arms around his neck. He struggled to hold me up, but looked down and smiled politely anyway. Not wanting to hurt the poor guy, I hopped down, and then back up into Daniel's arms. Daniel smiled and pulled me close, burying his lips in my hair and taking a deep breath.
    "So, whatsa fo suppa?" Linds asked, walking over to the blue tiled counter and inspecting the food with that common official look to her. She always looked like a strict figure of authority, how she stood, how she talked, and how she laughed. It always cracked me up when I compared the serious side of her, to the practically silly side of her that I saw more often.
    "Well, the puppies are willing to share their dog food with you I suppose. Since you didn't cook and all, you guys have got to eat with my puppies!" Daniel joked, setting me down on the floor and giving Lindsay a playful shove. "What!" Darren shrieked, his eyes wide with terror. "I cooked!" Lindsay rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Haha Daz." "Shut up! I did too! I made the macaroni salad!" "Whoa Darren! Master Chef! I bow to your...ummm...well whatever those things are called..." I glanced at Darren's silver and blue platforms.
    Darren smiled and rolled his eyes. "Piss on you." "Pass." I retorted. "All right, all right, enough, let's eat!" Daniel cried, clapping his hands together in excitement. "Right on brother Daniel!" Lindsay joined in and began carrying food out to the back patio.


    That afternoon was unlike any other that summer. It was beautiful, yes, but something about it seemed strange and unnatural. The back patio was big and spacious. On one side there was a gas grill, and a bench beside it. Off to the far left corner there was a cute little two person sauna, and then finally, in the middle, there was two wooden picnic tables which had red white and blue table cloths on them. The house was up on a hill, so the patio gave a perfect view of the rest of the lusciously green land and thick forest beyond the gently rolling hills.
    As I sat down to munch on some sour cream and onion chips, I took note of the strange color of the sky. Instead of it's usual pale blue it was almost a yellow, not really yellow, and not really noticeable unless you studied the sky hard. Being a meteorologist, I've always had a natural curiosity and fascination for the sky and what it beholds.
    But it wasn't my four years in Oklahoma University that made me uneasy as I studied the sky and it's swiftly moving cumulous clouds. Something deep down inside me, told me that some nasty weather was on the way. Something about the stillness of the air, the unusually cool temperature, the way that the dogs in the kennel paced back and forth nervously.
    Trying to ignore the uneasiness of the day I got up and walked across the patio to where Daniel was grilling garden burgers and hot dogs. "Hey there." He said as I put both my hands on his shoulders and leaned against him. "Hi." I muttered. Instantly he picked up on something in my tone of voice. Taking the last burgers off the grill, he turned around and looked at me. "What's wrong?" His eyes were full of worry as they usually were when he thought there was something the matter with anyone.
    I didn't want to spoil the day for him with my silly uneasiness so I just smiled and shook my head. "Nothing. Just hungry." "Oh." The look on his face told me that he didn't believe one word I said, but I let it slide. "Hey Meg! Can I take this dog home with me?" Lindsay called from the back yard. Smiling I ran to the opposite side of the deck and looked below to the dog kennel, where Lindsay and Darren were standing, petting my Great Dane. "Hell no he's my guard dog!" I called back and watched as Darren smiled and Lindsay's face fell in mock disappointment.
    "Food's ready!" Daniel called and Lindsay and Darren raced up the stairs and stumbled into the picnic table seats. Daniel and I smiled and carried the trays of food to the table. "Oh these poor cows!" Lindsay squeals as she watches Darren and Daniel set burgers on their plates. "They're garden burgers Linds, calm down." Daniel mutters, laying a few pickles on his sandwich and then shoving the whole thing into his mouth.
    For some reason I hesitated on eating, even though I was quite hungry. After a few moments Daniel noticed and instead of saying anything, gave me a questioning look. "Is my cooking really that bad?" He asked, trying to crack a joke although there was seriousness in it. "Ummm you know what? I think I forgot something inside. Be back in a second!" And before anyone could ask anything I jumped up off the picnic table and darted inside, accidentally slamming the screen door behind me.
    When I reached the kitchen counter I leaned against it to gather my senses. What was I doing? I asked myself, repeatedly massaging my temples, trying to calm down my craziness.
    After a few moments the door behind me opened and then shut quietly. Not even having to turn around I said, "Hi Daniel." He didn't answer but came up behind me and stood in front of me, putting his hands on my shoulder in that authority kind of way. By the way he sighed I could tell he was worried. "Baby, what's the matter?" He asked, pulling me close to him so that his over sized Fubu shirt closed in around my face. Slowly I took a deep breath and let it out, savoring the manly sent of him.
    "I don't know what's wrong with me Daniel, I'm just worried about something, but I don't know what!" I knew I wasn't making any sense and could already tell he wasn't following. But instead of asking what I meant, he rubbed my back and patted my head reassuringly. "It's just all this stress I bet. It'll be OK. Come on Meg, let's just relax all day today and not worry about a thing." He looked at me, his eyes wide and coaxing.
    "All right." I agreed and did my best to smile. But I was quite shaken and couldn't get over it. Something in the back of my mind kept telling me something, sending me a blind message and I had no clue as to what the message was. Back outside the breeze had picked up from the South east and was a little cool for this time of year, having a musty smell to it, almost like damp earth. I knew that smell. I would know it if I were dead. It was the smell of rain. The smell of on coming trouble.


About an hour later, Lindsay and I were putting things away as the boys played soccer outside in the front yard. I happened to look out the kitchen window for a moment. Uneasiness swept over me as I stared at the fading sun and the dark gray clouds that were rolling in over head, choking out the sunny cheerfulness and bringing with them their gloomy and to me pleasing shadow.
    "Hmmm. Looks like Washington weather. Yippee!" Lindsay mused, standing beside me, hands on the edge of the sink as she stared excitedly at the on coming rain. "Yeah." I muttered, not as thrilled as I usually was when bad weather was expected.
    Far off in the distance a thin lightning bolt cracked, disappearing over the horizon, and bringing a dull clap of thunder with it. And that's when I finally took notice in the horizon. It was nearly black as night, with high churning clouds making their way slowly northwest, towards us.
    Quickly I walked out onto the patio and called Darren and Daniel in, who came in just in the nick of time, as the first rain drops were beginning to fall. "The dog pens all closed?" I asked Daniel, following him inside and shutting the door. "Yeah." He said, tossing his soccer ball to the side.
"Looks like one hell of a storm. I'm going to go turn on the TV and check out the weather channel." Darren said, making his way out of the kitchen with Lindsay close at his tail. "Good idea." Daniel and I said together and followed them.
    In the dining room, the windows are floor to ceiling and gave a perfect view of the storm to come. I stopped to observe and Daniel stopped beside me. Something about the way he was acting and standing told me he was uneasy about this. Typical Daniel. Always aware. That's one of the things I loved so much about him. Always the logical thinker and always a quick learner and thinker.
    Without a word he turned and walked into the living room, sitting down on the couch to watch the weather channel. But I didn't need a weather channel. Of course I didn't. Who did? Instinct told me enough, and my instinct gave me the sickening satisfaction that something bad was about to happen, something unforgettable.


"Heading northwest, sweeping through the Midwest is a big line of thunderstorms. This one could be bad folks. You are advised to stay in your homes, shut your windows, and stay away from glass, and always keep next to the cellar." No one had to tell Daniel twice. Before the weatherman could finish he was up and about, locking, securing, checking all windows. "What about the dogs?" I asked, suddenly worrying about our Labrador puppies and Rottweighler. They hadn't occurred to Daniel. "I'll go get them." Darren volunteered, getting up and rushing out the back door.
In less than twenty minutes the storm had traveled ten miles, and now seemed to brew idly over our house. Daniel went to the back door and looked out. His face twisted in worry, and without hesitation he opened the door and went after Darren. Lindsay and I stayed inside, unsure of what to do.
Suddenly Lindsay turned to me. "You know Meg, this is kind of exciting, I've never been in a tornado before." At the very word my heart dropped and my throat tightened. I knew it was a possibility but it had never really sunk in, the danger of it all. And she was calling it exciting. Knowing I would blow up in a furious rage if I opened my mouth, I kept quiet, watching blankly as Daniel and Darren struggled in a panic to get the dogs to the house.
As they got nearer, I turned and rushed for the basement, darted down the stairs, unlocked the basement door and ushered them in, slamming the door behind me. "What's it like outside?" Lindsay asked, who had followed me without my knowing. "Deadly quiet, even the rain makes no sound." Daniel gasped, doubling over with his hands on his knees.
"So why did you rush?" She asked. Daniel stood up and looked at her, and then at me. "Well, would you like them to have taken their time? I'm sure the winds wouldn't have blown them across the yard that hard." I retorted, for some reason I felt like being a bitch. "But the wind..." Lindsay stopped short and listened. We all did. Outside the wind whistled around the corners of the house, enveloping us and shaking the frame. Inside I shivered. Daniel was clearly frightened.
"I'm no expert, but maybe it's best if we stay down here." Darren whispered and we were quick to agree. But suddenly, a spark jumped in me. A long forgotten instinct came alive, adrenaline powered my cold limps. A mischievous smile crossed my face. Lindsay looked at me uneasily. "Meg..." She seemed almost frightened. "I'm going to follow this fucker." I smiled even more brightly, my eyes coming alive with their own flames.
Daniel looked at me, mouth wide open. "Like hell you will." He whispered. And then his voice grew more shrill. "Meg, no!" In two quick strides he had a hold of my shoulders and was looking me directly in the eye. But I didn't see him, or the room. I only saw me, alone, camera in hand, at an opportunity few get. I was a storm chaser, a dare devil at heart. And this was bringing it all to the surface, bubbling in my veins as if I were immortal.
"Oh yes, I am." And with that, I was out of Daniel's grip and up the basement stairs, arms swinging at sides, heart thumping excitedly. There were heavy footsteps behind me, but I didn't care. This was my chance. I found the video camera on the top shelf of the closet. Before shutting the door I grabbed my rain coat and turned to walk out the door. But before I could make it, Daniel grabbed hold of my arm and yanked me around to face him.
"Have you gone mad!" He demanded. I only smiled at him, like any crazy person would. "This is my chance Daniel!" I shrieked happily, but I knew deep down that there was no use explaining, for he could never really understand. His angry face softened. "Don't go Meg, please." All fury was gone, and replaced by fright. He truly look scared.
"What would I do without you?" He asked quietly, the rims of his eyes reddening, his pupils glazing over. "I'll be back. I promise." I stopped smiling long enough to lean forward and kiss him gently. When I tried to pull away, he pulled me back and wrapped his arms around me, so that our hearts beat together, his breath was mine. It seemed he would never let go.
Finally I pulled away and looked at him. "I promise." I whispered, and touched his cheek. He knew there was no stopping me, this was my mission. Quickly patting my pocket I checked for my cell phone and, realizing I was equipped, headed out the door, glancing back only once to see Lindsay and Darren a few feet away, holding each other in terror. "If anything happens, call me. If it grows silent again, get to the basement." And with that I was out the door and into my black Dodge Ram.


why don't we see?