Severin waited until Baz’s breathing deepened into the steadiness of sleep before he got up to search out a blanket. He found one in a cupboard in the children’s area and brought it back to drape over Baz, tucking it in around his shoulders. Baz stirred briefly, but only enough to roll over onto his side and snuggle into the couch cushion. Smiling a bit, Severin left him to sleep and wandered over to the bookshelves, keeping half of his attention on his surroundings as he searched the stacks and occasionally pulled books out, setting them aside on a table. His stomach growled and he paused a moment to think about when he’d last had something to eat. That brought back memories he was working very hard to forget about, and he turned all his attention back to his search.
When he’d found everything he’d wanted, he gathered up the armful of books and carried them back to the reading area where Baz still slept. Settling into an armchair where he could keep an eye both on Baz and on the entrance to the reading area, he started in on reading the books. Hours passed as he went through the books, reading carefully and marking certain pages by folding down the corners, until a rumble of thunder startled him out of his concentration. Light still shone through windows and skylights, though it had moved with the passage of time, leaving Baz sleeping in shadow. Severin studied him for a moment then glanced up at the nearest skylight as thunder growled again.
He folded down the corner of the page he’d been reading and got up, stretching his back to work out a kink in his spine. Lightning flashed in the windows across the room and he made his way over there to look out. To his surprise the sky was still blue, marred only by a few fluffy white clouds.
Frowning, he watched the sky for a few long moments, still dimly hearing rumbles of thunder, then returned to his seat. He picked up his book again but the type blurred in front of his eyes and he found his thoughts wandering. A headache was beginning behind his right eye, extending tendrils throughout his entire skull and worsening his burgeoning bad mood. He reached up to touch the cross hidden underneath his shirt on its fine silver chain and closed his eyes to try and relax.
In the darkness between his eyes, a blue-white streak of lightning arrowed down and struck with a soundless explosion that jolted him upright in his chair. Only the silent library met his wide-eyed gaze, whole and intact; Baz still slept peacefully, one hand curled under his chin. Rubbing at his temples, Severin sat back again and murmured the prayer his father had taught him as a child, asking for help and protection. Calm gradually came over him and he soon dozed off again, the long sleepless hours of the night before catching up to him.
He opened his eyes again moments later to nothing but air all around him; and far below his feet a sparkling ribbon of blue-white water flowing through shades of green countryside. Looking up, he saw a towering mass of angry black thunderheads above him; lightning flashed in their depths and the following bang of thunder rattled in his bones.
Severin reached up a hand towards the thunderheads, straining to read into their heart and grasp the power he knew was there. He felt as though it remained just beyond the reach of his fingertips no matter how hard he fought to stretch that last little inch, and a mix of grief and frustrated rage washed through him.
He glanced down past his feet—flat on the empty air, as though he were standing on a completely solid floor—again and saw the water had become ice in a wasteland of snow drifts heaped higher than the tips of the trees. A rush of snowflakes swirled in front of his face, landing on his skin with just the barest kiss of cold. He wiped at wetness under his eyes and found he was crying; for the power just beyond his reach, for the snow-covered land below him, for the knowledge that everything he’d ever known had changed forever.
The cross around his neck had grown cold against his skin and he reached under his shirt to pull it up over his head. Lightning flashed, making the small pendant sparkle in its brief light. His hands shook, almost painfully numb, and his fingers were clumsy as he turned the cross over a few times then attempted to put it back around his neck. It slipped out of his grip and his desperate grab for its chain netted him nothing but air. The cross fell towards the snow far below, slim and silver in the dying light, until the shadows swallowed it up.
Severin screamed his rage and above him the clouds lit up with brilliant forks of lightning. The resultant clap of thunder jolted him from his position in the air and he began to fall, the wind whistling past his ears. He snatched at the clouds, straining until the muscles across his shoulders hurt, but he continued to fall. The ground rushed up to meet him.
A crack of real thunder jolted him out of his dream and he found himself on his feet, heart hammering against his ribcage. Baz was sitting up, wide-eyed and white-knuckled where he was clutching the blanket, his wide blue eyes fixed on the windows. Severin looked and saw that outside, the clear day had been replaced by a howling storm, lashing rain and hail against the windows.
Pain in his hand made Severin uncurl his stiff fingers, to find he had been gripping the cross so hard the edges had cut into his skin and brought up droplets of blood, streaking the shiny silver with red. He made a noise of disgust and carefully wiped it clean with his shirt before putting it back around his neck. The wind outside increased its fury as though in response, whistling and howling around the building.
“We need to go down to the basement.” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat. “Baz? Did you hear me?”
“Yeah.” Baz got up, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders. “Are you okay?”
The windows blew in with a roar of wind before Severin could reply, peppering them with tiny shards of glass. Severin covered his face with his arms to protect himself, and when he cautiously lowered them, he saw the black clouds were whipping themselves down into a funnel. Within seconds the tornado was churning towards the library, throwing cars like Matchbox toys and turning the store it ran over into nothing more than kindling. Severin gaped at it for a long moment, then Baz grabbed his hand and hauled him towards the stairs. It took Severin a few seconds to get his feet under him then he ran, taking the stairs three at a time and skidding around the corner into the basement hallway.
The janitor’s closet caught his eye and he yanked Baz back as Baz started past it, nearly knocking them both over as Baz stumbled back and collided with his chest. Severin took a second to steady him then flung the closet door open and started throwing out supplies until there was enough room for them both to fit inside. They huddled together as the tornado bore down on them, its winds shrieking. Looking up, Severin saw the ceiling start to crack, then Baz threw the blanket over both of their heads to try and protect them from flying debris.
A sound like a train passing by filled the air, so loud Severin couldn’t even hear his own heartbeat in his ears. The wind snatched at them and he wrapped his arms around Baz, pressing them back into the corner as far as they could go. The floor shook as the tornado moved past them with a rumble, but his ears were ringing so loud he couldn’t hear anything else. Long minutes passed with them both breathing hard and clinging to each other before Severin gathered the courage to twitch aside a corner of the blanket and look out.
The opposite wall and half the ceiling had been torn away, exposing insulation, wiring, and the plumbing for the bathroom beside the closet. The tornado had marked a path of destruction through the building, leaving the walls creaking ominously. It was still raining lightly and occasional rumbles of thunder broke the sudden silence.
Severin got carefully to his feet and picked his way through the mess until he reached a clear spot. Looking up again, he saw the clouds were already shredding apart despite the thunder, allowing the last dying rays of the sun to cast reddish-gold light down on him. He thought of his dream and shivered, then turned back to Baz to ask, “You all right? Any injuries?”
“I think I just about shit myself, but other than that, no.” Baz ran a shaky hand through his hair. “Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Severin looked around, not sure what he expected to see. “I don’t hear anything.”
“Exactly. No alarms, no sirens, no one else anywhere in sight.” The strain on Baz’s face added ten years. “Where the hell is everyone?”
“I don’t know. Maybe... we should go to the police station. Even if there’s no one there, we might be able to find a radio or something.” Severin felt as though he were grasping at straws, and from the look on Baz’s face, he wasn’t the only one. “We can’t stay here, Baz.”
“I know.” Baz sighed. “I’m starving. Food first.” He glanced up at the sky, shielding his eyes against the setting sun. “Before it gets dark. There’s a 7-11 right next to the cop shop.”
“Okay.” Severin pulled his wallet from his pocket and checked through it. “I have some cash.”
“What, do you think the cashier’s just going to be there, waiting for someone to come in and buy a slushie?” Baz asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Maybe a pack of smokes?”
“Stealing’s wrong,” Severin said automatically, then blushed when he saw Baz’s expression and defensively added, “Well, it is.”
“Whatever. If you want to leave cash, be my guest. I just want food before I become food.” Baz wrapped the blanket around himself again and headed for the door, stepping carefully around the debris. Severin hurried to catch up and they went up the street in silence.
The tornado had faded away before it hit the main street of town but the 7-11 had still taken a beating from something. The plate glass windows in front of the store had been smashed in and the gas pumps outside had been shoved over, their hoses yanked off and discarded. Gas puddled on asphalt, causing both Severin and Baz to warily approach the store from the side. Inside, shelves had been knocked over and the doors to the big standing freezers had been torn off. A sticky mixture of pop, milk, and juice covered the floor, with chip crumbs ground into it. Ice cream had been smeared across the wall, along with what looked suspiciously like blood.
Leaving Baz to hunt for something to eat, Severin walked up to the counter and glanced over it. He immediately wished he hadn’t when he saw the body of the teenage cashier lying on the floor behind it; her head had been twisted completely around. He could see where chunks of flesh had been torn from her body and suddenly remembered Baz’s comment about becoming food. A hard shiver went through him and he turned away before the sight made him vomit, though each time he closed his eyes it rose again in the darkness behind his eyelids.
“Sev?” Baz had paused in rummaging through a downed shelf and was watching him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Severin joined him in the search for something edible. “None of this is really healthy, you know.”
“Yeah, thanks, Da—” Baz stopped and cleared his throat. “It’ll do for tonight. We can go raid a grocery store tomorrow. If that isn’t too much like stealing for you.”
Severin bit back an urge to snap at him and kept his tone neutral when he replied, “Tomorrow’s fine.” He glanced outside and was alarmed to see how dark it had become in the past half hour. “Grab some food and let’s move.”
Baz followed his gaze and nodded, shoving as much food into his pockets as he could, and gathering up another armful. Severin guided him out of the store without letting him look behind the counter, though he couldn’t help taking a quick look himself. For a moment he thought the girl had moved and his heart leaped into his throat, then he dismissed it as a trick of the light.
They hurried across the plaza to the police station and let themselves in. The damage here was minimal, helped by the fact that the door was reinforced and the windows were heavy Plexiglass. Remembering the man in the library bathroom, Severin searched the station carefully, but the building was empty. Breathing a sigh of relief, Severin rejoined Baz in the break room, snagging a chocolate bar to munch on.
The shadows crept in on them and after a bit he got up to flick on the lights, then let the blinds down and closed the curtains. As he was doing so he thought he caught a glimpse of movement in the near-dark but though he watched for at least five minutes, it didn’t repeat itself and he returned to his seat.
“So what were you reading, back in the library?” Baz asked, a little hesitantly.
Severin leaned back in his chair, licking chocolate off his long fingers. “Stuff about volcanoes and natural disasters. The volcano that went off yesterday, that was the super volcano on Toba Lake.” He chewed on his bottom lip, trying to think of the best way to explain it without panicking Baz. “It’s... likely caused changes in the weather patterns already.”
“Yeah, like I didn’t gather that from the tornado in November.” Baz tore apart another bag of chips and poured them into a bowl he’d found in the station’s small kitchen.
“You asked, so shut up and listen,” Severin said, fighting to keep the frustration out of his voice. It’s going to mean a long winter if what I read is right.”
“How long?”
“Longer than we’ll live, even if we live to be a hundred.”
Baz paused with his hand still in the bowl of chips, his eyes widening in disbelief. “What?”
“Look, I didn’t really understand it completely myself. Tomorrow I can go back and see if any of the books survived. It’s just... too much to think about right now, okay?”
“Yeah, I guess.” Baz dropped his eyes and pushed the food together into a pile in the middle of the table. “So tomorrow, grocery store first. We’ll stock up on food and other supplies. Then the library. Then...” He gave a helpless shrug. “Then what? Do you need to pick up anything at your place?”
“No,” Severin said quickly. “We’ll figure it out tomorrow. I’m really tired.” He got up and went to curl up in the corner of the room, pillowing his head in his arms. After a moment Baz joined him, settling down with his back against Severin’s for warmth. By mutual silent agreement they left the lights on but though Baz’s breathing soon deepened into sleep, Severin lay awake for a long time, thinking.
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