Evacuation

That was why when the banging on the door began the collective of students and teachers backed up, fear starting to well up at the edges of the anxiousness. One of the professors raised their hands and moved towards the heavy, metal door. Pulling it open they would come face to face with Sheriff Hardy. Pulling down his shades he would look between the professor and back to the students.

“Glad to see everyone in one piece. We’re evacuating the campus.” He motioned his hand before the professor looked back and ushered the students out in a somewhat controlled process.

Once everyone was out they were led out of the building proper. The winds were harsh and the heavy rains had made it difficult to see as it had summoned a dense fog which spilled from the woods in an eerie trail of mist. Sirens wailed across the streets as firemen and police had arrived at the scene. Students were being ushered into their family trucks, or led towards school buses that had been called to pick them up, to return them home. The storm was bad, but as Leslie and Jon were ushered toward a bus they would be able to see what all the chaos had been centered on. The old cafeteria had collapsed: a tree having fallen from the nearby woods and slammed through its roof, cutting the building in half. A large number of trees had been uprooted and the grounds were flooding terribly. That meant the river was starting to flood and with the campus being below the water table would make it the most dangerous place to be during such a storm. Leslie and Jon boarded the bus, absolutely soaked. Looking around, it was full to the teeth with students and a professor to help out.

“Oh, Jon, it’s the guys!” Leslie called before waving to Nathan and Nikki, the young man focused down on his music player while Nikki waved excitedly towards the other woman as she approached them.

The two women jumped against each other and hugged affectionately before they seated themselves and started to chat about the storm.

“So where were you guys,” Leslie began. “Jon was worried.” She looked to the young man with a teasing grin, but he looked to be staring off.

“Oh!” Nikki moved to grab Leslie’s forearm. “The storm started suddenly. Nate and I made our way to the gymnasium, but it was crowded already. Some people started to panic when the trees started falling and when the cafeteria was hit everyone started to rush out of the building, afraid it was next. A lot said they saw Mystic Molly.”

Nathan looked up towards the pair. “That’s just the hysteria. You know she doesn’t start showing up until winter, when she died.”

Jon had started after the taller woman, but stopped as he looked towards the field where he could see Mystic Molly staring at him from the gymnasium window. She pressed her hand to the glass, opening her mouth as if to call him, but the sound of roving crowds as they were hurried onto their rides would have drowned out anything she may have said. As he stared he could see her breathe onto the window and start to write something. Narrowing his eyes he would try to take a step towards the bus’ window, but before she could finish writing someone’s backpack was thrown against the same glass. ‘Thomas! Stop it!’ a faint voice called out. As the person came to pick up their pack and departed for their bus: he would have lost sight of Molly, so when he was finally given view of the window again -- she would have seemingly vanished, as did her message. All that remained was a wet hand-streak which was quickly drying.

“Jon, Jon!” Leslie called to him, the young man snapping to attention. They were all seated in the back, the woman patting a spot between her and Nikki.

Making his way over he tossed his backpack to the ground before sitting. The ride out of town felt long, but it was like on account of the bus driving agonizingly slow along the flooded roads. Waters were already ankle high and the skies were so black that even the street lights seemed a dim reconciliation to the shadows that now consumed every corner. Leslie was the first to get off as her dad’s truck waited for her at the edge of town. Her dad was an older man, his head mostly bald and greying where patches of hair still remained. He would always treat Leslie like the son he never had, which often accounted for her tomboyish nature. The older man patted Leslie on the back before hugging her, the two climbing into the cabin of the pick-up truck. It was decorated with various occult stickers, a hobby likely passed down from the older man. Leslie looked back, waving to the others as they would return the waves to the departing occultist. A flash of lightning lit up the area brilliantly, causing many of the students to murmur, others easily spooked by the intense storm despite them being a normal part of life out here. The weather was never just light -- it was always heavy or extreme in some way. When it poured -- it rained cats and dogs, as if it would never rain again. The bus finally began on its way again. In small groups students were dropped off by their homes. These bus drivers had been the ones who ferried the younger children back home so knew the routes well. The children had been sent home early, so they had been safe from the brunt of the storm until the older siblings arrived, or would have been greeted by babysitters.

Nathan would look out of the window as they arrived at his block. He tapped Nikki as he stood, who tapped Jon. Jon looked up, lost in his thoughts and worries, only to spy the two getting off.

“This isn’t my stop --!” He tried to protest, only to have Nikki grab his arm and pull him towards the exit.

They would thank the driver and head for Nathan’s house. His younger siblings had already returned home and were already tearing up the basement from the sounds of it. As Nathan made meticulous work of locking the door Nikki and Jon kicked off their shoes before heading for the living space. For Nikki this was a second home so she would quickly jump onto the couch and start setting up the television for the gaming console. It was an older system, but Nathan took good care of it, so it was in perfect working condition. Nathan motioned his thumb back to the kitchen.

“I’m gunna call my uncle and see where he is. You two can start up, I’ll bring some chips.” He leaned down to call down to the basement. “You monsters want anything?!”

“”No!”” The two called back before Nathan headed to the kitchen, picking up the phone from the wall as he crossed the threshold.

Jon settled against the couch cushions as he watched Nikki set up the systems. “Hey, Nikki?”

“Sup?” She responded.

This week over Nikki’s hair was extravagantly dyed a deep purple that did well to match the studs in her left ear as the right sported dashing rose gold studs. Her lip piercing was a gold-colored barbell with a ring clipped in the septum of her nose. It was difficult to not notice the array of piercings as she was one of the few in town that sported them. It was her audacious style that kept her from the inner circle of the other cheerleaders who were fashionistas that thrived on the attention from the teams. Nikki's style was adored among her friends and she had little reason to start from it. Her dad was given to the style himself as he owned the music store in town. He specialized in punk rock and old vinyls that the older crowds were fond of. Few had access to computers that could even loadout for MP3 players, so many still carried around Walkman and jumpy CD players. Jon tapped his knees before finally shuffling to the edge of the couch.

"Do you think occult stuff is strange o-or dangerous?" He never thought badly of Leslie but as of late he would notice the Occult Club hanging around the mortuary and staying late on campus to hold seances.

"What, no." Nikki laughed. "My family's actually Wiccan, so sometimes I help out the club to make sure they follow the rules, you know?" She moved towards the couch and plopped down beside Jon. "Plus it isn't strange to find them weird. There are some old fashioned beliefs in town. If we were anymore orthodox around here I'd be put on a witch trial." The idea was a bit unsettling.