By: Ben  Xu

My conscience screamed at me. I froze in the instant of decision, looking desperately into my past. I had to choose between what was right and what was easy. The grim storm brewed behind the window. The torrid heat choked my throat, telling me to stay fearful and prudent.

The winds wildly lashed at the sky. I stared, terrified, at what lay past the window. Winds thrashed about, creating a deafening howl in the air. That’s where my sister was. She was lost in the savage bashing of the winds. I inhaled and exhaled. I made my decision.

I burst out of the house as the winds suddenly thrust me across the yard. I came back onto my feet, petrified. I bolted into the wind, head first. My hair exploded backward as I ran into the catastrophic storm.

I ran to the softball fields. Empty. I stopped. Astonished. Luna, my sister, wasn’t at softball practice. There was no softball practice. She’s gone. I toppled onto the ground, partially due to the harsh wind and partially due to my demoralized state.

A loud howling erupted from the distance. I ignored it. The confounded wind started to push harder and harder. Reluctantly, I sat up and my eyes steadily followed the overwhelming noise. I gasped. This wasn’t just a storm. It was a hurricane. Water spun around in an immense whirl as if mocking my literal existence. My presence to this enormous cyclone was like a tiny spec of salt to the endless sea. I sprinted, all out, in the opposite direction, aghast and thunderstruck.

Suddenly, despair engulfed me into a pit of dismay and disquiet. It was too late. The hurricane lunged toward me. Its looming structure menaced anything in its way. A downfall of water suddenly burst from above. Rain splattered about, blinding my view of the hurricane. Winds surged into a powerful thrash, and my feet left the ground. I looked around, in complete disbelief as I levitated into the sky.

The wind shoved me closer to the hurricane as the water drenched my clothes. The pandemonium of the moment drew me to trepidation and astonishment. My right leg scraped against the hurricane, and I immediately whirled toward the ground. Another set of strong winds thwacked at me, and I spiraled into the daylight. My limbs flailed in midair, helplessly, as I circled the immense cyclone. A gush of water thrashed at me, and I smashed into the wall of a nearby house. The brick wall crumbled to pieces, and the ceiling hurled down toward me. Quickly, I scrambled out of the way. A heavy piece of brick stabbed at my leg, and I howled in agony.

I grasped the brick, realizing that the extra weight kept me on the ground. Urgently, I sprinted away, the brick tucked under my arm.