Priscilla Sum

Part 24--Meanwhile....

Back in Chicago...

Chelsea Perrit stepped out of Beecher Hall and braced herself. The minute she left the protection of the entryway, the torrential rain and the gusts of wind that blew it sideways slammed into her. She clutched her purse and her book bag close to her body as she worked her way across the street to her car in the museum parking lot. With wind this strong, there wasn't any point in carrying an umbrella anymore. She couldn't relax until she plopped her sodden body into the driver's seat and closed the door against the furious weather outside. Only then could she lean back and take the first breath since leaving the safety of the building. It was a miracle her car even started up in this weather.

For two days straight, this freak storm system that blew in out of nowhere had camped out over all five Great Lakes, and it didn't show any sign of slacking. People looked like shapeless blobs of weatherproof gear anymore--but as long as the roads were still passable, life wasn't completely shut down.

Chelsea felt the tacky sensation of her soaking clothes clinging to her skin and she groaned.

"Why do I have to keep going to school in this awful weather?" she groaned to herself as she pulled out onto the short road that would take her east toward Lake Shore Drive. Chelsea involuntarily leaned forward and squinted against the veritable waterfall sloshing over her windshield. Normally, she would feel guilty crawling at under 30 miles an hour down the main road, but it seemed to be the popular thing to do, anymore. Her headlights barely gave her visibility, and her wipers pumped at full speed, yet it barely seemed to make a difference.

Chelsea watched the treetops whip around as she merged onto the eastbound highway. Even the traffic lights on their sturdy metal poles slowly swayed back and forth in the wind. In the space of a few blocks, Chelsea counted no less than five cars over the side of the road--and three of those were grouped together. She crawled past the flashing lights of the EMTs and the police cars on site.

"What in the heck?" She thought about flipping on the radio, but decided against it. The rain hammered loudly against her roof anyhow.

Movement in her periphery dragged her attention back to the road. She tensed as she watched a car moving much faster than hers slid sideways into the lane next to her. It coasted by her, water flying, and she watched the driver fight for control as a gust of wind that pounded the side of her car caught the fast-moving vehicle and spun it sideways. Chelsea cringed, but at least the honking cars managed to drive around the vehicle as it slid through the guard rail and tumbled over the grassy shoulder. That was one car that probably wouldn't make it back home anytime soon.

Finally, after her twenty-minute commute stretched almost to forty-five minutes, Chelsea made it home. She pulled into the garage and just sat, grateful for the security and silence that surrounded her now. Her mind drifted to the five classmates on the faraway Greek island field trip. What sort of weather did they have in Greece, she wondered. She shook her head as she dragged her soggy self into the house, confirmed her arrival with her parent, and trudged upstairs to her room.

A nice, warm shower and a change of dry clothes later, and Chelsea felt more relaxed and human. On a whim, she checked the weather over the Mediterranean--balmy, mild temperatures.

"Of course they would," she grumbled to herself, setting everything aside to do some studying and finish homework assignments before bed.

That night, Chelsea Perrit dreamed. She saw the swirling clouds and the angry bolts of lightning, the churning Lakes and the drowning streets--and above it all, she saw giant figures clad in tunics and robes, tossing weather patterns at the globe like a kid throwing pebbles into a puddle.

A thunderbolt clapped, and Chelsea rocketed into wakefulness. Her scalp crawled with sweat and her heart pounded against her ribcage. The dream had been so vivid--she rolled her eyes and blamed the Ancient Folklore lesson she'd been studying just before going to sleep.