A factory’s last stand

The winds rip past him as he opens the door. It is torn from his grasp, and slams hard against the building. He can barely stand, as he is buffeted and pushed by the sheer force of the winds. Instinctively he knows this is bad.

The Town before

Forty years before today, almost to the day, there was another town. It was similar to this town in almost every way. There had been a town hall and a school. In fact the earlier town had two schools.

There had been a library. However, to be fair, it had been a building attached to the town hall. There was a local hospital. Although it wasn’t as modern as the one in the city 132 miles away. Of course, all of this had been then. Just before the town had been erased.

Almost erased. The swingset factory had remained. Along with the local animal shelter. Every other structure inside the city limits had been knocked flat or blown into the neighboring communities. Furthermore, there had been tragedy as well, that day.

Tragic stories resulting from the extreme event. Many had perished that day. Now, forty years later, they have come full circle. Almost literally. The storm intensifies, and Samuel struggles.

A Factory’s Last

The wind lashes at Samuel and nearly pushes him into the wall. He is drenched in seconds as the heavy downpour rages. It is near the point of madness to try and place any more inventory.

The storm is now a force to be reckoned with. And the reckoning was beyond anything Samuel had ever experienced. He stumbles forward into the inventory yard. In the yard Now! The words had formed themselves on the glass of the door.

Furthermore, he wouldn’t even be considering this asinine behavior, if not for the history of this place.The wind shrieks and the rain lashes. He is drenched as he stumbles, and struggles to stay upright in the deluge.

He is moving toward the center of the factory’s storage lot. The lightning and thunder are near continuous now. Similarly he feels rattled and disoriented. The fury of the storm is directly above the factory now.

The Town Before

In the wake of the event, the swingset factory and the animal shelter, had been all that remained. The town had been small to start with. However, it had been the factory and shelter surviving, that had encouraged people to rebuild.

Furthermore, many of those making the decision to remain and rebuild, had lost more than everything in the event. Yet they chose to remain, and rebuild. Samuel’s own parents had chosen to remain. Even though Samuel’s grandparents had been lost in the terrible event.

The swingset factory was more than just an asset to the town. It had elements of being a cornerstone of history as well.

Stand

The rain lashes harder and Samuel has almost reached the center of the storage lot. The world around him is chaos. He searches for a clue or some sign. Anything that will signal a path forward.

He turns and looks back toward the factory. The lightning is flashing, and he can barely see through the sheeting rain. Yet, the funnel in the sky just beyond the factory, is unmistakable. Samuel stares in disbelief, as the rain crashes down, and the world begins to spin into madness.