| General Non-Fiction posted June 4, 2020 |
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true storm story
Saved by the Bell
by Iza Deleanu
The author has placed a warning on this post for language.
I must admit I am not a fan of the storms, and when they come with the whole orchestra it scares the shit out of me. Rain is ok, but cold rain combined with lightening and thunder, no, Sir, that is not on my "play list." The storms in Alberta are usually just like that.
As a child I used to hide under the table. As an adult, I am practicing the safe distancing from any windows and electrical outlets. In the summer of 2013 I witnessed my first super scary and destructive storm since my arrival in Canada.
I was working for an oil and gas company and my working unit was hosted on the 15th floor. Safety, for our company, was a very serious thing. Coincidence or not, that morning during our mandatory safety meeting we had a conversation on what to do in case of tornado. I aced it: I know that if you are caught in an open field you should hide in a ditch, and then I went with the usual, seek shelter in a barn or we had some maps with places marked where you could find shelter.
Nobody thought that we would need to discuss what to do when a bad-ass storm is coming, and you are stuck in the office with no electricity. " Luckily" I got stuck with some projects managers that were trained for situations like this. Trust me, locked up in a strom on the 15th floor is not easy as it seems. Our building had 25 floors and it was all freaking windows. But here is my story.
It was 5 pm and most of my coworkers were already home. I stayed later, because I wanted to finish a project. As I was writing my documentation, suddenly I felt very chilly and that the natural light that I was using was less and less "approachable". Then the emergency alarm from my phone start shouting : Severe Storm approaching Alberta. I took my eyes off of the computer and mesmerized, I gasped. On the horizon, a black cloud was eating all the white ones and was coming towards our building, breathing fire and pouring rain. Helpless, I stood up and ran to the next cubicle where Annie from the Innovation Department was working. I screamed:
- Annie, what the hell do we do? Look what's coming our way. She didn't hear me and continue to work like there was no tomorrow. I went closer to her desk and waved my hands in front of her. She jumped:
- What the heck are you doing?
- Me? Nothing! Look outside!
- Holy macaroni, what is that?
- I think is the mother of all storms, so what do we do? I remember that is not safe to take the elevator and the last thing I want is to free fall into the basement.
- Let's talk to John, he is our safety warden and I think I just saw him passing by a couple of minutes ago.
We went to John and one look at me and he started laughing like crazy. I was trembling like a leaf in the middle of the winter.
- Why are you so scared? It's just a storm with thunder and lightening?
- Just a storm, this it's a freaking tornado. Do you know how it feels to be up in the air in the middle of an Apocalypse? Can you feel how the building is shaking and trembling with each thunder scream?
- Relax, this building is on wheels, nothing is going to happen?
- Huh? On wheels? You mean we might end up in River Valley? Sure, I like the view, but too much water is not good for my health.
- Nooo! What I am trying to say is that it will adjust no matter the shifting. O.K. calm down let's apply the safety protocols. Let's divide this floor and each of you unplugged all the electrical outlets and computers that you can find. We want to avoid an electrical surge that will cause fire. Also make sure that all the doors from the offices are open. Again, in case of fire it is easier for the firefighters to identify potential victims. I will go to scout out a flashlight from our materials management room. It's too dark for you guys to go, so after you're done your tasks let's meet back here ASAP.
Annie and I did what we were told, and then came back in front of his office.
John returned and said:
- I don't want you to panic, but we have no phones and no signal for our mobiles. The infrastructure is down. I am going to ask you both a question and I want you to think. Have you seen any office that is far away from the windows and has as little glass as possible?
- Yup, my records room, is exactly like a bunker. But is very dark in there.
- No worries, we got this, and he showed me the flash light.
- Super, the last thing I want to see is a romantic candle burning up my boxes of records.
We went into that room and waited for two hours. Finally, the rained stopped and only lighting was brazing the horizon. I was too scared to take the bus, so Annie offered me a ride. The next day we found out that our office in Calgary was flooded as well as some other important parts of the downtown. I guess I was saved by the holy bell that day. With my weak heart, being on the street.... I would probably ... die.
Storm Approaches writing prompt entry
I must admit I am not a fan of the storms, and when they come with the whole orchestra it scares the shit out of me. Rain is ok, but cold rain combined with lightening and thunder, no, Sir, that is not on my "play list." The storms in Alberta are usually just like that.
As a child I used to hide under the table. As an adult, I am practicing the safe distancing from any windows and electrical outlets. In the summer of 2013 I witnessed my first super scary and destructive storm since my arrival in Canada.
I was working for an oil and gas company and my working unit was hosted on the 15th floor. Safety, for our company, was a very serious thing. Coincidence or not, that morning during our mandatory safety meeting we had a conversation on what to do in case of tornado. I aced it: I know that if you are caught in an open field you should hide in a ditch, and then I went with the usual, seek shelter in a barn or we had some maps with places marked where you could find shelter.
Nobody thought that we would need to discuss what to do when a bad-ass storm is coming, and you are stuck in the office with no electricity. " Luckily" I got stuck with some projects managers that were trained for situations like this. Trust me, locked up in a strom on the 15th floor is not easy as it seems. Our building had 25 floors and it was all freaking windows. But here is my story.
It was 5 pm and most of my coworkers were already home. I stayed later, because I wanted to finish a project. As I was writing my documentation, suddenly I felt very chilly and that the natural light that I was using was less and less "approachable". Then the emergency alarm from my phone start shouting : Severe Storm approaching Alberta. I took my eyes off of the computer and mesmerized, I gasped. On the horizon, a black cloud was eating all the white ones and was coming towards our building, breathing fire and pouring rain. Helpless, I stood up and ran to the next cubicle where Annie from the Innovation Department was working. I screamed:
- Annie, what the hell do we do? Look what's coming our way. She didn't hear me and continue to work like there was no tomorrow. I went closer to her desk and waved my hands in front of her. She jumped:
- What the heck are you doing?
- Me? Nothing! Look outside!
- Holy macaroni, what is that?
- I think is the mother of all storms, so what do we do? I remember that is not safe to take the elevator and the last thing I want is to free fall into the basement.
- Let's talk to John, he is our safety warden and I think I just saw him passing by a couple of minutes ago.
We went to John and one look at me and he started laughing like crazy. I was trembling like a leaf in the middle of the winter.
- Why are you so scared? It's just a storm with thunder and lightening?
- Just a storm, this it's a freaking tornado. Do you know how it feels to be up in the air in the middle of an Apocalypse? Can you feel how the building is shaking and trembling with each thunder scream?
- Relax, this building is on wheels, nothing is going to happen?
- Huh? On wheels? You mean we might end up in River Valley? Sure, I like the view, but too much water is not good for my health.
- Nooo! What I am trying to say is that it will adjust no matter the shifting. O.K. calm down let's apply the safety protocols. Let's divide this floor and each of you unplugged all the electrical outlets and computers that you can find. We want to avoid an electrical surge that will cause fire. Also make sure that all the doors from the offices are open. Again, in case of fire it is easier for the firefighters to identify potential victims. I will go to scout out a flashlight from our materials management room. It's too dark for you guys to go, so after you're done your tasks let's meet back here ASAP.
Annie and I did what we were told, and then came back in front of his office.
John returned and said:
- I don't want you to panic, but we have no phones and no signal for our mobiles. The infrastructure is down. I am going to ask you both a question and I want you to think. Have you seen any office that is far away from the windows and has as little glass as possible?
- Yup, my records room, is exactly like a bunker. But is very dark in there.
- No worries, we got this, and he showed me the flash light.
- Super, the last thing I want to see is a romantic candle burning up my boxes of records.
We went into that room and waited for two hours. Finally, the rained stopped and only lighting was brazing the horizon. I was too scared to take the bus, so Annie offered me a ride. The next day we found out that our office in Calgary was flooded as well as some other important parts of the downtown. I guess I was saved by the holy bell that day. With my weak heart, being on the street.... I would probably ... die.
As a child I used to hide under the table. As an adult, I am practicing the safe distancing from any windows and electrical outlets. In the summer of 2013 I witnessed my first super scary and destructive storm since my arrival in Canada.
I was working for an oil and gas company and my working unit was hosted on the 15th floor. Safety, for our company, was a very serious thing. Coincidence or not, that morning during our mandatory safety meeting we had a conversation on what to do in case of tornado. I aced it: I know that if you are caught in an open field you should hide in a ditch, and then I went with the usual, seek shelter in a barn or we had some maps with places marked where you could find shelter.
Nobody thought that we would need to discuss what to do when a bad-ass storm is coming, and you are stuck in the office with no electricity. " Luckily" I got stuck with some projects managers that were trained for situations like this. Trust me, locked up in a strom on the 15th floor is not easy as it seems. Our building had 25 floors and it was all freaking windows. But here is my story.
It was 5 pm and most of my coworkers were already home. I stayed later, because I wanted to finish a project. As I was writing my documentation, suddenly I felt very chilly and that the natural light that I was using was less and less "approachable". Then the emergency alarm from my phone start shouting : Severe Storm approaching Alberta. I took my eyes off of the computer and mesmerized, I gasped. On the horizon, a black cloud was eating all the white ones and was coming towards our building, breathing fire and pouring rain. Helpless, I stood up and ran to the next cubicle where Annie from the Innovation Department was working. I screamed:
- Annie, what the hell do we do? Look what's coming our way. She didn't hear me and continue to work like there was no tomorrow. I went closer to her desk and waved my hands in front of her. She jumped:
- What the heck are you doing?
- Me? Nothing! Look outside!
- Holy macaroni, what is that?
- I think is the mother of all storms, so what do we do? I remember that is not safe to take the elevator and the last thing I want is to free fall into the basement.
- Let's talk to John, he is our safety warden and I think I just saw him passing by a couple of minutes ago.
We went to John and one look at me and he started laughing like crazy. I was trembling like a leaf in the middle of the winter.
- Why are you so scared? It's just a storm with thunder and lightening?
- Just a storm, this it's a freaking tornado. Do you know how it feels to be up in the air in the middle of an Apocalypse? Can you feel how the building is shaking and trembling with each thunder scream?
- Relax, this building is on wheels, nothing is going to happen?
- Huh? On wheels? You mean we might end up in River Valley? Sure, I like the view, but too much water is not good for my health.
- Nooo! What I am trying to say is that it will adjust no matter the shifting. O.K. calm down let's apply the safety protocols. Let's divide this floor and each of you unplugged all the electrical outlets and computers that you can find. We want to avoid an electrical surge that will cause fire. Also make sure that all the doors from the offices are open. Again, in case of fire it is easier for the firefighters to identify potential victims. I will go to scout out a flashlight from our materials management room. It's too dark for you guys to go, so after you're done your tasks let's meet back here ASAP.
Annie and I did what we were told, and then came back in front of his office.
John returned and said:
- I don't want you to panic, but we have no phones and no signal for our mobiles. The infrastructure is down. I am going to ask you both a question and I want you to think. Have you seen any office that is far away from the windows and has as little glass as possible?
- Yup, my records room, is exactly like a bunker. But is very dark in there.
- No worries, we got this, and he showed me the flash light.
- Super, the last thing I want to see is a romantic candle burning up my boxes of records.
We went into that room and waited for two hours. Finally, the rained stopped and only lighting was brazing the horizon. I was too scared to take the bus, so Annie offered me a ride. The next day we found out that our office in Calgary was flooded as well as some other important parts of the downtown. I guess I was saved by the holy bell that day. With my weak heart, being on the street.... I would probably ... die.
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Writing Prompt Write a short story where a storm is approaching. Minimum length 700 words. Maximum Length 4,000 words. |
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