Sunday, August 30, 2009

Crazy Weather

Annie shook her head at Ryan as he stared out the window, waiting for the delivery truck to arrive. He had received a letter from the Romoskovian government informing him that they were sending him a special gift as a thank you for saving their country from General Evil and his robot army.

"Is that a delivery truck?" asked Ryan

"No, that's a moving van." said Annie "Why don't you just go for a walk with Sawyer or something. You've been staring out this window for days."

"It's not everyday that a foreign government sends you a gift." said Ryan as he continued to watch for the delivery truck.

"There! That's it right there!" exclaimed Ryan as he ran outside while Annie followed. The two drivers of the semi-truck pulled up next to their house and began unloading a huge wooden crate.

"Where do you want it?" asked the driver

"Wow, it's huge!" exclaimed Ryan "Um, go ahead and put it in the driveway I guess. What is it?"

"I have no idea, but it weighs a ton" said the driver as he lowered the crate and moved it onto Ryan's driveway with a hydraulic hand cart.

Sawyer peaked his head around the corner of the house to investigate the noise.

"Just sign here and initial here and here." said the other driver

Ryan signed the paperwork and thanked the drivers as they drove away.

"I'm going to Starbucks." said Annie "Have fun with your box."

Ryan got a crowbar from the garage and started to break open the box. Inside, they found a 1969 Chevy Malibu in dire need of restoration.

"Cool!" said Ryan and Sawyer as they high-fived each other.

Ryan and Sawyer pushed the car into the garage and closed the door. They wanted to start fixing it up right away, so they jumped in their truck and headed to the store to buy parts and tools. Ryan had to stop at a bank first to get some cash, so Sawyer waited in the truck while Ryan went inside. Sawyer watched as Ryan went inside, then he looked around to make sure no one was watching. Once he was sure there were no witnesses, he put a CD into the stereo, closed his eyes and sat back in his chair with a smile while he sang along out-loud. 'Oh, see that girl! Watch that scene! Diggin' the dancing queen!' Just then, Ryan opened the truck door, startling Sawyer.

"What are you doing!?" demanded Sawyer

"I forgot my wallet. What are YOU doing?" asked Ryan

"I... I was... Just take your wallet and get out of here!" said Sawyer with a growl

Ryan grabbed his wallet and gave Sawyer a look, then went back into the bank. Once inside, he got in line behind a woman wearing a thick coat and a knit hat. It seemed unusual since it wasn't really that cold out.

"Anticipating a blizzard?" asked Ryan

"Something like that." said the woman

Once it was her turn, the woman in the coat walked up to the teller and handed her a piece of paper. The teller read the note, then looked up in shock and surprise. The woman in the coat said nothing. She just stood there waiting for the teller to do whatever was on the note. In a rush of panic, the teller hit an alarm and dropped to the floor. In an instant, the woman in the coat pulled two very strange looking weapons from her coat and pointed them into the air. She pulled the triggers on both, but nothing happened. Suddenly, the temperature in the room began to drop and small clouds covered the ceiling of the bank. Snow began to fall and winds blew from nowhere. It was as if she had created a blizzard in the bank. Everyone started to shiver and shake uncontrollably. A security guard tried to get his gun and fire it, but the woman pointed one of the weapons at him and pulled the trigger, causing a bolt of lighting from the cloud to strike him. He slumped over and didn't move.

"As long as there are no more heroes amongst you, there will be no more harm." said the woman "My name is Terra Steel, but you will refer to me as Elementis!"

"That is the dumbest name I have ever heard in my life." Ryan thought to himself

The bank tellers worked as fast as they could in the freezing conditions. They filled a duffel bag with money, then handed it back to Elementis. She made her way to the door, then stopped. The police had surrounded the building already.

"Looks like you're all hostages now." said Elementis "Get the police on the phone." she commanded one of the tellers

Ryan looked around and saw that everyone was freezing just as bad as he was. He preferred cold weather, but this was a bit much considering he was dressed for summer.

"Excuse me, Weather Lady?" said Ryan

"Elementis!" she shouted back, pointing one of the weapons at Ryan.

"Right, Elementis... do you mind turning the AC down a bit? It's pretty chilly in here. Unless you want all of your hostages to freeze to death before you can negotiate." said Ryan

Elementis thought for a moment, then agreed. "Very well." she said as she flipped a switch on the weapon and pulled the trigger. The snow stopped, but the cloud stayed. Then it started to rain.

"There." she said "Now you won't freeze to death."

"Wow, thanks." Ryan thought "This is way better."

"Uh... Elementis?" said a bank teller.

"What is it now?" Elementis snapped.

"The police are on the phone. They want to know your demands." said the bank teller

Elementis took the phone and started negotiating with the police.

"I want all of the police to back up about 200 yards." said Elementis "I'm willing to release a few hostages in exchange."

She listened to the officers reply for a moment then shot back:

"All of them? No. No chance. I will give you all but one, but if you don't back away within 10 minutes of the last hostage being released, I'll kill him." she said.

Elementis listened to the officer for a minute, then said:

"I already know who's staying behind." she stared at Ryan then turned her back to him.

"Aw, crap..." thought Ryan

Elementis handed Ryan the phone. "They want to talk to you." she said

"Hello?" said Ryan

"Hello, this is Officer Culver. I understand that the woman holding you hostage chose you to stay behind. What's your name?"

"Well, Officer Culver, since the crazy chick who took us hostage is standing right next to me and she can control lightning, I think I'll remain Anonymous. Just call me 'Leo'." said Ryan

"Okay, Leo, here's the deal. She says she'll release everyone if you agree to stay behind. This could be very dangerous for you since she has also stated that she will kill you if we don't back away."

"Yeah, I caught that part." said Ryan

"Now, I can't promise that we'll be able to back away like she asked because that's against procedure." explained Officer Culver

"So..." said Ryan

"So we're hoping she's bluffing." said the officer

Ryan put his face in his palm and thought for a minute, then talked to the officer again.

"Fine. I'll do it. But I have a demand of my own." he said as he looked at Elementis "When the hostages leave, I want my dog in here. He's in my truck in the parking lot."

Elementis grabbed the phone from Ryan.

"No! No dogs!" she exclaimed

"He's just a Lab. A nice dog who would never attack anyone. I just want some company before you do something crazy." said Ryan

Elementis thought about her options for a moment, then agreed.

"Send in the dog." she said

* * * * *

After all the hostages were cleared from the bank, Sawyer was let inside. He glanced around the room, found Ryan and trotted over to him.

"Good to see you, bud." said Ryan as he gave Sawyer a pat on the back.

"You say this lady can control the weather with her weapons?" Sawyer whispered

"Yeah, so be careful." said Ryan

Elementis walked over and checked her watch. "9 minutes left and the police have yet to move. Time to make our way to the roof." she said

"Why the roof? There's still time." said Ryan

"Whether they leave or not does not matter. I'll be escaping from the roof." said Elementis

Elementis led them up the stairs to the roof of the building. She had ordered Ryan to bring a chair which she sat down on and waited, occasionally checking her watch.

"So, you're the type of girl who would prefer to talk about the weather?" asked Ryan

"Shut up." said Elementis

"No. I have less than 10 minutes to live and I have questions I want answered." said Ryan as Sawyer stood and started walking to the edge of the building.

"Where is he going?" demanded Elementis

"He just has to take a leak." said Ryan "Now, how do those weapons work? Can you make any storm you want?"

"Yes." said Elementis "Extreme heat or cold. Snow, hail, rain or anything else."

Ryan had her full attention now as Sawyer circled around behind their captor.

"Hurricanes? Tornadoes?" asked Ryan

"Not with these little ones, but I have more powerful ones elsewhere." said Elementis "Sadly, I cannot let you go with this much knowledge. Goodbye, Leo."

Elementis pointed a weapon at Ryan, flipped a switch and pulled the trigger. A dark cloud formed over the bank as thunder rumbled around them. The thunder was loud enough that Elementis did not hear Sawyer charging her until the last minute. Sawyer bit her arm just as she commanded a lightning bolt to strike! The bolt hit the building, but missed it's target. Ryan ran to help Sawyer who was struggling to make Elementis drop the weapon. She kicked Sawyer, causing him to lose his grip of her arm. She pointed the weapon at Sawyer, but Ryan ran into her knocking it free from her hand. Elementis quickly regained herself and ran towards the dropped weapon as she took off her coat, revealing a parachute. In one quick motion, she picked up the weapon, flipped a switch and pulled the trigger, causing a powerful gust of wind to pick her up. The police could see her in the air from across the street and tried to take action.

"That's the suspect!" said Officer Culver "Take the shot if you have it." he said over his radio.

Elementis pointed both weapons towards Ryan and Sawyer, but was surprised when a bullet whistled past her. She saw the police firing shots at her and aimed a weapon in their direction, flipped a switch and fired it. A thick fog settled around the bank.

"Hold your fire!" yelled Officer Culver "You might hit a hostage."

Elementis lowered herself to the roof top and grabbed the duffel bag of money. She lifted herself back into the sky and pointed a weapon at Ryan and Sawyer.

"Let's get out of here!" yelled Sawyer over the howling winds and thunder.

"The door! Use the door!" said Ryan as they ran for the door they came out of.

"It's locked!" said Sawyer as he frantically struggled to open the door.

"We gotta jump! Come on!" yelled Ryan as they ran for the edge of the building.

Bolts of lightning slammed into the ground behind them, destroying antennas and satellite dishes as they sprinted to safety. They jumped off of the two story building without hesitation and landed on the ground, rolling into a heap. Elementis started to follow them, but the sounds of a helicopter in the distance made her reconsider. A gust of wind carried her off into the distance.

* * * * *

Officer Culver found Ryan and Sawyer after the fog cleared. Other than a few scrapes and bruises, they were uninjured by their fall.

"She got away with the money." said Ryan

"Don't worry about that." said Officer Culver

"I'm not, I just think she has something else planned. Something a lot bigger than a bank robbery." said Ryan

"Why do you think that?" asked Culver

"She said she had more of those weapons. Stronger ones." said Ryan

After Ryan had finished talking to the police, he and Sawyer went home without any car parts. When they returned home, they found Annie waiting for them inside.

"I heard what happened while I was at Starbucks. Are you guys OK?" asked Annie

"Yeah, but I think I caught a cold." said Ryan

"Do you think that Terra Steel will be back?" asked Annie

"I don't know." said Ryan "I guess that will be a story for another time."

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