It was days like this that Hayden was happy he had moved to this remote village. The sunny days were nice, but with the rain pouring down and the wind in his face Hayden truly felt happy with nature. Perhaps that was why Hayden had moved here for his job in meteorology, instead of staying in his home town of Oslo to work at the small weather station outside of town.
As he walked Hayden reached his favorite spot on his way to work, the bridge. The rain had caused the waterfall that flowed between the pillars of the bridge to become faster occasionally splashing up onto the bridge. Hayden always had thought the railings of the bridge were dangerously low and with the ground slick with rain water he made sure to be careful crossing the bridge. Past the bridge it was only a short walk up the mountain path to reach the weather station.
As he entered the weather station he was greeted by the station operator, Doctor Alstad, and his assistant, Amy. A large gust of wind slammed the door behind Hayden as he entered the building.
“Thank you for coming on your day off,” Dr. Alstad said turning in his chair, “But our other meteorologist got held up, and we need someone to make sure the storm doesn’t become dangerous.”
“Good morning doctor, and it’s not a problem really. How is your foot?” A couple days ago Alstad had tripped while climbing the mountain to the station and broke his foot. Now Amy had to help him get to and from his job.
“It’s healing nicely. Here have a seat.” Doctor Alstad patted a seat next to him, and Hayden sat down, scanning the equipment in front of him. After a moment of checking the feeds he sighed.
“Well, the storm is definitely going to get worse that’s for sure,” Hayden said dismally. As if to confirm his statement, a boom of thunder echoed through the air and the lights flickered before going out.
“Don’t worry I’ll get the backup generator running!” Amy shouted running to a different room of the building. After a moment of waiting, a loud clacking sound came from the room she went into and with a whir the room lit up again. Looking at the black clouds outside the window the room still felt dark despite the bright fluorescent lights. Hayden pried his eyes away from the window and looked back down at the console. His brow furled as he noticed something strange.
“Doctor could you focus on that right there,” Hayden said pointing at the bottom of the radar. After Alstad flipped a few switches the screen zoomed in on the area where Hayden was pointing and his heart skipped a beat.
“What’s going on?” Asked Amy who was just walking back into the room.
“That… That’s a hurricane,” Hayden stated, his eyes still glued to the screen.
“What? That’s impossible, the water here is too cold for a hurricane to form. Don’t you think someone would have noticed it forming before now anyways?”
“I don’t know how it’s possible,” Hayden said seriously, “But if I’m correct and that is a hurricane, then with its current trajectory the village could be in serious trouble!”
“Hayden is right,” interrupted Doctor Alstad, “We don’t take any risks here. Amy call the town hall and tell them to get everyone into shelter.”
“Y-yes sir,” Amy replied running over to the phone. After a moment she turned back to the other two. “The phone didn’t even ring. The power must have gone out in the village like it did here.” Hayden looked around and realized someone needed to head back to the town and warn them in person.
“Amy stay here with the doctor,” he said, “He needs you to look after him with his broken foot so I have to go and warn everyone about the hurricane.” Amy looked like she was about to argue with him but Alstad nodded.
“That is very brave of you Hayden, but be careful. The storm is already strong out there and it could be dangerous getting back.”
“I’ll be careful sir. Thank you,” Hayden replied before leaving the building.
As soon as he stepped outside Hayden was bombarded by rain and wind. He felt like if he jumped he would be thrown off the mountain. For a moment doubt flickered in his mind, but he gathered his resolve and began making his way down the mountain.
The rain had turned the dirt to mud that splashed up over Hayden as he ran through it. Lightning flashed followed by an echoing thunder. There was a difficulty keeping his eyes open as the rain seemed to be attacking him. Despite all of nature trying to push him back, Hayden continued on.
Suddenly, a flash of light and a deafening crackle stopped Hayden in his tracks. For a moment he couldn’t see anything but white, and all he could hear was static. As the world faded back into view he saw that a tree had fallen directly in front of him, still smoking where its trunk had been severed by the lightning. There was no way for Hayden to continue on his path. The only other way down the mountain was its steep slope to the side of the path. Hayden sighed as he began climbing over the railing between the path and the mountain side, luck clearly wasn’t on his side today.
Hayden carefully made his way down the slope grasping for rocks jutting out in case he slipped. About halfway down, as Hayden pressed down on a solid looking foothold the rock that he had chosen slid out of the mud and fell down the mountain. Having lost his balance, Hayden tumbled down after it. He tried desperately to slow himself down but the wet ground simply slid out of his grasp. By the time he reached the bottom Hayden was covered in mud and badly jostled. He felt like he had probably dislocated his shoulder. Still, he stood up, shook himself off, and began making his way to the village, albeit slightly slower.
Finally Hayden reached the bridge, his last obstacle between him and the city. The wind howled furiously as he approached it. The storm had whipped up the waves, which were splashing at the pillars and sliding across the walkway. He hesitated. If he were to slip and fall on the bridge the current would pull him down the falls onto the rocks below. Then again if he were to stay on this side then nobody in the town would know about the real danger that had yet to arrive. He cautiously stepped onto the stone bridge.
The ground beneath his feet felt even more slick than usual. It felt like the wind was trying to push him off his balance. Mist stung his eyes making it hard to see in front of him, but he kept pushing on. Halfway across the bridge a huge wave a hit the pillar right in front of Hayden, and the water sprayed over the bridge knocking him off his feet. As he slid across the ground towards the water, he barely managed to grab on to the small railing. He hung on tightly as his body dangled over the roaring waves below. If he died now nobody would know about the hurricane that was on its way. He tried to move his other hand up for support but moving his arm sent a pain through his shoulder. He couldn’t do anything.
Hayden had never been the most fit of people, but everyone has heard the stories of what someone can do when adrenaline kicks in. Mothers can lift cars off of their children, people can fight off attackers in their home. At this moment in time, with Hayden hanging with one arm over rapids that would carry him to his death and carrying the information necessary to save a whole town, he was filled with adrenaline. With only one arm he began swinging his body along the bridge until his leg reached the railing. With one final shove Hayden managed to boost his leg over the railing and caught it with his foot. With his new hold he managed to pull himself over the railing and back onto the bridge.
He lay on the solid ground for a moment, breathing hard. He could hardly believe that he was alive. He felt like he could fall asleep right there, on that stone ground in the cold rain. But his job wasn’t done yet. Hayden managed to push himself to his feet and began making his way along the final stretch to the village.
A fallen power cable lay to the side of the entrance of the town. Not a single light shone out of any of the houses and the streets were abandoned. Hayden made his way through the storm to the town hall. Inside people were bustling about with flashlights. Someone approached Hayden and asked what was wrong.
“There is a hurricane coming. Everyone has to get to shelter,” Hayden said before collapsing to the floor.
Hayden awoke in a soft bed in what looked like a temporary medical station.
“Where am I?” he asked drearily.
“You’re in the emergency shelter,” came a response beside his bed. It was Doctor Alstad. “An emergency group gathered everyone to safety and even managed to get us from the weather station. You saved everyone, Hayden.”
“Is this a bad time to ask for a raise?” Hayden asked pushing himself into a sitting position. Alstad laughed.
“Get some rest. After all the town is going to need its best meteorologist.