I crept silently out of my house, into the raging storm outside. This was the third massive storm in one week. Something just wasn’t right.

Surrounding my house were members of the Weather Safety Agency. They were men, dressed in all black, whose job was to ensure that every citizen of Seashore stayed inside their homes during these devastating, frequent storms.

Rain poured down from the sky, with such force that it cut through the leaves of the trees. Lightning shot across the sky in a giant web of blinding light. It was followed by bone-rattling thunder. Chilling storm sirens blared all throughout the city of Seashore, sending ghostly echoes all the way up to Heaven.

I snuck over my fence, making sure none of the Weather Safety Agents saw me. I landed in a puddle of cold mud. It covered me, making me shiver. Nevertheless, I continued walking away from my house. Away from the city of Seashore. Away from the streetlights, the buildings, the Weather Safety Agency… away from everything. 

Eventually, I found myself standing atop a very tall hill. I looked down. All that I could see, for miles in every direction, was darkness and rain. When lightning flashed, distant mountains were briefly illuminated. 

Beside me was a short, but luscious and healthy tree. The intense storm winds slammed into it, bending it tremendously. Its branches creaked and groaned. Many snapped off and were carried down the gargantuan hill, which I had just dragged my exhausted body up. 

Something caught my eye amidst the tree’s bright green leaves. Something white. I pushed some of the leaves aside. With a rustling sound, the object was revealed; it was a white electronic fan… blowing wind into the tree.

My heart nearly stopped. I ran to a much taller tree and scrambled my way to the top. I slipped numerous times. Splinters filled my hands. Twigs sliced my face. Slugs stuck to my skin. I ignored it all and somehow reached the top of this massive tree. 

I looked above me. Up to the sky. The sky… There were millions of little holes in it. The rain was coming from those holes, like water from a showerhead.

Clunk. A sound came from far below. I looked down, beyond the hill… 

Something was going on in the distance. A group of Weather Safety Agency men, all wearing black, were carrying a massive drill. With shocking speed, they readied the device and began drilling into the ground. I gasped when a ray of shimmering light escaped from the ground. It came from deep beneath the Earth’s surface.

These storms are not real storms. They’re distractions.