I can’t decide.
One moment I want to kill the humans, the next I don’t.
Not only that, but is something happening to my eyewall? I’m hovering behind it, staring up at the thunderstorms and clouds, which seem to be growing and caving in on my eye. Is this really how powerful I am?
In just a few days after seeing the mangled sailor, I exploded to Category 5 strength, and now this? It’s as if all my emotions have unleashed at once, taking on the form of rapid intensification and an eyewall replacement. This also means that my tropical storm-force winds will now extend even further.
There is no doubt—I’m a massive, destructive hurricane like Helene, and even though it’s incredible, I still feel conflicted about humans. Is this right, or am I just another monster? Is there any way for Mother Nature to tell me what to do?
My initial plan was to devastate the Caribbean, then Florida, and finally the US East Coast, but now I’m unsure. Those solar panels were another sign that there are humans who care. I now have to watch myself fall apart during this eyewall replacement. I never thought I’d think this, but where are those Hurricane Hunters? I don’t want to face this alone. I died when I was seventeen, and I still feel seventeen.
I jump into my new eyewall, my mind spinning with the loud and violent sounds all around me: thunderstorms, lightning, and wind. Something appears beside me, the Hurricane Hunters—finally. Did they hear my plea? I feel a bit safer, now that they’re here, because I know they have a tough jet that I can’t take down easily. I will do whatever I can to protect them, but again, I can’t be tamed. I’m going to kill people, and knowing that is what hurts.
Whoa! What was that? A lightning bolt just flashed between the Hunters and me, blinding me.
A minute passes, and then I can see again, but wait… Where are the Hunters? Oh, no, no, no, no!
I hurry down to the rough ocean and begin looking around, dodging waves and lightning. Please, no, please.
No!
There’s the airplane, with one engine gone, floating in the ocean, a single crew member holding onto it.
He climbs onto the airplane’s wing, and my heart breaks when I see his face. Such a brave man, now vulnerable. His eyes show fear and sorrow, and I see his lips move.
I’m sorry, he mouths as an enormous wave begins cresting over him and the airplane.
No, please, but the man knows just as well as I do. He can’t do anything, and neither can I.
I can’t save him, yet I can’t bear to watch this, unlike Helene, and turn away. I hear the wave crash, accompanied by a thunderclap.
When I finally look back, the man and airplane are gone, and so am I. I truly am a monster.
I killed the Hurricane Hunters.
ns216.73.216.174da2
and then Add to home screen.