Chapter Text
The street was a mess. There was debris everywhere and Kate could barely hear Tyler yelling at people. Maybe he was yelling at her, she really couldn’t tell.
The wind picked up and nearly blew Kate over. Her eyes met his, and they telepathically decided to book it for the movie theater.
Like racehorses taking off, Kate and Tyler were running as fast as they could.
They needed to get inside, now.
Suddenly, that damn tramcar appeared and was teetering in the wind over Tyler. He ran, but not fast enough.
The debris fell in just the right way and he was instantly pinned to the ground. He screamed as the scraps of metal trapped him against the cold, wet concrete.
Kate whipped around, her body swaying dangerously in the wind. She ran back for Tyler and crouched down next to him.
Just by the look on his face, she knew he wasn't walking out of this one. All of his face muscles were clenched and his teeth were bared and straining.
She jumped into action and found a hold on the metal. She lifted with every atom in her body, nothing short of willing the debris to float up off of him. The water tower's metal groaned loudly, nearing collapse.
As she lifted, Tyler was fruitlessly trying to retract his left leg. His efforts weren’t doing anything besides causing more bleeding. His jeans twisted sharply and she could tell they were being soaked in a dark substance.
“Tyler! Stop! You’re making it worse!” she yelled.
He didn't bat an eye, but seemed to stop ripping his limb out. He shifted around, trying to help Kate angle the metal away from him.
“I can’t get it!” Kate yelled breathlessly.
Tyler frantically looked at his level. There was no good way for him to assist Kate in any way.
He. was. stuck.
Suddenly, an old memory came flooding back into his brain. He had once been trapped in a similar situation with Boone. It wasn't quite as serious, you know, with the whole E5 tornado coming to get them. No, this past time, Tyler had just gotten pinned down with some fallen farm equipment. There wasn't any risk there. Yes, he had gotten some bruises, but nothing serious. This go around, he was pretty sure his leg was severely broken.
“It’s gonna be okay Ty, I’ll find a way to get you out of here. I promise” she said frantically. Tyler could see the anxiousness scribbled all over her face.
“Kate…” he didn't even have to finish.
“No! Tyler! I am not leaving you! You will come back with me!”
“Mmhhhhmmmm” Tyler sighed. He was losing fight, and fast.
“KATE!” Javi yelled. He had suddenly appeared and was running to the pair from the other side of the street, opposite the movie theater.
“JAVI! Help me, fast!”
Javi scampered over and quickly grabbed a metal pipe. He propped it under the beam and pushed down with all his being. Kate lifted closer to Tyler.
The release was astounding. Tyler hadn’t realized how much weight was on his leg until it was all gone. The water tower's first leg fell crashing down just a few feet from Tyler.
“He’s not doing too hot, we need to get him inside, now!” Javi said, inspecting Tyler’s upper body.
Neither of them bothered to look too closely at his leg; injuries made the two queasy.
From Kate’s quick glance, she gathered that his leg was likely broken and his calf muscle was bleeding profusely.
“Can you walk?” Javi asked, getting on the left side of Tyler.
“Fuck no” Tyler mumbled, his legs dragging behind him between to two smaller people.
“Sorry, dumb question,” Javi replied.
“Alright, we’ve gotta put him down somewhere safe, he can't save himself if the building collapses. After he’s secure, we have to make sure the people are all okay” Kate said.
“Agreed” Javi strained out.
“Mmmmmuuuuuhhhhhh” Tyler moaned. He was losing a grip fast.
The sound of a water tower crashing came from behind them.
Before they could turn to watch their doom, they felt it. The water pushed them all down simultaneously. Tyler hit the ground first and unsuccessfully tried to get up.
Water rushed past his body, and it felt like it was going through him it was so strong. He was carried twenty feet or so and rolled over multiple times. His instincts fared him well, as the fetal position had just prevented him from hitting anything fatally.
Kate and Javi appear at his sides not long after he was able to breathe again. They grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted.
The still rushing six inches of water didn't help the trio, but it did cool Tyler down.
“You’re almost there Ty. We’re almost there” Kate said.
It probably didn't help that Tyler’s injured leg was dragging on the ground behind them, hitting every bump on the road.
“Guys…just leave…me” Tyler whispered through gritted teeth.
Kate wasn't sure how she heard him, but she heard him.
“Absoutley not Tyler! We are almost to the front doors!” she said, basically yelling over the howling wind and rain.
“Where are we gonna put him once we do get there?” Javi yelled across Tyler’s shoulders.
“I don't know, we’ll find a secure sideroom I guess, but we need to treat his-”
Tyler’s left ankle got caught on a downed pole. It must have pulled on him in just the right way because he screamed with everything left inside of him.
“AHHHHHH!” He strained his neck upwards and sealed his eyes closed. He inhaled through his teeth sharply and breathed heavily with his whole body.
“TYLER!!” Kate screamed. He nearly fell to the ground, but Javi caught his right shoulder as Kate had completely dropped him. She was bent down, trying to get his ankle free.
It was wedged sideways, with the toe of his boot caught underneath a sharp metal pipe. Javi had to move Tyler a step back to give the space that Kate needed.
Kate tried to ignore the blood-stained jeans or the unnatural way Tyler’s leg hung, but it didn't work. She was bound to see it and just bit the bullet.
“Oh God…” Kate whispered.
“Kate! Get up here! We’re only like ten steps from the theater doors!” Javi yelled.
She shook her head, clearing her mind and stood back up to take Ty’s shoulder.
Together, they hobbled to the entrance and Kate opened the single door into the dark theater.
She glanced behind her, and the sight was straight from a horror movie. Tyler’s blood had made a trail.
“God…” Kate whispered.
Her mind disconnected from her body as Javi led them into a small room, which turned out to be a 10’x10’ kitchen.
“Kate! Get out of that damn brain of yours! Tyler needs help!” Javi said, trying to regain Kate’s attention. He was successful.
She blinked a few times and looked at Tyler, still dangling between the two smaller people. His face was pale and his eyelids only fluttered open under his cowboy hat.
“Let’s lay him down,” Javi instructed.
Kate did as she was told and helped to slowly lower Tyler onto his back. She knew what to do now. Muscle memory took over as she began to tend to the wounds. It didn't help that Tyler’s knee was likely dislocated because it didn't quite look right, but she tried not to acknowledge it. She began wrapping Tyler’s wound with a jacket she found. She left the soaked jeans on, it would be too much work to take them off, and he might get cold. She wrapped it the best she could while Javi got him comfortable. Kate could hear him trying to talk with Tyler, but he was basically unresponsive.
She wrapped the wound as tight as she possibly could, trying to cut off any blood from getting out. It wasn't a good sign that Tyler didn't respond. With how tight she wrapped the jacket around it, he had to feel pain.
“Alright,” Kate sighed. “It’s wrapped as good as I can get it”
“Ok, let's go help in the main theater room” Javi said.
Excess moisture began to form at the edges of Kate’s eyes. She looked down at Tyler with a protective, motherly look. They had barely known each other for a few days and she was already so attached to him. He was odd sometimes, yes, but she cared for him all the same.
“Kate, he’ll be okay now, we have to go help the others!!” Javi yelled, already halfway out the door.
“You go, I need to say goodbye” Kate gave up on trying to hide it. “In case…” Tears ran freely down her face.
“Ok, but he’s strong. He’ll make it” Javi said before running down the hall to the main room.
Kate scooted up to Tyler’s upper body. He was laying comfortably now, and didn't seem to be in too much pain. His face had relaxed just slightly and his jaw wasn't clenched anymore. She credited it to the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
She kneeled next to him and rubbed his right bicep. He flinched at the touch but quickly gave in.
“Kate…” he mumbled.
“Shhhh. You need to focus all your energy on healing. Me and Javi are going out to save more people, you hear? Not that you can move, but don't go anywhere” she rubbed his chest one more time, got up, and ran out the door towards Javi.
Tyler was suddenly aware that he was alone.
“Kate” he called out weakly, with a few coughs attached to the end.
He was now aware of a burning in his lungs, which he was conscious enough to attribute it to the dust kicked up by the debris outside.
He wasn't quite sure how he had gotten here, but he remembered being mostly carried by Javi and Kate after he broke his leg. His memory was spotty, but he knew it was just the aftermath of a traumatic incident. He’d remember sooner or later.
He tried to shift around and see his leg, but he was too weak.
He now remembered his ankle getting caught on something and screaming. That had definitely taken most of his energy. Now he was just lying in some random room, not fully comprehending how he got there, and not sure exactly where Kate had gone. He hoped that Boone would be in to see him soon, but…
Abruptly, a ton of people started to scream. A deep twisting and crashing sound immediately followed. Tyler knew what that sound was.
The ceiling had caved in.
He was very thankful for his small room, knowing that he was underneath multiple layers of flooring and wall material.
A warm sensation had been festering in his left leg for a bit now, but it had become more apparent as of late. Owens was able to contort his body in a way to see his leg without additional pain.
All he saw was dark red.
“Shit…” he mumbled. He knew he was bleeding, but not this bad!
He needed medical attention, but even if he could get himself up, he wouldn't be able to find any.
He was currently attempting to survive an F5 tornado, and that pretty much took priority.
Tyler straightened himself as much as possible and prepared for the worst.
I’ve gotta do it.
Now is the moment.
I’ve gotta take the shot.
Kate sprinted out of the movie theater doors, flying past Tyler’s room.
Her brain thought for half a second to check on him, but she knew that he needed more help than she could give him right now.
She pushed through the wind and rain, over debris and finally made it to Tyler’s truck. She flung open the driver door and quickly hopped inside. She was familiar but not fully acquainted with all of the add-ons, but she knew the concepts. Kate threw the vehicle in drive and took off. Her eyes scanned for the heart of the tornado and never looked back.
It felt like an eternity driving to the tornado, but keeping the truck upright and steady was a good challenge. She was now impressed with Tyler’s driving; this thing was extremely difficult to keep oriented. She would hit muddy and slippery spots every so often, and would feel the heavy trailer sliding around behind her.
As she neared the eye, she found the button for the augers. Delicately suspending her finger over it, she pressed on the gas harder.
The buildings around her were causing a bunch of debris. She had barely even noticed them.
Debris and wind pushed the truck every which way. She did her best to compensate, but it wasn't perfect.
I just have to reach inside the tornado.
Her anxiety was flowing true now, with old memories flooding her head like a dam had just burst.
Once the truck could no longer get traction, she deployed the augers. The now comforting sound of the old metal digging into the ground filled her ears.
She waited for just the right moment as the truck secured itself to the ground. She thought about Tyler one last time and hit the button to deploy her solution.
Nothing.
She hit it again, a little harder this time.
The wind was picking up around her, threatening to drag the augers.
She pressed the button again and heard a small noise from the barrels.
She hit it harder and faster, and finally, all of the barrels released.
The trailer was swept up with the solution, as it was lighter now.
The rear of the truck was imperiled by the wind. Kate decided to look, and she was met with the sight of the trailer fully vertical.
The hitch must have broken from the trailer, because the bed of the truck slammed to the dirt.
Kate’s new concern was the force of the wind on the sides of the vehicle.
Yes, it was a sturdy truck, but the strong sides of it were excellent pushing points for the wind. The augers had also begun to drag through the dirt.
Kate knew this wasn’t ending well and curled her head to her stomach.
The augers slipped, and the truck was pushed on its side, and a strong gust of wind threw it topside. The windshield and windows cracked at the same time, throwing glass out into the storm. Kate squealed and thought of her mother, her life, and Tyler.
Suddenly and slowly, the rush of the wind died and sunlight shone through Kate’s squeezed eyelids. The screams in Kate’s throat tapered off.
Tyler’s condition hadn’t improved. In fact, it had worsened. By a lot.
He was holding on to reality like it was his sole mission.
The sounds of a tornado whipped around him, and the door to his tiny room blew open. Wind was now flowing throughout the room.
Tyler knew that the tornado was nearing. Loose material in the room began to blow out the door. Somehow, he knew he was going to eventually blow out the door.
Just on cue, a large gust of wind blew in the theater, blowing out the remainder of the wall with the door.
With improved flow, the air picked up Tyler’s half-conscious body and carried him like a baby. He prayed this was the last time he was carried like that.
Losing power, it set him down near the back row of theater chairs.
By the grace of God, Tyler was able to grab hold of the leg of a chair with his right elbow. He tensed his entire body into the fetal position to protect his organs. He was running solely on adrenaline, and had no residual strength. The wind picked up again, threatening to lift him off the ground again.
Tyler sealed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw. His ears could pick out the sounds of Boone and Lily screaming. They were probably close to the open wall.
Tyler moved to wrap his other arm around the chair leg. He could tell that his body didn't have much more to give. His arms were shaking violently and the edges of his vision were going dark. With one last heave, he secured himself underneath the chair and pinned himself against the wall. His whole body relaxed at once, and he fell beneath reality.