After the storm.

How I wish I could start this story with a woman who wakes up in the morning and follows her usual routine. Instead, Violet opened her eyes and could not see anything. Not a single noise.

She sat on the carpet and, before she could sit completely straight, a sudden ache in the neck took her by surprise. She instinctively put her fingers on the back of her neck and tried to soothe herself by massaging the area. Apparently, being twenty-six meant that you could not fall asleep in random basements without paying the consequences.

She giggled a bit. Had she really fallen asleep during the tornado? How weird. She had not realized that she was so exhausted. However, the urge to get out was the priority. She was still in someone's basement and had to leave before anyone would notice her presence.

She whipped out her cellphone with urgence, begging for it to be still working. As she saw the screen lighting up and the battery level at 50%, she sighed of relief. She turned on the flashlight, stood up, and scanned her surroundings, then lifted it upwards to look for the exit.

When she spotted the door, Violet walked towards it slowly while paying attention to several objects scattered on the floor: a couple of piles of books, an open cardboard box full of toys, a wooden box closed with a lock, and some cardboard pieces.

She reached the stairs and rushed towards the doors. As she pushed them forward, however, she felt that they were somewhat stuck and could not swing outwards completely. Something must have fallen and gotten tangled under the outer handles. Unable to push through better with only one hand, Violet put her phone in the front pocket of her jeans, with the flashlight facing outwards, and pushed the doors with both of her hands.

As she was pushing, she heard a rustle. It was probably a branch, but it did not sound very big or robust. Upon pushing, a small and leafy branch peeked through the door. She pushed it away and reached for the main branch. She tried moving it side by side and, after some effort, it managed to slip away from a handle of the door, thus freeing the way for Violet, who rushed out so fast that she tripped on the last step and fell on the grass.

She cursed. Could she not trip and fall and risk some injuries right after a tornado, when she did not know in which condition the hospital was?

Violet tried to get back up by propping up on her hands. However, one hand touched the grass, while the other touched a flannel-like fabric. It was not one of her clothes. She startled and pulled back her hand. When she saw what was besides her, she clumsily got up and ran away while screaming.

Was that already there when she had hidden in that basement? It was way too dark to notice either way.

While running, she could not help but thinking that, had she stayed put in the shelter she originally had in mind - the basement of her grandparents'house - she would not have been in that situation. To add in a bit of irony, since the tornado alert had gone off, all she did was running whenever she was awake. In that moment, she stopped, panting. She could not keep up that pace for long.

She slowed down and looked around her surroundings. Most of the houses had crumbled and were nothing but debris. Trees had been uprooted and were lying on the ground. In the distance, she could also sight an electric pole, which had fallen off as well.

At that point, she wondered if it had been a better idea to stay where she was and call the police instead of reaching the station. She checked her phone - there was no signal. So, she kept walking, trying to be as quick as possible. Luckily, aside from a strong dust tickling her nose and entering her mouth, she found the way to be clear.

As she saw a crooked "police" sign, she ran towards it. The station had been almost entirely demolished, but a group of officers were gathered in front of it.

"Hey!" Violet screamed. They turned around.

"I found a severed arm in a garden."