When the skies had turned redder than the red of a normal sunset, Chris felt the tingle of something ominous in the air. He barely felt it, faint enough to ignore, but having seen far too much strangeness already, he wouldn't let this warning slip by. Especially when the winds picked up. The warning sirens sounded and people began to respond to them, following procedures that were already set in place for emergencies. Some were calm, but most were at that fringed border of panic and acceptance. Doing his best to stay calm, Chris packed his essentials: a nice-sized load of candy bars and his cymbals. Resetting his cymbal bag's straps, he made it into more of a backpack and hastily made his way outside. Vehicles were packed as people planned to drive to the storm shelter, but Chris wouldn't be riding with anyone this day. He'd stay on foot, just in case something blocked a roadway, or he needed to be quick about anything. It just so happened that on his way to the shelter, that chance had presented itself.

The car he came upon was upside-down, with a huge tree branch protruding through its busted windshield. It was hard to see through the shattered glass, so he didn't know that the driver was still there until a young man, early teens probably, came running to him from the other side of the wreck.

"My da! Help, you gotta get him out! You gotta--"

"Ok, ok, chill out, now. Chill. Lemmie go check..."

Chris practically had to shove the youth aside to get over to the car. He understood the boy's anxious desire to save his dad, so he did not fault him. Quickly, Chris trotted over to the driver's side. Inside, he could see a balding man hanging by his seat belt, upside-down. The tree branch had just missed him, but he still was pinned pretty badly. The kid kept looking over Chris' shoulder, wanting to help, but he would only be in the way. Setting his large backpack aside with a solid thud, he motioned for the boy to stand back. "Hey, Sir? Sir? You still with us?" A moan came back in reply. Chris' heart resumed its beating as he felt a wave of relief. "Ok, I'm gon' help you get outta this car, Alright? Ok..."

Doing a good job at staying calm, Chris began to examine the wreckage, his eyes swiftly taking in the entire thing as he stood back a few steps. The whole time, he kept the man in the car awake, asking him random questions about his family and his job, only receiving moans and groans in reply. Though he was too pained to speak, the man's moans and groans were satisfaction enough. They meant he was still alive. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that the man's son was once again beginning to loose patience, and Chris fully understood. Suddenly, Chris reached for the caved-in door of the sedan. As he gripped it firmly with both hands, he closed his eyes and centered himself. For an instant, he was calm. A great contrast to the wild winds and bruised clouds roiling above, he felt like a still, breezeless summer night. The feeling seemed to last for an eternity... until an instant later when the adrenalin kicked in.

A silent explosion of strength bursts forth through his arms, his legs, and his entire frame as he pulled on the door with all of his might. With teeth gritting and feet firmly planted, he managed to rip the entire door from the wrecked car, tumbling to his back with the door on top of him in the process. Shoving the door aside, he hopped up and ran to the car, not yet feeling any signs of strain. The success of removing the door was short-lived when Chris and the boy realized that the car and the tree branch had shifted in such a way that the only way to remove the man would be to lift the car. Ignoring the boy's panic, Chris immediately went right back into action, not giving his muscles a chance to cool down.

Beating fatigue to the punch, Chris was on that car like white on rice on a paper plate in a snow storm. Audibly struggling, he had the car shaking in his grasp, lifting from his legs with all his power. Would that residue of Aertolia's Spirit magic that resided in him be enough to aid him? From the looks of it, Chris was going to burn himself out real quick if he didn't cool it. He knew that, but with a life at stake, he just didn't care. After what seemed like an eternity, the car started to roll. And roll. And roll, until finally, it was at such an angle that the man would be able to fit through the hole where the door was. Chris tried to yell at the kid and tell him to get his father out, but it came out as more of a crazy, tight-throated shout.

Not having to be told twice, the kid ran to his father's aid and began tugging on the seatbelt that held him in place, still upside-down. The kid panicked. Chris' knees shook. The car threatened to lurch back into its unfortunate position. The man inside managed a yell as blood painfully rushed back into his extremities.

Thunder roared above and the wind came to a dead halt, threatening to bring life to a tornado. The calm before the storm was anything but calm, and Chris, although still hopeful to the end, knew what would happen if help didn't come conveniently strolling along soon....