Hurricane

The wind had changed direction ever so slightly. Instead of coming from the North, up the beach, it was now coming from the north-northeast, off the water by just a bit. The stinging against his face was now salt spray from the churning waves instead of bits of sand. He liked it. The normally calm waters of the little bay were full of white caps and the breakers at his feet, although not big enough for surfing by any means, were more formidable than he had seen before. It was a day for sailing and he wished for a Hobiecat or Sunfish and a chance to skim across the water at a breakneck speed that felt even faster than flying. Of course, pleasure boating on Loki would not occur during his lifetime, or the lifetime of his children, most likely. Their resources-- especially man-hours-- were much too valuable to waste making a useless watercraft to please Alpha's Commander. If there had only been fish here, they might have been able to justify something other than the large slow barges used to haul crops to the spaceport.

Slender arms snaked around his waist and his eleven-year-old daughter pushed her head under his arm. "It's beautiful," she said, staring at the waves.

Emma would love sailing. "By the time that storm gets here it'll be more dangerous than beautiful."

Fearless Emma looked more intrigued than afraid as she peered from safely behind her father at the purple-black clouds on the horizon. The sun still shone through scudding clouds here on the beach.

"Did you tie down the Eagle like your Uncle Alan asked?"

She nodded and pulled away from him to approach the waves washing ever closer to them. The spot where they'd made a sandcastle yesterday was already under three feet of water as the storm surge preceded the advancing weather. He was glad they had chosen a spot on the low bluffs to build the cabins. "All secure," she smiled.

There were only four of them left at the little beach community of Blue Lagoon. Vacations had been cut short and the cabins deserted when the warning came from Loki about the approaching hurricane. Each vacationing family had secured their cabin and evacuated. John had sent Helena and Richard back to Alpha on the first Eagle to leave, but Alex and Emma had both insisted that they could help secure the cabins and he had allowed them to stay. Richie was still a little boy, but both Alex and Emma were hard workers and he trusted them to pull their own weight.

When the wind had picked up, gusting hard, Alan had sent Emma to secure the Eagle with lines attached to anchors embedded in the landing area. They would be leaving soon, but Alan was always cautious and proprietary about his Eagles.

Emma cupped her hand around the foam left by the last waves and carefully studied the bubbles created. The thick foam evaporated slowly as she used a finger to poke holes in it. Despite the storm, John thought about what a beautiful world they had found for the children. A wave approached her, surrounding her booted feet, and she jumped up to keep from getting her overalls wet. It was rare to be on the beach in boots and flight suit, but they would be leaving before long. She cut her eyes at her father to see if he would fuss at her for getting the boots wet and sandy, but he was similarly clad and just smiled at her. She returned the smile with a sunny one of her own and launched herself into a series of cartwheels on the tightly packed sand just above the waterline. On the third flip, a stronger gust of wind pushed her slight body and the fabric of her rather baggy flight suit, knocking her off balance and face first onto the sand. She sat up, shaking wet sand out of her curly black hair.

She was unhurt, but John knew she would crave attention. He knelt quickly by her side and began to help brush off the blue sand that clung to her clothes, face, hands and hair. "You ok?" he asked.

She nodded. "Did you feel that wind?" She glanced over her shoulder. "It was like being a kite!"

He should have known she would enjoy the experience, and grinned at his energetic little daredevil. He kissed her forehead, brushing sand from it first. He loved all his children, but Alex had always had an independent streak that he wrapped around himself like a cloak. As a new teen, the cloak seemed to grow into an impenetrable shield. Richard was also a wonderful child, but his bond with Helena was so strong it seemed to exclude all the rest of the family. By unspoken agreement, Richie was Helena's child, first and foremost. Emma was the child that held the most of John's heart. Fearless and energetic, she was quick-witted and quick-tempered, and soaked up all the affection he could possibly give like a sponge; and John had always been an affectionate person.

He helped her up. "Kites have strings," he reminded her. "I don't want to have to tie you down and I don't want to you blow away."

They shared a smile, both loving the weather and the excitement surrounding it. John glanced over her head at the horizon again and paled. Noticing his reaction, Emma turned, asking, "What is it?"

John took his daughter's hand and began to run with her up the hill to the cabin. That water spout had not been there, even moments before. He was sure of it. And it was close! He had seen water spouts before, far out to sea and nothing to worry about, but this spout was huge and barely a hundred yards off the shore. "Water spout," he shouted as the wind picked up, steadier than gusts now.

She glanced behind, then ran, no longer needing encouragement.

Alex and Alan were carrying a box through the door of the last cabin when they heard John's shout. They had just stepped onto the porch to be buffeted by the strong winds. Alan glanced up, eyes widening as he saw the pair running and the water spout behind them. The twister would be on the beach soon. He motioned for Alex to reverse direction. "Back inside, now, quick!"

Alex complied and was surprised when Alan tossed the box aside as soon as they were in the door and hustled him toward the rear of the house. John and Emma were through the door in seconds, John slamming the door behind them. The roaring from out side grew louder; changing in pitch as the spout hit the beach and dug into the sand, sending it airborne.

The rear of the cabin was divided into two bedrooms with a short hall containing the bedroom doors and leading to a bathroom. Alan opened the bathroom door, pushed Alex onto the floor at the doorway and threw himself on top of the boy, despite the fact that Alex was now nearly six inches taller than Alan. John pushed Emma down next the them and piled on top of her, holding his hand over her eyes and face and burying his own face in his arm. Alan was shielding Alex in the same manner as the storm roared past, shattering the covered windows in the front of the house.

As the windows blew out Emma screamed and wiggled beneath her father, but the scream was cut short as John quickly covered her mouth. The air around them was full of sand, water, and particles of glass from the windows. The twister roared past, grazing the front of the cabin and heading away from the beach. It was all over in seconds. As soon as the wind abated around them, the debris in the air fell, covering them and everything around them with a layer of fine damp sand and glass.

John and Alan waited a moment in the abrupt silence before moving. Emma was trembling with fright, and Alex hadn't even had time yet to feel fear. John sat up and leaned against the wall in the hallway. Emma was up and curled into his lap immediately, not certain whether to cry or not, but certainly needing the comfort of her father's arms. He held her gently, stroking her hair and comforting her as he had done when she was much smaller and recovering from the trauma of a nightmare or a fall. "It's, okay now, sweetheart. It's over."

The words seemed to come distantly to them all, their eardrums still dulled from the sudden roar of the storm. Alan sat up and leaned against the far wall, sharing a stunned look with his long time friend. They glanced out the front doorway. The door had vanished, along with the roof of the porch, and a portion of the roof of the cabin. The entire structure had been made of reinforced concrete. The walls were intact, although the windows were now just holes rather than shuttered glass. The roof had been two slabs of cantilevered concrete-- and one of the slabs was missing. There was the sound of water dripping and sand sifting. Without the force of the twister behind it, the wind sounded subdued, almost quiet.

As the shock wore off Alan suddenly paled. "Oh, God! The Eagle!" He scrambled up and out the doorway. Alex was on his feet and right behind him. Emma and her father joined them quickly, running up the pathway to the Eagle landing. As they rounded an outcropping of rock to the area cleared out for a landing pad the four stopped. The Eagle lay upside down, blown off the pad by the force of the storm, the command pod-- generally capable of flight on its own-- was smashed beyond use. It looked as if the Eagle had turned end over end, the rocket bells and the command module both crushed.

Alan turned in anger at Emma. "I told you to secure it! How could you be so careless?" he raged.

"I did! I put down every anchor!" Emma defended herself, surprised at her uncle's anger.

"You were playing on the beach and probably hadn't gotten around to it yet!"

"No! That's not true."

Alan turned as if he had not even heard her, heading more slowly toward the spaceship. It was salvageable. The Alphans were very good at recycling almost everything. But it would never fly again in its present form. Alan approached the ship muttering every imaginable curse he could think of under his breath.

Emma burst into tears. She couldn't remember Alan ever being angry with her before. She turned to her father. "I did. I really did anchor it."

Alex stepped forward to one of the concrete anchor pilings embedded in the landing area. A piece of the steel cable was still attached to the piling, its end twisted and snapped by the wind. "You're right, Emma. Take a look."

"Alan is just upset, Em. He didn't mean it," John tried to comfort his daughter.

"He thinks it's my fault!" She sobbed, stricken by her usual champion's anger.

"Give him time to calm down," John said, kneeling by her. "You know how often I lose my temper. I usually calm down and rethink things. He will too."

"Dad," Alex asked quietly. "How are we going to get back to Alpha?" It was obvious to all that they wouldn't be using this Eagle for the flight.

"Let's see if we can get the comm gear to work," John said. "Come on, Ace," he said, tugging at Emma. "Turn that brilliant engineering mind of yours on getting communications back on line."

Emma pulled herself together with a sniff, looking in the direction of their wrecked ship. She wiped a sandy hand across her eyes, absently brushed the sand on her overalls and wiped her eyes again. She preferred retreating into a problem like this than dealing with wounded egos, either hers or Alan's. "I expect we'll have to jury rig an antenna. With the top structure dug into the sand like that..." She headed toward the ship muttering to herself, sinking into the problem with her usual intense focus.

John put his arm around his eldest son. "I expect she'll have contact with Alpha shortly. I'd better start deciding just what to tell your mom." Alan might be angry about his ship, but that was nothing compared to the rage John knew he'd be facing from his wife for endangering two of her babies. For once he was glad that his beloved Helena was on another planet.

Alan had managed to open the door to the passenger module. Emma stayed well out of his way as he glanced inside then began to walk around the ship, assessing the damage. She climbed in through the wreckage and peered around at the upside down mess. It was dark inside and she reached into the cabinet by the door to retrieve a flashlight. John and Alex stood by the door.

Alex touched his father on the arm. "Puff was still in my bedroom. Can I make sure he's all right?"

"I need some stuff I can't reach. It's always down on the floor under the desk." She called from inside the ship. John climbed inside, walking carefully on the ceiling. She told him what she wanted, and he finally lifted her up and let her point things out, then he handed her the items and she sat on an upturned cargo container, sorting the pieces out in front of her with total concentration.

John left her to it and found Alan outside the Eagle. "Status?" he asked.

Alan shook his head. "Even if we turned her over, she'd never make it off the ground. How's Em doing?"

"Busily working on communications equipment."

Alan walked over to the door of the Eagle while John turned to survey the weather. There was another squall line on the horizon. He hoped any tornadoes it contained went elsewhere. He heard Alan ask Emma a few questions. Emma gave curt distant replies and threw a length of cable out the door at him.

Alan began stringing the cable up onto what was not the top of the Eagle, winding it carefully around each landing pad.

"Tell him not to make any coils in that line," Emma ordered her father.

He passed the message along to Alan who nodded in reply. Alan had taught her how to do most of this. As Alan jumped down from the last landing pad John said softly. "Someone is very upset with you," eyeing the doorway significantly.

Alan nodded. "I know. I should never have shouted at her. I apologized, but she just ignored me."

"Give her some time. She'll get over it."

"I hope so."

Alpha's younger generation had shown an independent streak that had come as a shock to their elders. The original Alphans were far removed from their teen years and their motives for having the children were more survival, and continuing the race than for any love or understanding of children. But as the younger generation reached puberty, their elders were finding that these likeable, malleable children had minds of their own and were not always interested in absorbing the knowledge the elders felt they should have. It had become a frustrating situation for all concerned.

Alex returned and kept a weather watch with his father, his backpack containing the Lokian puffball securely on his back. The wind picked up and brief warm rain showers twice blew through, as the storm grew closer. Emma and Alan worked together to cobble up a communications link. After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably no more than a couple of hours, Emma called, "Daddy? We have contact with Alpha."

John climbed into the Eagle.

Helena and Richard had just entered their Alphan apartment when the communications post beeped. The Eagle flight had been crowded and long. Helena dropped her travel bag by the door, hoping that she wouldn't be called to Medical Center right away. She hadn't even had time to shower and wash off sand and salt. She pushed her son in the direction of his bathroom with the command to wash-- and wash good, before she answered the call.

When she pushed the answer button David Kano's face filled the little black and white screen. "Helena, welcome home," he said seriously in his deep melodious voice.

"Thank you, David. We just arrived."

"Yes, I know." His tone was always serious, but he seemed both solemn and hesitant.

"What is it, David?"

"I just got a message from John. There's been a problem."

Her heart began pounding immediately. John wouldn't call unless there was something seriously wrong. He should have been only hours behind them. "What's happened?"

"They are all fine, Helena. It's just that they encountered a tornado before they could take off, and the Eagle is damaged."

"Damaged? How badly? Is anyone hurt?" She could tell that David was trying to break this to her gently, but he wasn't giving her the news anywhere near as fast as she wanted it.

"The four of them are unhurt. They were the only ones left at the settlement--" His tone was still measured and solemn as he tried to choose the right words. His wife leaned into the pickup.

"Oh, for heavens, sake, David," Tanya said impatiently. "You're terrifying Helena." She turned to the camera. "Helena, they're fine, but the tornado damaged the Eagle and they can't take off. John doesn't want to risk any other vessels in the area until the storm passes by, no more than 12 hours. They're planning to hole up in one of the cabins with a basement-- the highest cabin in the area, where we've been storing gear during the off seasons. They should weather the storm fine."

"Wait a minute. This is a hurricane we're talking about," Helena argued. "We need to get them out of there!"

"John was very specific," Tanya replied. "The winds in the area are more than our Eagles can withstand already. No one is to fly in there until the storm passes."

"Tanya--"

"Helena, they'd be in more danger aboard an Eagle trying to fly out than they are in the cabin," Tanya said firmly.

"Call him back. I want to talk to him."

"We had an awful connection. They had to cannibalize the Eagle to get the comm gear working at all, and there was a lot of electrical interference from the approaching storm. I also expect they aren't by the Eagle any more at all. They needed to get to that basement."

Helena nodded numbly and cut the connection. She leaned against the command post thinking of the children and John. She was certainly terrified now. The weather forecast for this hurricane had indicated that it was more powerful than any similar storms on Earth. That was why they had immediately evacuated the area. John had promised her they would all be out of the way. Now there he was, in the center of the danger, as usual, and their two oldest children with him.

Richie poked his wet head out of his bedroom door. "Do you have to go to work?" he asked. Like her, he had figured the call was a summons to Medical Center.

She shook her head. "No. No, everything's ok in Medical Center." She turned to her son. "Are you sure you got all the sand out?"

He held out his head for inspection. She took comfort in going through the spiky wet red hair, and checking behind his ears. "That's a pretty good job."

He grinned. "Do I get to inspect you for sand too?"

She gave him a weak smile. "As soon as I've showered. Then we'll find something to eat."

"I'm starved," Richie replied enthusiastically.

Helena wiped her hand across her eyes. "I'll have to hurry then."

"Make sure you wash good!" Richie called in a cheerful imitation of his mother.

She gave a choked laugh and retreated to her bedroom.

The four grabbed emergency kits from the Eagle with food, water and blankets as soon as the connection to Alpha was broken. John put his hand on her shoulder. "Good job, Ace."

"It should have had more gain," she grumbled critically. She cut her eyes at Alan as if waiting for him to criticize it. John watched the two sadly. They had always been great buddies before this.

"It got the job done," Alan said, trying to encourage without sounding like he was desperate to compliment her.

She began packing up the equipment while Alan collected several odds and ends from the scattered contents of the compartment. John pulled out the survival gear.

"There's another shower coming," Alex called from the door.

John tossed him a pack and then another. Alan and Emma jumped out as John tossed out two more packs, then John and Alan manually shut the Eagle's door. There might be nothing left when they returned, but something might be salvaged if it was secured. Emma tucked her hand into her father's larger one.

"You didn't get to talk to Mama."

"Mr. Kano will tell her what's happening." John was almost relieved that he hadn't had to explain himself to Helena, and feeling a bit like a coward for it. "The storm will be over in the morning, and they'll send an Eagle in as soon as possible."

"It'll be gone that quickly?" she asked.

"Hurricanes move fast," Alan explained from behind her. "The winds in the upper atmosphere can move them around in odd ways, but usually they blow through a location within a few hours."

Emma turned and looked at him, but didn't reply.

By the time they reached the cabin, it was beginning to rain. The rain was being blown almost sideways, so standing on the porch didn't keep them dry at all. Alex and Alan used the crowbar Alan had brought from the Eagle's tool box to open the already sealed doorway. John pulled out a flashlight and led the way inside while Alan secured the door again. This cabin had a fourth doorway in the hall that led down a flight of stairs and into a solid rock basement. The cabin was the highest of the four in this group, and the furniture for all four cabins was crammed into the small space. The small nuclear generator for the cluster of cabins had been removed already, so there was no power. John positioned the flashlight on a pile of boxes and they pulled apart two sofas that had been stacked on top of each other. There was just barely room to place the sofas on the floor and sit on them.

Alan broke out a group of emergency food packs. Alex settled his backpack on the sofa beside him and opened the top so Puff was exposed. Since the puffballs didn't have eyes, the creature didn't seem to mind the enclosed space, but Alex generally made sure he could come and go as he pleased. Alex eagerly accepted one of the packs of food, and wolfed it down. Emma took another and curled up on the sofa next to her father, nibbling gingerly at the large wafer.

The storm raged above them, rattling the doors and providing a white noise of roaring. Emma pulled out her slate, but her father put his hand over it. "Leave it off. There will be thunderstorms rolling through and you'll be better off without that on."

She looked up at him with wide eyes. Her slate had been her constant companion, communications device, educational tool and toy, for years. All the children used them constantly, playing games, sending messages, and consulting Computer. Although they were cut off from Computer at the moment there was still capacity for games or reading that she had already downloaded.

John smiled. "You can do without it for a little while. Just relax."

Emma replaced the little device on her belt. The only light in the room was the flashlight. Above them the door rattled and the roaring became louder. "Is that an Eagle?" she asked.

Her father shook his head. "Another tornado, close, but not as close as the last one."

"That one was too close," Alan said.

A different rumble was heard above the roaring.

"What's that?" Alex asked, with some alarm.

"Thunder," Alan replied. "It looks like we're going to take the brunt of the storm right here." Alan launched into an improbable tale of surviving a storm tied to a palm tree in the South Pacific back on Earth. The children listened in fascination while John grinned. He recognized the story as an old Jack London tale. Alan had to adapt it a bit so that the children understood some of the details, but it passed the time. As he drew to a close, Emma gave a tired yawn despite the cracks of thunder above them.

"Why don't you two settle down and get some sleep? It'll be hours before the storm passes by," John said.

The children looked dubious, but followed their father's suggestion. Emma cuddled down on the sofa, her head pillowed in her father's lap. Alex stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned into a corner of the other sofa, his arm securely around Puff. He closed his eyes. John smiled at him, remembering a time that didn't seem so long ago when the boy would stretch out like that with a teddy bear to sleep.

"Daddy?" Alex asked.

"Yes, Tiger?"

"Did they have lots of storms like this on Earth?"

"Yes, they did."

"What did all the animals do when that happened?"

Alan fielded the question. "Birds would fly as far inland as they could. The storms die down over land, so the winds wouldn't be as strong."

"Anything that could go underwater would do so, like turtles or alligators," John added. Alex loved to look at pictures of Earth animals, so John knew he would understand the reference.

"What about horses?" Emma asked sleepily. Animals didn't interest Emma for the most part. But she had heard about horses, learned that people used to ride them, and was intrigued by the idea.

"They would take whatever shelter they could." Alan said. "People would do the best they could to protect them, and cattle and sheep. But sometimes they'd get blown away."

"Would it kill them?" Alex asked.

"Sometimes, son." John wished he had a better answer, but wouldn't lie to him.

"What a waste."

"Yes, it was." They could have used those animals here on Loki. Horses, cattle, sheep, and other domesticated animals could have made things much easier here, but there were none, and the little puffball in Alex's backpack was unlikely to fulfill the uses of Earth animals for the Alphans.

Emma's breathing began to sound more relaxed, and Alex was soon snoring softly. The two men sat quietly, listening to the storm above them and watching the children sleep. The pair looked so very young when they were asleep.

"John?" Alan asked softly after a long while.

"Yeah?"

"Do you really believe..." he hesitated this was not something he had ever voiced aloud before. "Do you really believe they can survive here?"

Loki was not a friendly environment. If their descendents couldn't maintain a rather high level of technology they would perish within a decade. John thought for a long while before answering. "It won't ever be easy. Not for these two, or their children, or grandchildren. Their childhood is already over. They'll need to have children of their own soon and make sure that their population knows as much as possible about how our technology keeps them alive, but yes, I believe they will survive." He had complete conviction in that statement.

"You sound very certain."

He thought carefully before responding. "Remember Arra?"

"That's a person I'm not likely to forget." Alan said with a smile. Only John and Alan had been in contact with Arra of Aestheria-- a planet they had encountered many years before coming to Loki. Helena and the others had thought John and Alan were suffering radiation sickness complete with delusions and violent episodes. She had done her best to keep them confined while Bergman and the others had tried desperately to prevent a collision with Arra's planet. But with Alan's help, John had thwarted them and they had all watched in terror while the planet merely touched their moon... and vanished.

"Arra told me that my descendents would go on to populate many worlds. For a long time, I thought she was speaking figuratively, of humans in general. Now..." he trailed off, looking at the two sleeping children. It had been like the prophecy to Abraham. John had neither wife nor children at the time, and no plans beyond keeping Alpha alive on a daily basis. Sometimes when he watched his children while they slept; when they learned new things, or simply stood on the beach next to him; he could see through them a line of descendents who would not only thrive on Loki, but one day, reach for the stars again, and find more hospitable worlds. "She was right about other things, why not about that?"

John had not thought he would sleep, but he awoke with a start to the sound of silence above him. Emma was no longer next to him. She and Alan sat on the stairs next to each other. Alan was speaking softly to her, and she was smiling. John felt a wave of relief that the two had made peace. Alex was sprawled across the entire sofa now, still sound asleep. Puff was on the floor next to him, Alex's hand on top of the puffball.

Joining the pair on the stairs John asked, "have you been outside yet?"

"We were waiting for you," Emma said.

"And the light," Alan added. "It stopped blowing about an hour ago, but the sun just came up."

They ascended the staircase and opened the door into the cabin. The air below was stuffy, but outside wasn't much better. The humidity was so high they felt damp immediately, and despite the fact that the sun had just come up, it was quite warm. On Earth, hurricanes were more powerful at the end of summer. Here, as the extremely hot summer approached and the ocean waters heated up, the hurricanes had much more force.

The windows had been blown out, and the floor of the cabin was damp, but the structure was sound. John was relieved. One of the reasons they had used concrete for the cabins was to hopefully have them endure for more than one season. Winter had produced a few cracks, but nothing serious. Summer would be a different challenge.

A rumbling was heard overhead.

Alex had awakened when they opened the door and joined them above, backpack with Puff already slung over his back. "Is it another tornado?"

"That's an Eagle!" Emma answered with a grin. She rushed outside and spotted the Eagle heading for the landing area.

The four of them headed up the path toward the Eagle. The sound of a second Eagle could be heard and soon there were two on the ground.

Bill Fraser opened the door of one passenger module. "Man, that's a mess!" he said, indicating the Eagle wreck.

"It was a tornado Uncle Bill! It went right over us!" Emma said with enthusiasm. "Is Dinah with you?"

"Nope," Bill replied. "I've been upstairs most of the night waiting for the storm to pass," he told the two adults. Helena says to get you home immediately."

"I think I'd better comply," John said with a grin. "You'll stay behind and salvage the Eagle?" he asked Alan.

"I think I'd rather stay behind," Alan replied.

Emma turned around and opened her mouth, but her mentor stopped her with a gesture. "You go home and let your mom make sure you're ok. Do it without protesting and I'll let you put that wreck back together when we get it back to Alpha."

Emma's eyes went wide and she immediately grabbed her older brother by the sleeve. "Let's go, Alex."

"Can I help?" Alex asked.

"Of course," Alan replied.

"They'll want to test fly it too, you know," John said quietly.

"Neither one is quite ready for that yet, but soon," Alan replied.

By evening they were back on Alpha, covered with sand, and hungry but intact. Helena met them at the travel tube, hugging both children fiercely and making certain they were all right, then sending them off with orders to wash.

"Is there anything for dinner?" Alex asked hopefully.

"It's in the oven. We'll eat as soon as you're all clean," she said firmly.

Alex and Emma raced down the hallway shouting "I'm first!" "No, I'm first!" "I'll beat you!" Things were blissfully normal.

Helena put her arms around her husband and he held her close. She placed her lips next to his ear and whispered, "John Koenig, don't you ever put my babies in danger like that again."

He kissed her ear, cheek and lips. Then he looked into her eyes. "Helena, you know I can't do that. Even on Earth I wouldn't be able to guarantee their safety, but here--"

She clung to him desperately. "I know, but they're so young."

"They're growing up fast." They turned and began to stroll towards their apartment. Ahead he could hear them reach the right door and run into it with a thump and a giggle as the door didn't open as fast as they were approaching. They were calling out to their little brother and describing the huge tornado they had experienced. Each time they told someone, the storm seemed to grow in size. For now, John Koenig was happy to have his family home and safe. He had no wish to return to Loki for a long while. He was glad to be home.