Tornado (pt. 1)

The phone buzzing brings me out of my mid-day nap, angrily.
"Drew. He can wait." I put the phone down and roll back over sleepily, hoping I can go back to my dreams.
As I'm twitching into sleep, the phone vibrates itself off my side-table, and I reach around looking for it with my hand.
"Hello?"
"Sam? Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Mom, why?"
"I got a text from your school saying that there was a tornado warning and then I heard about it on the news. Didn't you get it?"
"No, I was sleeping."
"I don't want you to be in your apartment--it's not a good place for you. Can you try to find somewhere safe?"
"Yeah." I open my blinds and am shocked to see the trees bending dangerously as the rain comes down in sheets. How did this happen? When I went to bed, it was just a little cloudy.
"Keep in touch, okay?"
"Will do, thanks for calling." As I hang up, I see I have a voicemail, along with three other missed calls. I dial my voicemail and listen as a frantic Drew starts speaking.
"Sam, it's Drew. Eric, Andrew and I are going to the station. There's been a tornado, the hospital got hit--there's major damage. We need you to come. Please call me back."
I've never heard him like this. I jump out of bed and change hastily. I grab my BDUs and throw them on quickly, haphazardly tying my boots as I stumble into the living room.
"Liv, I'm going to the station. The tornado hit the hospital, Drew says there's major damage."
She looks at me, the shock apparent in her eyes. We turn on the news and the streaming feed of our dispatch simultaneously. The radio chatters endlessly, and the news flashes warnings on the screen as pictures of the tornado are shown repeatedly. I wait for the rain to stop, and then I head out to my car.
The drive out is relatively uneventful, and I thank whoever is listening for letting me arrive safely.
As I step out of my car, I realize that there is only one of the five medics still in the bay. I check the run board and see that the other four are in the county that got hit, doing back-fill for their crews.
"How long are you here?" I turn and find my chief standing over my shoulder.
"As long as you need me, sir, I don't have class tomorrow."
"We'll take the help, Sam."
"Yes, sir, glad to be of service."
The radio never stops. One engine is back in service, another is on its way out. One medic makes it to the hospital as another makes it to its stand-by location. Emergency management marks up every other minute, updating central on something new. I'm tired just listening to it.
"One of the girls doing back-fill has class tomorrow. Mind taking the zone to meet her so she can go home?"
"No problem chief, I'm on my way."
Driving to the other station, I take note of what's around me. There's an abandoned car on the side of the road, a few downed trees and lots of debris. I pass two more cars and the hairs stand up on the back of my neck.
The station is packed. Firefighters and EMTs are scattered around, and I feel out of place. A few people nod to me, and I reciprocate awkwardly as I wander around their station.
"Hey Sam, you're just in time." I look around and see Eric standing against the medic.
"In time for what?"
"Time for us to leave. We're clear." He points over his shoulder, and I notice their medic returning.
"Ugh, I mean, this is good, but it's frustrating."
"Why?"
"I feel like I'm not doing anything." He shrugs, and I climb in the cab with a sigh. We head home, and I climb into bed tiredly. I curl up under my blanket and try to ignore the branches scraping against the window next to my bunk.
I sleep fitfully all night, dreaming of my apartment, tornadoes, and my partners. I awake early the next morning to the jarring sounds of a call going out.