The world was still and silent.

No birds chirped. No frogs croaked. No living thing seemed to exist to make a sound.

The sky swirled gray, looking ready to burst at any moment. Not a hint of the blue sky peaked through.

The ground was a mess. Puddles of water and mud covered it, though some spots were hidden by large chunks of debris and tree branches. Their parked vehicles hadn't suffered too much, though a new crack had formed on the back window of Pete's van.

A chill ran up Brendon's spine as he took in the scene. The world had looked nothing like this just a few hours ago.

"Where do we even start?" Pete asked beside him, breaking the silence in the air with his voice.

Brendon looked down. Through the mud, footsteps had sunk in. They lead off towards the now bent down fence that surrounded the campus. "That's a good start." He replied, pointing to the footprints.

Pete followed Brendon's finger and nodded. "Bingo."

The two started to follow the already sunk in path. It was slick as they shifted their weight from foot to foot. More than once, Brendon nearly fell forward, only saved by catching himself on Pete's arm.

Eventually, they made it to the bent down fence. In front of them was a large puddle that filled the street. The mud ended but, unfortunately, so did Josh and Tyler's trail.

Brendon bit his lip and looked up at the sky. What little light peeked through the clouds was struggling at best. The clouds were such a heavy dark that it seemed like they could burst at any moment. "Now what?"

"I got left and you got right." Pete suggested, "We don't have much time to find them. Not like Josh has many options by going straight ahead." Pete pointed across the street. It was a field between two heavily boarded up homes. The earth had been dipped down and dug out before the storm; now it had now had become a lake.

"Sounds good." Brendon looked down the road he was going to search. It was wet, muddy, and covered in debris. "Let's just hurry, before the eye passes."

Pete flashed a thumbs up before turning to his own street.

"Ready as I'll ever be..." Brendon muttered. He stepped along the fence for a few more feet before his shoes made contact with solid ground. Well, mostly solid ground. The mud was thinner than it was by the school because of the large street puddle that lapped against it.

Brendon trekked carefully, looking for signs of Josh or Tyler as he went. A footprint. A lost shoe. Anything.

No such luck.

At the street's corner, a large tree that had been pushed over the road by the winds. It made a bridge over the street's puddle that Brendon used as quickly and carefully as he could. The wet bark was soft, but slick. It took everything Brendon had not to slip. When he made it to the other side, he slowly worked his way through the branches.

"Josh? Tyler?" He called out. "Anybody there?"

Much to his surprise, a sound followed his question. The sound of rubble shifting.

Brendon turned to look at the building that rested on this new side of the street. Another tree had fallen over in the front yard of a house that stood pushed back from the street. The tree had crashed into the home, creating a huge hole in the wall.

Brendon stepped toward the house. His feet sunk into the grass, making a squish noise as water bubbles up from the over saturated ground. "Guys?" Brendon meant to call it out, but his voice came out quiet. That small noise in the silence that surrounded him had given him goosebumps, as much as he didn't want to admit it.

The thrill that had filled him with the prospect of going out in the eye had all but vanished.

The house that the tree had gone through had a long porch with a cover that had been ripped away by the winds of the storm. Parts of it rested a few feet to the side of the house.

As Brendon crept closer to the building, he heard no more sounds. He called out again, louder this time. There was still nothing as he reached the damaged porch. The hole in the building's wall left from the tree was dark. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to venture into it. "Hello?"

Something moved. A noise came from the darkness.

Brendon gulped. What if Josh or Tyler had ventured in and gotten hurt? He had to go in.

The steps of the porch creaked as he shifted his weight up onto them. He moved slowly in fear of how much the storm may have stressed the wood. He didn't feel like falling through a porch today.

"Josh?" Brendon had made it to the hole in the wall. He moved branches out of his way to get a better look inside. "Tyler?"

It was dark. Brendon held branches at bay as he stepped over splintered wall chunks. He needed a more through look at the inside of the house. It shouldn't take long. "Guys?"

He shivered at the chill in the air. It has been cold when he and Pete had left the building, but it seemed colder here. In the dim light, however, it looked like it had been an ordinary home. A rug had been pushed across the floor, a couch now had a tree resting on top of it, and cracked photo frames lined the walls. Under a huddled collection of frames, a rocky fireplace sat strong, still holding logs as if ready for a fire to be lit.

"Guys?" Brendon's voice was shaking from the cold and sudden nerves. He shouldn't be here. This felt wrong.

And yet...

Brendon shut his eyes. He took a blind step forward, compelled by he wasn't sure what.

He took another step, feeling something press against his chest. He stopped, inhaling a sharp breath. Something was pressed against his chest. That something felt oddly like a hand. Brendon opened his eyes, greeted by a pair of firey red ones staring back at him.