Natural disaster surviva.., p.1
Natural Disaster Survival, page 1
Diary Of A Wimpy Noob: Natural Disaster Survival
Noob's Diary, Volume 11
Nooby Lee
Published by Book for Kids, 2018.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.
DIARY OF A WIMPY NOOB: NATURAL DISASTER SURVIVAL
First edition. August 7, 2018.
Copyright © 2018 Nooby Lee.
ISBN: 978-1386120605
Written by Nooby Lee.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Entry# 1 - A Much Needed Vacation
Entry# 2 - A Storm Is Coming
Entry# 3 - Raising The Roof
Entry# 4 - Picking Up The Pieces
Entry# 5 - The Fire Rises
Entry# 6 - A Race To The River
Entry# 7 - Making A Splash
Entry# 8 - Homeward Bound
Entry# 9 - Shaking Things Up
Entry# 10 - Rocky Road Ahead
Entry# 11 - The Disasters Keep Piling Up
Entry# 12 - Hitching A Ride Out Of Town
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Entry# 1 - A Much Needed Vacation
It was a beautiful day. The sun shone down brightly, its ray's dancing off of the lake that spread out before me. A gentle breeze rippled through the air, causing the lush green trees to dance and sway. Gentle rolling hills stretched out beyond the lake that I stood on for as far as my eye could see. I stood quietly and just listened to the sounds of nature. The birds sang in the forest canopy. Occasionally a fish would break the surface of the water, shattering its smooth surface with a splash and then disappearing back beneath into the depths. This was a paradise.
A lot had happened over the past few weeks. There had been a number of updates to my Roblox world, and several of those changes had made some rather drastic impacts, not all of which had been anticipated. After the zombie uprising had been dealt with, it was discovered that some Roblox people had undergone 'mutations' beyond what the eye could see. I just so happened to be one of those people, and for a while, I had enjoyed a life as a superhero. But sadly, things don't always last. A patch had come out, fixing most of these issues, and putting me back to my original, normal state.
That was fine with me. I needed a break anyway. Which is why I found myself on the side of this lake. Thanks to a generous payment from the MARVL corporation, I finally had the money to take a long deserved vacation. I chose a somewhat secluded server where I was sure nothing exciting would happen. Somewhere I could relax, fish, and enjoy nature before getting back into the swing of things! This server offered all these things and more! I was spending my time in a scenic lakeside cottage for the time being, but there was also a medium sized town I could travel to in the evenings if I wanted to have a nice dinner or perhaps a party. All in all, it was the perfect spot to unwind.
I had spent the morning swimming in the lake and by the afternoon I was pretty tired. After I gathered my things, I began walking up the narrow dirt trail towards where the cabins were located. It was a little bit of a hike to get back, but the views were so great that I hardly noticed the distance. As I drew closer to the cabins, I caught up with another group of people who were also vacationing here like I was. We exchanged some pleasantries with each other as we traveled along the path.
We were almost back to our places of residence when one member of our group stopped and looked up in the sky.
“That's odd,” he began, pointing a finger up at the clouds. “Those clouds rolled up on us fast!”
We all looked up into the air. I for one had been too distracted thinking about going home to notice the sky. He was right though. A large black mass of clouds was looming overhead. They were dark and ominous, more threatening than anything I had seen for some time.
“What do you think buddy?” A fellow whose name was Pete elbowed me. “Do you think we should plan any outdoor games this evening?”
I studied the clouds with growing concern. The wind had changed directions and was now blowing a fierce cold wind against my skin. I could smell the rain. It would be here soon, no doubt.
“I think,” I said. “That we should all sit tight inside tonight. This looks like it could get rough.”
Entry# 2 - A Storm Is Coming
The dark clouds were approaching us at an alarming rate of speed. Already I was beginning to feel the first flecks of rain striking my face. The rest of the group, now sensing how fierce this storm was shaping up to be, began to scatter, each person heading for their own cabin. My own place wasn't much further down the path, perhaps just one hundred yards. Still, I broke into a quick trot rather than risk getting soaked by the downpour which was surely only moments away.
I had nearly reached the front door of my cabin when something stopped me dead in my tracks.
BOOM!! CRACK!!
A tremendous clap of thunder roared through the air, followed by a blinding flash of lightning! For a moment I was blinded by the brightness of the light. The bolt had reached down with an icy hot finger and hit a large oak tree only a few feet off to my side! The tree shuddered and groaned from the blow. I saw the beginnings of a fire starting to lick its way around the tree's massive trunk. Then...
CRACK!
The power of the lightning had been too much for the tree! It was beginning to snap! It swayed back and forth like a boxer who had just been punched, doing his best to keep from toppling over. But another powerful gust of wind swept through the campground, and it was the last straw for the mighty tree. For an agonizing moment it held out, then it came crashing down towards the ground!
“Look out!” A fellow camper behind me was crying frantically. “It's coming straight for you!!”
The whole ordeal had happened in a matter of seconds but I had been transfixed by it. I stood in awe as the tree fell in my direction. The voice behind me jolted me back to reality and with no time to spare I turned and dove back to avoid the tree that was coming for me.
CRUNCH!!
The tree missed me by only a few feet. I had been fortunate, but my cabin had not been. The massive tree smashed down on the roof, shattering it and sending large pieces of the house flying into the air and then raining down around me like bits of shrapnel! I stared in shock at the destroyed cabin that only moments before I had been about to enter. Then, as if on cue, the rain came rushing in. It felt more like a waterfall than a rain shower. The water rolled down in torrents, soaking me in seconds and turning the dirt into a field of mud!
I struggled to my feet, soaked to the skin and now covered in brown mud as well. Pete, one of the campers I had met a few minutes earlier, braved the storm to make sure I was okay.
“Hey, buddy! You alright??” He asked, shielding his face from the rain with his hand.
“Yeah..” I stammered. “Man, I was almost killed!”
“No kidding!” He exclaimed. “But we need to get out of here! It doesn't look like this storm is going to get any milder for a while!”
“You're right.” I shouted over the rain. “Lead the way!”
With that, we turned and headed towards a large barn where Pete and some other families had chosen to hole up during the storm.
Entry# 3 - Raising The Roof
The storm was reaching a fever pitch now, and the rain fell in gray curtains that obscured my view of anything beyond just a few feet! All around me now lightning was dropping from the sky. One second it was nearly pitch black and then a sudden flash would bathe the whole rain-soaked world in blinding light! The bolts were so close and the thunder so loud that each strike was almost as powerful as a punch in the head! I reeled left and then right, trying to keep my footing on the muddy ground and not die from a lightning bolt. My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears!
“There!!” Pete screamed out. “The barn is just ahead of us!”
I squinted and tried my best to keep the rain from hitting my eyes. Not far in front of us, a large shape was looming out of the darkness. We were nearly there! A few more muddy steps and we reached the wall. It took several more agonizing moments to finally find the barn door, and then we began to bang furiously to let the people inside know we were there!
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the large red door opened just a crack and Pete and myself spilled inside, chased by a stream of angry rain, upset to see us leave. I crumpled to the floor, happy to be alive. A few other folks who had made it to the barn rushed to help Pete and me, bringing us warm blankets and a change of clothes. Outside, the storm seemed to rage with ever-increasing fury.
There were probably ten people in the barn. It was tough to say since the electricity had gone out and we only had a few candles to huddle around. But we banded together tightly and tried to encourage one another.
“Have you ever seen anything like this?” asked a woman named Sarah. “I've been coming to this server for a long time now and never witnessed an event like this!”
“No, this is very strange indeed.” another man spoke up from the shadows. “I've never heard of a storm like this ANYWHERE in the Roblox world!”
CRACK!!
Another bolt of lightning struck, and from the sounds of it, it had hit the barn itself. The whole structure groaned, almost as if it was in agony. Then, several more cracking sounds echoed through the barn, and I c
“The barn!” I shouted. “It's breaking apart!”
Sure enough, the last lightning bolt had caused a large rift in the roof at one end of the barn, and the strain was causing it to split open slowly. Rain began to pelt the ground, eagerly attempting to get inside and drown us.
“Everyone hold tight!” The calm voice of Pete rang out. “There's nowhere else to go at this point, so we shouldn't lose our heads. Let's try and gather in a corner away from the hole in the roof.”
Without acknowledging it, we knew this was the best course of action. The roof was splitting wider and wider with each passing second, but we were out of options and had nowhere to run. So our little band of people all pressed into one corner of the barn and huddled together, waiting for the storm to end, and hoping that we would all live to see another day!
Entry# 4 - Picking Up The Pieces
I don't know how long we stayed huddled in the corner of the barn. It felt like hours, but who knows? The storm's fury seemed never ending, and it was truly nothing short of a miracle that the entire barn didn't collapse. The damage caused by the lightning bolt had been terrific, and it ultimately led to a crack in the roof from one end of the barn to the other. The rain had poured inside, soaking everything. Despite our best efforts to stay out of its line of fire, our whole group ended up drenched.
And then, as suddenly as it had begun, the storm ceased.
The clouds vanished in a matter of minutes, giving way to the first twinkling stars of the evening. The rushing wind died away and resumed its quiet, gentle patterns through the forest.
“Well, that is something I hope to never have to do again!” exclaimed Sarah.
“Agreed!” I replied, as I walked to the barn doors and pushed them open. Our group walked out into the clearing and surveyed the damage. What we saw, none of us were prepared for. The storm had ripped the campground apart. Trees were down all over the place. Many of them lay on top of cabins. In all, only one or two of the cabins were totally untouched. Most had lost roofs or were flattened by large trees. I shuddered to think about the people who had chosen to run to their cabins like I had initially attempted to do. Chances were that they had not survived.
Our band of survivors dispersed in different directions, picking through the wreckage and searching for anyone who may have lived. The camp was eerily quiet, and even though none of us spoke it out loud, we all knew what the stillness meant. No one other than us was alive. After some time rummaging through the battered cabins I made my way over to Pete and began to talk to him.
“Hey Pete,” I began. “I think it's time we started figuring out our route out of here.”
Pete nodded his head. “You're right. There's nothing more for us here, and we need to alert the authorities to what happened. This place is seriously dangerous!”
“Do you think this was an isolated event?” I asked.
“I'm not sure,” he replied. “I've never seen anything like that storm in my entire life! I feel like if it had happened before people would have known about it.”
Pete was probably right. I pondered the storm in my head. I had seen a lot of strange things on different Roblox servers, and those experiences had led me to be very suspicious of events such as these. Surely there was a cause for such a catastrophic natural disaster!
“Hey, guys!” I heard Sarah yell out to us. “I think you should take a look at this!”
Pete and I sensed an urgency in her voice. The others must have heard the same thing because we all ran to where she stood as quickly as possible. We found Sarah standing at the edge of the clearing where our cabins were situated.
“What is it Sarah?” asked one of our group, a man named Mike.
Sarah only pointed out into the woods at something perhaps a mile in the distance. In the growing darkness of the oncoming night, an orange glow could be seen dancing in the trees. I knew instinctively what it was.
“Forest fire!!” I cried.
Entry# 5 - The Fire Rises
It was little surprise that there would be a fire following such a massive storm. With such an enormous amount of lightning strikes in the forested area, I understood why there would be a fire now. Still, it did my heart no comfort when I saw it. At this point, it appeared fairly far away, but that was changing quickly. The wind had picked up again and was blowing steadily in our direction. I watched with growing anxiety as The flames licked their long tongues up the bark of one tree, caught the breeze, and jumped to the next piece of wood.
The fire wasn't just moving quickly either. No, it was spreading! The trees here grew together in a dense manner to the point that their branches often intertwined with one another. That provided easy access for the fire to grow far and wide, and extremely fast! Our little party of storm survivors was standing on a grassy knoll on the edge of camp watching the fire unfold. No one had spoken, but I knew that it was imperative that we take action immediately. A fire of that size and ferocity, coupled with a strong wind and dense forest meant it could move much faster than we could!
“Okay guys, we've seen enough,” I said calmly. “It's time to get moving.”
The brutality of the storm we had just endured, coupled with the discouraging sight of the fire seemed to be sapping everyone's energy.
“Hey!” I spoke out again, with more urgency this time. “We need to leave. Now!”
The others around me heeded my calls, albeit begrudgingly, and we all began to make our way out of the campground.
“I have a camper parked just a short distance down the trail,” Pete said to me. “I can fit everyone inside and we can all drive out of here together.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” I said. “It would probably be best if we all stay together for the time being anyway. What do the rest of you think?”
The others nodded their approval and we followed the trail, with Pete pointing the way. It wasn't far to where Pete's camper was parked but I was anxious to get there. I kept turning my head back towards the camp and the forest fire that was coming our way. The trees around me obscured my line of sight but I could already discern a faint orange glow in the night sky. The fire was coming on fast!
After a few minutes, we reached the camper's location and discovered with horror the true extent of the damage from the rain storm. Not one, but two massive trees had fallen onto the camper! It had fallen over onto its side, and the hull of the vehicle had caved in from the weight of the trees. To make matters worse, a number of trees had fallen across our main road towards town! The camper would have been useless either way.
“No!!” A frustrated and despairing Pete cried out. “What do we do now??”
We all stood in dumb silence for a moment, pondering our plight. But an ominous sound reached all our ears and we turned back behind us. A loud crackling noise was coming from the forest. The sound of logs being split by intense heat. There was more than an orange glow visible to us now. I could plainly make out flecks of fire pushing their way through the branches as if they were eager to reach and engulf us.
“The river!” Sarah shouted out. “It's less than a mile away from us. It's our only hope!”
No other words needed to be spoken. In unison, we all turned and bolted into the woods in the direction of the river!
Entry# 6 - A Race To The River
It was hard to imagine a death much worse than fire. The thought of being burned alive simply horrific. To be fair though, under the current circumstances it was hard to think of anything but being burned alive. The flames were so close now that I could feel the heat on my skin. Flames danced along behind us in the tree branches and tiny flecks and embers weaved around us as we ran. I had to dodge the occasional falling tree branch too, making my mad dash to the river all that much more challenging. The only upside to the fire was that the once dark forest had become as bright as day! The light from the flames made it easier to see the snarling roots that grew up out of the ground and tried their best to snag my feet as I ran.
