The Three Storms - Part One: Fire from the Sky

This is from a dream I had on October 21^st 2013. I was going through a tremendous amount of stress, growth and spiritual awakening at the time. I know that sometimes dreams can just be an interesting distraction from our daily lives, but every now and then one comes around that makes us stop and think about where we are in life at that moment. There was a great deal of symbolic visualizations in this dream, and to this day I've not really sought out what it may have meant, but at the end of the post, I give my two cents on what I felt it may have meant. This is the first part.

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The open road stretched out as far as I could see before me. For days it seemed to just be fixed and lifeless. There didn't to seem to be as many travelers as there were when we first left our home so many days ago. Just a day or two ago it was an endless row of vehicles with families and others just trying to get out of the cities and out into the open area where things were deceptively safer. The worst part about being out on the road for a long time, especially when the majority of it is stuck on long, boring highways, is everything starts feeling the same. You spend hours and hours passing by open land once you exit the city and find yourself in a rural wasteland. Time doesn't seem to pass like normal, because there aren't as many land marks and stops to be made or to pass by. It messes with your internal clock, and you feel like you're not going anywhere at all. You're stuck in some sort of limbo. Thoughts begin to numb and you drift off into empty, formless thought. This was our current situation, and it had been that way for several days. But we were finally coming up on our first break from the monotony of the straight and empty highway just another ten miles or so, and I was welcoming it with open arms by this point.

I was traveling with a few people. I don’t remember who they were specifically, but one of them was supposed to be my girlfriend, and the other two were close friends of ours. Now that I think about it, I don’t remember why we were traveling in the first place, but I got the sense we were running away from something. I don’t know if it was a natural disaster or if it was just fear of whatever was going on in the country and we were trying to just get out. There was a heavy atmosphere within the vehicle we were in that matched the weather just outside. It's almost as if it snuck in the car in the middle of the night when we were unaware. We were tired, dirty, and restless from the traveling. Our vehicle was packed with a combination of empty bottles of water, food wrappers, clothing and miscellaneous camping supplies. If it weren't for the sense of dread that you could sense in ours and anyone else's car you would come across, you might say we were just like any group of young people traveling the country on a road trip. But this trip was an attempt to find a refuge. We were racing against time to get away from something.

I rolled down my window once we passed through the flat lands and came up to a road that was now winding through a hilly area right before it would turn into a mountainous area. I was so happy to see some new landscape. I had grown tired of the flat lands we had been stuck in. I remember most of the sky was covered in a thick, gray formation of storm clouds. The air felt slightly damp, and there was that smell of rain in the distance. The two friends we were traveling with were in the back seat asleep. My girlfriend was in the passenger seat looking out towards the coastline. I could tell she wasn't thrilled with the chill in the air coming through my window, but she seemed too distracted by the new view to say anything outright about it. We were a few miles from the coastline, so it may have been somewhere in the northeastern United States, but I can't remember exactly where it was. It didn't feel like it was anywhere near what we would have called home, so it's possible we had come up the coast in order to potentially cross over into Canada. This definitely wasn't a familiar sight to either of us. It was beautiful though. That small bit of change in the landscape was just enough to lift my spirits a bit. But it would be short lived as we came across our first sign of civilization in a day and a half.

We decided to stop just outside a small town to refuel and get some supplies. This would be the only gas station for a good, long while, so we would need to make sure to fill up as well as the two five gallon jugs we had with us. It was a lonely little shack of a building, but it gave us an opportunity to grab some things and take a break from driving. I don't think we were making any specific plans to stay anywhere for very long, so we stopped only out of necessity. We were drifters going from place to place in search of somewhere safe. It was a quick hit and run anytime we made any kind of stop, only allowing ourselves a few minutes of relief from the confinement of the vehicle.

It was early morning, and the sun hadn't broken through the clouds just yet. It wouldn't matter either way though. Even during the day, when the sun was out and about, it would barely peek through the gloom. It seemed like we hadn't seen a bright, sunny day in so long. It made it difficult to feel any sense of peace and comfort, and that was unfortunate because that's exactly what we seemed to be in search of.

I pulled the car into the gas station and almost gave out a long sigh of relief. We'd made it a little farther, and were now safe for the moment. Every opportunity to stop and break the cycle of staring at the road was a good one. It somehow felt like progress even if I wasn't sure what the final goal was. Off in the distance I heard the familiar sound of rolling thunder. I didn't want to pay any attention to it, but I found myself looking up at it anyway. Across the open highway, miles away, I could see the dark storm clouds rolling in slowly. It didn't seem to matter where we went, or how quickly we drove from county to county, it was always right behind us. It lingered in the background like how a bad memory lingers in your mind. No matter what you do to try and forget it's there, you can't deny its presence.

My two friends got out of the back seat, and did their morning yawns and stretches. They asked if I wanted anything to eat or drink. "Just some water," I replied back to them. I wasn't feeling very hungry these days. I was ready to just find our final spot, wherever that would be. I was tired of going from pace to place wondering if it would be safer than the last. I didn't want to wander any longer. I wanted to feel safe and secure, but most of all, I wanted my friends to feel safe as well. Part of me would push the worry and fear away while I was driving to kept my mind on the task of keeping us safe on the road. But, when you're just a passenger, looking at the world go by, or only having the interior of the car to start at can make your brain feel trapped even if you're in a moving vehicle. Your body is constantly being propelled forward from within the vehicle, but your mind is stuck in the past and wondering what had happened with everyone else we loved and cared about. I didn't want them to be weary anymore. I wanted them to feel like we would make it to someplace we could maybe call home.

My girlfriend stepped out from the passenger side as I began to fill the car as well as the jugs with gas. She looked tired, however she didn't seem as distraught as I felt. It was a little chilly in the morning breeze, so she huddled herself under an old hoodie and a fluffy blanket and just stood there next to me, almost as if she was providing some emotional support. She leaned on me while the fuel pumped away. I felt guilty for having to have her crammed in this vehicle for so long. But I would rather have her there with me, hopefully traveling to safety. The vehicle life, as uncomfortable as it is, was still a much better option than being stranded somewhere back where we came from with no hope of escaping what was coming.

Across the street from the fuel station was a small church. It looked old, like it had been there for decades. It was pretty weathered and looked like something out of the 19th century with its arched, stain glass windows and tall steeple. The brick was covered with patchy green moss scattered here and there, and it looked as if it hadn't been maintained in a long time. The parking lot looked barely larger than the one that was at the gas station we were in, which told me it probably only housed about 40-50 people at the most. This was a small town community after all.

There were about a dozen or so children playing in the dilapidated playground that itself looked like it was made in the late 60s. They were all young, about maybe 6-8 years old from what I could tell. Maybe it was some sort of daycare as well? I wasn't sure. There were two older ladies sitting at a nearby bench that were watching as the children played. They were modestly dressed with black skirts that went down to their ankles and a cream colored blouse. One of the ladies was drinking some kind of hot beverage, maybe coffee or tea? The steam from whatever it was wisped its way up and around her as she brought the cup up to her face while the other was chatting away.

I thought to myself either those children were very lucky to have such a carefree day to enjoy, or that they were extremely unlucky to be unaware of the dangers that were crawling its way across the country side. Not my concern, I thought to myself, as I pulled focus back to the task at hand. I didn't have the mental capacity or the luxury to worry about anyone else outside of who was already with me. I couldn't save everyone we came in contact with, so my initial reaction every time I wanted to do so was to just mentally cross them out of my mind. I didn't want to allow myself to feel for anyone else. Part of me felt guilty, as if I was already determining their fate without knowing for sure what would even happen to them. But it was easier to ignore that emotion that rather than to open up my heart to more concerns. In order to keep myself lined with what I felt needed to be done, in my mind, everyone we passed was on their own. I couldn't save them, and they would have figure out what they needed to do on their own.

A chill caught me off guard and it shook me out of my thoughts. I realized the gas had stopped pumping a minute or two ago already and I had just been standing there. My girlfriend felt the slight disruption and asked if I was okay. I didn't say anything initially and pulled the nozzle out of the intake and put it back on the pump. I started to say, "I'm good, just a little cold..." but I got distracted by a streak of light reflected on her glasses. It was followed by another, and then another.

I saw a sudden shift in her face as she was no longer looking at me, but past me. There was a look of confusion and slight disbelief in her eyes. She continued to look behind me at what had caught her attention for a second or two, then she looked back over at me. The concern in her face turned worse and it looked like she didn't know to process what she was seeing. Slowly I turned around and looked at what was behind me that had caught her so off guard.

In the distance falling from the dark clouds in the sky that, a moment ago were miles away, were streaks of bright yellow and orange falling down like hail. There were only a few at first and it looked kind of like meteorites falling out of the sky. Initially I wasn't sure what I was seeing. I was confused because there was no sign of thunder or lightning. There were just dark clouds, the same dark clouds we had been driving away from for days. The falling projectiles were coming from such a great height that they moved down to the surface of the Earth slowly. More and more came out of the dark clouds, almost out of nowhere. It was still quiet, and there wasn't any sound other than the wind that was starting to churn a bit more quickly now.

And then, I saw one hit the ground from a distance. It looked like it had shattered a bit, leaving a small cloud of what looked like mist. I looked up at the sky, and more started piercing through the clouds. They began to pummel the ground a few hundred yards away from us and started coming toward us like a distant rain storm. With each hit, a small puff of mist or powder formed. I couldn't tell what was happening at first, but then a few started making their way to where we were at. I heard one small pop behind us as one hit the roof of the gas station. Then more came raining down. One hit just a few feel from us and exploded into a fragmented puff. They were shattering on impact, and where they hit, they left a small blistered spot of what appeared to be ice. It had to be hail. There was no other explanation. But they were coming down from the sky like fire, leaving a trail of flame and smoke behind them freezing objects and surfaces as they hit. One hit the trunk of our vehicle with a loud crack that took me completely by surprise. I walked over to the impact on the vehicle and touched the surface with my hand. It was frozen over and hurt to the touch. Now the sky was lit up with fiery streaks that were crashing down onto every area. I turned to face my girlfriend and told her, "Get the guys, we gotta get out of here...right now!"

I quickly emptied the vehicle of any garbage or loose material that had piled up in the back seats to make room for the supplies the guys were brining in from the store. The wind started to pick up and the debris from the vehicle was now getting caught up and softly tossed around the parking lot. It was coming faster now and the sounds of cracking and popping became louder and louder. I started to hear the screams and shouts of those who were out and about, rushing indoors to get away from the fiery hail storm. I glanced across the street towards the church briefly. It looked like all the children were being corralled indoors to safety. Good for them, now we had to get out of here! Several more hit right by the vehicle and the shards of ice started to spread out in all directions. I pulled my coat over my face to help shield me from the fragments.

I looked over to the gas station where I saw my friends and girlfriend running out the front door. They looked terrified and perplexed. This all happened so fast that I'm not sure they had time to process what was going on since they were in the store when this all began. "Come on! Get in the car, we have to get the hell out of here!"

All of a sudden a larger piece hit the front end of the car and shattered the windshield. This was was much larger, about the size of a basketball. I looked up at the sky and to my horror I saw more large hail plummeting out of the clouds now. They started hitting the roofs of houses and cars parked along the road and in drive ways. They were completely demolishing whatever they hit. Sounds of breaking glass, screaming people and car alarms now rang out of control from all directions. The sky was on fire, but the ground and all around us was becoming covered in ice shards and frost from each impact. One hit the roof of the gas station with a loud explosion as it knocked out all the lights from within the building. Others around started to get hit as well and the lights within those buildings began to go dark as well. The windshield of our vehicle was completely shattered, and there was no way to clear it out to get behind the wheel to drive away. The gas station was completely pummeled by this point.

One building seemed to withstand a bit more punishment, despite it also being broken and beaten. The church stood across the street almost like a small beacon of hope. A few people were running towards it to seek shelter. I looked over at my friends and shouted, "Come on, let's get inside that church building!"

We ran across the street getting pelted with the ice fragments of the hail that rained down all around us. One hit my hand while I used it to cover the top of my head. It felt like I'd been stabbed, it hurt so badly. It was sharp, but also numbing as well. My hand started to bleed a little from the impact.

"Are you okay?!" my girlfriend looked shocked and relieved that it was only a small injury.

"Don't worry about it, keep running!"

We ran across the frosted street and finally made it to the front of the church. We ran inside to find the main building empty. The short rows of pews looked like they hadn't been sat in for a long time. Besides the debris of broken glass from the windows and pages from a few hymnals that were fluttering around, it was empty. I was a little confused at first as I franticly looked around for the people I saw running inside it just moments ago.

"Where is everyone?" my girlfriend cried out. The sound of hail hitting the building was deafening. "I just saw them come in here!"

Then we heard a small voice from behind us. "In here, quickly!" I turned to see one of the older ladies peeking out from what looked like a narrow doorway at the left corner of the entrance just behind one of the benches. We quickly made our way to wards the door and down a narrow staircase into what looked like an underground kitchen and cellar.

"Please, come quickly. We need to get away from the surface." She led us down to the cellar where all the children we had seen before and about half a dozen other people were huddled in one corner. Everyone looked terrified. One woman had blood rushing down her forehead, probably from a shard of glass from a window breaking near her, or being directly hit by a piece of hail. Most of the children were crying and scared, a few of them were in shock and weren't saying anything and just clung to one another.

Outside, I could hear the wind picking up as the sound of hail was now drowning out anything else that may have been heard just moments ago. And at last, I started to hear thunder in the distance. It rolled over and around us like an angry beast shaking the loose boards that made up the ceiling in that underground cellar. My girlfriend came over to me, finally taking a moment to look at my hand. "Are you okay? Is it bad?"

"I'm okay I think." I shrugged it off for now as I was trying not to think of the devastation that was happening all around us on the surface. There was a loud pop and the lights flickered off for a split second before coming back on again. We sat down in the middle of the group of children and just looked up at the ceiling as we heard the sound of the sky just falling down on us.

Then, just as quickly as the previous moment happened, it came again. A loud cracking and popping sound slapped just above us. But this time, the lights didn't come back on. All the children gave out a small cry and a few of them began to scream. I could hear the sound of the older ladies trying to calm them down, assuring them that it was okay, and that the power would come back on soon.

"Is there a backup generator?" I asked.

"Yes, but it's out back and may need some fuel." Well that wasn't going to do us any good. I sat there in the dark with everyone else stranded in that room. I thought to myself that at least we were safe under ground, and thank goodness we saw this place when we got to this town.

But that moment of gratitude and peace about us being safe quickly melted away. I felt the ceiling shake and the loose boards rattling. A deep resonate thunder clap, almost like a growl rolled over us like some kind of demonic laughter. Everyone in the room went completely silent. We were all shook from what we just heard. The thunder shook the whole building and took us all by surprise. I don't know what was coming our way, but it sounded big, angry and deadly.

We all held our breath as the church began to split and crack from the weight of the pressure building above us. I looked up, and my heart sank as I saw the ceiling give way to the flood of fire from the sky.