The Tornado Warning
I recently moved to a small town just outside of Oklahoma City. I just graduated from college and was looking for a quiet, rural place to set up shop. The neighborhood I moved into was very calm and peaceful. It was on a very isolated road with only four houses and acres of farmland beyond the eye can see. All of the neighbors were very welcoming. As a freelance writer, I didn’t plan on staying in Oklahoma for long or going outside my house much, but I’m glad to have moved into a safe area with people I could trust. Well, safe except for the weather. Growing up in the Midwest, I was no stranger to severe storms and frequent tornadoes. My neighbors have said they’re so used to it that they practically live in their basements. Many said they immediately head downstairs once they hear of a severe storm even if it won’t be a tornado. I figured they were still recovering from the massive tornado back in 2014. and they were more cautious with their safety and their belongings. I thought it was pretty smart, but as I said, I didn’t plan on staying for long, so I kept everything where it was meant to be. After a few weeks of getting settled in, there was a big storm on a Thursday evening. After a long day, I was lying on my couch watching the news. As expected, my television lit up with a severe thunderstorm warning for my county. I took a glance outside to see how bad it was. Lightning would strike every minute or so followed by the usual clap of thunder. It seemed we were on the edge of the storm and weren’t getting hit too badly. A few minutes later, a new warning came on. This one was a tornado warning for my county. I was honestly a bit shocked as I didn’t feel the storm was too severe. I was already tired and didn’t feel like getting up to go downstairs. I’ve experienced tornadoes and can usually tell when a storm will become more serious; this wasn’t one of those times. Nonetheless, I got up and stood at the top of the basement stairs to keep an eye on the television. After half an hour, we got the all-clear from the weather station. I took another peek outside. Sure enough, we weren’t hit with anything besides wind and rain. I would normally wait in case of another severe storm trailing behind, but I decided to get ready for bed. After all, I didn’t think it was likely that a greater tempest would follow a minor one. I woke up the next morning to the sound of sirens on my street. Was anybody seriously injured by the storm? I didn’t think much of any potential damage. I was curious, so I went outside. To my disbelief, there were four cop cars and two ambulances a few doors down at the end of the dead-end road. Crime scene tape was wrapped around the entire house, and an entire forensics team was already there surveying the property. My heart pounded as I met up with some of the officers. They revealed that there was a family of four brutally murdered in their basement. I asked whether this happened during the storm. Some of them doubted it given the tornado warning, but how can four people be dead for more than 12 hours without notice? I could not see any signs of forced entry nor were there signs of any type of robbery. Local news channels covered the case with many friends and other family members saying how nice they were, how well-represented they were at church, and had zero enemies to their knowledge. Certainly not a great way to get situated into a new home. That same night, there was another storm, this one more dangerous. There had been a tornado watch all afternoon. Sure enough, a tornado warning flashed on the TV screen. I didn’t go to the basement. I just laid on the couch staring into space. All that was on my mind was the murder. Questions started racing through my mind. Who could’ve done this? Why could they have done this? How does a nice neighborhood become the victim of such horror? Was there something I didn’t know about? I felt involved although there wasn’t anything I could do. A gigantic clap of thunder shook me out of my thoughts. I was feeling so much pity I didn’t care to get to safety from this storm. I was in another storm of my own. Before long, everything subsided. Once again, I went to bed but couldn’t seem to catch any Z’s until hours in. I had a miserable dream where I was at the family’s funeral. The environment was completely gray, with attendees wearing black, and everyone in mourning. Then, all of a sudden, everyone started feeling dizzy and dropped dead. I was surrounded by bodies on the floor. As I awoke, I realized it was all a bad nightmare. Realizing what happened the night before, I went outside again to check for any damage. Expecting to see a powerline or two down, my heart sank as I saw the same scene from yesterday. Police vehicles, crime scene tape, and a forensics team. This time, two doors down. Some friends of the family were watching the scene, a woman bawling at the sight, her husband’s arm wrapped around her. Once again, I talked with officers on the scene. I asked what the situation was. He said that a similar crime was committed. He described the bodies as being stabbed beyond proportion, several bones were broken, and one of them was nearly decapitated. As the bodies were being rolled out on a stretcher, I noticed blood seeping through the white sheet covering a body. A relative who found the bodies described to an investigator what transpired as she came to visit. I could even see some officers getting emotional. This made no sense. Two identical mass murders in my neighborhood. A neighborhood I moved to for tranquility. What are the odds? Suddenly, it clicked. Both of these happened during major storms when the tornado warning alert came on. I looked into it further wondering if there were any cases of people being killed during a natural disaster. Not much came up on the matter. I researched when other tornado warnings occurred. Nothing came up on the National Weather Service for our area aside from the one yesterday. I was confused. Was the warning today just a test? False alarm? Was someone taking advantage of the supercell to commit these gruesome acts? The storm today was more severe, but no tornadoes were spotted. That evening, the warning came on again on the television. I read it to see what it was. Surely, this was a test or a tornado watch at a minimum. Nope. Tornado warning, clear as day. I went outside to my backyard. It was cool and windy, but there was no indication of a tornado anywhere near. I checked the radar on my phone. Not even a speck of green in my town. Maybe the National Weather Service hit the wrong button. There had to be some explanation. I called the local service about the possible error. They said no one reported a tornado nor did the weather service see a possible tornado on the radar. Very odd. I looked to the horizon. That’s when I realized. The two murders. Three doors down, two doors down. I got chills as I discovered the pattern. The neighbors spoke of practically living in their basement, some not even reading the television for the warning, just going underground when they heard the alert. I ran to my next-door neighbors’ house, rang the doorbell several times, knocked heavily, and even hollered their names. Nothing. I peered through the windows. Nothing seemed out of place. They usually left their back door open, so I bolted to the backyard. I saw that the television blared the noises of a weather warning. Once I got downstairs, I stumbled upon something I wish nobody else will ever experience. This scene was the most horrific thing I’ve seen. The couple lying face up, corpsed bodies positioned parallel to each other, unclothed. The worst part: they were completely skinned down revealing muscle and tissue. It looked more like the devil’s work than of a human. Realizing the killer could still be in the house, I ran out of the house to my property. I called 9-1-1 as I paced my porch. When the cops showed up, I was interviewed as the witness. I sat in the driver’s seat of a police car with my mind racing. The cop asked me how I knew something was wrong. I debated with myself whether I should tell them about the television warnings. It seemed I was the only one who connected the dots. Nobody besides myself was getting those false warnings. Was I going insane? Is this all a messed-up dream? All I told the officer was that they hadn’t seemed to leave their house all day, and I was growing worried. I didn’t see any trace of a break-in. No broken windows, no foreign footprints, not even a speck of blood anywhere else. Was the killer still in there? Not a chance a person was behind this. Visibly shaken, I was recommended to a therapist to try and recover from what I saw and was told to try and keep it off my mind. Obviously, I couldn’t. I grew frantic. There was no chance this is being passed off as being normal. I did all the browsing I could online for answers. I posted to various chatrooms to see if anybody else in the entire world knew what I was talking about. I either got no replies or just laughing emojis for the most part. Some people calling me mentally ill, a troll, a psychopath. I knew it was all real. It felt like a nightmare, but it wasn’t. I saw it with my own eyes. Who was doing this? Why is it happening? Happening to me nonetheless? I stayed up that whole night feeling extremely sleep-deprived, but the thought of sleep left me. My life flashed before my eyes when a tornado warning flashed on the TV right then and there. I looked out the window. Clear skies. The sunrise was so unnaturally red. Blood red. I knew this was it. This was no coincidence. Realizing this cannot be real, I decided to finally read what the extra information said below the headline. Normally, I wouldn’t read the graphic as it didn’t have any additional information aside from what to do in the situation and where the warning was effective. The same must’ve been for my now-deceased neighbors. My eyes widened. I felt like I was punched in the stomach. The cryptic message read:A tornado has been spotted in your area. Me. I am the storm causing havoc in your neighborhood. I’m the rain, the wind, the thunder, and the lightning. The safest place is no longer your basement. You’re better off killing yourself than encountering me, hiding in your little crawlspace. I have been sent on a mission from Hell to put an end to all humankind. You will join me in flames. See you soon. Sincerely, EF6! Three doors down, two doors down, one door down. I was the next victim. I then realized I never even went to the basement during this whole fiasco. Scared beyond proportion, I grabbed the biggest knife from my kitchen. I slowly walked down the staircase to the basement. Each step I took felt like one more step to my death. I peered around the corner, knife ready to stab. Nothing seemed out of place. I surveyed my entire surroundings in the near-empty basement, trying to find a dark corner where someone could be hiding. Suddenly, I was getting dizzy. My strength was faltering. Heart racing. I dropped to the ground, feeling as if all the weight of the world was on top of me. A high-pitched shrill that sounded like radio frequency. All I remember hearing after that was a boom. An immediate flash followed. The storm was right on top of me. Credit: treyjohnsoncreepypasta111 Instagram Copyright Statement: Unless explicitly stated, all stories published on Creepypasta.com are the property of (and under copyright to) their respective authors, and may not be narrated or performed under any circumstance.