Lexy looked out the window at dark clouds gathering over Manhattan. A lightning bolt flashed from heaven to ocean, ending in thunder that rattled the windows. A faint rain splatted on the glass, then stopped. Dark skies bursting with rain mobbed the city.
She popped the lid off a cup of cat food, plopped the food in the Boostsie's bowl, and set in on the floor for the cat. Bootsie wasn't her cat, just as this studio wasn't her apartment, and New York City wasn't her city. She had big hopes that might change. She'd been laid off from her job in South Carolina six months ago and had to move in with her mother. At 34 years old, her 'career', or work history, as her sister, Pris, called it, was pathetic, although Pris never said that out loud. No luck finding another job in Columbia during the Pandemic, so Pris, who's cat, apartment, and city this was, offered to let her stay in her Midtown studio apartment while Pris worked in Paris from May to July.
It was a generous offer for Lexy. It allowed Pris to leave her daughters with their grandmother in Columbia, SC, and her cat at home, while Lexy looked for work in New York City. So far, she'd gotten temp work, enough to leave her savings untouched in the bank, a mostly free place to stay for the summer, in Manhattan of all places, and Bootsie to keep her company.
Pris would return the end of July to care for her daughter, Brenda, during her bone marrow transplant for leukemia. Lexy was a match and had immediately agreed to donate. Afterwards, Pris would marry Dex, her fiance. He had gotten her the temp job at his huge law firm and promised to find her something permanent.
Boots gobbled steadily from his bowl. Lexy's stomach growled, and she searched the small kitchenette for something to eat. She'd been working so much overtime she hadn't had time to walk to the cheaper stores in Hell's Kitchen. "Grilled cheese and tomato soup for my dinner," she told the cat. Bootsie kept eating.
She looked out the windows at the darkening sky, black clouds rolling in from the Atlantic, purplish lightning flashing. Faint booms sounded in the distance. She got her umbrella and left the high-rise. The small bodega she liked was a block away, where prices were reasonable for Manhattan.
She got bread, a can of tomato soup, treated herself to a bag of croutons, paid and left. She stopped at another store to check magazines and books. She spotted 'Phantom Attack' a Superman she hadn't read. The last son of Krypton soared across the cover in his blue costume with red cape flying behind. A spaceship with a Kryptonian villain at the helm shot bolts at Superman, which bounced harmlessly off his "S" symbol. "I'll send you and your troops back to the Phantom Zone, General Zod! Earth is under my protection!" Superman's word bubble declared.
She bought the book and a chocolate bar and hurried home, trying to get there before the rain. She almost made it. She unfurled the umbrella but wind blew the rain around and she got soaked anyway.
She showered before eating at the tiny table as rain began to pound on the windows. Lightning with that odd purple tinge, now with traces of ugly yellow-green, flashed constantly, and the thunder was deafening. The weather report said the storm would last all night.
She cleaned up and took a cup of tea, her Superman comic, and her candy bar to the sofa. She got comfortable and began to read about Kal-El saving Earth. As usual. She never tired of it. Bootsie curled up on her lap. She opened the TV schedule and to her surprise found a Superman movie. She'd seen it a few times but put it on and let it buzz as she read.
Superman pushed Zod into a Zone transporter at long last. The transporter shut, whirred, and Earth was safe, once again. The end. Lexy closed the book and watched TV.
"We interrupt this program to bring you a weather warning. The storm has increased to Force 5. NOAA reports they have never recorded a storm this severe. Residents of the five boroughs and nearby areas are warned to prepare for evacuation. NOAA says this unusual hurricane level storm is localized to New York City and the nearby Tri-State region and ends about 35 miles from City Hall. Mayor Johnston is overseeing emergency services. Shelters have been set up. Stay tuned for further news." The reporter signed off.
The Superman movie ended with Clark and Lois back in the Daily Planet, writing up Superman's latest adventure. Storm warnings scrolled across the bottom of the screen again, warning of an imminent evacuation of Manhattan.
Lexy put changes of clothes in her backpack along with cat food, snacks, and water bottles. She put her wallet, cash and cell phone in a belly bag, along with a flashlight, batteries, a few led light candles, her phone charger and other necessities. She put her backpack and Bootsie's crate and leash by the door. She added her rain shoes and raincoat. The darkness outside was like being in a black fog, nothing but darkness and rain, broken by flashes of lightning and deafening thunder.
She tried to read, but the TV and lights snapped off. She turned on a led candle and sat in the dim light, waiting. Bootsie meowed, and she put him in his crate.
Non-stop banging on her door woke her up. She stumbled to the door. Through the peephole she saw the concierge. She opened the door. "Yes, Lazlo?"
"We all got to go, Lexy. The building's being evacuated. Please come to the lobby and the Fire Department will tell you where to go." She nodded and he pounded on her neighbor's door.
Almost thirty minutes later she sat in the lobby, winded from carrying the backpack and Bootsie's crate down 19 flights. Elevators were out. A fireman gave her a ticket and directed her to a group heading to Columbus Circle. She got a place in line, and they left.
The tenants followed in single file, like ducklings. They held to a rope reaching from a lead fireman to the fireman following behind. The pounding rain and frequent thunder made talking impossible. The rope kept them from straying and getting lost.
Lexy waded through puddles, relieved she had thought to wear her rain shoes. At least her feet were dry. Gutters overflowed and flashes of lightning revealed cars blown over, store windows broken, trash and loose objects blown by the wind. A few businesses and apartments had emergency lights, dim through the rain, where people wouldn't leave. The walk to Columbus took almost two hours.
The weather app on her cell said it was almost dawn, but the was as dark as a moonless midnight. The firemen led them into the tunnels and found them spots with other refugees.
Another hour later an emergency worker told them they were assigned to shelters on Long Island and would go to Grand Central. Fortunately, most of the subways were running.
Lexy said to the worker, "I have my sister's cat. I really need some place I can keep him with me." Or Pris would never let her forget she'd abandoned Bootsie.
The worker said, "The storm's quieter. They say it's the eye. Some of the hotels along 59th will take evacuees, if you want to risk it. You'll have to walk." Lexy nodded and the worker signed her up for the Plaza. She hadn't wanted to abandon Bootsie, but she could have been warm and dry on Long Island if she'd had a safe place to leave the cat.
A fireman led her and three others along the park side of 59th. The sickly purple and green lightning flashed steadily, lighting up the dark streets. Lexy sent a text to her family updating them on her whereabouts. Pris texted back, 'Whrs Bootsie?' Lexy sighed and replied, 'w/me.' The group reached the Pond where a middle-aged man in their party collapsed on the sidewalk.
The gray-haired man clutched his chest and lay there groaning. The fireman examined him. "I have to get him to that police car across Fifth Avenue first," he told Lexy. "Do you want to come with us or wait here? I'll be back as soon as possible."
Lexy thought of lugging Bootsie and her backpack several more blocks, and said, "I'll wait here." The fireman put her in the shelter of a carriage, now horseless, lying on its side. The sick man's wife and the other man with their party helped the fireman carry the suffering man. In a few feet they were gone from sight in a pitch-black morning. Lightning flashed, and Lexy smelled ozone. and something else, green grass recently mowed, car exhaust, and heard sirens in the distance. She wished now she'd gone with the others, but they were out of sight. She huddled next to Bootsie and pulled her raincoat around her drenched body.
The lightning flashed again, a sickly, vicious, bruised purple and green, then flashed again, striking the pond. For an airless moment the night went dark and silent, the rain stopped, and the world moved.
When the world was still once more, she lay under the carriage which had rolled upside down. She took a deep breath. Her right wrist throbbed, and she had a few bruises, but was otherwise uninjured. She opened her eyes, surprised to see clear skies in the bright morning light and that the rain and thunder had stopped so quickly. She thought she might have been knocked unconscious and time passed, but she was sure she had remained alert.
She tried to wriggle from under the carriage but was trapped. Bootsie yowled. She understood how he felt. Her heart pounded faster as she began to panic.
A siren wailed as a police car drove by, and she started to calm down. Help was near. She peered under the edge of the broken carriage and saw feet going by. The storm had gone as mysteriously and quickly as it had come in the few minutes she'd been under the carriage. She checked the time on her cell. The screen was blank. Another casualty of the storm.
Shiny, expensive shoes under pin-striped trousers walked by, accompanied by someone in a policeman's uniform. "Mayor Luthor, rescue efforts are going well."
Mayor Luther? Barney Johnston is mayor of New York City. Who is Mayor Luthor? Lexy wondered as the feet walked past her carriage. She stuck her arm out and waved, but either the men didn't notice or ignored her. Did you get knocked out and you're still dreaming? She straightened Bootsie's crate, speaking soothingly to the wet, miserable cat. She stuck her umbrella through the gap and waved it. Someone should spot it and help her.
A rush of air, and red, knee-high boots on strong legs in royal blue leggings appeared in the gap under the carriage. A thin, red blanket dragged behind the man. A blanket! Maybe he'll give it to me. She wiggled the umbrella again.
"Hello, lady, I'll help you," a deep, gentle voice said.
"Please. I was supposed to go to the Plaza, but the lightning struck and turned this carriage over me."
"There's no plaza near here in Midtown Park," the man said, "but help is here. Fred! There's a young lady under here, with her cat. I'll lift the carriage."
How does he know I have a cat? He must hear Bootsie meowing. But Bootsie is quiet. "You'd have to be Superman to lift this, mister. Don't try it by yourself."
"I am Superman," the deep voice said.
Very funny. She lay still as the wreckage rose and she was free. She sat up and looked at her rescuer. She blinked, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness, and shaded her eyes with her hand. With the sun at his back, she couldn't get a good look at him. She caught a blurry glimpse of a tall, dark-haired man in a blue body suit with the red blanket hanging from his shoulders, and the red boots. The man watched her quietly. And he had lifted the carriage off her.
"Superman?" This character was wearing a Superman suit, yellow "S", cape, red boots and all. He also had the dark good looks of Superman. "I must have hit my head. I'm unconscious or hallucinating." She sniffled, for she was soaking wet, cold, probably concussed, and hungry, with a cat yowling.
The man seemed to stare at her carefully, then went on one knee beside her. She looked into calm blue eyes framed with long dark lashes, and again caught her breath. He might a nut, but there was something soothing and comfortable about him. "No, miss, you didn't hit your head. You have a sprained wrist and many bruises, but you'll be fine. The cat's ok, just wet and hungry."
"Who are you really?" Lexy asked, rubbing her head. She couldn't feel a bruise. "This is a bad day for jokes."
"I am Superman."