A/N. So I decided to write another one shot before 'LH'. lol. Are you ready to drag the next chapter out of me or what? Anyway, I don't own anything. Thanks once again to XeroPrime for the ideas! Oh, and this might be a little. . . gruesome to some people. Just a warning. Read on.

Minnesota's weather doesn't quite deserve the bad reputation people have given it over the years. The winters are harsh and snowy and the rest of the year is rainy but for the most part, people tend to exaggerate. Then again, tornadoes are quite common from March to November. So maybe it is extreme throughout the year. But there are those who like it, and those who hate it. What it really comes down to is a person's opinion.

Logan Mitchell didn't really mind the weather. Oh sure, there was that time last November when he and one of his best friends, Carlos Garcia, had been stranded in Logan's car in the middle of a record setting blizzard. Carlos had walked away with a slight case of hypothermia but Logan had nearly died from stage three of the condition and a decent sized concussion. Honestly, he tried not to think of the incident too much. He tended to shove unpleasant thoughts and memories away pretty easily and this was one of them. In any case, Logan held no grudges against Minnesota's wild weather.

Kendall Knight on the other hand loathed Minnesota. He hated the freezing winters and the rainy springs. He hated the tornadoes in the summer and the short pleasant falls. The weather had done nothing to win him over when it came close to taking the lives of Carlos and Logan, two of his best friends. It had been weeks after the incident before he could finally sleep without waking up shaking with images of Carlos holding an unconscious Logan in his arms and crying so hard that he barely even noticed that Kendall and James were there. James Diamond, the fourth member of the close friends, and Kendall had been searching for hours before they had finally discovered their friends miles away from where everyone else had been looking for them. Kendall had grown tired of the weather ruining his plans or even worse, nearly killing his best friends although that had happened only once.

So that was why, on a hot August day, when the two boys were alone at Logan's house and their favorite TV program MythBusters was interrupted by the local news broadcasting a tornado warning in their area, that Kendall groaned and started complaining.

"Are you serious?" He asked in disbelief. "Another one? I thought we just had one last week."

"That was only a windstorm." Logan said calmly. "At least when it reached us. And even then it was only an F1 at its strongest." His brow furrowed in worry. "This one looks stronger. They're saying F3 already."

"I hate Minnesota weather." Kendall scowled at the weatherman as if tornadoes were all his brilliant idea. "It's never. . . normal."

Logan laughed. "It's normal for Minnesota." He pointed out. "Why, what's normal for you? I mean, you've lived here you're whole life. Anyway, you can't control the weather so there's no use complaining about it."

"I could move." Kendall muttered, half to himself. Logan's eyes widened in surprise and he explained himself quickly. "I don't really want to move. Not without Katie and my mom and you guys anyway. I'm just sick and tired of this bipolar weather. I want to move somewhere warm. Like California."

"California. Home of the hottest place on Earth: Death Valley. Earthquakes have also created what is known as the San Andreas Fault. Basically, it's a fault line that runs along the border of California causing scientists to predict that one day the whole state will simply fall into the ocean."

Kendall stared at Logan for a while. "Killjoy." He muttered. Before he could say more, his cell phone vibrated. Pulling it out of his pocket, he glanced at the number and flipped it open. "Hey, mom. Yeah I'm over Logan's house. No, we're home alone. Yeah. No. Definitely do not come get us. By the time you get us and drive back it could be a lot worse. We're all safer if we stay where we are. But, mom-"

Kendall's protest was cut off as Logan took the phone away. "Hi, Mrs. Knight. It's me, Logan. How are you? No, don't worry about us. My dad had the county inspector out here three weeks ago and he said out storm cellar is fine. Kendall's right. We're safer where we are. Okay, we're going there now." Logan stood up and motioned Kendall to follow him. "Yup. Okay. Here's Kendall."

Kendall fumbled the phone as Logan shoved it back at him. "Hey, mom. Yeah, we'll stay put. Thanks. You be careful too. Tell Katie I said hi. Love you. Bye." He shut his phone, shaking his head. "Thanks, Logan. I really didn't want her driving here."

"Well, neither did I." Logan glanced outside at the darkening sky. "Come on. Let's head downstairs."

The boys trooped down the long wooden staircase into the dark basement. Logan's hand fumbled against the wall before coming into contact with the only light switch in the room. A dim light allowed the boys to see around the room.

"Remember when we were convinced this place was haunted?" Kendall grinned as he flopped down into an old sofa chair.

"Uh-huh." Logan's reply was muffled as he rummaged through a chest by the steps.

"What are you looking for?" Kendall asked from his position on the couch.

"The emergency medical kit." Logan started taking items out and setting them carefully on the floor beside him. He waited for Kendall's teasing remark about how responsible he was but instead he was surprised when the blonde joined him by the chest. "What, no clever remarks?"

"Not after what happened with you and Carlos last winter." Came the clipped reply. Kendall tossed a worn cardboard box of to the side.

"Careful with that!" Logan straightened up so quickly that he would have smacked his head on the top of the chest if Kendall hadn't reached out to steady him.

"Sorry. But could you not take your head off? I doubt it's worth a bunch of. . . hockey cards?" Kendall watched as Logan opened the box to make sure none of the cards had been disturbed.

"They're my dad's." Logan shut the box and gently placed it back in the chest. "He used to be really into hockey before. . . well, you know. After my mom died he stopped caring about a lot. But I kept them just in case." He glanced over at Kendall who was watching him with that very familiar look of pity. He forced a grin. "As for my head, I don't need to worry with you around. Protecting me, Carlos, and James is like second nature to you."

His jab was meant to both embarrass and distract Kendall from the topic of the distant relationship that Logan had with his father. It succeeded because Kendall blushed and then muttered something about his idiotic, clumsy friends needing all the help that they could get.

"Found it!" Logan relieved them both of the uncomfortable moment by unearthing a bright purple box from the depths of the chest and waving it over his head.

"Logan, that thing is so purple it's almost scary." Kendall chuckled.

"It makes it easier to find." Logan informed him. "Like if you drop it in the snow."

"A lot of good it did you before."

Logan rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "Kendall, for the last time it was my fault that the kit wasn't in my car when Carlos and I got lost. Not the kit's fault. It's kind of. . . inanimate."

Just then, a particularly strong gust of wind rocked the house. Glancing out the lone tiny window, Logan switched on the portable radio. The announcer brought them up to date by telling them that the tornado had been upgraded to an F4 storm and it had just touched ground in their very own town.

Kendall folded his arms and sighed. "I hate this." He said quietly. He wondered how his mother and Katie were doing. His little sister had always been afraid of storms. And he wished that Carlos and James were out of town rather than just being grounded. At least they would be safer.

Logan was busy with his cell phone. He dialed a number than held it to his ear. After waiting a while, he frowned and left a message. "Hey, dad. It's um, me. Logan. I was just calling to see where you were. You know. If you were inside or. . . anyway, I hope I didn't interrupt anything. Sorry to bother you. Bye." He closed his phone with a sigh and stared at it as if he expected it to ring any minute.

Kendall frowned as he watched his friend. His father barely acknowledged he had a son and Logan was worried about him? He was at least grateful that Carlos and James were there at the moment because he knew that their parents would have called them by now to make sure they were okay. Logan had been checking his phone every three minutes for the past half hour just in case he had somehow missed the call he was waiting for.

The town's tornado siren broke up Kendall's thoughts. Outside, the boys couldn't make out anything past the swirling dirt and sand. The wind had picked up fiercely and the siren was soon drowned out by the deafening winds of a strong tornado. The house swayed and shook and Kendall closed his eyes longing for it to be over so he could go make sure his family and friends were okay. But things were never that simple. Suddenly, there an enormous crash and then, everything went black.

Kendall opened his eyes slowly. His head was pounding but he had played enough hockey to know that he didn't have a concussion. Relieved, he looked around in confusion. To his shock, part of the roof had collapsed practically on top of them. Beams lay scattered across the floor and Logan. . . Kendall's breath suddenly cut short in his throat and he spun around, ignoring his protesting head. "Logan?" He called. The power had gone out and he couldn't see very well. Rising tentatively to his hands and knees, Kendall felt along the floor for his friend. He tried to ignore the fact that Logan hadn't answered him and tried again. "Logan? Are you okay, man?"

There was a soft groan off to his left and the oxygen began to flow through his lungs properly. "Kendall? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. How about you?"

"My head hurts."

Kendall's stomach dropped. Logan never complained. He was really hurt this time. He cautiously moved toward the sound of his friend's voice trying to avoid the ceiling beams and the scattered items all over the floor. Suddenly, his hand brushed against a warm, sticky liquid. Almost positive that he knew what it was and yet praying that he was wrong, Kendall raised his hand to his face. Blood dripped down his trembling fingers. "My head hurts". Logan. Fear made Kendall move forward quickly but his knee bumped into something and he stopped. "Logan?"

"Here." Logan reached out blindly and smacked Kendall in the face. "Sorry. Wait, I think I had a flashlight right next to me before the tornado hit. Here it is."

A sudden bright light lit up a small area of the dark room. Both boys winced and shut their eyes. Kendall cracked his open slightly and waited a few seconds before they adjusted. Logan's face was pale and his eyes were filled with pain, something that Kendall was not accustomed to and it scared him. "Logan, how hurt are you?" He asked, knowing that Logan would have a much better idea than he did himself.

"My head's not bleeding too much." Logan assured him. He gently probed his head with one hand while the other clutched the flashlight.

Kendall noticed that his pupils were dilated far too much to be just a light concussion. Thanks to hockey, he could not only identify if he had a concussion, but others as well. Logan definitely had a concussion. But how bad? And something he had said didn't add up. His head wasn't bleeding a lot? "Logan-" He began as his friend carefully started to sit up.

As he moved though, Logan suddenly gasped in pain. He dropped the flashlight with a clatter and both hands moved to his leg, right below his knee. Kendall swiftly picked up the flashlight and focused it on Logan's leg. The color left his face.

Imbedded in Logan's left leg was a large chunk of wood from a splintered beam. Blood stained his jeans and made a small pool on the floor. Kendall felt lightheaded and sick to his stomach. He had never been able to stand the sight of blood very well. "L-Logan." He finally managed to stammer out. "Your leg. It's bleeding. A lot." Breath in. Breathe out. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. "Logan?" He repeated, his voice cracking in fear.

"I know." Logan whispered. He bit his lip against the throbbing in his leg. Breath in. Breathe out. Inhale. Exhale. Breath. "Kendall, listen okay?" He spoke slowly, his voice shaking. "Where's the emergency kit?"

Kendall snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Logan. "Emergency kit?" He repeated as though the words were foreign to him. Then it made sense. "Oh!" He spun around and looked about the room, or what he could see of the room. "I. . . I don't know. Logan, where is it?" He asked suddenly frantic.

"Calm down." Logan said through gritted teeth. "Kendall, you need to calm down. Freaking out is not going to help a thing. Now. Where did you see it last?"

Kendall ran a hand through his hair. He realized that it was the bloodied hand but he didn't care. All that mattered right now was the emergency kit and its whereabouts. Then, he spotted the bright purple case a few feet away from him. "There. It's right there!"

"Be careful." Logan warned. He raised the flashlight with a shaking hand to give Kendall an easier time of getting to the kit.

Kendall's fingers closed around the handle and scooted back to Logan. "Logan?" He asked, his voice high with fear and worry. "What are we going to do?"

Logan took a deep breath. "You're going to have to take it out, Kendall."

At first, all Kendall could do was stare at him. There was no way Logan was serious. He was the one who wanted to be a doctor. A paper cut made Kendall dizzy. How did he expect this to work? "What?"

"Kendall, my leg need to be disinfected and wrapped and there's no way we can do that with a fence post in it." He watched as Kendall swayed. "Sorry, not a fence post. Relax, Kendall. Breathe. Sorry." He repeated. "I forgot."

Kendall laughed somewhat hysterically. Logan was apologizing. What a joke. But he quickly sobered. "Logan, I. . . I can't." He whispered. "Just hang on, okay? Someone will come help us really soon."

Logan shook his head. "Kendall, we don't have a clue how long it'll take before someone even realizes we need help. And then-" He cut himself off. "Kendall, my leg could get infected. This needs to be done, now. I'll walk you through the steps okay?" He watched Kendall shake his head. "Kendall, I need you."

"I need you." The three words cut through Kendall's fear and he nodded slowly. "Okay." He said, by now reduced to frightened whispers. "Tell me what to do."

Logan smiled tightly through his pain. "Okay. First, you need to get a clean cloth. There should be one in there. And some gauze and disinfectant. Got it? Good. Okay, now hold the cloth ready in one hand and just. . . pull out the wood."

"Just pull it out?" Kendall asked in disbelief.

"Unfortunately, we're a little low on the proper medical tools today." Logan tried to joke. "Yeah, and as soon as you do, Kendall, press the cloth firmly on my leg. It's going to bleed even more once the wood is out."

"More? Why are we doing this again?" Kendall touched Logan's leg. The other boy flinched and hissed softly in pain. Kendall dropped the items he held in his hands. "Logan, I can't do this. All I did was touch your leg! I don't want to hurt you!"

"Stop. . . acting like. . . such a girl." Logan panted out, waiting for the dizzying amount of pain to pass.

Very reluctantly, Kendall picked the cloth back up. "Ready?" His voice shaking so much that he could barely get the one word out. He touched the wood lightly. "On the count of three. One. . . two. . ." Suddenly, he gave the wood a vicious yank. Logan cried out in pain and slammed his palm down into the hard floor.

"What the heck happened to three?" He moaned, trying not to pass out. He dimly noticed that Kendall was already holding the cloth over the wound to stem the flow of blood.

"Sorry. I thought it would be better if you weren't expecting it." Kendall babbled. "That's what the doctor used to do for me because I was so afraid of getting shots."

"You were fine." Logan tried to smile. "Thanks."

"Now what?" Kendall hesitantly peeled back the blood soaked cloth. To his relief, the bleeding was already beginning to slow.

"Disinfectant." Logan responded. His head was pounding and he felt incredibly dizzy but tried to shake it off. He closed his eyes as Kendall gently applied the disinfectant to the gash and winced as the liquid burned like fire. Gauze." He whispered. "Wrap it just like you would a hockey stick."

Kendall was nodding his head. To the surprise of both boys, He had the bandage neatly wrapped around Logan's leg.

"See? Was it that hard?" Logan patted Kendall feebly on the back.

"Yes." Kendall croaked out. He stumbled to his feet and tripped across the room where he promptly vomited into the floor. When he was done, he practically crawled back to Logan in sheer embarrassment. "Sorry." He whispered.

"-s okay." Logan answered, his words slurring together.

"Logan, are you okay? What's wrong?" Kendall had a good feeling that it was Logan's concussion that was now bothering him. His friend always took pride in being articulate in his speech and this was far from articulate.

"-m cold. Head hurts." Logan shivered even though Kendall found the close air to be suffocating. "Concussion."

"No kidding." Kendall muttered. He stared at his friend anxiously. He had no idea what to do. "Logan, what are we-

"Can't." Logan mumbled. "Need ice." His eyelids fluttered then popped open and he stared widely at Kendall but so unfocused at the same time. "Wait for help."

And so they waited. Since neither of their cell phones worked they had no idea of the time that passed. Seconds felt like minutes, minutes like hours, and hours like days. Logan drifted in and out of consciousness despite Kendall's best attempts to keep him awake. He was also becoming feverish and when he was unconscious, he talked and to Kendall's horror, even cried in his sleep. When he was awake, he was completely disoriented and constantly repeating statements and questions.

"Kendall?"

Kendall jumped from his withdrawn position on the floor and looked down at Logan. "Yeah, buddy?" He said, softly because he knew that loud noises were upsetting.

"Do you think. . . that my dad's 'kay?"

Kendall swallowed as he caught sight of real tears in Logan's hazy eyes. "I'm sure he's fine, Logan." He said, trying to sound convincing when really he could care less about Mr. Mitchell.

"I hope he is. And James and Carlos and their families. And your family. You mom is really nice, you know that, right?" For once, his words weren't slurred but they fell out of his mouth thickly and slowly, like it was a huge effort to speak them. "-m tired, Kendall. -m always tired lately."

"Logan, don't got to sleep again, okay?" Kendall said desperately. He knew that a person with a severe concussion could easily go to sleep and easily never wake up again. "I know you're tired but that's because you hit your head really hard. You have a concussion so you need to stay awake, okay?"

"Talk to me." Logan ordered weakly.

Kendall smiled, relieved to see Logan making an effort. "Coke or Pepsi?"

"Coke."

Math or science?"

"Math."

"Pirate or Ninja?"

"Ninja."

"The power of invisibility or the ability to fly?"

"Fly of course. Can I go to sleep yet?"

"Amy Adams or Rachel McAdams?"

"Rachel McAdams."

"U2 or Coldplay?"

"U2. Sleep now?"

"Not now. You need to hang on a little bit longer, okay? Wait until the search and rescue guys come. Star Trek or Star Wars?"

"Please. Star Trek."

"Blonde or brunette?"

"Both."

"Wayne Gretzky or-"

"Gretzky."

"But you haven't even heard who else?"

"Who's better than Wayne Gretzky?"

"Good point."

"Since I made a good point, can I go to sleep now?"

"No. Gosh, were you such a pain when you and Carlos were waiting for help?"

"No. Wasn't this bad."

"Thanks for the comforting thought. You almost died then." Kendall strained to hear any sort of sound outside. Nothing.

Logan choked on a laugh. "I seem to have a knack don't I?"

"Shut up. Don't say that."

"Sorry."

"Kendall? Logan?"

Kendall started at the sound of s different, but just as familiar voice. "James!" He shouted, wincing as Logan flinched at the sudden shout. "We're down here! In the cellar!"

Logan smiled. "They're here." He said faintly.

"Who?"

"The search and rescue guys."

Kendall wasn't entirely sure how Logan had managed to come up with a team of search and rescuers after hearing only James' voice but he nodded reassuringly anyway. "Yeah. They're here."

"I can go to sleep now."

"Wait, what?" Kendall stopped trying to hear what was going on above them and looked at Logan. "What?"

"You said that when the guys came I could go to sleep."

Kendall's throat tightened in fear. "Logan, stay with me."

"You can wake me up later." Logan closed his eyes. "I'm tired."

Just then there was a crack and a block of light appeared. Kendall blinked and shielded his eyes. Carlos suddenly fell from the sky. He landed unceremoniously right and Kendall's feet and scrambled to his feet just as James and two rescue workers jumped down from the hole and landed gracefully on their feet.

Immediately, one of them dropped to his knees besides Logan and started looking him over. "Grade two, possibly three, concussion. Some scratches and bruises and. . ." He carefully pealed back the bloodstained gauze. "Nasty gash on his leg. Gonna need stitches."

"He'll okay, right?" Kendall asked pleadingly. He brushed off the other rescue worker's hands and leaned over closer to the unconscious Logan. James and Carlos put their hands on his shoulders and watched gravely.

They all waited for an answer but none came because suddenly, the place was swarmed with EMTs and news people and Kendall's mom and Katie. Kendall let his mother hold him and he let himself cry.

The waiting room, Kendall decided, was the worst place on Earth. They had been there for hours it seemed like but according to James, it was only twenty-five minutes. Twenty-five very long minutes. Kendall had become convinced that time slowed down when you're in a hospital waiting room.

Finally, a doctor emerged from the other side of the doors where they had taken Logan. After he made sure that they really were there for Logan and that Mr. Mitchell really was away on business, he smiled. "Logan is going to be just fine." He told them. The rest of the conversation was a blur to Kendall and the other boys as the doctor led them down the hallways and into Logan's room.

Logan was fast asleep but not in that scary way that he was when he and Kendall were trapped in the cellar. He looked more peaceful and alive. He looked like Logan.

A/N. I like this a lot. I'm not sure of the ending though. Too rushed? Also, ignore any weather or medical mistakes I made. lol. Research can only help so much. So, tell me what you liked, hated and any spelling/grammar mistakes you found. Hope you liked it! And don't worry, 'Little Hollow' is next on my list. Just not right now since it's after 5am. Anyway, in honor of 'Dead Poet's Society' aka one of the best movies ever, I will leave you with this: Carpe Diem!