Pick'N'Mix Mods for The Sims 2

30 - Storm Clouds

No one lived on the western side of the island; the storms were cataclysmic. To live there would be to die there. Foolhardy or just down-on-their-luck fishermen would occasionally brave the bountiful coastal waters on only the clearest days; always with one eye on the horizon, ready to turn tail and run for home if dark-clouds threatened. Later, adventure seekers - white-water experts, top-class mountaineers, ace paragliders - would come to test themselves there; a few never returned. Then the new breed of back-packers and hikers discovered the untouched wilderness and thought they could tame it with their money and bravado.

After one weekend of storms, when 28 people didn't leave, the government declared it a military area and closed it.

The storm had been building for days in the western bay and was finally venting its fury against the mountains, trapped by the high summit ridge. Even by local standards it was a beast.

Many days earlier, far away on the other side of the world, a butterfly flapped its wings ... or more accurately didn't. A sunbeam had reflected off an orchid and for a brief second it hesitated, missed a beat and then continued on its way. But that subtly altered its trajectory and the diving bird missed and swerved to avoid impact with a branch. The emperor lizard, watching the bird, flicked its tongue and also missed its meal. It swished its tail in anger and dislodged a tree frog. Plop! The frog landed in the swamp. SNAP! The lazily floating caiman had an unexpected meal. The eddies and currents in the air rippled outwards, some washing up harmlessly, others causing further disturbances. After many bumps and collisions, one reached far into the upper atmosphere and gently nudged the high-altitude winds - causing a slight kink. Several days and circuits of the globe later, the kink had developed into a pronounced loop, that bumped into the storm. The storm, already smashing into the mountains, rose marginally and crested the ridge line. It was free! Tumbling down the upper eastern slopes, it rushed to feed on the hot, moist air in the bay below, its ferocity increasing by the minute. It sped across the coastal foothills, stabbing lightening into the ground. Trees exploded from the strikes or were uprooted by the gale. Streams filled in seconds and became raging torrents; rivers rose and broke their banks. The storm swirled and sent two tendrils of cloud, like slender twisting fingers, probing towards the earth.

The first tornado slammed into the forest above the hydro dam, tossing trees into the air as if they were matchsticks, and triggering a massive rock slide into the lake. The resulting tsunami thundered across the lake, overtopped and broke the dam, then crashed into the valley below; the lake rapidly emptying after it. Power lines were swept away. The island went dark. The death and destruction unleashed on the unsuspecting fertile valley below would be unprecedented in the island’s history.

The second tornado descended directly on Smugglers’ Cove. The beach hut was instantly shredded. Sand whipped from the beach, filling the air with blinding, searing pain. The vine entwined trellis vaporised into a million lethal shards. Fully grown trees crashed to the ground, small ones vanished as if picked by a giant hand, only to detonate into the ground hundreds of yards further away when the giant got bored and dropped them. Chunks of weather loosened concreate were sucked from the foundation slab - but the main casting held.

Analise stared at Xavier, he had saved her life. She wanted to say something, but the volume of the storm rendered speech useless; she smiled at him. He retreated from her. Why was he backing further under the foundation? She wasn’t a threat, why was he running from her? In a horrific moment of clarity, she realised he was stationary, and she was being inexorably sucked from under the foundation. Blind panic overtook her and she screamed - a long, feral wail of despair.

She felt his hands close over her wrists and her backward slide arrested. He was stretched out, legs wrapped around a piling, hands bruising her wrists.

The gale wasn't letting go. It lifted her bodily off the ground and she streamed out like a flag from the pole of his strong grasp. The beach shoes were snatched from her feet. Her skirt ripped into ribbons, flaying the skin of her legs. Despite his strength, Xavier's grasp was slipping; the skin on her hands felt as if it was being peeled off like a glove. She gazed into his deep-brown eyes and saw love.

His eyes were the last thing she saw, as, with one final triumphant surge, the storm pulled her free of his grip.

The last thing she felt was the tree branch.

29 - Demons 31 - Angels