Suddenly, from a distant future, the mind of homeless Benji is transported to the body of a man named Silas,  as a storm approaches.

“What the fuck!” Benji said finding himself sitting on an old wagon pulled by a horse in an open field. He wasn’t sure how he got there, only that it happened fast. He climbed down from the wagon and saw an old man dressed like an Amish farmer waving his arms. The man ran closer, pleading with Benji to go somewhere with him. To Benji, the man resembled his grandpa.

“Paps, is that you? Where are we?” Benji said rubbing his head.

“What in God’s green earth is wrong with you Silas? We need to take cover. These cyclones are about to take us out!” screamed the old man.

“Cyclones? Paps, don’t you remember me?” said Benji climbing down from the wagon.

“Sure Silas, but I ain’t your pappy. We need to go.”

“Silas? Uh Sorry, I thought you was somebody else.” said Benji who noticed that he was wearing strange clothes and a wide brimmed leather hat. A large flock of crows appeared  in the dark skies. They flew past him, circling playfully above him as if they were urging him to join them.

“Come with us, come with us…” he heard them cry.

“They want me to go with them. Can’t you hear ‘em?” said Benji.

“Have you lost your dern mind Silas? They’s all takin’ cover down by the creek,” the old man said grabbing his arm.

Benji struggled to pull free of the old man’s grasp. “No, My name ain’t Silas! Let me go!”

“If you want to kill yourself, then go right ahead,” said the old man running back towards the wagon.

Benji wandered off the trail towards the oncoming storm. The old man yelled for Silas to come back, but Benji kept walking. He didn’t feel quite like himself. When he looked up at the churning sky, he thought of the end of days. He remembered being told in Sunday school that the sky would open and trumpets would blare. Processions of heavenly hosts would descend from the clouds by the thousands, and multitudes of people would fall to their knees screaming hallelujah, all terrifying and triumphant. He suddenly felt the urge to remove his clothes.

Under darkening skies, he stood naked and alone, gazing upon a vast valley. Strong winds whipped through the tall prairie grass in waves as far as his eyes could see. Clouds spun around a spool, towering to the heavens, then a brilliant flash, followed by a deep thundering boom that crackled and rolled in the distance. With nowhere to take cover, the storm would soon overtake him.

Above him, the pack of crows cawed and circled in the sky like angels. Edging ever so closely to the storm, they dove and taunted him. Dropping from the dark circling clouds, a thin blue funnel appeared and merged with the spinning dust on the ground and raced past him to the right. Two more funnels formed from the same cloud, chasing each other like snakes suspended from the sky, and then one died. The remaining funnel grew in size and raged onward as he stood in its path. He could feel the winds pulling him towards the dark tower. The roar grew louder and the sky started to merge with the Earth. His ears popped as hail began to fall. The crows flew low, circled around him cawing, “Come with us! Come with us.” He could almost hear the words. Energized with fear and awe, he felt the urge to fly away with them. He sprinted through the tall grass towards the dark tower in the boiling sea above him.  

Sprinting faster, he grew lighter and lighter until he was no longer a man, but crow following the others. Soaring over open prairie, his heart raced wildly and his wings propelled him forward. The roar of the beast was deafening like the sound of a freight train. Soon the wind overtook the flock, plucking them one by one in rapid succession into the blur. He remembered landing with a thud.

Silas returned to his dying, bloody body, lying  nearly a half mile away from the rest of his fellow travelers .  Benji was transported back through time, returning to 1996. Both of them were in possession of the mysterious jade disks during their mind transfer.