Page 3 of The Great and Terrible

“Thank you.”

We donned our coats and exited. James locked up, and I raced into the torrent. By the time I sealed myself in the cab of my old beater of a truck, I was soaked to the bone and shivering. More lightning flashed. More thunder boomed. The icy cold made my fingers feel like sausages, so it took me a couple of tries to buckle in and fit the key in the ignition.Please don’t stall as usual.

It stalled.

“Come on, come on. Yes!” The engine sputtered to life as James exited the lot in his SUV.

I cranked the heater. With the windshield wipers operating at warp speed, I eased onto Main Street. Thankfully, there were only a few miles to go. Usually a ten-minute drive. But fifteen minutes passed, and I barely reached the halfway point. Visibility was shot, forcing me to travel at a crawl.

At the twenty-minute mark, my nerves frayed, and the muscles in my back grew as tight as a lid on a new jar of pickles. Violent wind blustered with increasing force, rattling the truck. I white-knuckled the steering wheel. Better to pull over until the storm lessened. Otherwise I might end up in a ditch.

I parked at the edge of Main Street in the lot of a little white wedding chapel with flickering Christmas lights. There were no other cars nearby.

On my own. Doing my best to stay calm, I whipped out my cell and keyed up my father’s number.

Dang it! Straight to voice mail. Hopefully Daddy wassleeping through this and not racked with worry for me.Stress wasn’t good for him.

Wait. I craned my neck, peering out the window. Was that… No. No, no, no. But also yes. A telltale green tint spread through the pitch-black sky. My stomach dropped. Anyone who’d grown up in this part of the country knew that particular shade heralded a tornado.

A high-pitched whistle escalated into a rolling howl, and I sucked oxygen between my teeth.

I needed inside that chapel. Now!

The front door blew open, as if in welcome, banging into the frame. In a rush, I stored my phone in a coat pocket, threw off my seatbelt, and launched outside. Or tried to. The gale-force sealed the driver’s door shut. Fine. I wiggled out the passenger side.

Icy raindrops pelted my cheeks as I slogged forward, fighting the wind with every step. Up ahead, shutters slammed against windows, the harriedclack, clack, clackmocking my snail’s pace. I persevered, drawing from a surprise reservoir of strength, reaching the chapel’s doorway. The squall intensified until it sounded as though a train barreled in my direction.

Heart thudding, I chanced a glance over my shoulder. My eyes widened. A massive cyclone aimed straight for me, gobbling up everything in its path. Electrical poles. Road signs. Even buildings.

Forget finding a cellar. I raced deeper inside, determined to dive into the nearest closet or bathroom.

The floor shook with great force, sending me tumbling to my knees. Glass shattered, shards flying in every direction.Go, go, go!I crawled forward.

With a great lurch, the entire structure spun like a top. Around and around I twirled, pitched this way and that, thumping into pews. Sharp pains tore through different partsof me, one after the other. My lungs emptied. Something warm and wet dripped into my eyes.

Desperate, I dove for a door. A heavy wooden podium slammed into my torso, knocking me backward and pinning my arm against a wall. Agony consumed me, detonating a piercing scream.

Darkness flooded my mind, and I willingly floated into the abyss.

CHAPTER 2

COUNCIL OF NONE

Moaning, I cracked open my eyes. Sunlight greeted me with a too bright hello, searing my irises. I squeezed my lids shut. An excess of aches registered, and I winced. What…why…?

The answers came in a rush. The tornado. The chapel. Spinning and spinning. Frantic to view the damage, I blinked rapidly. As soon as I adjusted to the brightness, I clambered to an upright position. My aches intensified, but I didn’t care. I rallied the stamina to remain upright without vomiting and examined my surroundings.

Oh, sweet goodness. Utter destruction. Everything was in shambles. Pews were upturned and in pieces. Shards of broken glass littered a floor with dozens of missing wood planks. Pipes were exposed, busted, and leaking. The front door had been ripped off its hinges and now lay in two pieces on the other side of the room. Branches of various sizes were scattered about. The door of my truck wedged inside an empty refrigerator.

Streaks of something wet and red marred the space around me. I frowned. Blood?

I looked myself over and jolted. Oh yeah. Blood smeared my skin and dampened my clothing, courtesy of a multitude of stinging gashes. Nothing appeared too serious, except my poor, mangled left wrist. No bone protruded, but it must be broken. My hand hung at an odd angle.

I tried to move the appendage and hissed. Flashing stars consumed my vision, dizziness took over my head, and nausea filled my stomach. Okay, so, my wrist was definitely broken. No wonder the injury throbbed so intently.

Ugh. I wouldn’t be drawing, my only source of solace, anytime soon. But whatever. I’d deal. I could still use a phone, and that was all I needed to do right now. Speak with my dad and make sure he was all right.

Except. My phone. It wasn’t in my coat pocket. Dang it! The device must have fallen out while the tornado beat me to oblivion.

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