Page 95 of Trading Paint

Everyone panicked so I tried to take control. Taking control in my mind was getting Tommy off my lap and accessing the situation outside, without seven people yelling their own theories as to what was happening.

“What’s that noise?” I asked when Spencer and I got out of the truck, everyone else stayed inside, scared I imagined.

“What noise?” he asked covering his ears.

Calmly, not at all like I wanted to, I removed his hands from his ears, “That noise.”

“I don’t know!” he yelled. “I can’t hear anything over that siren.”

“What is it?” I thought I was being clear.

“What is what?”

“The fucking siren!”I screamed. “That’s the noise I’m referring to!”

“Oh, that. Hell, I think it’s...” we looked up to see everyone, aside from Alley, running full speed in our direction.

Being nine months pregnant, Alley was in no shape to be running.

“It’s a tornado siren you dumb shits!” Sway yelled as she ran past us. She was practically carrying Alley until she stopped to look back at us.

Spencer, being the fucking idiot I always knew him to be, stopped to video tape with his cell phone.

“Are you fucking serious?” Sway asked looking back at me in mock horror.

“Just run toward the underpass, follow Ryder!” I yelled over the steering winds picking up and the golf ball hail attacking us. She just stood there. “Run!” she finally did so I turned to go get Spencer.

“Come on!” I reached for his sweatshirt. I’d never been properly educated on Tornado 101 but I was certain he was not standing in a safe zone.

His response, “Dude, look at that funnel!” he was animated as he said this, or it could have been my imagination, or shock.

What Funnel?I thought to myself.

Like I said, I had no Tornado training.

Until now, I hadn’t looked around and before I could, I was hurled into a field; at least it appeared to be a field. I was a somewhat disoriented so I could have been in Iowa now and wouldn’t have known the difference.

The good thing was when I was hurled—I landed fairly close to the others so I scurried under the overpass with the rest of the guys while Spencer stumbled over holding the side of his head.

As the winds got stronger and the howling became louder, and louder, I honestly thought we may die under a freeway overpass. The wind and noise around us became deafening and so did Spencer’s screams.

“Oh my god, this can’t be happening.” Sway muttered pushing herself further up the concrete banking we were on.

“Well it is.” I leaned into her, blocking any of the shit flying around us from hitting her.

You couldn’t see past a few feet with all the dust and debris.

“You know what? Fuck you, this is your fault.” Sway insinuated, scowling but cuddling into my embrace. I could feel her entire body shaking with fear, which only made me pull her closer.

“Hardly,” I mumbled against her shoulder. It was kind of my fault, not really...okay, it was my fault but I refused to take the entire blame for it. I wanted to race at Lakeside Speedway but I hardly thought the weather was my fault.

I was scared. I’ll admit that but that was another thing I refused to admit out loud in this natural disaster we seemed to be having.

Alley was crying hysterically, so was Spencer but not in a normal way. Sway looked pissed and Ryder and Emma were practically on top of each other, screaming. I laughed at the sight of my barely five foot sister clinging to Ryder who was also, barely five feet. Together they almost looked like a normal sized person.

It’s amazing the thoughts that go through your head when you think you’re going to die. I was livid I wouldn’t make it to the Chili Bowl this year, that’s all I cared about. I was also upset that I wouldn’t be able to eat dinner because if I was going to die, I wanted to die on a full stomach. I began to wonder if that was whypeoplewho were about to be executed got to pick their last meal. It made sense to me now.

When the violent shaking and winds began to diminish, Sway went to get up. Again, I knew nothing about tornados but I was sure it wasn’t safe yet.

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