The Tempest by A.J. Scudiere (story read aloud .txt) 📗

whipping through the car. Joule ducked suddenly as a piece of trash flew in her window, slapped across her face and Izzy’s and then hit Cage in the chest before it flew out the other side.

She ducked again as the second piece came through—surely that was a telltale sign that they were far too close to the tornado itself. Letting go of her death grip on the door handle for just a moment, Joule pushed the button raising her window. It was Izzy who reached out slapping at her hand. “You can't close it.”

“No.” Joule shook her head, “Not all the way. I'm trying to narrow the gap.”

As she watched, Cage’s window started to rise too. She’d left about five inches of space, hoping that was enough to keep the windows from shattering outward—or inward. Hopefully it was also enough to keep the larger pieces of trash from coming in and hitting them again.

“I can't go any faster!” Sarah cried again as she whipped her head to the side. Another piece of something had come barreling into the car. Sarah jerked and the car reacted as she tried not to get hit.

This one didn’t go right out the other window but fluttered in its own whirlwind. Deveron jerked back before recognizing that it was safe, even if it shouldn't be here. And they all paid too much attention to the plastic bag as it settled in the footwell.

“Can we turn?” Cage yelled, leaning forward, his head whipping back and forth as he looked behind them and then out the front window.

Deveron had tried to pull out his phone, presumably to pull up a map, but the car jerking back and forth had made him drop the device several times. Joule didn't even try.

“I don't know!” Sarah yelled. “Anyone?”

But if they'd driven this far before, Joule didn't remember. They'd certainly come out on some meandering afternoons, just checking out the roads and the scenery, but she didn't remember this one specifically. Joule had no idea even which direction they were heading. The sky was dark purple now, and they’d taken several too-fast turns.

There had to be a crossroad, though. If they kept going, they should come to an intersection with a flashing red light. It was an Alabama law or something.

What she wouldn’t give for the familiarity of a Dollar General store perched on a corner. But she didn’t see any.

The twister got closer and closer behind them until the wind was strong enough to make the car rock. Joule wasn't sure if the answer was to keep driving, or run the car nose down into the ditch and hope the tornado skipped over them.

She glanced out the back window again and felt her heart kick higher than she’d known was possible. She was going to explode in a few moments if she kept breathing at this rate.

The funnel behind them was huge. It had to be an F4, she thought—but her brain was racing at too high a speed to make any reasonable decisions right now.

“Here!” Deveron yelled, his finger pointing outward and almost bumping into the windshield because he was leaning so far forward. “Turn here!”

In the darkness, none of them had noticed the intersection before it was upon them. There was no flashing red light, and Joule was horrified to realize that the cables that had once held the traffic signal box were snapping in the wind. The light itself was nowhere to be seen, probably picked up and flung far away already.

On her right, she caught a movement. She couldn’t have heard it—she couldn’t hear anything. A large truck raced through the intersection in front of them as Sarah slammed her brakes. The truck’s mudflaps slapped in the high wind and it made no effort to stop.

Joule couldn't fault the driver, though, as Sarah once again jammed the gas and cranked the wheel in a hard left. There was no light anymore, and the only evidence she could see that there had once been orderly traffic was a green road sign, twisted and bent at the base, now lying flat against the ground.

Whoever was in the truck had likely spotted the tornado and missed seeing Sarah’s little blue car. But Sarah took advantage and tucked in behind the larger vehicle now, maybe stealing the drag wind and using it to their advantage. Joule wondered if it would make them faster or just save on gas… a truly absurd thought for a life-and-death moment.

But as she pondered the physics of it, she breathed easier for a moment.

Cage had turned around, watching behind them again as they veered. “Is the Twister still headed on its track?”

Joule turned and looked, her relief flooding her system and maybe the whole car. It was no longer chasing them, but running along the perpendicular road they’d just been on. She watched for a few more seconds, grateful that they'd managed to get out of the chase.

“Oh, thank God.” She breathed out the words, unable to swear or come up with anything snarky to throw into it.

But then, as she watched rapt out the back window, the raging gray funnel stalled.

Was it dying? she wondered. That would be wonderful. Just let it stop, hover for a moment, and then quit.

It could do that. But it didn't. Instead, the stall was only momentary. The noise softened for just a few seconds before it began to rage again, the volume picking up as it widened before her terrified eyes.

Joule saw it turn, now moving off the road and coming directly for them. A small farmhouse sat in its path and, as Joule watched, the home exploded. Ripped shingles, cracked lumber, and broken appliances were sucked upward and scattered to the sky like an angry offering.

She didn't even have a chance to scream as the two-by-four came flying toward the back window.

24

Cage felt the car shudder as he grabbed for Izzy trying to shove her out of the way of the flying debris. Joule tried