Page 95 of First Chance

My umbrella gets rocked by the gusting wind as I turn to look, folding inside out and blowing from my hand in the same instant.

“GET IN THE TRUCK!” Lochlan yells over the roaring wind.

Why is he here? It doesn’t matter, I’m not passing up the opportunity for shelter.

He meets me at the passenger door, soaking his own clothes, and helps me in. As soon as he shuts me inside, the raging storm is muffled.

A burst of noise as his door opens, and then silence descends again, drowned out by the engine of the Bronco.

My clothes are sticking to my skin, and I’m soaked to the bone.

“What are you doing here?” I ask between deep, dragging breaths.

“There’s a tornado warning, I didn’t want you to get stuck in the storm.”

“But, now you’re stuck.”

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“What about my car?”

“We’ll get it later.”

I slump back in my seat, relieved to be in the passenger seat. I don’t need to control the ship, I’m content to be along for the ride.

“This is the outside of the weather system, it might get hairy as we get closer to home.”

“This isn’t the bad part?”

“I didn’t want you to drive into the thick of it by yourself.”

My head tips to the side to look at him, but he’s staring into the rain. He tries so hard to believe he’s a bad man, some evil person to be around, but he’s not. He’s the most reliable person I’ve ever met. His concern for my well-being never wavers, even when I have been giving him the silent treatment.

I want to reach out to him, to touch his arm and thank him for rescuing me, but I’ve been shut down so many times that I can’t make myself do it.

He turns the volume up on the radio, tuned into some weather station, and drives into the storm. He was right, it gets worse the closer we get to Rollins County.

The radio signal gets fuzzy, and the rain is so heavy that we can hardly see.

“Maybe we should pull over,” I mumble. My damp clothes are making me tremble, but I’m not sure whether it’s my nerves.

“It’s not safe in a vehicle. If a storm rips through here.”

I’m just about to ask if he thinks there will be a tornado when the emergency alert broadcast interrupts thenewscaster.

ERR ERR ERR ERR ERR. A Tornado has touched down in your immediate area. Seek Shelter, now. ERR ERR ERR ERR ERR. There is a severe threat to human life and property, with catastrophic damage. Immediately seek refuge in the safest location possible.

It goes on to list the affected counties, and ours is on the list.

“Lochlan,” I whimper.

“I know,” he breathes out nervously. I’ve never heard him sound nervous before.

The wind blows the Bronco harshly, forcing him to correct the wheel over and over as small branches blow across the road. One hits the side near my window, and I screech.

“Why didn’t you drive one of the trucks?”

“This was the closest one, and I was in a hurry.”

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