Page 128 of Out of the Storm

An ominous feeling settled in Jeff’s stomach, making it sink.

“Moving where?”

“Just, like, over the horizon?”

Jeff huffed in frustration. Fucking Brandon.

“No, I mean,towhere? In which direction?”

“South? No. East! Yeah, it’s coming for you.” Brandon laughed. “I mean, not really. Or, probably not.Dotornadoes travel that far?”

“Dammit, Bran. Get in your fucking basement!” Jeff yelled, ignoring Brandon’s question. Then he hung up.

Shit, shit, shit. Moving east?

He rushed to the window again. Clouds. Quickly, Jeff tried to tune the radio to one of the other stations to see if anyone was reporting on it. And only moments later, he had his answer. Apparently, there had been a bunch of tornadoes in Pennsylvania and Ohio over the past two hours. Even F4s. Holy shit.

Although Jeff couldn’t be sure that the tornado—oratornado—would reach Niles, he swiped his keys from the counter and sprinted toward the door. Something weird was happening with the weather. Over six tornadoes sprouting up in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania in a matter of hours? Jesus Christ.

Maybe taking off for Gary’s house was a bit reckless, but Jeff tried to rationalize it as he hopped in his car. His stupid rental house wasn’t exactly the best storm shelter. Not only was there no basement, but the bathroom had a window too. Gary’s house had a basement. Besides, Jeff needed to warn him.

As Jeff zoomed through the streets of Niles, the sky began to blacken, and only when Jeff was nearly shaking from worry—the foreboding feeling still sitting heavy in his stomach—was he able to acknowledge that he was really only risking his neck to see Gary because he wanted the two of them to be together. It wasn’t about the basement. It wasn’t even about needing to warn Gary. It was that if a tornado happened to hit Niles, Jeff wanted to see Gary through it. He wanted them to weather the storm together.

When Jeff pulled up to Gary’s house, Gary was rushing outside.

Jeff opened the car door to hear Gary yelling, “Power’s out!”

“Tornado!” Jeff shouted, running up the walkway. “Basement!”

“Tornado?!” Gary shouted back, coming to meet him halfway.

Wind whipped around them as they stood a couple of feet apart.

“Yeah, Brandon called! He said there’s one moving toward Niles!”

“From Newton Falls? Can it reach—”

Jeff came closer so that he wouldn’t have to keep shouting.

“Yeah, it could. Doesn’t matter, though, Gare, because there’s been a bunch over the last couple of hours. All over eastern Ohio. We should take shelter.”

Suddenly, an ear-piercing sound, one that reminded Jeff of a fast-moving freight train, began to roar and rattle around them. Gary was no longer looking in Jeff’s eyes, but beyond him. Heart hammering, Jeff turned to see a thick black funnel that had to be less than a mile away.

“Oh my God,” Gary said, mouth falling agape.

Jeff reached for his hand. “Come on!”

Together, they bolted into the house. Still holding tight to each other’s hands, they hurried toward the basement, both of them nearly falling on the stairs. It was pitch-black, but eerily calm compared with the ruckus outside. Floorboards creaked above them as they settled beneath the staircase. Jeff pulled Gary close.

“I’m scared,” Gary said.

“We’ll be okay here, Gare.”

“Why’d you come over? Geez, you could have been killed!”

“I know. But I wanted to see you. I wanted to be here to keep you safe.”

Gary nuzzled the side of Jeff’s head. “So stupid, Jeffrey.”

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