Page 13

DASH
At the sound of honking,I crawled off the floorboards and scrambled back into my seat. I could still feel the storm swirling around me and the tornado trying to pry me from the truck. The winds were so strong that I almost got pulled into the suck zone.
At least, that’s what they called it in the movies.
Yeah, it looked awesome on film, but in reality, I almost shit myself. That was a secret that would be buried deep in my subconscious for the rest of time.
Brock pulled over on the side of the road, got out, and slammed his door as he fucking laughed at me. “Yeah, good job outrunning that tornado!”
If I didn’t act normal, he’d know just how fucking terrified I’d been. I could do this. I have nerves of steel. Sort of.
I flung my door open and got out, flipping him off. “It was a minor wind storm.”
“Is that why your truck is buried in the ditch?”
I climbed out of the ditch, slipping in the mud and falling to my knees. “It’s not that bad.” I turned and for the first time saw the state of my truck. I ran my hand over my face, shaking my head in disbelief. “Fuck.”
“Yeah,” he laughed, slapping me on the shoulder. “You should have fucking turned around.”
“It was a tree,” I argued. “I would have been fine.”
“Right, it was the tree’s fault, not the idiot behind the wheel.”
“It came out of nowhere and caught the tires of my truck!” I snapped. “It’s not like the actual tornado got me.”
I glanced back at my truck and sighed. The whole front end had slammed into the ground, crushing the hood. I was lucky it hadn’t killed me. And the bed…well, that was probably what saved my ass…the giant tree had fallen on top of it.
“Do you think insurance will cover it?” I winced.
“Sure,” he chuckled. “Just don’t tell them you went out chasing the tornado. Come on, we’re heading into town to help search for survivors.”
“Survivors?” I said to myself. I turned and ran after him. “But what about my truck?”
“It’s not like it’s going anywhere,” he called over his shoulder, getting back into his truck.
I rushed around to the passenger side and opened the door just as Fox rolled past, waving wildly at me as he shouted, “Auntie Em! Auntie Em!”
“Stupid fucker,” I grumbled, getting into the truck.
“You brought it on yourself,” Brock laughed. “Who did you think you were, trying to outrun the storm? This is Kansas! You’re in Tornado Alley.”
“Can we just stop talking about this?” I snapped.
“What was it like? Did you see it up close?”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Man, if I was in that position, I would have pissed myself,” he laughed. “You have some brass balls, driving out in the storm like that. And your truck?—”
“It’s just a fucking truck,” I snapped, feeling the emotions well up inside me. Crap, I was gonna lose my shit.
“Yeah, but the front end was smashed in. You’re lucky you didn’t die.”
“Felt like I was going to,” I muttered.
“And that tree could have chopped your head off.”
I rolled my eyes, staring out the window at the path of destruction. The main street was intact, but the further we headed off the main road, the worse the damage was.