Not seeing any way that I could do a U-turn across the median separating the lanes of the freeway, my eyes quickly darted from side to side, trying to find any upcoming exit. My foot shifted to the accelerator and pressed down hard before my eyes fully registered the nearby off-ramp; I pressed my body back into the seat as my ancient Jeep shot forward, quickly leaving the onlookers behind.
Great, now I was playing chicken with a fucking tornado. Awesome.
Admittedly, the tornado was still a fair way off, but my brain was screaming at me that drivingtowarda twister was a very,verybad idea. My heart enthusiastically agreed as it thumped so loudly and so damn fast that it drowned out the sound of my radio completely.
This was so stupid. So, sofuckingstupid.
Move.Move. MOVE.
Taking the off-ramp at speed, I cursed when I felt my car lift onto two wheels for half a second before it settled again as I straightened up.
God, I had to slow down. The last thing I wanted was to get into a car accident because I was driving recklessly.
If I crashed, I’d be a sitting duck for that fucking storm.
Nope.
You’re better than that, Marshall. Settle yourself down.
When I had to stop at an intersection that would presumably take me into the nearest town if I wanted to go there, I took a deep breath in before letting it out shakily. I forced my body to relax, although it screamed at me to do the complete opposite. With my foot planted on the brake, my eyes roamed the surroundings to see if there was something,anythingthat could work as a shelter.
The rain began to pelt down, seemingly coming out of nowhere and quickly blurring everything in front of me. Withmy windshield wipers going haywire, my fingers clenched the steering wheel hard, my knuckles turning white from the tension.
Look! Find a place to shelter. Do it, NOW!
The soft, wavering glow of yellow, red, and white LED lights flickered at me through the rain, and without any conscious thought, I turned the wheel and headed straight for them.
“I’m going to die. I’m going to die.I’m heading for a goddamn glowing light in the middle of fucking nowhere because I’m going to FUCKING DIE,” I mutter-screamed to myself, my heart still thumping way too fucking hard for it to be considered remotely healthy.
The vehicle bounced worryingly as I shot into the entrance of what I finally recognized as a gas station. My worry kicked into overdrive when a vision of a fire tornado fed from the gas pumps flitted through my brain.
Not helping, brain. NOT FUCKING HELPING.
Christ.
I drove through the pump area and headed to the side of the building. A few trees lined the visitor parking lot, and figuring that this was about as good as I was going to get under the circumstances, I pulled to a stop, threw the parking brake on, and turned the engine off, all while struggling with the seat belt that had decided thatthatwas the perfect time to lock itself into place.
A small part of my brain registered that the seat belt had locked because I was trying to tug it too quickly, so I forced my hands to move slower. They were shaking when the belt finally unclipped, and then I was on the move again. I pushed at my door hard to get it to open against the wind and the driving rain that had only gotten heavier in the seconds it had taken me to navigate into the gas station. It finally budged when I turned in my seat so I could kick at the door, giving it everything I had.
And then I ran.
I heard the door slam behind me as I fled for the presumed safety of the building, trying hard to ignore all those thoughts my brain was so helpfully providing of fire twisters that may or may not be in my immediate future. When I got to the windows, I started banging my hands on the glass.
“Twister!” My palms slapped the glass to get someone,anyoneto hear me.
Someone, open the fucking door!“Help!” I danced worryingly from side to side in front of the door, smacking at the glass when I heard the sound of a freight train approaching.
Holy fuck. It was here, and I was out of time. Panic surged through me when I thumped at the glass one last time.Don’t let me die out here! Please!
I turned around to see if I had enough time to get back to my car, my fingers tearing at my rain-soaked hair in terror.
Dozens of random tornado images I’d seen and facts I’d learned over the years barreled through my mind quicker than I could register.
The green tinge of the sky and the way the heavy clouds seemed to drop just before a twister touched down.
The terrifying image of multiple thin funnels creating the illusion of a grim reaper steadily stalking the horizon with his scythe held aloft. What had they called it? A dead man walking?
The noise. Oh God.The noise.The news clips I’d watched hadn’t done the sound justice. It was deafening.
