I wasn’t going to make it to the shelter. I knew that with absolute certainty.
I changed direction mid-stairs, heading for the basement door instead. Mrs. Patterson’s house was old, built back when every home had a proper storm cellar. It was my only chance.
I kicked open the basement door and nearly fell down the steep steps in my haste. The cats were screeching, terrified, but I held on tight. Behind me, I heard the sound of the house beginning to tear apart. Wood splintered, glass shattered, and the roar of wind sounded like the end of the world.
I hit the bottom of the stairs and dove under the old wooden workbench in the corner, curling my body around the cats. Above me, the house screamed.
The sound was indescribable. Metal twisting, wood exploding, the freight train roar so loud it felt like my eardrums would burst. The pressure made my head feel like it was going to split open. I squeezed my eyes shut, held those damn cats as tight as I could, and thought about Xavier.
His smile. His laugh. The way he’d looked at me this morning, soft and smiling, making me feel something I’d been too scared to say out loud.
I was sorry. So fucking sorry that I wouldn’t get to tell him I loved him. Sorry that we’d only had days instead of years. Sorry that I’d been too much of a coward to say the words when I had the chance.
The roar reached a crescendo that couldn’t possibly get any louder, and then?—
Silence.
Not complete silence. Rain pounded on what was left of the structure above me. Wind still howled. But that freight train sound was gone, moving away to the northeast.
I stayed frozen under the workbench for another minute, maybe two, waiting to make sure it was really over. The cats had gone still in my arms, their little hearts hammering against my chest.
Slowly, carefully, I uncurled myself and looked up.
Where the basement stairs had been, there was now open sky. The entire first floor of Mrs. Patterson’s house was just...gone. Ripped clean away. Rain fell through the opening, soaking me instantly.
“Jesus Christ,” I whispered.
I climbed out from under the workbench on shaking legs, still clutching the cats. The basement walls had held, but everything above them had been reduced to rubble scattered across the property. If I’d stayed upstairs even ten seconds longer...
I didn’t let myself finish that thought.
Getting out of the basement was harder than getting in had been, since there were no stairs anymore. It took me nearly twenty minutes to pile up debris and climb out. And I had to be extra careful not to drop the cats or impale myself on the jagged wood and metal everywhere.
When I finally pulled myself up onto ground level, the devastation took my breath away.
Mrs. Patterson’s house was gone. The house next to it was missing its entire roof. Across the street, a car had been flipped upside down and wrapped around a tree. Power lines hung everywhere like deadly spider webs. My truck was nowhere to be seen.
And in the distance, I could see the tornado still churning, now several miles to the northeast. Moving away from town.
Moving toward the ranches orthroughthem. I couldn’t tell.
My phone was somehow still in my pocket, though the screen was cracked. I pulled it out with trembling fingers. Still no signal.
I started walking toward the shelter, my legs unsteady beneath me. The cats had finally stopped struggling, seeming to realize I’d saved their lives. It was a small comfort.
Every step felt surreal. I was alive. I shouldn’t be alive, but I was. And now all I could think about was whether Xavier was okay. Whether the ranch had been hit. Whether he was hurt or trapped or?—
I shoved that thought away violently. He was fine. He had to be fine.
The shelter came into view, its concrete walls intact. Thank God. I picked up my pace, breaking into a jog despite my exhausted muscles. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been gone, but at least the shelter was still intact. From a distance I could see Mrs. Baxter standing by the open door with Beau and Lucas.
It must’ve taken me longer than I thought to get out of that basement.
“Sheriff!” Mrs. Baxter called out, her face fighting between relief and anger. “You’re okay!”
I jogged up to the shelter. “Is Xavier okay?” I asked, desperately looking between Beau and Lucas.
“He’s looking for you inside,” Lucas replied, giving me a once over. “Are you alright?”
