Lucas gripped Willow’s hand and urged her forward. The lights of the town were flickering in front of them. In his other hand, Lucas held a flashlight; it was proving necessary in this worsening light.
Lucas had experienced a few storms in Honey Springs, but this was beginning to feel like the worst he’d ever known. His gut churned, a horrible deep instinctive feeling that this was going to turn out badly.
Keep everyone safe. Lock those doors and hunker down …
He blinked, rain drizzling down his cheeks and into his open mouth. He was sure he could hear his mom’s voice in his head, but how was that even possible? She was so good in an emergency. She would have known exactly what to do.
Lucas wasn’t so sure he was fit for the job.
Willow tugged on his arm. They had reached the main street where the general store and the church sat. A little further along was the Honey Pot Inn and at the end, the bookstore and the Watering Hole.
Rachel was outside the church, already guiding some people towards them. It looked like Ernie and some of his friends. She called out.
‘Hey! I’m so glad to see you. I was going to take these guys up to you—’
Lucas waved them over. He noticed that Macguire was coming out of the Honey Pot Inn, guiding the Parkers and their guests out.
‘Over here!’ Lucas shouted. ‘Let’s get everyone over to The Diner.’
‘Greg is getting everyone out from the bar and the bookstore!’ Macguire shouted back. ‘I’ll go and tell him to make his way to yours.’
Lucas froze, his mind racing. ‘Mia!’ he shouted back. ‘I need to find my sister.’
‘It’s OK. She’s at the bar with Adam. She told me she was going there earlier today,’ Willow said. ‘Greg will be helping them.’
Lucas nodded. At least now there was a plan of sorts. He began to turn to lead the others back but noticed that Willow wasn’t moving.
‘Will,’ he shouted over the howling winds. ‘We need to get going. It’s only going to get worse.’
‘I’m going to Eric’s,’ she called back. ‘He might be out of it. I can’t leave him there.’
‘He’s probably in the bar too,’ Lucas protested.
‘No. Greg told me yesterday that he’s been staying away since his fall. He’ll be home alone.’
‘Willow, it’s too risky,’ he yelled. ‘You can’t do that.’
‘I have to, Luc. I won’t forgive myself if I don’t.’
And before he could say anything else, in the roar of the winds and with the worried townsfolk of Honey Springs looking to him expectantly, she was gone.
Lucas was raging. Willow was terrified of this weather and yet she had risked everything to go and save someone who in reality she barely knew. A man whose son didn’t even bother with him; it was infuriating.
He tried to busy himself settling everyone in The Diner. He was glad to see Janice there, with both Tommy and Joey.She immediately began serving free coffees and keeping everyone calm with her easygoing way.
‘We need this storm to pass quickly,’ Ava Parker protested. ‘I can’t afford any more damage to my property.’
‘I’ll just go out and turn it off, shall I?’ Macguire joked lightly, encouraging the two women to sit down. ‘I’m sure it’ll blow itself out soon enough.’
Lucas could tell by Macguire’s grave expression that he didn’t really feel this way. It matched the vice-like grip in his chest. Where was Willow? Why had she made such a reckless choice?
He relaxed a little when Greg tumbled through the door, bringing in another gust of wind with him. Behind him was Mia, Adam, Rachel, the Henrys and a few other residents. There was no sign of Eric. Lucas had half expected him to be there.
‘It’s getting pretty bad out there, man,’ Greg said, his face pinched white with terror. ‘I think—’
But his words were interrupted by a sound like no other. It was a low, muffled groan at first that confused Lucas into thinking that it was the building itself – but then the sound grew, almost as if the ground was exhaling air under pressure. The noise swelled around them, a deep rolling roar, half thunder, half tearing of earth. It was so loud, so monstrous that Lucas couldn’t breathe. The Diner shook beneath their feet.
And then the roar faded into a distant rumble and all that remained was the steady beat of the rain and the screams of the wind.
