CHAPTER 26

Five minutes before the tornado struck, Unis was washing potatoes when a sudden flurry of small hail made her look up.  The cloudy sky had turned dark gray and the leaves on the apple tree were glowing iridescent green.  There was only one thing that made leaves look like that.

Unis dropped everything in the sink and went running toward the front of the house screaming.  

“EMMETT!  WE’VE GOTTA GO!”  But just as she reached the stairs there was an eerie blue crackle followed by a heart-rending crash.  The giant oak in front of the house split in two, one half crushing the front porch and scudding along the roof.

“EMMETT!” Unis screamed, running up the steps.  She could hear Drabble’s high-pitched yelps of terror as she raced down the hall.   

“Emmett?” The room was a shadow, its windows blocked by heavy branches, she could see the reflection of broken glass covering the bed.  She couldn’t see them, but the puppy’s cries pulled her to a corner where her son was crouched between the wall and the dresser, curled into a ball and rocking back and forth.

Unis hurried to him and put her hands on each side of his face.  “Emmett.  Sweetheart.  Look at me, okay?  We’re not in a war, Honey.  There aren’t any bombs.  We’re in Montana, remember?  Montana, Montana, Montana.  But, Emmett, there’s a big storm coming and we’ve got to get to the cellar quick.”    

She pulled him up and, with her arm around him, and with the puppy trying to break free of his grasp, they made their way down the hall.  They were half-way down the stairs when the warning sirens began to blow.  

They felt their way through the gloom to the back porch.  But when Unis tried to open the screen door the wind whipped it out of her hand and sent it crashing against the house so hard that one of its hinges broke and left it flapping back and forth.

Unis put her hands on her son’s face again, rubbing her thumbs over his cheekbones.   “Honey, Emmett, listen now, I need you to help me, okay? We have to take shelter and I don’t think I’ll be able to lift the cellar door against this wind by myself.  Please remember, help me fight the wind, okay?  Now, come on, LET’S GO!”

The twenty feet to the cellar were almost impossible, each step was a challenge.  The storm whipped grit through their clothes.  It stung their skin and burned their eyes.  Unis found herself gasping for breath.  She had only one second to see her son clearly, his skin was gray and haggard, his eyes were haunted.  She feared she would loose hold of him at any moment, that he would disappear into the wind and fly to some unknown place. Drabble was howling with fright.

They reached the concrete rim and Unis bent forward, bringing her son with her as she made desperate attempts to open the slanted door.   Twice she was able to lift it enough for drabble to hop in but no farther

“EMMETT!” she cried, “Please.  Help!”  It was an impulse born of fear, and she suddenly doubted if she really had any hope for his response.

But he leaned deeply forward, his face inches from hers, and she saw just for a moment, his eyes focused in determination.  Unis almost forgot the ripping wind, as she watched her son raise his strong arm and push the door up.  She snapped to and slid her hip, and then her shoulder, against the edge.  Struggling together they brought it high enough so they could both crawl in before the wind slammed it shut on top of them.