After the Storm (KGI #8)(33)

Fear tightened Eve’s gut and she hesitated, glancing back at the trailer, which shook with the force of the wind.

“Maybe we should . . .”

She never got to finish the thought.

Debris began pelting them. Dime-sized hail began hitting the ground—and them—and the roaring became so loud that it nearly deafened Eve.

Cammie screamed when the force of the wind nearly tore her hand from Eve’s grasp.

“We have to take cover!” Travis yelled. “I think it’s a tornado!”

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. The trailer was no shelter from a tornado. It was the very last place they should be.

“The culvert!” Eve cried. “Get in the culvert and stay down!”

She shoved Cammie forward and reached back for Travis’s hand to pull him along. A tree branch blew between them, knocking Travis back several feet.

“Travis!”

Eve stumbled toward him, torn between her need to protect Cammie and her desire to make sure Travis made it. To her horror, the wind tugged mercilessly at Cammie, and it took all of Eve’s strength to maintain her grip on her wrist.

“Get Cammie in the culvert!” Travis shouted.

“No! I won’t leave you, Trav!”

“Evie, do it! Go!”

Eve stared stricken as yet another limb blew right into Travis’s side, sending him sprawling to the ground.

“Trav!” Cammie screamed.

It was Cammie’s hysterical cry that galvanized Eve to action. She spun, rapidly hauling Cammie into her arms. Adrenaline gave her strength as she dove for the culvert, bearing Cammie’s weight the entire way. They hit the ground just as a limb crashed down on them, hitting Eve squarely in the back.

All her breath was knocked painfully from her lungs, leaving her gasping for air. Her eyes watered and stung as bits of hail and rain hit her face. Cammie squirmed beneath Eve, and she worried that Cammie was being smothered by Eve’s weight.

Pushing herself up, impeded by the heavy limb, she crawled toward the ditch, determined to get Cammie to safety so she could return for Travis. As she gained her footing, she heaved Cammie upward once more. She was nearly there when she stepped into a hole.

Her ankle gave out, wrenching painfully, and she went to her knees, gasping in pain. Damn it. She was so close. She wouldn’t give up now. They’d survived the worst so far. No way she was going to let a damn tornado take them down now.

Using the last of her flagging strength, she managed to push Cammie into the culvert. Water rushed around them, tugging at their bodies. If it got much deeper, they’d be swept away.

“Listen to me, Cammie,” Eve shouted above the roar. The wind whistling through the tunnel along with the rushing water made it almost impossible to be heard. “I’m going to position you in the middle of the culvert. Get a handhold on whatever you can and don’t move! I have to go back for Trav.”

Cammie whimpered but nodded, her fingers wrapped tightly in Eve’s drenched shirt. It took everything Eve had to pry her hands away and leave her alone in that culvert even for a few moments. She was terrified of losing Cammie. She was terrified of losing Travis. Neither was an option. She’d die before letting that happen.

She kissed one of Cammie’s hands and then cupped her small face in her hands. “Stay here and don’t move,” she ordered. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Stumbling back, she edged her way out of the culvert, relieved that the water level had remained unchanged. Her entire body was heavy as she slogged her way up the ditch. The wind beat mercilessly at her. She was pelted by rocks, small limbs and other debris. Something slammed into her side, eliciting a cry of pain. She went down hard, getting a face full of mud.

It took a moment for her to realize that what had hit her was the door to the trailer. She glanced up in the direction of the trailer and to her horror saw that it simply wasn’t there any longer. No part of it was there. It had simply vanished, blown away by the tornado.

A warm metallic taste filled her mouth. Blood. She wiped at her lips with the back of her hand, removing some of the mud and blood.

“Travis!” she yelled.

A firm hand gripped her wrist, pulling her to her feet.

“I’m here, Evie. Now come on. We have to get into the culvert with Cammie.”

She was so relieved she nearly passed out on the spot. Grimacing as she put weight on her twisted ankle, she leaned against Travis and turned back toward the culvert.

The wind whipped viciously around them, turning the most ordinary things into deadly weapons. Her hair snapped violently against her face, cutting into her skin. It was as if the sky had caved in and rained down on them in every conceivable direction. And then to her astonishment, her entire body lifted in the air before being slammed back down, separating her and Travis.

“Evie!” Travis cried.

“Get to Cammie,” she bit out. “You have to shield her, Travis. Don’t worry about me.”

“I’m not leaving you!” he roared.

“Damn it, Trav! You made me leave you. Now do it! I’ll make it. You’re stronger than I am. You have to get to Cammie and make sure she isn’t swept away by the wind or the water. Get in there and do not come out until I come for you. Are we clear?”

With a frustrated growl, Travis crawled toward the culvert and Eve pushed herself up again, fighting the force of the wind and the weight of the debris raining down on her. Just as she got to her feet once more, the wind swept her away, lifting her several feet into the air. It tossed her aside like discarded trash. She landed yards away from the culvert, pain splintering through her body. She was barely conscious, but the one thought that hammered through her every bit as strong as the wind was that she had no hope of making it to the culvert.