A cold shudder passed through Rick, propelling him faster. Living in Arkansas, he’d seen the remnants of mobile homes demolished by tornadoes. That dilapidated camper of Kenny’s wouldn’t stand a chance.
Relief flooded him when the trailer came into view with the security guard’s old Jeep parked beside it.
Rick pounded on the door with his fist. “Kenny!” he shouted. “Kenny!” He waited a few seconds, but the door didn’t open. He ran around to the back, beating a staccato rhythm hard against the metal walls. He covered the entire length, around the end, and back around to the front. As he reached the window, the door flew open.
Rick lunged, grabbed the door and used his momentum to leap into the camper and close the door behind him.
Kenny stood wide-eyed and openmouthed, shirtless and grasping a throw around his middle.
“Get dressed. Quick! Tornado.” Rick kept his words to a minimum.
They had the desired effect.
“Shitfire!” Kenny exploded, and hightailed it to the bedroom end of the trailer.
The door handle jerked in Rick’s hand as the camper swayed menacingly. The metal shuddered and creaked, and a foreboding tremor passed through him. “Hurry!” He felt the movement of the air outside change directions.
Kenny came running, pulling a T-shirt over his head. His flip-flops were a mistake, but there was no time to change.
“Storm shelter,” Rick yelled, trying to be heard over the roar as they jumped off the steps and slammed the door.
With the wind now at his back, Rick was being pushed by an unseen hand into a swirling blackness. He fought to stay upright as the force threatened to topple him forward. Tree limbs twisted in a frightful, otherworldly dance. A cry brought him to a stop and he whirled around.
Kenny was on the ground, holding the back of his head, a dazed expression on his face.
Combat training sprang to the forefront of Rick’s brain when he saw the fallen comrade. In an instant, Kenny was Dunk and the lightning cracking around him was sniper fire. He rushed to the security guard and slung him over his shoulder as a deafening crack splintered the air around them.
Blocking out everything else, Rick focused on breathing, on keeping enough air to sustain him as his lungs protested the additional burden. “Not far now,” he reminded himself, concentrating on the placement of one foot in front of the other time and time again, until at last he found Charlie blocking the door of the shelter open against the raging wind.
Rick gave his charge over to the helping hands that reached through the door, and the door slammed shut of its own accord as soon as his foot hit the steps.
Cries of relief filled the air. The warming presence of Summer’s body hugging him tightly grounded him back in the moment. More hands, more bodies joined hers, all exuberant with joy, as everyone rushed to greet him and Kenny.
Ginny immediately started checking Kenny’s head, which he’d bumped hard when his flip-flop broke and sent him sprawling. He kept insisting he was fine, and finally she agreed.
When the initial excitement was over, it was Summer who took the lead in calming the kids, diverting their attention with some group games and the snacks Rick and Charlie had carried over in the boxes. Then Neil took over, showing off some remarkable shadow hands with the help of a flashlight.
Rick smiled at the kids’ absorption in the activity, their fears of the raging storm outside sidelined by a few emergency flashlights. His smile grew wider when Summer came to settle beside him on the bench.
“I’m glad you and Kenny are okay.” In the dim light he could see tears brimming in her eyes.
This time yesterday, he’d been ready to sign her discharge papers. Today, she was a caring person who could calm twenty children—and several adults—with the flash of a smile and a few words. What a difference twenty-four hours could make...especially now that he knew she’d wanted him to kiss her.
He gave her a smile. “Another good thing to know.”
* * *
EXHAUSTION DESCENDED ON SUMMER like the rainstorm from earlier, and her thoughts started to blur.
They’d spent three hours in the storm shelter as wave upon wave of severe storms passed through the area.
Once the storms were over, everyone had exited the shelter to find the entire camp littered with limbs and branches ripped from the trees by the wind.
Kenny’s worst fears had been confirmed. The cracking sound he and Rick heard had been a downed tree that toppled