Page 73 of Grumpy

For a split second, Grumpy thought their luck had turned. The tornado’s path veered away from them. It wasn’t much, and they were in no way out of danger. But it was perhaps a reprieve, a chance to turn the tides.

“It’s turning!” Jackson shouted. Grumpy didn’t need to see the young man to know he had a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel.

That second passed, and the small amount of relief Grumpy had felt vanquished as his eye landed on the road ahead of them. “And we’re about to!”

They’d crossed onto the southbound side when a crash on the northbound had blocked their path. Now they and several other vehicles behind them were aiming straight for the tornado as the road curved.

Jackson couldn’t just slam on the brakes or shift into reverse or pull a one-eighty turn. At present, they led the pack of cars heading north on the southbound road. Getting into a collision could prove just as deadly as jousting with a tornado. One vehicle behind them already had a tree branch puncturing its windshield. Another was driving on a flat tire, sparks flying as the metal rim rolled on the asphalt.

They were boxed in. Collisions behind them could be heard as some of the vehicles in the back tried and failed to change direction. Others stopped, their occupants running.

“Wait, Dad, what’s that?”

Grumpy couldn’t see Maddie to know what she was asking about. “What is it?” he asked into the back, not caring if it was Maddie or Kelly who answered.

The roar of the storm outside overshadowed any movement behind him, but he caught something in the mirror. “Northside, there was a drainage ditch!” Kelly shouted.

“Where?” Jackson demanded, his normal respectful demeanor replaced by the toughened soldier presently responsible for three lives.

“Maybe thirty seconds back,” Kelly answered. Grumpy felt her at his shoulder, and knew she’d unbuckled to get a better view. She pressed herself between Grumpy and Jackson, her hand on Grumpy’s shoulder. “I didn’t see it southbound.”

Grumpy didn’t need to see it to trust it had been there. Beyond that, their choices were limited. “Can you make it?” Grumpy asked Jackson.

But before Jackson could answer, the tornado changed directions again. Rather than crossing the highway path they were on, it was once again powering down the road like it realized it forgot something and made a U-turn.

“It’s circling!” Maddie screamed from the back.

Grumpy felt Kelly squeeze herself between the driver and passenger seats. “They can do that?” she shouted back to Maddie, her voice horrified.

“You really want a lesson on tornado dos and don’ts right now?” Maddie’s panic was laced in every syllable.

“Get back in your seat!” Jackson ordered Kelly harshly. “Brace with your head down, hands over your head. Do it! Now!”

Kelly’s hand left Grumpy’s shoulder immediately.

“Dad?” came from behind him, and it fucking sucked that he wasn’t able to reach her. Either of his girls.

“Do it!” Grumpy called back. He saw Jackson’s plan as easily as if he’d printed it in a memo. “Kelly, the second we stop, you run for the ditch.”

“I’m not leaving you!” Though the words were shouted, they were also muffled, which meant she had her head down as instructed.

“This is not up for discussion!” Grumpy yelled, ignoring the pain in his jaw. “Stay out of the water as long as you can. You’ll be faster on land.”

The order barely left Grumpy’s mouth before Jackson yanked the wheel to the right. They narrowly missed colliding with another vehicle that chose that exact moment to change lanes like this was any common country drive down the highway.

They smashed through the guardrail and hit the grass median hard enough that it was a wonder the airbags did not deploy. The SUV powered through the terrain, Jackson forcing it down and then back up the other side. The other guardrail caused more damage, dragging beneath the undercarriage.

Grumpy had a death grip on the doorhandle and his arm rest, trying to keep himself from flying. His seatbelt had already locked into place.

A tire popped, causing the SUV to fishtail. It dislodged the piece of guardrail they were dragging, but at these speeds, it made it too dangerous. They couldn’t risk rolling the vehicle.

Jackson none-too-smoothly slowed them without hard braking, which unfortunately wasted precious seconds.

“Kelly, go!” he shouted, even though they weren’t fully stopped.

“I can’t! I⁠—”

“Go!” Both Grumpy and Jackson shouted together.