***
“I’m tired!” Christine dropped into one of the wooden kitchen chairs. “I must have walked up and down those stairs twenty times!”
“Yeah, me too,” Trevor agreed. “But everything is downstairs now, or up here in the cupboards.”
“Anything else we should do?” she asked. “I’ve never been in a tornado before.”
“Neither have I, although I’ve seen some nasty weather. If the power goes out we’ll need lights. I know there’s a flashlight in the bedroom, but do you have anything stronger, like a lantern?”
“I don’t know. My dad has some camping gear on those shelves, maybe there’s something there.”
Trevor stood in front of the high shelves. He took down a box, looked in, and put it back.
“Is this what you’re looking for?” Christine held up a Coleman lantern.
“Yes, that’s good. I’m glad it’s not the kind that takes fuel. That might add fumes, plus make it too warm in here.” Trevor set the lantern on an empty lower shelf and turned it on. “Either the batteries are dead or there aren’t any.” Trever pulled a panel off the bottom to find it empty. “No batteries, which is good. Things shouldn’t be stored for a long time with the batteries in them. Do you have any D-cell batteries?”
“I think there’s a pack of batteries in the kitchen drawer. I don’t know what kind though. Maybe I should be making a list of things we need.” Christine headed upstairs for paper, a pen, and the batteries.
“At least we can test this lamp out with the fresh batteries,” Trevor said when she returned. Christine turned the lights out and Trevor turned the lantern on, lighting up a good area of the large room. “Excellent!” He turned it off and placed it back on the lower shelf. “We need more batteries though. I know there are some at the store, but it’s dark out and I don’t want anyone to see the lights on in there. I’ll go first thing in the morning.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The day broke with blue skies, sunshine, and warmer than normal temperatures. Christine let Holly into the backyard to do her business, and they played fetch for a few minutes until Trevor returned from the store.
“We now have a couple of packs of D, C, and AA batteries. That should be enough, though we should stock up more later,” he said, setting the batteries on the kitchen table. “I really think I should be opening the store again, for a few hours anyway, maybe in the mornings.”
“Are we going to the park today?” Christine asked. “I’m getting used to seeing our new friends every day, even if it’s only for an hour.”
“It looks to be perfect weather, so I say we go. I like seeing everyone, too, and I know the dogs sure enjoy it, that’s why I’m thinking of morning hours for the store.”
***
“I don’t like the looks of that sky,” Seth said, gazing to the west. The group had congregated at their usual picnic table while the dogs romped nearby. “It looks like rain coming, and soon. I think I’ll be heading back home.” He stood and whistled for Dot. “I’ll see everyone tomorrow, same time, same place, unless it’s still raining.” He smiled and ambled away, humming to himself.
No sooner had Seth left the park when the first crack of thunder was heard, and the wind picked up.
“That really moved in fast! We should get going too,” Trevor said to Christine and stood to leave. “Janis, what’s the matter?” He had turned and found Janis staring at the sky, shaking.
“I’m really scared of thunderstorms,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. “Maybe I should go too.”
Christine took her hand. “Would you like to come home with us until the storm passes?” Wide eyed, the girl mutely nodded.
The wind increased to a steady blow, sending leaves swirling in the air as they walked the two blocks. Holly chased a few then quickly returned to Christine’s side, nudging between her and Janis when more thunder boomed. Christine realized it wasn’t that Holly was frightened. Holly, being a responsive and sensitive therapy dog, was trying to comfort a very nervous and frightened Janis.
Trevor opened the side door and a strong gust of wind yanked it out of his hand, smacking it against the house with a loud screech of the hinges. He ushered the girls and dog inside and pulled the door back in place, securing it. Trevor and Christine locked eyes, remembering what might be coming.
“Have you had lunch yet, Janis?” Christine asked calmly. The girl shook her head, still staring out the window at the coming storm. “We haven’t either. I think I’ll warm up some soup. Would you like cream of mushroom, or cream of chicken?”
Janis turned to her, in a daze. “I like cream of mushroom. My mom used to make it with extra mushrooms.”
Trevor thought about Christine’s ex-boss buying the same ingredients, and wondered if he gave her the flu, or maybe she gave it to him when they exchanged money. He quickly dismissed the thought. It didn’t matter anymore. The prospect of hot soup distracted the girl, and gave Trevor and Christine time to discuss the situation.
“Do you think we should go to the basement?” Christine asked nervously.
“Not yet, it hasn’t even started to rain yet. Stay calm, please. Janis could really lose it if she sees you upset,” Trevor said, giving her a comforting hug. “I’m glad we moved all that stuff downstairs though. Are there blankets and pillows in that other bedroom?”
“I’ll go check.” Having something to do calmed Christine and brought her back to reality.
***
Christine opened the closet in her father’s lower level bedroom to find one pillow, one blanket, and no sheets. The rest of the closet was bare. She scanned the shelves where they had found the lantern and spotted the two sleeping bags she and her dad had used on the last camping trip. They had hiked part of the Appalachian Trail and spent two nights camping out. Christine remembered that it was fun being with her dad, though she hated sleeping on the ground. She frowned, remembering too that she hadn’t heard from him since the earthquake. Where was he? What was he doing? Was he alright? Worrying about him didn’t help her current state of mind. She pulled the sleeping bags down and tossed them into a corner for later.
Upstairs, she found Janis rinsing her soup bowl in the sink, still looking outside at the growing storm. Trevor was nowhere around.
***
The storm was increasing in strength, fueled by the warm air pressure system from the south and the cold air coming down from the northern regions. High clouds lowered as they filled with moisture, turning them darker and darker. Lightning flashed high behind the black clouds, sparking more sudden electrostatic discharges between the charged regions of the clouds. The swirling mass of wind was taking form.
***
Trevor came back into the kitchen from the garage, carrying a flat box covered with a plastic grocery bag. “Find everything okay?” he asked, with a veiled question.
“Mostly,” she replied and followed him down to the basement.
Trevor opened the louvered doors to expose the kitchenette and turned on the apartment sized refrigerator, placing the pizza box he had inside to stay chilled.
“I thought we’d have pizza for dinner. That bit of normalcy should cheer Janis up.” He reached out and pulled Christine into his arms, kissing her deeply. “What did you find?” he asked when he let her go.
“One pillow, one blanket and two sleeping bags,” she reported. “Not nearly enough for three of us. I guess we need more from our bed.” She paused. “I’m thinking we should get Janis involved, it might help soothe her nerves to know we’ll be okay.”
“Smart!”
***
“Janis,” Christine said to get her attention away from the windows. “If the storm gets any worse, we’re going to wait it out in the basement and have a camp out. It should be fun.” Trevor smiled at her inventiveness. “Do you like cards or board games? I do, and so does Trevor. If I show you where I keep what I have, will you pick out what you like to play and stack them here on the table? It would b
e a big help while I find something for us to sit on downstairs.” The young girl perked up and immediately agreed.
Christine pulled their pillows off the bed, along with the blankets, and took the pile to the basement. Trevor took the cushions off the couch in the living room and tossed them down the stairs to her. Next he cleared off the coffee table in front of the now bare couch and together they took it to the basement. By the time Janis was done carefully selecting and stacking games, Trevor and Christine had transformed the center of the basement. The coffee table was now surrounded by the cushions and the lantern sat in the center. Janis had brought the boxed games down, wide-eyed at the spacious basement, and set them on the floor by the low table.
***
The intensity of the storm grew by the minute as the gyrating winds collected more warm air from the south, more cold air from the north, and more moisture from the streams and lakes it passed over. The dark clouds turned even darker until no light shone through them except for the lightning that cut through the blackness. The winds increased further, reaching a swirling 60mph. At 75mph it would officially became an EF-1 tornado that could unleash an 820-foot wide path of destruction.
***
Trevor looked through the front room windows that faced west, his arm protectively around Christine. The sky stretched black and pieces of debris could be seen if one looked closely enough.
“Okay, ladies,” he said calmly, “I think it would be wise for us to settle into the basement. Holly, get your bone and let’s go!” Holly found her rawhide toy and followed them down the stairs.
“I’ll be right back.” When Trevor rejoined them he had Holly’s water and food dishes and the bag of dog food. Holly ran up the stairs and brought down her tennis ball.
Christine looked at what Trevor set down on the floor, and seeing the water dish, said, “Trevor… did we bring down that bottled water from the garage?” He froze and then darted up the stairs again. “Stay here,” Christine said to Janis and followed him.
The wind rattled the metal and wood garage with a force that startled Trevor. When he saw Christine behind him, he paused only momentarily, and then grabbed two cases of water, shoving them into her waiting arms. “Go!” he yelled above the wind and grabbed the remaining three cases, pulling the interior door shut behind him then descending into the safety of the basement.
“Let’s not do that again,” Christine said, pressing her forehead to Trevor’s chest, shaking from the adrenaline rush.
The three of them sat on the couch cushions on the floor around the short wooden table and played Monopoly, then Scrabble. The hours ticked by while the winds outside increased.
“I’m going upstairs to have a look,” Trevor announced, standing to stretch his back. He was over six feet tall and sitting hunched over like that was starting to hurt.
“I’ll come with you,” Christine offered and shivered. “I didn’t realize how cool this basement would be if you stayed in it for a long time. Anyone else getting hungry? I think I’ll turn the oven on to preheat.”
“I’m staying down here, if you don’t mind,” Janis said sheepishly.
Once upstairs in the kitchen, Trevor stopped and pulled Christine into his arms for a long and passionate kiss.
“I’m glad we offered Janis refuge during the storm, but I’ll be glad when we can take her back home,” he said, nuzzling Christine’s neck. “Danger is a strange aphrodisiac!”
“I know what you mean.” She grinned wickedly. “Hopefully the storm will pass soon.”
They walked hand in hand to the windows that looked north. The sky was heavy with dark clouds, as was the west window. The south facing window was another story.
“I’ve never seen anything like that!” Christine breathed out. The cloud formation was even darker and swirled, then broke up, then swirled even tighter and faster. “Was that a tree?” she said in amazement.
“It sure looked like one. Christine, I think we’re watching a tornado form! Even though this is moving from west to east and away from us, I know tornadoes can change directions in a heartbeat. And there could be another funnel cloud right behind it that we can’t see without going outside, which we are not going to do. Come on, we need to be in the basement!”
Trevor took her hand and pulled her away from the mesmerizing sight. The wind continued to roar with an unbridled fierceness.
As they emerged from the stairwell and closed the door, the oven dinged, telling them it had reached the temperature Christine had set. She unwrapped the frozen pizza and slid it into the hot oven, trying to keep dinner a surprise from Janis.
“Well, we know you’re over 21, Janis, would you like a beer or a glass of wine?” Trevor asked, keeping his voice light in spite of what they had witnessed upstairs.
“Really? A beer would be great.” She stood to uncramp her legs. Janis took the offered beer and walked around the basement. “If we have to stay down here for the night, where are we going to sleep?”
“We have pillows, blankets and sleeping bags. Trevor and I will take the sleeping bags and stay in the bedroom. You should be comfortable with all the couch cushions and the blankets,” Christine said bringing the piping hot pizza to the table, along with a roll of paper towels to use as napkins.
“Pizza?” Janis said in awe. “I love pizza! I haven’t had any in… forever.” She lifted one of the slices Trevor cut and sighed with contentment after taking a cheesy bite.
“It was Trevor’s idea. Good choice, babe.” Christine took a slice and nibbled on the pepperoni and cheese delight.
“I don’t know about you ladies, but I’m ready for another round of Scrabble!” He pushed the now empty pizza box aside and set up the board. The lights flickered and went out and Janis let out a muffled scream. Trevor turned on the battery lantern and continued like it was all normal and planned.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The morning broke with muddy skies and a hot, humid wind. Power was slowly being restored in the cities and towns that dotted the path of the EF-1 tornado. Greenwood, one of the largest and closest to Indianapolis, came back online quickly.
“Hey, the lights are on!” cried a jubilant Janis. She tossed off the blankets she had been wrapped in and looked around. “Are you two awake yet?” she asked tentatively and then tapped on the closed door. Christine startled her by coming out of the bathroom.
“Good morning, Janis. Did you sleep well?”
“I did, actually, which surprises me. I almost never sleep the whole night.”
“Good morning, ladies,” Trevor said when he reached the bottom of the stairs. His hair was wet from the shower and he was dressed in fresh clothes. “I’ve just about got breakfast ready upstairs.”
“Pancakes and sausage?” Janis exclaimed. “You must be rich, Trevor. No one can afford this kind of food anymore.”
“Of course they can. Anyone can buy food now that shipping has started up again. Although, we stocked up early. The pancakes are from a mix and the sausage was in the freezer,” Trevor said cautiously, casting a glance at Christine.
“No,” Janis said around a bite of syrup covered pancake. “The group at the park has talked about it. Someone said that even T’N’M’s is gouging people on everything they have now.”
“That’s just not true!” Christine said. “Have you been there and shopped?” She knew the young woman hadn’t been there or they would have seen her.
“No. I have very little money left, and all the accounts are in my parents’ names, and since I don’t know where they are, or if they’re even alive, I don’t have access to the money.” She frowned and stabbed a piece of meat.
“Janis, maybe it’s T’N’M that’s being gouged and they have no choice but to pass the price increase on to the customers,” Trevor said calmly. He stared at his plate, his appetite fading.
“I hadn’t thought about it that way,” the young girl said, mopping up the last of the precious syrup. “Is there anymore?”
“I’m af
raid not,” Christine said quickly. “We’re running low. Trevor used the last to make us this special breakfast.” She kept her eyes solely on Janis. “If you’re done, we can take you home now.” She stood and put her unfinished plate down for Holly.
***
“Trevor, don’t feel down, and please don’t be angry,” Christine rubbed his shoulders. “You’re doing what you need to do. You offer a service that everyone needs and depends on. Please don’t forget that.”
“That girl, who doesn’t even shop at my store, thinks I’m a bad person and gouging everyone. Is that what people think of me?” He stood and paced. “I’m going to the store and open up for a few hours today, maybe even see if I can trim some prices.”
“No! Don’t you dare change the prices, not one cent, Trevor Monroe! If you do that, people will be sure you were charging too much to begin with,” Christine said. “It’s a small group that might have that opinion. Please don’t let them run the store for you. You still have a lot of friends in town, people who benefitted from your generosity.”
“You’re right,” he said, standing. “I’m still going to the store early, and take an inventory, maybe even put in another order. I should call the bakery too,” he mumbled, getting lost in his business thoughts. Christine smiled, knowing she got him back on track.
“I think I’m going to the park as usual, and see how the others fared the storm,” Christine said. “I’ll come by the store after.” As she started walking out of the room, she stopped and turned back. “You know, Trevor, I’m really glad we stacked all those boxes of food in the corner. With it dark like it was, Janis never saw them. I don’t like this feeling, but now I don’t trust her.”
The Journal: Fault Line (The Journal Book 5) Page 13
