by H. Mattern
Katie glanced out the window and noticed the sky looked angry, clouds no longer bright and cheery but rather readying for a fight. It was only sprinkling though, so nothing to worry about. Katie felt the weather people were often off kilter when they attempted to make their predictions, especially lately. The weather in Alabama tended to go against the rules and boxes that the app on her phone estimated. The days they said would be sunny, it happened to rain, and vice versa.
“Everyone just be careful,” the teacher said as she continued on her way. This was one of the reasons Katie always insisted she and her husband not have a TV in their house when they first got married. The news always freaked everyone out, including her. People get scared and run to the grocery store, and for storms that end up being nothing more than a summer rain. She was sick of it, and declared their home would be television-free.
Katie spotted Jill off in the corner, chatting it up with one of the only single, attractive, young, male teachers in the little school. It was obvious to everyone except Jill the poor guy had a huge crush on her. Katie watched as they interacted: he reached over and touched Jill’s arm in an attempt to get her to actually notice him and realize he was flirting. Jill stood smiling, laughing, and deep in conversation as if she were hamming it up with a buddy.
Jill was the envy of all the other teachers, with that long red hair, often pulled back into a ponytail with silver or gold bands wrapped around it. Her hair reminded Katie of Dorothy’s slippers from the Wizard of Oz movie. The red complimented Jill’s fair Irish skin-tone. As soon as Jill spotted Katie she patted the man on the shoulder, as if to say, I’ll catch you later, and headed towards her friend.
“Katie! Hey, slow down, did you hear what’s going on?”
“Let me guess. You and Hot Sexy Teacher are actually going on a date? That’s awesome.” Katie replied with a smirk. She had finally been able to turn the tables on her friend.
“Whatever, not happening.” Jill shrugged and waved off the suggestion, her eyes turning serious. “Listen, they say a big storm with tornados is headed this way. Do you think it’s safe to go back to your place? I mean, I love your little cottage and all, but with all those trees, it doesn’t sound like it’s the safest place to hang out. If you want, you and Micah are welcome to come hang with me until all this blows over. Literally.” She giggled at her own joke.
Katie looked up at her friend. “Girl, you know those things are always blown out of proportion. We’ll be fine. A nice, hot bubble bath is waiting for me tonight. I need it after last night’s debacle, and nothing is going to stop me. Not even a storm,” she replied.
Jill looked a bit concerned for her friend, as if she really thought this was going to be a serious matter. There was real anxiety in her eyes as she pulled Katie into a hug; one of those long awkward hugs that always end up in a rocking motion back and forth, the kind that you can’t quite pull away from because the person has you so secure in the embrace. Jill finally released Katie.
“Please, promise me you’ll listen and take the necessary precautions to be safe? Stay away from the windows.” Jill said, waiting for Katie to respond.
“Fine. I promise I won’t do any window shopping.” Katie said as she winked back at her friend. “I’ll call you in the morning.”
CHAPTER
3
Everything had grown still outside. The drive home left Katie feeling a bit unsettled, everything seemed to turn grey and silent, as if waiting at a wedding for a bride to come walking through double doors and causing all to rise. Rain started to pour from the sky. Should I actually be worried about this weather watch? Everyone else seemed to be. No, it’s just my mind playing tricks on me. Boy, can a mind really torture when it wants to! Katie realized she couldn’t quiet them, endless chatter and horror scenes continued to play out worst-case scenarios as she neared the subdivision entrance.
Katie’s gaze was focused on her hands, trying to control the steering wheel as she attempted to make out the McGreggor Forest sign through the rain. She began to notice that there was a bit of hindrance to the weight of the front end; something didn’t feel right. She fought with the car, struggling, it seemed as if someone else was attempting to steer her SUV, and in a different direction.
She whispered to Micah in the back seat, “Hmmm, I think Mommy needs to get the car tuned up; it’s acting wonky.” She spoke to the little girl, but really it was more of a statement for herself. Katie made a mental note to add it to the to-do list for the weekend.
Not far from her cottage, Katie heard a loud, thunderous crack, which made her jump in her seat. A limb came flying down right in front of her and she quickly swerved around to the left, barely missing it. Micah began to whimper at the drastic movement of the vehicle. Katie’s whole body started shaking. This is not looking good, she thought to herself.
“Now that I think about it, we probably should have taken Jill’s offer and gone to stay with her at her place,” Katie said aloud as she turned onto her street. Perhaps Jill was right. Perhaps we aren’t safe here with this many trees all around us. There was nothing that she could do now though: the shaking reminded Katie she didn’t want to attempt the twenty minutes more of driving that it would take to get to Jill’s place. She took a deep breath and trudged forward.
Katie pulled into her driveway, and breathed a sigh of relief to put the Durango into park. She sat still and tried to collect her thoughts. She hoped to compose herself in order to cease the shaking of her hands before she attempted to unhook Micah from the seat and carry her inside.
Katie could hear the wind outside her window, whistling for attention. The trees on each side of her cottage swayed back and forth as they screamed back at the wind’s call, perhaps to quiet it. Katie’s anxiety rose up and her heart began to race. Maybe having a TV wouldn’t have been such a bad thing after all, she thought. Mental note for the future: get TV.
“Everything’s fine. We’re going to be okay.” Katie said aloud, not only trying to keep her daughter calm, but also in the attempt to convince and slow down her own breathing. She glanced back at Micah in the seat behind her. The little girl sat clueless, sucking on her thumb.
“Let’s get inside and out of the wind, and then we’ll have some milk and cookies.” Micah heard the word cookies and shot straight up in her seat. Nothing stood in the way of her milk and cookies.
Katie pushed opened the driver’s seat door and tried to walk to the door behind her. She had anticipated it would be somewhat difficult after watching the wind force the tree’s to dance, but she wasn’t prepared for the force at which the wind sang and tossed her around as if she herself were a mere rag doll. She was knocked almost instantly to her knees. Wet clay began soaking into her brand new jeans. The clay stains only added to the frustrations in how this evening was playing out. Alabama clay could really ruin a person’s day. Katie had heard that it’s even worse than red wine, but she wouldn’t know.
“Focus,” she told herself as she attempted again to get up to her feet.
Katie reached up for the door handle of the car to retrieve Micah, but the fight against the wind to get her body back up hindered any movement. It was then everything seemed to move in an uncanny, fast pace motion. The limited amount of light from the sky seemed to grow darker and darker behind the black clouds that poured down fast paced raindrops followed by lightning.
She heard more wicked noises, as if the gods above were in the midst of an angry war. Then, all things came into focus; Katie caught glimpses of shadows, things that flew through the air. She didn’t recognize most of them but it appeared as if a lawn mower was floating swiftly through the sky. Was this my imagination, Katie wondered, was this a dream? She blinked again and realized that this was indeed a nightmare. Only she was wide-awake.
“Oh my god. We’re in the middle of the Wizard of Oz,” she said to the trees as she attempted to open
the door handle where her daughter waited behind. It wouldn’t budge. She pulled and pulled but the wind fought back, confusing her. She hung on, with fear and panic. “Hang on, baby girl,” she said to her daughter who began to appear frightened on the other side of the window.
Before she could form another thought, or let out a scream, Katie felt pressure upon her back. At first she thought it was the wind, but then she noticed there were arms around her body, practically pinning her against the vehicle. Fear struck her hard, she scratched, pushed back, tried to fight off this predator. But even with the struggling, it wasn’t enough, she was quickly being pulled away from the car without a choice and forced towards the cottage across the street. Finally, she found her voice and the screaming came without pause.
“Stop! My daughter is out there. She’s in the car. I’ve to get her out. Leave me alone. Have you gone insane? You are such an idiot. Stop.” The words kept coming, one phrase after another, she was furious and couldn’t stop them. Insult after insult, plea after plea. She tried to break free from his grasp by pushing him away, fighting for freedom. She was desperate to get back to the vehicle, but he was too strong. He wouldn’t let her go. He didn’t even try to argue with her. Once she was inside, she recognized his house, she recognized him: Blake. His name came easy for her to remember here, in the midst of chaos.
“You’ve got to stay here. Do you understand?”
Katie couldn’t focus on what he was saying, all she could think about was Micah. Her daughter was out there all alone, wondering what had happened to her mother while they were wasting time in here.
“Katie. Listen to me. Stay down and don’t move. Do you understand? I’ll get her.” His voice was so demanding, so sure that he knew exactly what he was doing. Katie knew that she had no intention of trying to argue with him, the quieter she was the sooner all this would be over. The wind outside had won the battle.
Blake wasted no time before turning around and running back outside. Katie, still sitting on the wooden floor in the living room of the neighbor’s house, couldn’t move. She could hear debris hitting the windows that she sat under and debated the idea of moving to another spot, but her thoughts were processed in slow motion while reality was speeding by. Before she knew it, Micah was being placed safely in her arms.
“There’s no time to argue, you’ve just gotta trust me. We have to move, get to a safe place.” The neighbor quickly motioned for Katie and the little girl to follow him down the hall and into the bathroom.
Katie glanced around what looked like the bathroom, though it was easily the largest one she’d ever seen. A huge spa-like atmosphere with light blue tile, yet no windows. Set off in a secluded corner, she spotted a tub; it was nearly identical to the one at her house. Blake pointed to it and said, “Get in.”
“What?” Katie pulled Micah closer to her chest. “You can’t be serious. There is no way in hell I’m getting in there with you,” she said pointing to the tub that Blake had just motioned for all of them to climb into. Micah began to cry at the darkness and noises that began to escalate louder and louder around them.
“Trust me. It’s getting bad out there. This is the safest place for us. Get in.”
Katie decided, after she remembered how controlled and strong his arms had been as they pinned her against her own vehicle mere moments before, that Blake was determined to have his way regardless of her consent. It wasn’t worth fighting over so she carefully stepped into the ceramic tub and lay down. He instructed Katie to lie close to her daughter and then he climbed in next to her. The three of them huddled together with arms around one another and the little girl in the middle. Katie was uncomfortable, stiff and anxious, as they lay there frozen awkwardly together.
Glass slammed down onto tile not far from where they lay, Katie could hear it crashing apart just inches away from them. She remembered the gorgeous mirror she had spotted when they first walked into the room and could picture it in pieces across the tile floor. The sounds were horrific, one thud and then another and another. There was more glass being shattered, shelves crashing open and onto the floor.
It sounded to Katie as if the house was falling apart around them, piece by piece, shaken by the big hands of the angry gods arguing above them. She tried to close her eyes and wish it all away, but as the debris continued to fall in around them, she knew it wasn’t a possibility. At least this would add new nightmares to her sleep and maybe lessen the others. The thought actually brought Katie a brief moment of comfort.
Micah continued to cry out but Katie had no words to calm her. She wanted to reassure her daughter everything would be fine, but once again no voice would come, only internal whispers. What does one say in a moment like this? Do I lie to my daughter? Do I say we’re going to be okay when really I’ve no surety? Are we really going to be OK?
“Want Mr. Blake to tell you a story?” The tub partner quickly interjected, interrupting Katie’s thoughts. “Some people say I’m great at telling fairy tales.” Instantly, Micah quieted down to listen. Even though he had to compete with the noise of the world around him, he didn’t let that hinder him. “Once upon a time,” he began.
Katie couldn’t remember what story he told, all she could think about was the storm raging around them. The noises. The fact that here she was, lying in a tub with a complete stranger while the world partied and laughed at her outside. When would tragedy stop torturing her, and ironies leave her be?
She hadn’t realized Blake finished his story and was trying to speak to her until she felt his body roll over and on top of her, his hand on her chin, trying to lift up her face. A panicked look was painted on his own.
“Katie! Answer me. Do you hear me? Are you OK?”
“Get off of me. What in the world are you trying to pull here? I’m fine. Just leave me alone.”
“Sorry. You didn’t answer me. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“If you call being squished in a bathtub with a complete stranger all right while the world falls apart around me, then sure, yeah, I’m totally fine.”
It was then that something came sliding across the floor, interrupting Katie’s lamenting, and crashed into the side of the tub. Katie screamed. Whatever it was, it had caused a vibration to run through the tub that lingered, which reminded Katie of drums being played at a concert too loudly. She felt the vibration all through her and was ready for this to be over. Questions began to run through her head about whether or not they would survive this. What if the house came folding in and crashing down upon them?
It took them a while to realize that stillness had finally come. No more thunderous banging around the house. It was quiet, finally. But the quiet wasn’t the kind that one looked forward to, it was an eerie silence that loomed and lingered in the air—one that really frightened Katie.
“Do you think the storm passed?” she asked, afraid to move in case something else came flying across the room and into the side of the tub again.
“I’m not sure what to think. It’s got to be a good sign not to hear things leaping off the walls.” He tried to sound upbeat but instead his humor only irritated his guest even further.
Katie was ready to be back in her own house, away from him. She wanted to be soaking in a warm bath in her tub rather than hiding fully clothed from flying debris in this one.
“Stay in here while I go check things out. Keep the baby toward the middle and close to you in case it’s not the end yet. Oh, and don’t move.” Once again he was ordering her around and she didn’t like it one bit. You aren’t helping my opinion of you, she thought to herself as she clung to her daughter.
Blake slowly climbed out of the tub and Katie could here him walk out of the room, things being trampled under his feet. Rubble. Poor guy, she thought. It’s going to take a lot of time and money to get this place fixed up again, and this is only the bathroom. There’s
no telling what the rest of his house looks like.
Katie pictured the universe holding Blake’s house upside down and shaking it for coins that were hiding in it’s pockets, just like she remembered the bullies at school doing with the little nerds. This was not going to be fun to clean up.
It seemed like it took him forever to return. Katie began to feel anxious, nervously wondering if something tragic had happened. She found herself wishing he’d come back, and quickly. She missed his protection. As she caught herself thinking such things she shuddered, it doesn’t mean anything, she thought to herself. A man’s protection is nice, but I can survive without it.
“Not now. Not ever,” she said out loud, as the thought of the two of them becoming romantic crossed her mind. Micah looked up at her as if wondering if she was speaking to her. There was a confused look on the little girl’s face, as though she was trying to piece a puzzle together, wondering whether or not she was in trouble for something. “It’s OK, baby, Mommy’s just talking to herself.”
Katie could hear him as he walked back into the room. She breathed a sigh of relief. She could finally climb out of this stupid tub. Blake had an odd look upon his face, one that Katie didn’t like very much, though she couldn’t figure out why.
“It’s over.”
Katie stood up. “Thank god!” She belted out as she pulled Micah up in her arms and matter-of-factly stepped out of the tub and began to head down the hall and towards the front door.
Blake stood staring at Katie’s arm. She glanced down and noticed blood was soaking through the sleeve of her shirt. Blake pointed out the spot and stated the obvious, “It looks like you got cut.”
