by Holly Hook
Another tornado descends from the toiling clouds, hungry.
It's close. Close enough for me to see the crops it's ripping from the ground. Its gray funnel spins harder, churning up earth. I can't make its roar out from my own.
It's him.
The boy from the field.
I've found another like me.
I tear at the ground, ripping out trees. There's no hope of controlling it. The other tornado moves ahead like it's cutting me off. I turn my attention away. I know I look the same.
Rain beats down to my side, then drifts away. The world trembles. I retract inside myself, trying to escape, trying not to think. Debris screams. Rises. Flies and churns around me. My only comfort is that there are no pieces of buildings with it.
The other tornado's getting a lot closer.
Only slivers of evil green sky show behind it. The storm's shoving us together.
I try to pull away. It’s like I'm stuck in the grip of a black hole. There's no escape. If my partner in crime has any control, he's not showing it.
We collide.
Everything turns to a black maelstrom. It tears at me and me at it. If I could, I'd scream. Another consciousness pushes against mine. It growls. Roars. Rips at my thoughts, shredding words.
We merge, pull back together, and rejoin the world.
Faster. Stronger. The world’s smaller. The clouds above drop lower and twist as if sensing our union.
Forward--
Violent--
Whipping, twisting, roaring--
A barn shatters into metal blades and wooden needles. Flies, swirls and explodes away.
No!--
Trees slap the ground. Break. Leap into the air around us to join the deadly dance.
We plow ahead--
Growling--
Feeding on the storm's hot air--
Tiny cars flee before us, leaving another road clear. We tear across.
Rip up a tractor and slam it back down to the earth.
Please end…please end…
The first cold closes in as if answering my prayer. Our roar softens and sputters. Gasps. We move on, dragging across the field. Weaker. Smaller.
The cold crushes me, taking away my life. The other consciousness pulls from mine, leaving my thoughts whole and tired. I wane and my consciousness drops from the sky.
