Tornado Warning (13 page)

Chapter Fourteen

Ryan pulled more of the fallen branches from around the car, his concern on Mrs. McElroy and not on the extent of the damage on the vehicle. Her eyes were wide and glossy like she had been frightened seconds before death came for her. There was a piece of wood that had shot through the window that had impaled her in the chest. He hoped it killed her quickly, but from the look on her face, she knew exactly what had happened and felt every bit of it.

Blood was soaked in her shirt and dripped onto the seat beside her. She had bled out, and Ryan shook his head, blinking away the warmth in the corner of his eyes.

“Poor woman,” Steven said. “How well did you know her?”

“Since I was a kid.” Ryan’s voice shook and he took a step back. “I wasn’t expecting this.” He spread his hands, surveying the wreckage. “By lack of human contact, it’s obvious what has happened, but I guess in the back of my mind I just sort of hoped everyone was hiding and scared to come out. I wonder how many more are dead.”

“I’m sorry, Ryan. She looks like she was a nice lady.”

Ryan walked to the edge of the river and watched the water flow downstream. It was roaring and deep, and he felt himself on the verge of losing his cool. Finding the car was something good, but he couldn’t even pull himself together to assess what kind of repairs it would need. Not knowing what was happening was the worst feeling. Were they really on their own? Were people coming for them? Or was this the new way of life?

He used to scoff at the climatologists who warned the world that everyone was ruining it. Holes in the ozone layer, global warming, and pollution were going to destroy the land before the newest generation had a chance to grow old, and Ryan never took it seriously. Now he felt stupid – nature was damaged and pissed, doing just as the scientists had predicted, taking it’s anger out on the very things that caused the problems.

It seemed unreal, like a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from, but when he glanced over his shoulder, Steve was there and Mrs. McElroy was dead in the car. Cecilia was missing. How would he handle it if he walked up to her car and found her the same way? Ty was hurt with the possibility of losing his arm, and even worse – what if he had brain damage?

Wiping the tears from his face, he tried to get it together. He couldn’t fall apart, or he’d fail too many people who were depending on him. Turning on his heel, he went back to the car, taking a look at the car.

“You okay?” Steve asked.

“I’m good. How much do you know about cars, Steve?”

“Enough to know that we have our work cut out for us.”

“I’m going to need to pop the trunk. At least the keys are in the ignition.”

Ryan moved to the driver’s side and looked in Mrs. McElroy’s brown eyes, closing her lids as best as he could. Now it looked like she was squinting at him, much like she had done when she offered him free donuts and he declined. What he’d give for one of her pastries right now – gooey chocolate filling and flaky crust. His stomach growled at the thought of it. He couldn’t work on the car with her there. She was in the way and it felt disrespectful.

“Hey Steve, can you help me move her?”

Getting her off of the seat was hard. The piece of wood was impaled through her body and into the seat, and they finally got her free with some force. Ryan took her under her arms and Steve lifted her legs. They carried her to a tree and laid her in the shade. Ryan looked down at her, still unable to swallow the bitter pill that life was handing him. The wood was still in her chest, and though she was dead, Ryan couldn’t bring himself to pull it out. It didn’t seem right.

“We’ll have a funeral for her. But we gotta move fast. Did you notice the thunderhead you were watching earlier?” Ryan pointed toward the western sky.

“Damn, it’s tripled in size.”

“And looks to be coming this way,” Ryan replied.

Opening the car hood, everything seemed to be in place. Three of the four tires were flat, and the windshield was so busted that he’d just have to knock the whole thing out to have a good view. Sitting where Mrs. McElroy had died, Ryan tried not to think about it and turned the key. The engine turned over a few times but didn’t start. He tried once more but stopped, fearing he’d cause more damage.

“We could drive on the flat tires for a bit, but we’ll bend up the rims and that’ll completely hinder the car.” Ryan ran his hands through his wet hair, feeling the sweat drip. “I wonder why it won’t start.” Ryan looked toward the river and back to the car. “This river rises pretty fast with rain, and with the torrential downpours we’ve had, it could’ve gotten up this high.”

“Would it retreat that fast?”

“Oh yeah. The river depth fluctuates just as fast as it floods. I’m willing to bet that at least the hood has recently been covered in water. The damn engine is probably flooded.”

Steve took a deep breath. “Damn, that’s not good.”

“I need to disconnect the battery so it doesn’t spark something. And figure out just how deep the flooding happened. Trying to start it just now probably made moisture go into the transmission and fuel system. I probably compounded the damage.”

He looked for a waterline on the car – the water wasn’t clear and full of mud, and it looked as deep as the dashboard. Walking to the back of the car, he broke out one of the tail lights and a small splash of water dripped from it. That wasn’t a good sign. That meant the river had flooded high enough to damage the electrical system of the car.

“Shit, we’ve got our work cut out for us. And if that storm comes this way, we might as well forget it all together. There’s no chance in hell that I can get the engine dried out and repaired before the river rises again. I’ll have to change the oil and filters.” The car was in bad shape, but at least the frame was still in tact, which was better than the other vehicles he had come across.

“I guess we won’t be using this car?” Steve asked, leaning over the motor with him.

“I can probably rig something up, but without my normal tools, I’m not sure I can. If I could get my hands on a wrench and some screwdrivers, I could do a temporary fix that would get us a few miles. I’ll have to check the bearings and crankshaft seals. They aren’t good at keeping stuff out, only in.”

“I wish I was better help,” Steve said, looking at the sky.

“You are. The first thing we can do is try and move it farther back away from the river. With the flat tires, it’s going to be tough, but the farther we get it, the better chance of it not getting flooded again. I would never be able to get it to roll by myself.”

Ryan got back in the driver’s seat and pushed the brake down. Attempting to put the car in neutral, the shifter wouldn’t budge. Pushing down again, he forced it, hoping he didn’t cause more damage to his growing lists of repairs. With the engine being off, it was almost impossible getting it to go, but finally, after several attempts, the gear indicator moved to N.

Getting out, he stayed by the wheel to help steer it, and Steve pushed against the hood. The ground was muddy so they didn’t make much progress. Ryan pushed as hard as he could, gritting his teeth, partly out of trying to get the car to move, and partly out of frustration. Why wasn’t anything coming easily? All he wanted was one lousy break that would help them progress forward with
something
!

Keeping one eye on the sky, he wasn’t willing to give up just yet. With time passing, he might as well try and work on the car. It wasn’t going anywhere and he had to keep hope for something, otherwise, he’d go crazy.

“Push, Steve! If we could get it out of these muddy ruts, we might gain some traction and get it back.” Ryan pushed as hard as he could, but his feet slipped in the mud and he was unable to gain his own footing.

Slamming the door shut, he balled his fists and resisted the urge to punch the car. Not like it would matter – the exterior had been bashed in by large hail stones. His fists would cause minimal damage in comparison to what it had already been through.

Joining Steve in front of the hood, he put his palms on the metal. His heart raced with the approaching storm. He could see the line of rain coming off of the mountains – it was crazy how it looked. Dust kicked up right in front of the wall of precipitation. There was a precise line separating where it was raining and what was in the path. He had seen something like that before while out on storm spotting duty, but nothing as clear and concise as what was happening just a few miles west of where they were. Usually, storms gradually transitioned from nothing to sprinkles, to hard rain. Lately, there was no in between.

Both men struggled, grunting as they fought the dark, thick soil. The car would move about an inch, and when they let up, it would slide right back to where it was. The ground was so saturated from the river rising that the chance that it would dry out anytime soon was minimal. Ryan took a deep breath, unwilling to stop. His stubborn side kicked in and he glanced at Steve, who was sweating profusely. The humidity was getting to him.

“You ready? Let’s try one more damn time.”

Ryan counted to three and they pushed, harder, and finally got the car up over the muddy ruts. There was some thick grass behind it, enough for the tires to gain some traction, and they finally were able to push it. Ryan kept the momentum going, but moved back to the side so he could steer it. It would be just his luck – he’d forget to maneuver it and they’d slam it right into a tree, killing their last bit of hope in having a vehicle.

“There’s a grove of trees just right over there. Let’s get it under that. It won’t be much protection, but it’ll be better than having it sit out in the open.”

When they got it where they wanted,  Ryan put it back in park and shut the door. They both stood to catch their breath, both quiet as they tried to gain their composure. They had left their bags back near where Mrs. McElroy’s body was. In the midst of the excitement of moving the car, Ryan hadn’t thought about the sweet old woman.

“Moving the car was the easy part,” Ryan said, glancing at Steve. “The chances of finding the tools I need are probably one in a million. But at least we got it moved.”

“I didn’t think we’d get it out of the mud. Looks like the storm that was coming this way side tracked a little. Might be going south.”

Ryan looked in the direction Steve was pointing and rested his hands on his hips. With low-calorie intake and so much physical work being done, he was starting to feel a lapse in energy, and the day had barely started. But Steve was right – the storm was no longer coming that way. It was the break they were needing.

“We still need to watch it. With as random as everything is, it could easily swing back around and catch us off guard.” Ryan patted Steve on the back. “Good work. I couldn’t have done that without you.”

“Just let me know what I need to do. I’m not much for working on cars or knowing what the weather is doing, but I can farm and I can learn.”

“The farming might come in handy one day if this is as bad as what I’m fearing. I’d like to think this is all a huge overreaction, but my gut is telling me the worst has yet to happen.”

Ryan and Steve walked back to their supplies, both knowing they needed to do something with Mrs. McElroy. Ryan stood over her, taking his ball cap off. He had known people who had died, most peacefully, their death expected, but nothing as horrible as this. He had to tell himself that she didn’t know what hit her, but the fact that she was down by the river, not close to a highway, made him think she was trying to outrun the weather. The fear she felt made him feel like a wall had toppled over on him.

Kneeling, he pulled the impaled wood from her midsection. It felt so undignified to have her laid out on the ground like that. They didn’t have any shovels, but the ground was soft. Unfortunately, they didn’t have enough time to dig a deep enough grave. If they left it too shallow, wildlife would get her.

The sound of the rushing river was loud and only a few feet away. They could send her off that way, but the fear of tainting the water made that plan get shot down almost immediately. It was the only fresh water supply they had once their canteens and bottled water ran out.

“I know you knew this lady and you were close, but we can’t get hung up on this, Ryan.” Steve knelt beside him. “She wouldn’t want you to get tied up worrying about a proper burial for her. Besides, she’s not here anyway. It’s just her body.”

“I know,” Ryan replied, feeling his voice catch in his throat. “She deserves so much better.”

“She does, but you have to keep in mind that times are not how they were. We are in survival mode. Anything normal is gone, including burying the dead.”

Ryan stood up and gathered some branches and greenery that had fallen. Before covering her, he checked her body for anything they might be able to use. She didn’t have much on her – just a few dollar bills in her pocket and a rosary. Ryan pocketed both. The money wouldn’t be any good, and despite the fact that he wasn’t that religious, keeping her rosary helped with the closure of just leaving her body there for wild animals and looters to mess with.

He also checked her car – she didn’t have much in it either. There was a blanket in the trunk and a bag of groceries, most of it perishable and spoiling. He took the stuff that still appeared to be okay – a bag of potato chips, two brownies from her bakery, and a six pack of Dr. Peppers. There was also a few cans of corn and green beans. The thought of the soda made his mouth water, though it probably wasn’t a wise decision to drink them. It’d dehydrate him and backtrack his body in an attempt to keep functioning, but the sugar rush might give them some short-term energy.