For my friend Michelle Houts, who writes children’s books and happily lives on a farm with cattle, goats, and a much adored Great Pyrenees mountain dog.
CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
DEDICATION
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
MORE ABOUT TORNADOES
TEASER
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ALSO AVAILABLE
COPYRIGHT
Wyatt Anderson came into the kitchen, holding a tub of squiggling worms he’d just dug up. Soon his best buddies, Joshua and Jackson Petree, would be arriving. They would be saddling up the horses, riding over to the pond, and fishing. Wyatt couldn’t wait!
Jackson was Wyatt’s age, ten, and Joshua was nine. They went to the same school as Wyatt and played on his football team. The Petrees lived on the next ranch over, which was about seven miles away. Out in their part of Oklahoma, there was no such thing as a close neighbor!
Wyatt’s mother hunched over the counter, scribbling a shopping list to get ready for her trip into town. His father had loaded the pickup truck with tools and had gone to mend a fence in the east pasture. The Andersons had a large cattle ranch with about eight hundred head of cattle. Usually, Wyatt loved helping out at the ranch, especially moving and sorting cattle. But mending fence was pretty boring, so he was glad his father had given him the day off — in honor of the first day of summer vacation, and also because his cousin, Alison, had just arrived from New York City for a stay.
Mrs. Anderson looked up from her list. “Where is Alison?” she asked Wyatt.
“Out in the barn with Duncan,” Wyatt said.
“Duncan is not supposed to be entertaining Alison. You are!” his mother scolded.
Wyatt just rolled his eyes. He didn’t want to entertain Alison. She was annoying. His aunt and uncle had adopted her from Korea when she was two, and the cousins didn’t see each other that often so he didn’t really know her all that well. But he wasn’t impressed by what he did know. She was giggly. She was a ballerina. She liked pink everything. They had nothing in common.
To remedy the situation, Wyatt’s mother and his aunt, Alison’s mom, came up with the idea of a cousin swap. Alison would spend two weeks at the beginning of summer on the ranch. Then the last two weeks of summer, Wyatt would go stay with Alison and her family in New York City. The grown-ups thought it would “expand their horizons.” But to Wyatt it was just plain stupid. Alison would ruin his first moments of summer fun on the ranch. And spending two weeks in a high-rise apartment cooped up with Alison sounded like torture.
His mother frowned at him. Wyatt could tell she was not pleased with his attitude.
“I can’t help it if Alison is crazy about Duncan and wants to spend all her time in the barn with him!” Wyatt protested.
Duncan was the Anderson’s big white Great Pyrenees mountain dog. He spent most of his time in and around the barn closest to the house. The barn and the fenced-in areas to the side and behind it were home to the horses and Mrs. Anderson’s small herd of pygmy goats. Duncan had an important job. He acted as companion and guardian to the animals, especially the tiny goats, protecting them from coyotes, mountain lions, and bobcats.
Wyatt heard the sound of a car pulling up, and soon Joshua and Jackson appeared by the back screen door.
“Come on in, boys,” Mrs. Anderson said.
Both of the Petree boys, with their dark hair and dark eyes, took after their mother, whose ancestors were members of the Choctaw tribe. But other than that, the boys were very different. Jackson was tall and thin with longish hair that hung in his eyes, while Joshua was short and stocky with a buzz cut. Jackson was the responsible one and Joshua was impulsive. The two boys grinned at Wyatt, and then Joshua immediately ran for the cookie jar that Mrs. Anderson always kept stocked with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. He grabbed two and stuffed one in his mouth.
“Joshua!” Jackson said, trying to remind his brother of his manners.
“Go ahead and help yourself, Joshua — and you, too, Jackson!” Mrs. Anderson laughed. She really didn’t mind. The Petree brothers were like family.
Wyatt held out the tub of worms while Jackson and Joshua munched on the homemade cookies. “Got some nice ones!” he said. “Let’s get the horses ready and head on over to the pond.”
“Take your cell phone with you,” Mrs. Anderson reminded Wyatt. “And be sure to saddle up a horse for Alison so she can go with you!”
Wyatt grabbed his phone off the counter and shoved it in his back pocket. “Alison doesn’t know how to ride a horse.” He scoffed. “She can’t come.”
“Give her Molasses. He’s old and steady. If a person can sit, they can ride Molasses,” Mrs. Anderson replied, smiling.
Wyatt tried another approach. “You should take her to town with you, Mom. She’d probably rather go shopping.”
“I’m going to the grocery store. Not anywhere exciting,” his mother said, shaking her head. “I told my sister we would give Alison the full ranch experience. Now take the boys out to the barn and introduce them to Alison. Shoo!” Mrs. Anderson waved them off.
When the three boys got to the barn, they found Alison hugging on Duncan, his tail wagging, a big slobbery smile on his face. Then Wyatt noticed something that mortified him. Alison had tied two pink ribbons around Duncan’s ears! Joshua and Jackson started cracking up at the sight.
“You’ve robbed him of all his dignity!” Wyatt cried.
Alison just giggled and stood up. And that’s when he got a good look at the lettering on her shirt. Underneath a picture of a pair of pointe shoes, it said If ballet was easy, they would call it football.
Wyatt cringed. “This is my cousin, Alison,” he said, without much enthusiasm. Maybe Joshua and Jackson would come up with some kind of wisecrack about her shirt. They would put her in her place!
But Joshua just smiled and said, “Funny shirt!” Like he was complimenting her or something. Jackson just stared at her in a dopey, love-struck way. Like he liked her. Like he liked her liked her. Good grief!
Wyatt had to admit his cousin was pretty, with her long, silky black hair and a wide smile with perfect teeth. But he felt like his buddies had betrayed him. Maybe it wasn’t fair, but part of him wanted them to give her the cold shoulder, too.
* * *
The trip to the pond should have taken fifteen minutes, but the time felt doubled because of old slowpoke Molasses. He got his name because of his deep-brown color, though now that he was getting older, the name was especially fitting. He used to work the ranch, but these days he was mostly retired.
Wyatt rode his very own horse, Licorice, who was tall, with a shiny black coat, and quick as lightning. He could cut cattle like nobody’s business! Wyatt and Licorice had even won a collection of barrel-racing trophies, but now they had to plod along because of Alison and Molasses. Beside them Joshua sat astride Cream Puff, Mr. Anderson’s handsome palomino, and Jackson rode flashy S’more, a black-and-white-spotted horse that belonged to Wyatt’s mother. The Andersons had a tradition of naming their horses after sweet treats.
Duncan dutifully trailed behind the horses. Without the pink ribbons. It was daylight and the goats were safe, but he seemed to think Alison was a new charge that needed looking after.
Alison chatted nonstop the whole way. Mostly about how lucky Wyatt was to have so many animals around. “I want a dog so bad,” she said. She looked at Duncan wistfully. “But our apartment building doesn’t allow them.”
As they neared the pond Alison broke out in song,
belting off-key at the top of her lungs. “Yippi ti yi yo, get along little doggies …”
Wyatt didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or annoyed. But soon Joshua and Jackson joined right in, singing the song, too. Wyatt let out an exasperated sigh, but he grudgingly added his voice to the mix, not wanting to be left out.
They finally reached the pond and tied the horses under the shade of a few nearby trees. Wyatt squinted, staring off in the distance, not happy with what he saw. Miles and miles away, angry dark clouds were rolling across the sky. “We’d better hurry up and get our fishing in,” he told everyone. “Looks like we’re going to be chased off by a bad storm before too long.”
The kids grabbed their fishing equipment and made their way to the edge of the pond. Wyatt looked down at the tub of worms, and suddenly a really funny idea popped into his head. He lifted the lid and shoved it under Alison’s nose, hoping to give her a good scare. It’d serve her right for spoiling the beginning of summer for him.
But instead of screaming or shrieking, Alison stuck her hand in the tub and picked up one of the wiggling worms. “Hey there, Mr. Worm,” she said. “You’re kind of cute!”
Joshua and Jackson laughed, which aggravated Wyatt to no end. He could tell how much they liked Alison. Whose side were they on anyway?
When Alison announced the worm was way too cute for her to put on her hook, Jackson gallantly volunteered. “I’ll do it for you,” he said, carefully threading the worm through the hook.
Joshua abruptly shoved his brother out of the way and squeezed in beside Alison, grabbing her pole. “Let me show you how to cast your line so the bobber ends up in the middle of the pond.”
While his friends fussed over Alison, Wyatt just busied himself with his own pole, hoping to catch the first fish of the day.
As the four sat on the bank watching their bobbers, Duncan came over and laid his head in Alison’s lap. She stroked his head and mumbled sweet nothings to him, leaning over so their noses almost touched. “Such a sweet boy. You’re a good old dog, aren’t you?”
After an hour Joshua had caught two fish and Jackson one. Wyatt had caught four. His last one was the largest catch of the day. He was the only one who was taking fishing seriously. Joshua and Jackson were too busy asking Alison all about New York City.
“Have you been to the top of the Empire State Building?” Jackson asked.
“Have you ever been mugged?” Joshua interrupted, before she could answer.
“Yes to the first question and no to the second, thank goodness!” Alison laughed. “Really, I feel very safe where I live.”
Wyatt just tried to tune them out.
Silly Alison hadn’t caught any fish. Her line would bob, but she would reel it in too late — only to find the fish had eaten the worm right off her hook. She kept looking down at Duncan and fussed over him instead of minding her pole.
The dark clouds were getting closer. A crack of lightning flashed far off in the distance. “We’d better get going,” Wyatt said.
“Hey, I’ve got something!” Alison suddenly shouted. She reeled in her line and there, flipping around, was a huge bass. Bigger than anything Wyatt had caught. “I can’t believe I caught one,” Alison said gleefully.
“Oh, man! It’s a beaut!” said Joshua.
“Not bad for a first timer,” added Jackson.
“I said we need to get going!” Wyatt said more forcefully. “The storm coming in looks bad!”
“Awww, it’s still sunny right now,” Jackson said. “We have time. No need to rush.”
Duncan started to whimper. He headed for the horses, then turned around and gave everyone a quizzical look.
“I think he wants to get back to the goats,” Alison said. “Maybe we should head home.”
Wyatt should have felt grateful that Alison was agreeing with him. But when he looked at the ominous clouds, all he saw was a dark mirror of his mood. Plus, with Molasses slowing them down, they’d be lucky to make it back before the rain hit.
* * *
The angry darkness chased the kids as they rode back to the barn. Wyatt kept looking over his shoulder. There was something different about this storm. The clouds marched in a tall tower that was at least a couple of miles high. And they were tinged an eerie green. Thunder sounded in the distance. But oddly, as they approached the barn, the sun was still shining brightly.
By the time they got within a hundred feet of the barn, rain cut loose from the heavy cloud wall and began to pelt them. Each drop stung Wyatt’s face. Alison shrieked like it was great fun riding in the rain. An adventure. Joshua and Jackson laughed, too. But Wyatt didn’t appreciate getting soaked to the bone. The air had turned cold, and as the wind started to pick up, he shivered and hustled toward the barn, where he jumped off Licorice and opened the door, letting everyone inside.
They took the tack off the horses and put their gear away, then rubbed and brushed the horses down before leading them into their stalls. Duncan trotted off to check on his goats, with Alison close behind. She climbed into the pen, scratched the mama goat under her chin, then picked up one of her tiny week-old triplet babies and nuzzled it with her cheek. “You are sooooo sweet,” she said. “I wish I could take you home with me.”
Duncan barked.
“Oh, and you, too, Duncan!” Alison laughed. “I would probably have better luck bringing a pygmy goat into the apartment than Duncan,” she called to the boys. “I can’t believe how small these goats are. Even the mama. Duncan is way bigger!
Just as Joshua and Jackson were about to climb into the goat pen with Alison, Wyatt turned to them and frowned.
“We should go inside,” he said. He wanted to change into some dry clothes and play video games with Joshua and Jackson before they had to go home. But all at once an ear-shattering clatter shook the metal roof of the barn.
The kids all jumped in surprise.
Hail? Wyatt wondered. He peeked out the barn door while the others scrambled over the rails of the goat pen after him. Hailstones about the size of golf balls bounced off the ground.
“Holy cow!” Jackson said.
“Oh my gosh!” Alison stood with her mouth gaping open.
Joshua stuck his hand outside, like he wanted to catch a piece of hail. Jackson quickly pulled his younger brother back. “Don’t be stupid. That hail is big enough to hurt you!”
Then just as suddenly as the hail started, it stopped.
“Man, that was weird!” Joshua said.
“It was. But it’s over now, so let’s head for the house,” Wyatt said. “I need to beat you guys at FreakFighters!”
“I love that game!” cried Alison. “And I’m pretty good at it, too!”
Wyatt looked at her like she was crazy. How could she think he’d been talking to her? Like a ballerina could beat him at FreakFighters. Yeah, right.
As the kids walked toward the house, the air felt oddly still. Quiet. It was unsettling. Especially after the driving rain and hail they’d just experienced.
Wyatt looked westward, the direction the storm had come from, and saw something so surreal and terrifying on the horizon that he had to do a double take to make sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him. For a moment he stood absolutely still, awestruck by the enormous funnel cloud that kicked up swirling columns of dust in the distance. There was something hypnotizing about it. Part of Wyatt wanted to stand there and watch, but soon his common sense took over.
“Tornado!” Wyatt screamed. “Get to the storm shelter!” He pointed at the cellar doors by the side of the house. “We have to get to shelter. Run!”
For a split second, the others froze in their tracks, startled by Wyatt’s outburst, until they, too, saw the tornado. The wind picked up and whipped around them, pushing away the stillness, and all four kids bolted, making a beeline for safety.
Wyatt was surprised to see Alison outrun them all. She was fast and reached the cellar doors first, quickly followed by long-legged Jackson. They heaved open the doors, revealing
a staircase down to the cellar, and paused for a moment, waiting for Wyatt and Joshua to catch up.
“Don’t wait. Get inside!” Wyatt yelled.
Jackson and Alison obeyed his command and disappeared down the steps, with Joshua scrambling in close behind them. Phew! We’re all safe, Wyatt thought as he darted down the first few steps and reached to close the doors. But before he could get a hold of them, a flash of pink streaked by.
“Duncan is in the barn,” Alison shouted as she rushed back up the steps. “I have to go get him and bring him to the cellar!”
“Are you nuts? Get back here!” Wyatt lunged for her, but she slipped out of his grasp. “There’s no time!” he yelled after her with desperation and fury in his voice.
Alison turned and looked at him briefly with panicked eyes. The wind flung her long dark hair every which way. And then in an instant she was gone. Running away from them. Away from safety.
And into the path of a monster.
“Stay here!” Wyatt called down to Joshua and Jackson. “I’ll be right back.” Then, without thinking, Wyatt went after his cousin, running as fast as his feet could carry him. By now the wind was howling. The tornado was bearing down. In a matter of minutes, it’d gotten dangerously close, and a veil of dirt stung his eyes.
“Alison!” he screamed into the wind. But she didn’t seem to hear him. The distance between them grew larger. Alison’s legs were strong from ballet, and they carried her through the gusts of wind that kept knocking Wyatt off course. He fought back, zigging and zagging his way after her, too afraid to glance to the side to see where the tornado was.
He sensed the presence of something hurtling through the air toward him and instinctively raised his arms for protection. The flying tree branch that rushed past barely missed him, coming within inches of knocking him in the side of his head.
Don’t let anything happen to my family, thought Wyatt. Even Alison. If the tornado will just change course, I’ll be nicer to her, I swear. How much time did he have left to save her? A few minutes? Seconds? Soon it would be too late.
Tornado Alley Page 1