Into the Wind

by Ginger Zee

  The boom of thunder that woke her and Mia announced that those clouds had grown into full-blown thunderstorms.

  It was the first storm Helicity had experienced since the flash flood. There’d been a few overcast days in Michigan, and in Texas, the weather had been consistently hot, humid, and sunny. She’d been grateful for the calm but wondered how she’d feel when the weather turned foul, as it inevitably would. Uneasy? Fearful? Runaway panic?

  The thunder awakened a reaction just as powerful: longing. Despite the tragedies the weather had thrust upon her, she still felt its pull. She let that longing tug her forward now.

  “Where are you going?” Mia whispered hoarsely when Helicity threw back the covers.

  “To watch the storm. You want to come?”

  Another thunderclap sent Mia diving beneath the covers. “No thanks. I’m good here,” came her muffled reply.

  Helicity stepped onto the landing, closing the door quietly behind her. Across from the half wall, the picture windows framed the sea and sky. The storm played out in front of her like a movie on the silver screen.

  More than anything, she wanted to be in that movie. But going outside during a thunderstorm was beyond dangerous. Lightning was predictably unpredictable, striking in the blink of an eye. So, she leaned her elbows on the wall to watch from the safety of the beach house.

  The storm unfolded with breathtaking fury. Billowing clouds crowded the beach. The usually glassy-calm sea was wind-whipped and crawled higher onto the shore, biting chunks out of the sand. A bolt of lightning zigzagged from the clouds, illuminating the vast Gulf of Mexico. The next bolt branched across the sky. That was cloud-to-cloud lightning—meaning the storm was mature, losing some of its power, and probably beginning to die.

  Dying or not, the lightning’s white-hot brilliance temporarily blinded her. She blinked to clear her vision, listening with awe as a crackle of thunder exploded into another bone-rattling boom before grumbling away into silence. A light patter of fat raindrops rapped at the windows and roof like curious fingers, then quickly escalated to a thrumming drumbeat.

  One part of Helicity’s brain drank in the pure wonder of the sights and sounds. Another mulled over how the storm likely developed. Thunderstorms, she knew, were born from instability in the troposphere—the layer of the atmosphere closest to the earth—and the convergence of hot air, cold air, and water vapor. It had been hotter than usual that afternoon. As the land heated up, the hot air above it had risen higher and met a cooler, vapor-laden air mass coming in from the sea. After that meeting, it was just a matter of time before the thunderstorm formed.

  The sky lit up with another lightning flash. Helicity counted off a few beats, then mimicked Andy’s flared finger explosion in time with the thunderclap.

  The boom ended with another long, low rumble. In the silence that followed, she heard a downstairs door open and close. Footsteps on the tiled floors tapped out a counterpoint to the rain. Then another door opened and closed.

  That was the kitchen door, she realized. But who would be going outside in this weather?

  She knew the answer before she even finished asking herself the question.

  Sam.

  Like her, he would have been drawn out of bed to witness the storm. But unlike her, he had decided to experience it firsthand.

  A stupid choice, she thought, remembering their pact. Maybe he’d been joking when he’d made it. But she hadn’t been.

  She raced silently down the stairs and skidded around the corner into the kitchen. She got to the door just in time to see Sam’s sedan pulling out of the parking area.

  A bitter taste rose in her mouth.

  One night. He couldn’t even keep his promise for one night.

  The brief reprieve, the warm feelings for Sam that had crept back in, were again replaced by…not indifference, but frosty anger. Anger over the chances he was taking with his safety. Anger over the ease with which he’d tossed aside her trust. Anger with herself for still yearning for him despite it all.

  Outside the picture windows, the storm raged on. She tried to recapture the exhilaration she’d felt just moments before. But Sam’s broken promise had ruined the thunderstorm’s terrible beauty for her. She turned away and went back to bed.

  The next morning, Helicity awoke later than usual. To her surprise, Trey was there already, seated at the kitchen island across from Mia. He greeted her with a broad smile that lit up his handsome face. He smelled good, too. Like clean laundry and vanilla.

  “Helicity! Thank God!” He wiggled a thumb at Mia. “She’s been giving me the third degree since I got here.”

  “I’m just trying to get to know you,” Mia protested.

  Helicity smiled. “So, what have you learned?”

  Mia ticked off her fingers. “That he’s fifteen, his parents have a cabin on a lake, and his real name is Ferdinand Eugenio Valdez…the Third.”

  He groaned. “Now you know why I go by Trey.”

  “I don’t know.” Mia tapped a finger to her chin. “I think Ferdinand suits you. Or maybe just Ferd?”

  Trey groaned again. They were all cracking up when Sam walked in from the deck.

  “I could hear you guys laughing from outside. What’s so funny?”

  At the campfire, Helicity had invited Sam to join them on their adventure, earning her a frown from Mia. She’d ignored it. Now, stung by Sam’s broken promise, she ignored him instead.

  Oblivious, Sam followed her to the refrigerator. “I’ve been down to the beach already. The storm blew in some seriously weird stuff. And how ’bout that storm? Pretty impressive, huh?”

  The open refrigerator breathed cool air on Helicity’s face, but that didn’t prevent her blood from starting to boil. “You’d know better than me about how impressive it was.”

  Sam caught her tone. “Everything all right?”

  She slammed the door and glared at him. “I saw you go out in the storm last night, Sam.”

  She expected him to protest his innocence. But he just looked puzzled. “You’re right, I was outside. I got some great video and photos, in fact. But I don’t get why that would make you mad.”

  “You don’t—Are you kidding me?”

  Helicity was so affronted that her voice rose a notch. Mia jumped off her seat to stand next to her. “What did he do this time, Hel?” she asked, darting daggers at Sam.

  “Nothing!” Sam said.

  “‘Nothing.’ Seriously?” Helicity stabbed a finger at him. “Yesterday afternoon, we made a promise not to make stupid choices. Last night, you broke that promise. Took off in your car while the thunderstorm was in full force.”

  “Whoa, wait, what?” Sam held up his hands. “No, I didn’t.”

  Helicity’s jaw dropped. “You just admitted you did!”

  “I said I was outside,” Sam corrected. “Which I was. I watched the storm from under the deck.”

  Helicity narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, right.”

  “Wait. I can prove it.” He disappeared into his room and returned with a minuscule but expensive-looking video camera. He’d had a similar device attached to his car’s dashboard, to record storms he pursued by himself, Helicity remembered. This camera appeared to be brand-new.

  “Look.” Sam positioned the camera on the kitchen island where they could all see the tiny digital screen and hit PLAY.

  The video started off with the large boom of thunder that had awoken Helicity and Mia. Sam must have been up already, though, for the images were clearly taken from outside the house. Just as clearly, the video had been shot from beneath the deck. Glimpses of the fire pit, the house’s support posts, and the outside shower revealed as much. And Sam’s voice came through loud and clear. Unless he could be in two places at one time, he hadn’t been the one in the car last night.

  Helicity stared at the granite countertop with a mixture of relief and shame. “I owe you an apology. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry you didn’t, eithe
r.” He let out a big sigh. “But I get it.”

  Mia spoke up then. “If you didn’t take your car, who did?”

  “It must have been Andy. I gave him the spare key on our trip down here.”

  “Wait,” Helicity said. “Where is Andy?”

  The others looked at one another and shrugged. “I’ve been up since eight, and I haven’t seen him,” Mia said.

  Helicity’s heart skipped a beat. Andy prided himself on being an early riser. During football season, he would get up before dawn to lift weights or take a run before school. He’d fallen out of the habit after the accident but was still up and about by nine.

  It was now ten thirty.

  “Oh, my God.” She met Sam’s eyes. “He didn’t make it back!”

  Helicity’s heart was in her throat as she and Sam ran to the kitchen door. She started breathing again when she saw Sam’s sedan next to the beach-mobile in the parking area. “He’s here.” She rested her head against the door’s glass.

  “Who’s here?”

  Helicity wheeled around to see Andy, still in his sleep T-shirt and shorts, wandering into the kitchen. “You! You’re here!”

  Andy yawned sleepily. “’Course I am. Where else would I be?”

  “I saw you drive off last night. Where did you go?”

  “Last night?” Andy glanced at Sam and the others, then back to Helicity. “I got hungry,” he said defensively. “I didn’t feel right helping myself to Suze’s food. So, I borrowed Sam’s car and—He gave me a key, did he tell you that?”

  Helicity nodded impatiently. “And?”

  “And I drove around to find something to eat. Turns out the only thing open was an all-night convenience store. So, I bought some snacks and came back. I can show you the receipt if you don’t believe me.” He shook his head, then went to the sink and filled a glass with water, which he drank in one go.

  Helicity trailed after him. “Andy, going out like that was a really bad idea.”

  Andy smirked. “What, you think I was going to get struck by lightning or something?”

  “Actually,” Trey volunteered, “I heard a big ol’ tree got zotted in the storm. It was on another part of the peninsula, but still.”

  Andy frowned. “Who are you?”

  “This is Ferdinand,” Mia said, “and he wants a tour of the Beachside.”

  “It’s Trey, and I do?” Trey asked. Mia gave him a significant look. “I mean, I do!” he amended hurriedly. Trey looked uneasy as he begrudgingly followed Mia out of the kitchen, stealing one last look at Helicity. She could feel his eyes on her. She could feel Sam’s eyes, too.

  Sam waited until they were gone, then turned to Andy. “Helicity is right. Going out last night wasn’t smart, not with that lightning, the rain, and the wind. Plus, it was dark, and you don’t know the area.” He shook his head. “Could have been bad, man.”

  Andy tilted his glass at Sam. “Key phrase there? Could have been.” He waved a hand at himself. “As you can see, I’m totally fine.”

  “But I didn’t know that,” Helicity murmured. “When no one had seen you this morning, I thought…” She bit her lip to stop it from trembling.

  Andy had worn a sarcastic look up until then. Now his expression softened. “Listen, Hel. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. But I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”

  Helicity nodded. “I know that. Just do me a favor, though, okay?”

  “Name it.”

  “Don’t get hungry in the middle of the night again.”

  He laughed. “I’ll do my best.” He refilled his glass, drained it, and put it on the island. “Nice equipment,” he commented, tapping the video camera. “Bet that set you back a few pesos.”

  Sam shrugged like it was no big deal.

  “Speaking of pesos,” Andy added, picking up Helicity and Mia’s tip jar from its spot near to the sink, “your earnings are adding up. I might have to ask for a handout if this painting job doesn’t work out.” He set down the jar with a laugh. “Now, have you seen Suze? She offered to take me to meet with the guy who needs the painting done.”

  Andy and Suze took off in the beach-mobile a short while later. Mia and Trey, meanwhile, had come up with a plan for the day—a trip to a Galveston amusement park.

  “Mia says you’ve never been to one before,” Trey said, pretending to be aghast.

  “You haven’t?” Sam looked surprised.

  Helicity shrugged. “Not unless you count those traveling carnivals.”

  “Which I don’t,” Trey said. “So, the amusement park it is!”

  A short while later, they were on the ferry to Galveston, Sam’s car tucked neatly among other vehicles on the deck. Helicity hurried to the bow of the boat, hoping to see dolphins again. After she climbed the stairs and found the perfect viewing spot, she tugged at her shorter locks, in an attempt to keep the hair out of her face. Sam joined her, and suddenly, she flashed back to their first—and last—ferry ride together.

  Sam seemed to read her mind. “Hard to believe that less than a month ago, we were headed across Lake Michigan for the start of our storm-chasing summer,” he murmured.

  “You went belowdecks to check out Mo West with Ray,” she recalled with a wistful smile.

  “Pretty sure I drove him nuts with all my questions.”

  “No,” Helicity disagreed. “He might have complained about you, but I know he liked you.”

  “Thanks.” Sam kept his eyes on the waves. “I wonder if he still does.”

  “You haven’t talked to him?”

  Sam shook his head. “How can I, Fourteen? His best friend is in a coma because of me. If our roles were reversed, and something he did hurt someone I cared about”—he glanced sideways at Helicity, holding her gaze so that her cheeks grew warm—“I wouldn’t want to talk to him, either.”

  He pushed off from the railing and walked away, leaving Helicity to watch for dolphins by herself. She wished he had stayed.

  The amusement park was located on a pier that jutted into the Gulf of Mexico. There were rides of all kinds—a roller coaster, a Ferris wheel, a flume boat with a sign that gleefully promised YOU WILL GET WET! They wandered about before stopping next to a giant pendulum ringed with outward-facing seats that hurtled through the air while spinning in dizzying circles. Its riders were screaming. With excitement or terror, Helicity wasn’t sure.

  Trey pointed at the pendulum. “We should do that first.”

  Mia nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely!”

  “I’m up for it,” Sam agreed. “What about you, Fourteen?”

  Helicity wasn’t so sure. The pendulum sparked an uneasiness deep inside her. The crazy spinning. The dirt and debris it kicked up when it swept over the ground. And the screaming. The constant screaming. It was nothing like the real-life tornado she’d survived. And yet she’d broken out in cold sweat just looking at it.

  But she didn’t want to spoil the fun, so she swallowed her trepidation and nodded. “Yeah. Let’s do it.”

  On their way over to the ride, Trey asked, “Sam, why do you call Helicity Fourteen?”

  Sam looked at him as if it was obvious, then shrugged and told him the story. “The nickname stuck,” he finished, “though there were plenty of times when Hel—with two L’s, that is—seemed to fit her better!”

  Trey glanced at her, clearly nonplussed at Sam’s dig at her expense. Helicity smiled to reassure him she didn’t take it the wrong way. At the same time, she noted how different his manners were from Sam’s. He would never use sarcasm to address a lady, not with his gracious southern style.

  Fifteen minutes later, they were strapped into chairs. Feet dangling, Helicity felt her uneasiness grow.

  A bored attendant went over the safety regulations. “This is your last chance to disembark this gravity-defying thrill ride,” he finished in a prerecorded-sounding monotone. “So, raise your hand if you’ve changed your mind.”

  I should get off, Helicity thought desperately. But sh
e couldn’t unclench her hands from the armrests to signal the attendant.

  Sam grinned at her, then did a double take. “You okay there, Fourteen?” When she didn’t answer, he started to call for the attendant. But he was too late.

  Without another warning, the pendulum swooped forward. Helicity gasped as her feet flew out into nothingness. Sky rushed toward her. Then ground, then sky again, everything whipping past faster and faster as the chairs whirled and swung, whirled and swung. Her vision swam. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the blur. But that didn’t stop the panic from rising within her.

  Beside her, Mia shrieked—not in terror, but in exhilaration. “This is awesome!”

  “Wooo-hooo!” Trey responded.

  Helicity’s throat was so tight, she couldn’t make a sound. Then, on the next downward swoop, she felt something bump against her chest.

  Lana’s necklace.

  Helicity had automatically put it on that morning. Since the plane, she’d worn it tucked beneath her shirt so she could feel its reassuring touch against her skin. But it must have come free, for now, like her feet, the lightning bolt was flying out and back.

  Grab it.

  The thought came to her in a flash. Holding the necklace on the plane had given her something real, something solid to focus on. But this time, she couldn’t bring herself to let go of the pendulum’s handholds. So instead, she latched on to the image of the lightning bolt. At the same time, she silently repeated her mantra.

  I’m a survivor, not a victim. A survivor. Not. A. VICTIM.

  The pendulum swept back down again as that last word pounded in her mind. Helicity took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

  And then she screamed and let herself enjoy the lack of control. She realized repeating her mantra gave her that bit of extra courage and she finally relaxed. Strangely, one of the most relaxing moments she had had in months came on a rickety ride at the amusement park.

  “Oh, my God.” Trey held some papers in his hands. He looked from the top one to Helicity. “I am so sorry.”