“We have to,” Jasmine said as she shook off his hand and pushed through the door. Wind swept the door back against the building with a crash that shattered the glass. The sound jolted Teddy from his thoughts and propelled him reluctantly forward.
“We can use my truck,” Teddy said. The wind battered at them as they crossed the lot and Teddy realized the snow was all heading in the same direction, just as it had earlier right before that towering funnel appeared.
It’s coming, Teddy thought.
“Which one is your truck?” Jasmine said from the front of the short line.
Teddy pointed at the mound of snow closest to the building. The tops of the tires were still visible, but not much else could be seen. Leaning into the wind, they approached the truck as Teddy spotted movement from the corner of his eye. On his right the snow was gathering itself up into a funnel and he briefly imagined what it would be like to let something like that take him. He glanced to his right, noting how the funnel had already formed and was stretching itself to its full height.
They were twenty feet away when the funnel slammed itself down upon the roof of the truck. Glass shattered, the force of the blow flattened the roof of the cab, and two of the tires exploded as what looked like a mountain of snow was dropped on top of the vehicle.
“What the hell was that?” Jasmine said as she fell back against Teddy.
“It doesn’t want us to leave,” Teddy said as the sound of approaching footsteps came to him from the right. He glanced in that direction to see the thing Norman had become shambling towards them. The snow was gathering itself up for another display of its power. Teddy grabbed the two women and propelled them ahead of him across the parking lot.
“Where are we going?” Jasmine said
“I don’t know, but we gotta get out of here.”
From the storm behind them they heard the sound of the building they had recently inhabited as it was torn asunder by that which inhabited the storm. Parts of the building rained down around them, slamming into the snow-covered pavement.
“There’s David’s truck,” Jasmine said as she led them towards another innocuous pile of snow. “I have his keys.”
They were within ten feet when a thick arm of snow slapped down upon the truck, destroying it.
“We’re not going to get out of here alive,” Judy said.
“Keep going, it takes it a little while to build up its strength.”
“Takes what?” Jasmine said.
“I don’t know,” Teddy answered truthfully.
Be it divine intervention or just plain dumb luck, they all heard the sound of a motor idling somewhere ahead of them in the storm. They moved towards the sound, coming to the back of a Ford Super Duty that sat idling in the middle of the entrance.
“That’s Marie’s truck,” Teddy said.
Together they followed the side of the bed to the cab. The driver’s side door was closed and Teddy knocked on the glass. When no one answered, he pulled open the door.
Marie sat behind the wheel of the truck, frozen solid, a grimace of pain permanently etched upon her face. Her husband sat beside her, his head turned to look into the back seat, locked in that position by the bone-numbing cold that filled the cab.
“We’re gonna die,” Judy said.
“Not if I can help it,” Teddy said as he climbed onto the running board. He hadn’t known Marie for very long, so his heart held no remorse as he pulled at her arm and watched impassively as her body tumbled from the cab. “Open the other door,” he said as he climbed in behind the wheel.
In the rear view side mirror, which was heated to prevent ice from building up on its surface, he noticed the falling snow as it turned in one direction, gathering itself up for another display of its power. Snowflakes that had once been swirling aimlessly about turned to follow a single path leading to a point somewhere behind them. There was no time to mourn, no time to worry. No time for anything but running. How far would they get on a quarter of a tank of gas? he wondered as he glanced at the fuel gauge.
More like how many gallons to the mile. He recalled Marie’s response to one of the other managers’ question about the behemoth’s range when she originally purchased the truck.
Judy struggled with Albert’s frozen body as Teddy watched the towering funnel of snow gathering directly behind them. They were quickly running out of time. He reached across the center console and pushed Albert out the door. Judy clambered in as Jasmine climbed into the back seat. The base of the funnel of snow behind them was twice as wide as the truck and he knew it was about to happen.
Jasmine watched through the back window as the funnel of snow drew itself up to its full height. She sensed a sentient purpose to the apparent aimlessness of the swirling snow. High above her, the top of the funnel double over along its length, the black eye seeming to survey the scene below it, and in that bleak emptiness she felt its purpose. She was witness to something she could not comprehend. She could, but to accept that explanation would mean she’d have to throw out everything she ever believed in up until this moment. Yes, there was a god, yet at the same time there were gods, minor deities who ruled various aspects of the natural world around them. Weakened over the years by man’s indifference to their power. Hesitantly, she reached out to it on an emotional level.
Suddenly the funnel pulled back, its top vanishing into the swirling snowstorm, and she knew what was coming. She had seen its power when it crushed Teddy’s truck, only at the time she had not known what she was witnessing. Now she understood and a timbre of fear echoed in her voice as she yelled at Teddy, “Get this thing moving.”
“I’m trying,” Teddy said as he yanked down the shift lever and tromped his foot on the gas. Jasmine watched, fascinated and afraid at the same time, as the funnel of snow descended towards them. The rear of the truck fishtailed as the funnel slammed into the empty road where the truck had once stood. It unfolded like a collapsing tower as they raced ahead of it. Jasmine couldn’t look away, terrified yet fascinated. The truck was jolted to one side, its tires momentarily losing traction, spinning on ice and snow, as the last of the funnel slapped the rear of the bed, snatching away the tailgate, shattering the taillights, the pieces not dropping to the ground but spinning away into the void of the funnel, vanishing into the emptiness that resided in the eye. Then the individual snowflakes that filled the walls of the funnel were released to follow their errant paths to the ground.
All of this Jasmine watched, aware that this time they had avoided death. But would they be as lucky the next time?
The windshield wipers struggled to keep up with the falling snow. Chunks of ice adhering to them left wide streaks on the glass as they whipped back and forth. Teddy yanked the wheel to the left as a snow-covered object loomed up in front of them. Jasmine and Judy screamed as they were thrown to the side in their seats. The sound of tearing metal came from the right front corner as they grazed the back of a snow plow that had become stuck.
Teddy was aware of a face at the window in the cab of the truck as they passed by on its left, then the truck faded into the storm as they continued on their way. He had an idea, as far-fetched as it seemed, that they could get out of the storm by driving to its edge, and maybe beyond the influence of that which inhabited the storm. None of them were really safe under those churning clouds.
More objects loomed up in front of them, the snow covered lumps of abandoned vehicles. The snow changed direction again, gathering itself up by pulling together individual snowflakes to create a whole. He glanced into the rearview mirror, taking his eyes from the road for only a moment, but that was all it ever took, a moment of inattention.
Chapter 31
They came to a shuddering stop, crashing into the rear of an abandoned vehicle, knocking the snow from its roof, and exposing the window that in turn revealed the shadow of someone who had taken refuge from the storm inside. Judy screamed as Teddy slammed the shifter into reverse and stomped on the gas pedal. All four wheels s
pun on the slick snow as they inched backwards; the tires spun crazily but the truck was moving so painstakingly slow. The vehicle in front of them followed, their bumpers locked by the impact of the crash, the transmission straining as it carried the weight of both vehicles.
Jasmine watched through the rear window as that towering funnel of snow quickly grew behind them. Vanishing into the dense clouds above, gathering itself up for a killing blow. It undulated like a twister ripping across the open plains, then lashed forward like a whip transferring all of it power to the tip.
At the last moment, the conjoined bumpers surrendered to the incessant pull and they shot backwards at an angle, darting out from under the funnel of snow as it slammed into the ground. The funnel crushed the car they had been entangled with in a plume of snow that slowly settled to the ground around the flattened vehicle. Teddy glanced at Judy, hoping she was not aware someone had been in that vehicle, relieved to find her attention fixed on the storm behind them as it gathered itself up for another blow.
He dropped the shift lever into drive and pulled away, skirting around the wreckage, his gaze settling on the blood that was slowly staining the snow a bright red. He felt sick to his stomach. He had just witnessed the death of an innocent stranger and for some reason that carried more weight with him than what he had seen at the call center, all of which had taken on the feel of a half-forgotten dream. Guilt assailed him. His inattention had caused the death of another and he struggled to push away the feelings as they raced headlong into the swirling sheets of falling snow. Later there would be time to contemplate his actions, but for now he had to remain focused on one thing, getting them out.
“Do you think we’re safe?” Judy asked as she looked around with haunted eyes.
“Not yet,” Teddy sad, refusing to take his eyes off the road. Headlights loomed ahead of them, coming from the other direction, followed by a plow that raced through the storm, its blade lowered, the snow lying on the road before it tossed to the side.
“Shouldn’t we try to stop them?” Jasmine said.
“Why? It doesn’t want them. It wants us.” He glanced away from the road. “It wants Judy.”
They had been climbing a slight incline and from the sheets of swirling snow ahead of them the hump of the hill materialized; beyond it the day looked brighter, as if the storm had dissipated along the ridgeline. As Teddy had hoped, the massive bulk of the Big Savage ridge had kept the storm confined to the lower elevations surrounding Frostburg. Beyond the ridge lay safety. It was just a matter of getting there in one piece.
“We’re almost there,” Teddy said.
The snowflakes falling around them shifted direction again, falling into that familiar pattern, and Teddy squashed the gas pedal beneath his foot, grinding it into the floorboard in an attempt to squeeze out every last bit of power from the engine screaming under the hood. But no matter how much power he put to the transmission, they were restricted by the need to remain in four-wheel drive low in order to keep their traction on the slick road. Sweat beaded on his forehead as the hump of the ridge slowly got closer. The wind shrieked around him, crying out in defiance, and rage, he was sure, at their eminent escape.
“It’s coming,” Jasmine screamed as that towering funnel of snow, the biggest she’d seen yet, dropped towards them with a savage intensity.
They were moving too slowly. Teddy realized as he watched through the mirror on his left. The funnel slapped into the ground behind them, sending up plumes of snow from the force of its impact, the air around them filled with the thundering sound of their impending doom. He ground his foot harder on the gas pedal, coaxing every last bit of speed from the truck, aware that it was not nearly enough for them to escape unscathed.
The bed of the truck vanished beneath the falling mountain of snow. The truck bounced up as that immense weight bent the frame in the middle, causing the body to fold in up on itself. The roof of the cab was mere inches from the bed of the truck. Judy groaned, holding her hand over her forehead, blood trickling down her face from the wound she had received. Jasmine was worse off. She was trapped in the back seat.
Teddy opened his door and slid from behind the wheel. Reaching back in, he pulled Judy from the cab of the truck as the wind shrieked around them with an inhuman voice.
“Can you get out through the side window?” Teddy said as he hunkered down to look in at Jasmine, who was encased in the cab of the truck. There was only a narrow opening for her to squeeze through, and he reached in to help her.
“Grab my hand” he said.
Jasmine grabbed his hand and Teddy pulled. Jasmine screamed in agony.
“It’s my leg. It’s stuck.”
Racing around the crumbled truck, Teddy looked in from the other side. Jasmine was indeed stuck, her leg trapped between the seat cushion and the back of the front seat. Teddy pushed against the seat back. It moved an inch and he shoved again, getting another bit of movement.
“Can you get your leg out now?”
“Yes.”
Teddy raced around to the other side as the snow quickly changed to one direction. Judy stood transfixed, gazing up at the funnel of snow that was quickly gathering itself up.
“Give me a hand here,” he shouted and she jerked into action, dropping to her haunches to help Teddy pull Jasmine from the truck. Only her head and shoulders had cleared the wreckage when a familiar sound came from the storm around them. It was the thundering roar of the snow slamming into the ground, causing the earth to rumble beneath their feet.
Jasmine screamed.
They were driven back by the falling mountain of snow that cut off Jasmine’s scream in mid-note.
“We gotta get outta here,” Teddy said, pulling Judy to her feet and dragging her towards the hump of the ridge that was only a hundred yards away.
“What about Jasmine?”
“There’s nothing we can do for her now,” Teddy said as he pulled at Judy’s arm.
She stood rooted in place, her gaze fixed on the flattened wreckage of the pickup buried beneath a pile of snow. Jasmine’s hand protruded lifelessly from the bottom of the pile, her fingers bent into a beckoning gesture. Judy took a step towards her and Teddy pulled at her arm. “There’s nothing we can do, I’m sorry.”
Judy spun around to confront him.
“Are you going to leave me like that too?”
“What?”
“What if we can’t get away? What then? Are you going to leave me behind?”
“If we can make it to the ridge we should be safe,” he said as he glanced back over his shoulder at the hump in the road. Beyond the hump he was sure he saw the sun lighting the overcast day. “If we can get to the other side, we might be safe.”
“And if we’re not?” Judy said.
“We gotta try.”
The wind shrieked around them, tearing at their clothes, trying to drive them back the way they had come. With their heads down, their hands interlocked, they bent into the wind and walked as fast as they could towards the hump of the ridge ahead of them.
From the wreckage behind them came a stir of movement. Jasmine’s lifeless hand drew itself into a fist as the arm was drawn into the pile of snow. Snow slid to the ground, the pile disturbed from within as Jasmine’s head emerged and she pushed herself to her feet, bits of snow falling from her body as she stood. She spotted Teddy leading Judy towards the hump of the ridge and set out after them.
The errant paths of the swirling snow suddenly straightened as that irresistible force slowly gathered itself. Teddy felt himself slipping backwards, the howling voice of the wind the only thing he could hear as they neared the hump of the ridge.
“It’s happening again,” he said.
“Why can’t it leave us alone,” Judy screamed as the snow was drawn into a swirling funnel that quickly grew behind them.
Teddy spun around to watch and saw Jasmine staggering out of the wreckage. Judy saw her as well and yanked her hand from Teddy’s grip. She ran back towards t
he truck.
“Don’t,” Teddy cried out and chased after her. He caught up with Judy twenty yards from the truck.
“It’s not her,” he said.
Judy watched as Jasmine approached them, her steps faltering as she stumbled forward.
“We gotta help her.”
“It’s not Jasmine.”
“Like hell it’s not. She’s still alive,” Judy said. She pulled herself away and ran towards the shorter woman. When she was a few feet away, she stopped abruptly as Jasmine’s features came into view. Jasmine’s flesh had been replaced by glacial ice, her eyes burning with a blue-tinged white light. She reached out for Judy, who stumbled back as Teddy came up behind her.
Teddy shoved Jasmine back and she latched onto his arm, the chill of her icy flesh freezing his own flesh through his heavy coat. The storm was gathering itself up for another strike. Teddy yanked his arm away and Jasmine leaned towards him with her arms outstretched, trying to encircle and trap him.
“Run,” Teddy shouted to Judy, who stood rooted in place. She took a hesitant step back, then another, before she turned and fled into the storm. Teddy kicked out, planting his foot squarely in Jasmine’s stomach, and pushed her away from him.
He turned and ran as that towering funnel of snow grew above his head. He caught up with Judy, propelling her forward as they approached the hump of the road. Then it came to them, that thundering roar they could feel through their feet, and Teddy shoved Judy over the hump just as the snow slammed into the ground behind him. He was driven forward, beyond the hump in the road, sliding across the snow towards the edge beyond which lay a sheer drop to the freeway nearly a hundred feet below.
The world spun around him crazily as he slid towards the edge of the cliff. As he passed under the guardrail, an older type comprised of thick stranded steel cables suspended between steel uprights. He grabbed the cable, and a broken strand of the wire pierced his palm as his feet swung out over the edge. He pulled himself back as a hot jolt of pain scrambled the length of his arm as blood seeped out from between his fingers clasped around the cable.
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