Twist of Fate

by Parker, Syd

  “Ahh, yes.” Remy rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. “And, thank you C, for bringing up that little piece of history that I had conveniently forgotten.”

  “Anytime, Chica.” Carmen shrugged innocently. “I had too. Sarah’s under the misguided notion that you are perfect, and I feel like it is my responsibility to set her straight.” She dropped her head on Parker’s shoulder. “Besides, the only perfect woman here is mine.”

  Parker blushed wildly. Anyone in the room could tell they were in love. She kissed the top of Carmen’s head quickly. “Far from it, but perfection in the eyes of my lover makes me feel like I could hang the moon.”

  “I think I just threw up a little.” Remy rolled her eyes sarcastically. “Do you think you two lovebirds can table your romance for a while and concentrate on the matter at hand?”

  Parker’s bottom lip jutted out and she pointed at Sarah. “She started it.”

  “Did not.”

  “Ladies, please.” Remy’s voice was stern but her twinkling eyes belied her seriousness. “The storm?”

  Sarah and Parker eyed her sheepishly.

  “I don’t know about you guys, but C and I are going to stay right around here. The storm’s tracking this way, and I have a feeling it’s going to stir up something crazy.”

  Sarah agreed readily. “That is if you don’t mind Parker and I stealing some of your thunder, so to speak.”

  Remy shrugged. “If the storm hits like I think it will, there will be plenty of it to go around.”

  Sarah smiled, and she caught Parker’s answering smile out of the corner of her eye. She and Remy had never chased together, and while they wouldn’t technically be on the same team, they would at least be in the same vicinity. Hopefully this time, Remy wouldn’t do anything stupid like drive straight into the tornado.

  “So, it’s settled. We need to get moving.” Remy had glanced outside and seen the approaching clouds and she knew the storm was close.

  They paid the bill and headed out to the parking lot, towards their respective cars. She shot Sarah a look over the hood. “Hey, Bonneville.”

  Sarah paused, her hand on the open door. She looked over her shoulder at Remy, and the look in her eyes made her breath catch. Her mind flashed to last night, and her heart thudded in her chest. When she spoke, her voice trembled softly. “Yes?”

  “Don’t forget.” Two words, and with them as much feeling as Remy could convey without saying I love you. Her eyes spoke volumes though. She felt the heat that passed between them, and she shivered uncontrollably.

  Sarah nodded. “Please be careful.”

  Remy smiled and threw up her hand in a small wave. She would be careful now. Sarah had asked her to. Danger no longer held a thrill for her. How could it in comparison with the feelings that welled deep within her? What use did she have to fill her life with a disregard for her safety when she was so full of love?

  Her need to chase no longer took first place in her life. Carmen had been right. All those years, she had been so focused on her mission, she had missed her life passing her by. Now, she had found a balance, knowing that love had a place, that it could co—exist and make her better.

  A loud clap of thunder made her jump. “Shit.” Remy jumped into the truck and smiled at Carmen sheepishly. “Sorry.”

  “Si, Chica.” Carmen giggled. “Sitting there waiting for the concrete to dry.”

  “Paint.”

  “Que? Paint what?”

  “It’s paint. Sitting there waiting for the paint to dry, and I wasn’t doing that. I was looking at the rather large wall cloud that blew in while you and Parker were giving each other an oral exam in the parking lot.”

  Carmen snorted loudly. “Like you weren’t giving Sarah a serious eye fuck yourself.”

  Remy nodded guiltily. “Si. I can’t help it though.”

  “So, you know exactly how I feel.”

  “Yeah, I do.” Remy agreed quickly.

  “So, what do you say we vamos, so we can get back to where we really want to be?”

  Remy started the engine and put the truck in drive. “Good idea.”

  They followed Sarah’s Chevy out of the parking lot, angling towards the southwest corner of town. Remy eyed the building storm. “It’s really moving, C. This could be bad.”

  If the storm continued on the path it was currently following, and it did drop a tornado, the southern portion of Joplin was going to be in trouble. Remy pulled into a clearing just south of the city and stopped. She pulled her camera out and started shooting pictures. “This storm is massive. Look at the rotation.”

  Carmen nodded in agreement, her eyes scanning the dark clouds above. The wind was starting to blow against them fiercely, and she darted behind the truck for protection. Bits of dirt hit her skin with stinging accuracy, and she blinked rapidly, her eyes filled with dust. “It’s getting close, Rem.”

  “I know. I know.” Remy scanned the clouds for several more minutes, her body rigid against the increasing wind. “There! There! See the tail.” Her camera shuttered a few more times. “It’s growing. This is a strong, strong storm.”

  They watched as the tail grew larger. A definite twister was taking shape several miles to the west of them.

  “Debris! It’s down, it’s down!” Remy shouted as she threw her camera into the truck and grabbed her cell phone. She dialed quickly. She had to shout over the wind blowing at her back. “There is a tornado just west of the city. We are on 44, just east of Coyote Drive. It’s heading straight up the highway.”

  She ended the call and threw her phone in the truck. Her heart pounded wildly. “We have to move now, C.”

  Remy drove through the median and headed east towards the city, her eyes on the growing twister behind them. “Shit, C! It’s massive, it’s massive! This one is bad.”

  “It’s moving so fast.” Carmen was hanging out the window, her camera poised on the doorframe. She was glad Remy wasn’t going the speed limit, or there would be no way she would be able to hang on.

  “Are you getting it?” She heard Carmen shout but her words were lost in the wind. “C? Shit, C!” She leaned over and tugged on her shirt. “Get the fuck inside the truck! C, I’m not kidding.” Her hands shook on the wheel, and she slowed the truck quickly.

  “What are you doing?” Carmen kneeled on the seat, the camera still out the window. “Keep going.”

  “No, get inside.” Remy was practically yelling. The rain had finally caught up to them, and it hammered loudly on the steel, reverberating through the truck.

  Carmen jerked the camera back inside. “Shit! Shit!” She turned around and clicked her seatbelt. “Go, go. We need to stay ahead of it.”

  Thor’s wheels spun out of control. Remy let her foot off the gas and eased the truck up to speed. “Come on, come on, move!”

  She passed cars parked along the side of the road as Carmen yelled at them to move. Remy knew they wouldn’t hear, and if they did, the more daring ones wouldn’t move. It was one thing for them to drive into a tornado and park themselves inside the fast—moving winds in a ten thousand pound truck, it was an entirely different thing for a novice in a three thousand pound car to face off with an EF4 tornado. “Stupid.”

  They came over a small hill, and the edge of the city came into view. “I’m going to try and stay in front of it, C. Don’t let us get lost.”

  “Si, Chica.” Carmen pulled a map of the city up and within moments a dot showing their location popped up. “You can stay on this road for a bit longer. Get off on 71 and go north.”

  “Back by the hotel?” Remy asked loudly.

  “Yep.” Carmen waited till they pulled onto 71 before she popped her head back out of the truck and propped the camera back on the roof. The rain had tapered off here, the line of the storm not yet at the outskirts of the city. “Shit, Rem.” She shouted into the window. “It’s gotta be a mile wide.”

  Remy’s head swept back and forth between the tornado and the road. The streets in th
e city were more deserted than she had seen them, and she said a silent prayer that it was because the tornado warning had been issued in time. She craned her neck to see over the burgeoning tree line. She could barely see the top of the wedge above the tops of the trees.

  A loud bang got her attention. “Wait! Wait!” Carmen shouted loudly, and Remy’s breath caught in her chest.

  “What?”

  Carmen slid back in. “The parking lot, there. It’s Parker. Pull over.”

  Remy cut across two lanes of traffic and pulled into an empty lot. The normally busy strip mall was deserted. Like other small towns, they still closed on Sundays. She grabbed her camera and followed Carmen down the road. Gusts of wind and small droplets of rain were just starting around them, and the tiny drops of water stung the side of her face. She suddenly questioned the sanity of leaving the safety of Thor’s ten thousand pound steel cage.

  She caught up to Carmen and grabbed her arm. “Come on, C. This is stupid. We need to get back to the truck. Sarah’s smart. She’ll move.”

  “She can’t.” Carmen pulled away, a glare in her eyes. “And, that’s Parker out there. I’m not leaving her.”

  Remy had no choice but to follow her. She saw the hood of the car propped up and knew why Carmen had been adamant to stop. A gust of wind pushed her sideways, and she braced herself to keep from falling over. She put her hand up to shield the side of her face. “What the fuck?”

  “No se. That car’s a piece of shit anyway.” Carmen was barreling down on them, her radar zoned in on Parker.

  Sarah ran to meet them. “Oh my god, you saw us.”

  “C did.” She nodded over her shoulder at the storm. “We need to get you guys out of here. Come on.” Her nerves were on edge. The tornado was so close now. She could see large bits of debris being hurled around inside it. It had already pulled up trees in its path and leveled several homes. That much was evident.

  She grabbed Sarah’s hand and pulled her after her. “Come on, Sarah!”

  “My stuff, it’s in the trunk.”

  Sarah tried to run back, but Remy grabbed her hand and held on. She shook her head. “No, there’s not enough time.”

  Sarah hesitated, but the look in Remy’s eyes made up her mind.

  She started running, her heartbeat drowned out by the thundering tornado threatening to overtake them.

  Parker and Carmen were just a few steps ahead of them, and Remy pulled Sarah, trying to catch up. The wind suddenly picked up, and Remy’s blood pressure spiked. The outer bands of the tornado were right on top of them. She grabbed onto Sarah’s arm and held her close. Her eyes watched the skies protectively. Bits of debris swirled overhead, and the truck seemed as though it was miles away, and not the length of a parking lot away.

  Remy’s head whipped around, her eyes searching for some place to take cover. They would never make it to the truck and the options were slim to nil. A gust of wind slammed them to the ground and pain shot up her arm. She tried to push herself off the ground and her wrist crumpled beneath her weight.

  Sarah grabbed her under her arms and pulled her up, her own strength surprising her. “Remy, come on!” She yelled, pulling her along, finally catching up with Parker and Carmen.

  Remy cradled her wrist against her chest, the wind making it almost impossible to stand up much less run. She wasn’t sure what made her look up, but when she did her blood chilled. A large branch was hurtling right at Carmen and Parker. She had no time to think, just react.

  “Look out!” Remy threw herself on top of Carmen and Parker, shoving them to the ground. She felt something slam into her head and her last thought before she blacked out was Sarah.

  The next few seconds passed in slow motion. Sarah screamed loudly. She watched the branch hit the back of Remy’s head, ramming it into the pavement as she fell between Carmen and Parker. She fell to her knees, ignoring the pain. “Remy! No!”

  Parker heard her yell and rolled over. She grabbed her leg and yelled in pain. She looked down at her leg and her face paled. She felt bile rise in her throat. She wasn’t sure what had happened other than when Remy had yelled look out, she turned and when Remy shoved her down, her leg had snapped. The wind whipped around her and pain shot up her leg. Carmen touched her leg and she howled in pain.

  Sarah’s screams pulled her attention away from her own suffering, and her eyes saw the blood pouring from a gash in the back of Remy’s head. Still not comprehending what had happened, she tried to reach Sarah’s arm.

  Sarah jerked away helplessly. She knelt over Remy’s body, her eyes wild. “We need to help her. Please stay with me, Remy. I love you.”

  “Sarah, I can’t move.”

  Carmen stood up, shielding them both. She knew she needed to remain calm. Sarah was a frantic mess and in no position to think clearly. She grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

  Sarah tried to throw her arm off, and Carmen jerked her around, shaking her until her eyes focused on her. There was no time for freaking out. What they needed now was to get out of the direct line of the tornado.

  “Look, Sarah. We need to move now!” Carmen nodded towards a store. “Let’s get them both over there. We can’t stay out here!”

  Something in Carmen’s words finally got to Sarah. She looked between Remy’s motionless body and Parker. “Don’t worry, Sarah. Parker, I’m sorry.”

  Parker nodded. “I know, get Remy to safety. I’m okay.”

  Carmen directed Sarah to Remy’s feet and she grabbed her under her arms. They lifted her up, and bracing themselves against the wind, carried her to the front of the store.

  “We need to get inside.” Sarah ran over and picked up a rock. She hurled it against the window and shielded her face against the breaking glass. She kicked the shards along the bottom of the window and stepped over the frame. She ran to the door, unlocked it and pulled it open. Carmen pulled Remy inside the building and ran back out into the storm.

  The rain had started falling in thick sheets, and hail was starting to cover the parking lot. She skidded to a stop next to Parker and grabbed her hand, hauling her up roughly. Her heart broke at Parker’s loud groan. She didn’t have time to stop and make sure she was okay. She could see roofs peeling off the buildings just across the street. She wrapped her arm around Parker’s waist and helped her hop the last twenty feet to the waiting shelter. She could only pray that they would be protected there.

  When they made it inside, she saw a trail of blood along the floor. Sarah had been alert enough to pull Remy away from the windows. She found them huddled in a back corner, Remy’s head cradled in Sarah’s lap. She helped Parker sit down, careful not to bother her leg more than she needed too. In the small bit of light coming in from the window at the front of the store, she could make out the unnatural angle of Parker’s leg and she fought the urge to throw up.

  “I’m sorry, Parker.”

  “Don’t be.” Parker nodded at Remy. “Is she okay?”

  “I don’t know. Sarah?”

  Sarah lifted her face up, and Parker could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. She stroked Remy’s forehead and shook her head. “She has a pulse and she’s breathing. But, I can’t stop the bleeding. We need to get her help.”

  Carmen shook her head. “I know, honey, but we can’t. Not until the storm’s over.”

  She squeezed Sarah’s hand reassuringly. She wanted to tell her she would be okay, but the sound of breaking glass stopped her words. She heard the building groan and shudder. “Oh shit!”

  Realization dawned on Sarah, and she lifted Remy’s head up and slid her arm underneath it. She rolled her body on top of Remy’s and prayed she could keep her safe. She buried her face in Remy’s neck and held on as the edge of the roof ripped away loudly. She felt rain pound her back. A thought hit her, and she pushed it to the back of her mind. Please let the walls stay standing.

  It seemed like an eternity before the howling winds and sickening sounds of buildings being ripped apart were replaced by an eerie
silence.

  “I think it’s over.”

  Carmen’s voice broke the silence, and Sarah lifted her head, brushing wet strands of hair off her face. She could finally feel Remy’s breath against her neck now that the tornado had passed. She kissed her lips, thankful that they were still warm. The blood around Remy’s head had been washed away by the rain, and Sarah hoped that meant the bleeding had stopped. She pulled off her shirt and tucked it under Remy’s head gently.

  Sarah pushed herself up. “I’m going to get help. Watch her please.” She ran outside and stopped dead in her tracks. She shivered in her tank top. The city was leveled. She swirled around and let out a cry. Aside from the walls dividing the stores and the wall along the backside, the building was gone. She saw piles of rubble where stores once sat. She wasn’t sure how the small spot where they had huddled stayed clear, and a small part of her started to believe in miracles. Now, she just needed one more.

  She heard sirens, and her eyes searched the streets. A siren meant help, and she knew Remy and Parker needed it. She ran up Range Line Road. The street was littered with debris, and she worried that if an ambulance was close, it wouldn’t be able to drive anywhere close to them. She threw up her hand in frustration. “Shit! Come on!”

  She heard the rumble of a diesel engine, and she ran around the corner waiving her arms furiously. The ambulance slowed and swerved around her and headed north on Range Line. “Fuck! Are you serious?”

  Sarah bent over, trying to catch her breath. The first few residents were starting to venture out in the street. She recognized the same stunned silence she had seen countless times before. She waived them down. “Please. The hospital. Where is it?”

  One of the men shook his head and pointed southwest. “It’s over a mile from here lady.”

  “Shit!” She couldn’t run there. Suddenly, she realized that getting Remy help wasn’t going to be as easy as she thought.

  Chapter 24

  Sarah headed further up Range Line past the debris littering the streets. She wasn’t sure what the rest of the town looked like, but everywhere surrounding her looked like a war zone. She skidded to a stop and stared down at a twisted sign. St John’s Express Care. Please, she thought.