Storm Watcher

by Maria V. Snyder

“Scared, but safe. She decided to risk her life by going out in that storm instead of waiting for it to blow over. It was her decision.” He leaned forward. “Do you think she’d want you to be so miserable?”

  Luke’s mind swirled with everything Mr. Hedge had said. But that was the one question he could answer. “No. She’d be baking me cookies, trying to make me feel better. But I can’t just turn it off.”

  “You’re right. There’s no off button. Too bad, huh? That’d be pretty sweet.”

  “Yeah.”

  “But there is a valve, and eventually you can crank that baby down to a trickle. Just like your fear of storms.”

  “But we haven’t even talked about that yet.”

  “One thing at a time.”

  Luke groaned. “It’s gonna take forever.”

  “No it won’t. Max of four years. Definitely before you graduate.”

  Four years? That was forever.

  Mr. Hedge studied him a moment. “How about I teach you a few coping techniques, see if they help you during a storm?”

  “Okay.”

  After his session with Mr. Hedge, Luke biked to the kennel and joined Megan in the kitchen. He’d been seeing the counselor for weeks and been talking about his fear of the weather, but despite that and the breathing techniques he learned, Luke still panicked during thunderstorms. And now it was the middle of May – prime time for tornados. At least his brothers had been acting normal. When he actually saw them. Hersheypark opened soon, and then they’d be working as much as possible.

  “Sweetie’s due any day now,” Megan said as she cracked the eggs.

  Willajean’s favorite papillon would be a happy mother. Then again, when wasn’t the dog happy? All Luke had to do was smile at her, and her tail flew.

  “Mom and I have bets on which day she’ll whelp.”

  “What did you bet?” Luke asked.

  “If I win, Mom has to drive me to school for a week.”

  “And if you lose?”

  “I have to clean out my closet.” Megan made an ugh face. “Hey do you want to study for the geometry test later?”

  “Can’t. I’m going to the movies with Ethan.” He and Ethan had been hanging out a lot. Just like old times.

  “Oh.” Megan focused on the bowl.

  “Besides, the test isn’t until next week.” Luke threw a piece of meat to Lightning. She snatched it out of midair.

  “Yeah, well, those proofs are hard.”

  “Call Jenna, she’ll help you.”

  “I guess.”

  A damp blast blew into the kitchen as Megan’s dad entered. He wore a flannel shirt with black jeans and shiny black cowboy boots that looked like they were more suited for a night out than for tromping around a farm.

  “Hey, Luke,” he said.

  “Hey, Mr. Duncan,” Luke replied, not comfortable with calling him Max like he’d asked.

  Megan’s face took on a guarded expression. She chopped the dogs’ meat. The knife banged loudly with each stroke.

  “What are you doing here?” Megan asked her dad. “I thought you didn’t like the smell of dog.” She swept past him with a bowl full of chopped raw liver that glistened in the fluorescent light.

  He backed up a step to avoid the bowl. Luke hid his smile.

  “Just thought I’d come visit. See why you spend so much time here, Meggie,” he said.

  “Scoping out the merchandise is more like it,” Meg-an accused. She shoved the bowl into the refrigerator.

  Wow. Luke couldn’t believe she’d just said that.

  “Megan Louise Duncan, don’t you ever talk to me that way.” Her dad took a step toward her, and she froze.

  “The rice is done,” Luke said, reminding them he was in the room.

  Mr. Duncan relaxed slightly. “Come on, Meggie, honey. I told you I was sorry. I had too much to drink that night. When I sobered up, I felt awful. But it was too late to apologize. Your mother had already called the cops. What can I do to convince you?”

  He must be talking about the night he had stolen Willajean’s puppies. He sounded sorry. If Luke hadn’t been listening to Megan gripe about her father since Christmas, he might have believed Mr. Duncan.

  Megan put her hands on her hips. “You can go back to North Carolina.”

  Luke held his breath.

  Mr. Duncan mimicked Megan’s gesture. “I’m not going back. I’ll just have to find another way. You’d better get used to me being around. I plan to stay. Fact of life.” With that, Megan’s dad left the kennel.

  Had Mr. Duncan been mocking her, or had she gotten that saying from him? Luke was smart enough not to ask.

  Megan stomped around the kitchen, banging doors, and tossing dirty cutting boards into the sink. “I’ll show him,” she mumbled under her breath.

  “How?” Luke asked.

  Megan whispered, “The vet is coming tomorrow to microchip all the dogs.”

  “What does that do?”

  “If your dog gets lost and someone finds him, they can scan the chip and trace him back to you. If your dog is stolen, you can prove he’s yours. And if he’s sold to a research lab with a microchip, they won’t take him.”

  Luke was surprised she’d said something nice about the labs. According to Megan, research labs that used animals for experiments were the ultimate evil.

  “How do you know about this?” Luke asked.

  “When the vet gave the dogs their shots, I helped her. Dr. Amy told me I should become a veterinarian because I knew so much about dogs.” Megan blushed. “Anyway, she told me about the microchips.”

  “Is it expensive?”

  Megan shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Does your mom know?”

  She shot him a dark look. “The food’s done. I need to go in and get ready for supper.”

  In other words, no, her mom didn’t know. The next morning before school, Megan charged into the kennel with the force of a tornado. Slamming doors, she shoved the dogs out of her way and threw bowls down in front of them.

  After dodging out of her way for the sixth time, Luke asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “My mother cancelled the vet visit.” Megan spat the words out.

  “Why?”

  “Too expensive. It costs fifty bucks a dog.”

  Luke calculated. “That’s seventeen hundred dollars.”

  “Plus the cost for the vet’s visit.” Megan’s shoulders sagged. “But I think the real reason is she doesn’t want to hurt Dad’s feelings, but I don’t care.” Megan’s eyes turned shiny, and her nose flushed red. “He’s why we need the microchips.”

  “He doesn’t seem that bad.” Luke tried to make her feel better. “He said he was sorry. He went through rehab.”

  It didn’t work. Megan stormed out.

  Next time, I’ll keep my mouth shut.

  At the end of the school day, Megan skipped out the doors. “I checked the web during flex time, and I can microchip the dogs myself,” she said in a rush. “I can order a microchip kit and buy extra chips. It only costs five hundred dollars.”

  He whistled. “Only? Will your mom agree to that?”

  “Doesn’t matter. I’m going to use my birthday and Christmas money I’ve been saving for years. Then Mom can’t say no.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  The rest of the week, Megan smiled more and laughed. Just like she used to do before her dad arrived. She came over Luke’s house a couple nights to do home-work and joked with Dad.

  But on Friday morning, Megan wasn’t at the kennel. In fact, no one was there. The dogs hadn’t been fed, either. Lance was in his crate. Megan’s bike was still in the shed, so Luke figured she was sick. Willajean usually came down and told him, but her
Jeep was gone. Maybe she’d taken Megan to the doctor.

  Luke debated if he should check at the house or ask Alayna at school. But he’d waited too long, and the school bus had already pulled away. If he didn’t hurry, he’d be late for school. Luke left without Megan. But he didn’t feel right, and he worried about her all day.

  CHAPTER 17

  Are You Coming?

  After school Luke raced back to the kennel on his bike. Coasting down the long driveway, he spied Dad’s car parked at Willajean’s house. His heart drummed along with the bike’s tires. Dad and Willajean talked on the front lawn.

  Lightning.

  Dad had found out Luke’d been sneaking the dog home at night. A strange clammy nausea rolled up his throat. To make matters worse, Jacob and Scott leaned against the car. And their three bloodhounds poked their heads out of the car windows.

  Huh? Why bring the dogs? Luke didn’t have time to figure it out, because as soon as he stopped his bike, everyone looked at him. His legs turned to mush. An overwhelming desire to bolt flushed through him.

  What was going on? Luke clutched his bike for support and walked it toward them.

  “Was Megan at school today?” Willajean asked.

  Confused, Luke searched her worried expression. Shouldn’t she know where Megan was?

  “The school called, but we wanted to make sure they hadn’t made a mistake,” Willajean explained.

  “I didn’t see her today,” Luke said. “Her bike was in the shed this morning. I figured she was sick.”

  Willajean said nothing, and Dad bit his lip. Finally Luke understood that they weren’t mad at him. Then why… Oh.

  “Where’s Megan?” Luke asked.

  “I think she ran away last night,” Willajean said.

  Luke gaped at her. “Are you sure?”

  “Now I am. She’s not home, and she isn’t answering her cell phone.”

  “Do you know what might have set her off?” Dad asked.

  “She had an argument with Max. She ran out of the house around nine o’clock last night,” Willajean explained. “I thought she went to the kennel to sleep with Lance. She’s been doing that since Christmas. I would have gone after her, but right after the argument, Sweetie started whelping and having complications. I rushed her to the vet.”

  Luke sucked in a breath.

  “Sweetie’s fine,” Willajean added for Luke’s benefit.

  “By the time I came home, I assumed Megan had left for school. But the school left a message on my machine. I spent the entire afternoon looking everywhere I could think of. That’s when I phoned you. Megan’s always hiking or biking in the woods. It’s the only place left that I haven’t searched. She could be lost or hurt.” For a moment, fear gripped Willajean’s face like a clenched fist.

  Dad questioned Willajean about what Megan had been wearing last night. “Do you have any family in the area?”

  “No.”

  “Did you call her friends?”

  At the last question, Willajean looked at Luke. “Luke’s her only friend.”

  No. That wasn’t possible. “What about Jenna?”

  “Jenna came out once. Megan’s just not into girl things. She’s always been more of a tomboy, and besides her friend Karen, she mostly hung out with the boys in our old neighborhood.”

  Now Luke wished he’d invited Megan along when he hung out with Ethan. Before he’d worked up the nerve to talk to Ethan, he and Megan had spent almost every day together. Guilt mixed with fear. What if she’d gotten lost in the woods? Or worse yet, what if she’d died?

  “You don’t think she intends to stay away?” Dad asked.

  “No. If she planned to stay away, she would have taken Lance.”

  “Where’s Max?” Dad asked.

  “Gone.” Willajean frowned. “He got an animal dealer license. Now he can legally buy and sell animals, even to the research labs. That’s what they argued about. After Megan ran off, I asked him to leave.”

  A gust of wind blew from the east. With Megan missing, Luke hadn’t noticed the line of thunderclouds advancing from the west. The storm fed on the heavy moisture in the air, sucking the wind toward it like a giant vacuum cleaner. Bad timing. The familiar fear swirled in his guts like a mini tornado.

  “Dad, a storm is coming,” Luke said with a steady voice despite the panic simmering in his heart.

  “Then we better hurry and search the surrounding woods before the storm washes away her scent,” Dad said.

  And with that statement, something shifted in Dad. He went from a regular dad to something…more. He moved with confidence. He kept calm. He seemed capable. Luke marveled. He’d never seen his Dad act this way before. And Luke’s fear for Megan eased just a bit.

  Unaware of Luke’s scrutiny, Dad opened the trunk of his car and unloaded his rescue pack, compasses, and a topographic map of the area. Dad had every topo map of Pennsylvania in an oversized envelope.

  “Okay, Willajean, we’ll need something with Megan’s scent on it. A shirt. Or a shoe would be better.”

  “Right.” Willajean bolted for the house.

  “Jacob, take the topo map and break the surrounding area into sections. Use ridges and streams as borders for the sections if you can. Number the sections and highlight any hiking trails, drainage routes, or power lines you find. We’ll check the easy walking terrain first before going into the denser woods.” Dad handed markers to Jacob.

  “Scott, for the first shift, you’ll man the command center.”

  “Command center?” Scott asked, glancing around the farm.

  A smile briefly touched Dad’s lips. “The car. You’ll have the topo map. Because we have only one map, and Jacob and I are going to search different sections, we’ll take the compasses and call you for guidance. You’ll mark down the coordinates of any clues we find. Okay?”

  “Got it,” Scott said, but he glanced nervously at Hounddog.

  “Is everyone’s phone charged?” Dad asked the twins.

  They all checked their batteries.

  “We should have service out here, but if it’s spotty, we’ll switch to the two-way radios.”

  While Jacob marked the map, Dad transferred a few supplies to another backpack for Jacob to carry. Then he let the dogs out of the car, and Scott helped him put harnesses on all three. When Willajean returned with Megan’s sneaker, Dad let the dogs sniff it.

  “Ranger and I will take section one,” Dad said. “Jacob, you and Moondoggie check the easy walking routes of section two. Systematic and slow, gets the job done.”

  The twins had been strangely quiet and serious the whole time, making Luke nervous. Luke’s heart squeezed when Dad shouldered his rescue pack. An extensive first aid kit was stashed inside.

  This is hardcore.

  “What about me?” Luke asked. “I want to help, too.”

  “You can wait in the kennel in case she comes back for Lance.”

  “Can you feed and let the dogs out for me?” Willajean asked. “I should be here if Megan returns, and I also need to keep an eye on Sweetie and her pups.”

  “Okay. Did anyone call the police?” Luke asked.

  “They’d just call me,” Dad said in a dismissive tone. “By the time they’d get organized, we’ll have found her.”

  With Ranger in the lead, Dad, Jacob, and Moon-doggie headed east while Hounddog stayed with Scott in the car.

  Luke ran to the kennel. Lightning danced around his feet as he fed the dogs. Luke hoped Dad would find Megan quickly. His house was east of Megan’s farm. Maybe she’d cut through the forest to visit him and had gotten lost. Which meant Dad was on the right track, and Luke shouldn’t worry. Except he did.

  Letting all the dogs out into their runs temporarily distracted Luke f
rom obsessing about Megan and panicking over the approaching storm. Lance moped and didn’t eat much. Megan’s dog leaned against Luke’s leg to get attention instead of knocking Luke over with affection. Poor pup missed Megan.

  Luke guided all the dogs back into their crates and cleaned the runs. A dark gray blanket of clouds sealed the sky. Luke rushed to pick up the piles as the wind rattled the metal fences of the runs. He drew in deep breaths like Mr. Hedge had taught him, trying to calm his racing pulse. Lance and Lightning kept him company. They sniffed around, getting underfoot. After Luke tripped over them for the fourth time, he shooed them out.

  In the distance, lightning flashed. Luke clutched the scraper hard and counted the seconds until the crack of thunder.

  He had calculated it out once. Thunder was just the sound of the lightning ripping through the air. But light moved so much faster than sound, so a five second delay between the flash of lightning and the thunder equaled one mile. This storm was about seven miles away. No immediate danger. He steadied his breathing. Seven miles meant he still had a couple minutes to get to safety.

  Unfortunately Lance and Lightning had disappear-ed. Calling into the wind, Luke frantically searched for them. Lance arrived when called a second time. Luke put him into his crate. Racing outside, Luke found Lightning digging at a bush near the edge of the woods behind the kennel.

  “Come on,” Luke said, pulling her away by her collar.

  Lightning held a brown flip-flop in her mouth. He took it from her. It was one of Megan’s. The toe strap had snapped. Luke looked underneath the bush and grabbed the other one.

  Dropping the flip-flops, he dashed back into the kennel’s kitchen to check if her work boots were by the door. Megan only wore them in the kennel. No boots, but dried pellets of mud made a pattern on the floor.

  She’s wearing them. Okay, how does that help find her?

  Outside, Lightning barked. With a nervous glance at the darkening sky, Luke hurried to fetch her. She circled Megan’s flip-flops with her nose brushing the ground. Then she headed up the trail that snaked pass the lake in the opposite direction from Dad and Ranger. Lightning stopped and looked back at Luke as if to say, “Are you coming?”