Heart of the Storm

by Nicole Stiling

  Wood began to creak and splinter above them. Glass shattered. Thunder continued to reverberate relentlessly. Juliet had been involved in a few dangerous situations in her life, but this particular situation was now at the top of terrifying moments. She could only pray that Dec had managed to get to safety and wasn’t nearly as scared as she was right now.

  Sienna continued to hold on tightly, and Juliet heard a slight whimper. She rested her chin on Sienna’s head and smoothed the back of her hair.

  “This is how it ends, huh? You and me, curled up together under a table?” Sienna asked, her heart pounding against Juliet’s like a hammer. Her voice shook with fear, and Juliet appreciated her taking a moment to sarcastically state the obvious.

  “I could think of worse ways,” Juliet said. She was trying to be sweet, but it came off as flirtatious and probably inappropriate. Her eyes widened for a second, but she decided that their predicament overruled any stupid thing she could say. It wasn’t like Sienna would remember what they’d talked about when this was all over, anyway. She was too afraid.

  The small rectangular windows inside the basement began to rattle like nickels in a tin can. It was pitch-black outside, and a piece of picket fence flew by. A thousand thoughts began to flood Juliet’s mind. Maybe this really was it, the end. Her breathing began to get shallow, but she closed her eyes and told herself over and over again that they were in the safest possible location. Underground and under a heavy object to protect them. If only her son were with them.

  The roaring rumble grew closer and closer. Juliet held on to Sienna and their bodies melded into one another. The noises above suggested that the station above them was shaking and flexing, and Juliet briefly wondered if they would be crushed and suffocated. She had a sudden urge to get up and run toward the stairs, questioning if it would be better to just get sucked into the vortex rather than flattened bone by agonizing bone.

  She fought the urge, thankfully. After what felt like hours, the roar began to subside. The thunder had gained some distance, and the growl of the twister sounded more like a loud motorcycle instead of a locomotive.

  Neither of them moved for a few long moments. Eventually, Sienna pulled her head back slightly.

  “Is it over?” she asked quietly, lifting her head.

  Juliet stretched her jaw to unblock her ears. “Maybe. I’ll go check.”

  Sienna tightened her grip on Juliet’s shirt, pulling her back down to her knees. “Don’t leave, for God’s sake,” she said with a bewildered expression.

  “I’m not, I just want to make sure the storm is over. I’ll be right back, I promise.” Juliet gave Sienna’s hand another squeeze in confirmation.

  Juliet walked toward the stairs, taking hold of the rickety railing that had probably never been replaced. She got about halfway up when she remembered the doorknob incident. “Shit,” she muttered, taking it from where she’d dropped it on the stair. She walked up the rest of the way and tried to force it back on, hoping the other knob hadn’t fallen out the other side. It wasn’t happening.

  “I forgot the doorknob came off. I’ll have to kick the door in,” she called down to Sienna, who was standing at the bottom of the staircase. Sienna’s expression was a cross between desperation and amusement.

  “Okay,” Juliet said out loud, psyching herself up. She shook out her hands and shifted her weight onto her back foot while still holding onto the old railing.

  “UGH,” she gasped, as her work boot hit the door with a good amount of force. The door didn’t break; it didn’t even budge. Juliet faltered from the impact but caught herself on the stone wall before she could tumble down the stairs. “Little harder than I expected. No big deal.” She didn’t want to admit it, but she was mortified that Sienna had witnessed that.

  “Maybe we should go a different route.” Sienna held her cell phone up. “I don’t have any service right now, but maybe text would work? If we can find some kind of working Wi-Fi connection. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

  “We could do that, or I could just break this fucker down.” Juliet grunted, giving the door another high kick to the middle. When she almost fell again, and the door didn’t seem any less stuck than it was before, she relented. “Fine, we’ll try your way.” She threw the doorknob down the stairs like a child and watched as it bounced on the concrete. So much for heroic moves meant to impress.

  “The storm must have taken out the cell tower,” Sienna said. She kept pressing send and she kept getting the “call failed” message. She held it up for Juliet to see. “I’ll try texting just in case.”

  No sooner had she pressed send than the telltale exclamation point with the circle around it popped up. Not delivered. She walked from point to point throughout the basement looking for a signal. Juliet watched as she held her cell phone higher and higher in the air.

  “No texting either,” she said, dejected.

  “I’ll try mine,” Juliet said. “Dammit, I left my phone on my desk.” She patted down her pockets again just to make sure.

  “Well, this is great.” Sienna rubbed at her throat. “What are we supposed to do?”

  “Nothing,” Juliet said. “We wait. They’ll figure out we’re down here soon enough, and they’ll get us out. Don’t worry, we’ll be fine.”

  Juliet clapped her hands together and went to the section of wall in front of the stairs where boxes were stacked nearly ceiling-high. She sorted through the first few and found nothing of interest, mostly just office supplies that would probably never see the light of day again. She pulled out a few dusty bottles of Poland Spring water from the third box and held them up triumphantly.

  “These expired…nine years ago, but they should be fine. It’s just water, right?” She handed them to Sienna, who took them with trepidation.

  “Is drinking water the smartest idea, considering our predicament? What about the windows?” Sienna asked. Juliet detected a mild note of panic in her voice.

  “The heavy iron bars could be problematic. It’s a police station, after all,” Juliet said. She bit the inside of her cheek.

  “Yes, I know that. I meant to call for help.”

  “They face the back lot. I’ll see if anyone is back there, but I highly doubt it.” Juliet climbed onto an old garden pot she’d pulled over to the window and peeked out one of the two dirt-caked rectangles. The only thing in the back lot was a tree that had fallen. Its still-leafy branches created a blockade from anything beyond the back lot. “No one.”

  Sienna breathed out slowly. She checked her phone again. “Still nothing.”

  Juliet removed the pin in the back of her hair to let it fall. The tightness of the twist she’d put it in earlier was giving her a headache. She plucked a few blond strands off her shirt and let them fall to the floor. Something in the far corner caught her eye.

  “Hey, come here,” she called, waving Sienna over.

  “What is it?”

  “I mean, it’s not ideal, but just in case.” Juliet nodded toward a yellowed urinal mounted to one of the makeshift framing walls. It was enclosed by crude borders made of wooden posts to insinuate a modicum of privacy. “This must have been the bathroom back when it was first built.”

  “I’ll hold it,” Sienna said, disgust evident in her expression.

  “Suit yourself.” Juliet gave her a quick smile. “We’re lucky to be alive. I’m sure Declan is trying to get ahold of us as we speak, so we should be out of here in no time.”

  “You’re right. Should I try the door again?”

  “If you want to,” Juliet said. She knew there was no point, but if it made Sienna feel like she was doing something, then there was no harm in it. She took the tablecloths she’d fashioned as soft protection from any possible debris and laid them out against a few large totes labeled “decorations.” In all her time on the police force, they hadn’t decorated for anything, so she had no idea what was actually contained in the totes. She kicked away a rogue coffee can that had probably been used as a
n oil collector at some point. Her improvised seating area wasn’t perfect, but at least it was clean.

  “It’s very dark in here,” Sienna said. The sliver of light provided by the windows was fading fast. Rain was still beating down on the pavement outside.

  Juliet tugged on the frayed pull cord of a single lightbulb screwed into a fixture above her head. She’d hoped that it was just switched off, but no such luck. After several tugs yielding the same result, she let up.

  “The tornado probably knocked out the power. We can use the light of your phone if we need to,” Juliet suggested, searching for things to say to help Sienna’s obvious anxiety.

  “I’m only on thirteen percent. Why didn’t I charge it on my way here?” Sienna sighed dramatically and sat on the tablecloth; her shoulders slumped.

  Juliet sat next to her, cross-legged. “We’re okay, really.”

  “Your optimism is enviable. But don’t you think this situation warrants a little panic? I can’t rule out an anxiety attack. We just survived some sort of freak storm-of-the-century, and we’re going to die in this drab, spider-filled basement.”

  Juliet rolled her eyes. “So dramatic. Come on, everyone is fine, everything is fine. I’m sure of it. It’s not like it was an F5 or something.”

  “EF5.”

  “What?”

  “You said F5. It’s EF5. They don’t use the Fujita scale anymore. They use the Enhanced Fujita scale now. The Weather Channel ran a whole special on it,” Sienna said.

  Juliet shook her head. “Okay, fine. EF5. It wasn’t that. We don’t get those here.”

  “You also said we don’t get tornadoes here.”

  “Sienna. I’m not a meteorologist. I don’t know for certain that it wasn’t an EF5, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. Those monsters wipe out whole towns.” Juliet couldn’t help her exasperation at the minutiae Sienna seemed to be focusing on. It was probably just a coping mechanism, but still.

  Sienna looked at the ceiling and wiped away an imaginary cobweb. “Sorry,” she whispered, moving closer to Juliet. “I’m scared. Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. We’ve just been through a…thing. A big thing. I didn’t mean to be snappy with you.” Juliet reached over and took Sienna’s hand, trying to forget about the tension they’d been mired in. She found it interesting that Sienna didn’t pull away. Juliet wasn’t sure why she was being so touchy-feely all of a sudden, but maybe the brush with death had something to do with it.

  “So…how are things with you?” Juliet asked, breaking the silence.

  Sienna laughed. “Good, you?”

  “Good, good. Thanks for asking.”

  Juliet cracked open a bottle of expired water and took a long sip. “Ahh. Want some?”

  Sienna shook her head.

  “Have you, you know, moved forward with the whole divorce thing?” Juliet averted her eyes, looking over at an abandoned bicycle. It was probably none of her business, but she felt compelled to know what direction Sienna and Will’s marriage was heading.

  Sienna seemed taken aback but engaged nonetheless. “Yes, I have. Our lawyers have been in contact with one another, and at this point I’m just waiting for a hearing date.”

  “What happens then?”

  “Once the judge signs off on it, we wait ninety days and then it’s over. The marriage is dissolved. We’re single and free to live our lives separately. All told it will take about four months,” Sienna said.

  Juliet nodded. She was battling with herself about how far to take the conversation. She didn’t want to pry, or piss Sienna off, but if they were supposed to be friends, then they should be able to be open with each other. Right?

  “Are you happy about it?”

  Sienna tilted her head. “I don’t think happy is the right word. I know it’s for the best. I’ll be happier and I’m sure he will be too. I need to start looking for my own place sooner rather than later.” Sienna paused. “It could get contentious. I hope it doesn’t.”

  “Last I knew, he was still hoping for reconciliation,” Juliet said, still not making eye contact. There was a sudden pit in her stomach that swigging water wasn’t helping with.

  “I know. I hope you don’t think I’m cold for saying so, but that’s not going to happen. We’ve been together a long time, and I’ve been considering this for a long time. I wanted it to work out, I wanted to create a stable family for myself, and for Declan. But I’ve tried for too long and nothing has changed. This isn’t Will’s fault. It’s not my fault. It just is.” Sienna looked across the basement, her eyes watery in the dim light. “In my heart, I’ve been alone for a long time, Juliet. I tried to tell him, over and over, so it wouldn’t come as a shock. But it did anyway. I’m sure I could have done things differently. He could have, too. I don’t know.” She crossed her arms over her stomach. “I’m sorry if this puts you in an awkward position. I know how much you care about him.”

  Juliet nodded. “I do. He’s been a great friend and excellent father. But that doesn’t mean that I agree with him on everything. We rarely agree on anything. And I know how he can be. Trust me, I don’t blame you for what’s going on. No judgment. From what I’ve gotten to know of you, I think Will was crazy not to do everything in his power to make it work. I’m sorry you’re hurting.”

  A faint knocking on the door at the top of the stairs prompted both Juliet and Sienna to jump up from where they were sitting. Juliet took the stairs two at a time to get to the top.

  “Hello,” she yelled. “We’re down here! We’re here!”

  There was no response, only the soft thud of the continued knocking.

  “Is anyone there? We’re stuck in the basement. Open the door!” Juliet turned toward Sienna, who was standing on the bottom step. “Quick, shine your light.”

  Sienna scrunched her eyebrows but complied anyway. “What good is this going to do?” she asked, while waving her phone’s flashlight at the door.

  “I don’t know, maybe they can see it underneath the door?” Juliet pounded on the door again. The persistent knocking made her begin to question if there was a person out there after all. “Hello?” she called again weakly.

  “There’s nobody there, is there?” Sienna checked the service bars on her phone. She stuck it back in her pocket, so service must have been down still.

  Juliet headed back down the stairs. “Maybe it’s a tree branch or something. But no, I don’t think anyone’s there.”

  Sienna sighed and went back to the wall where they’d been sitting. She slouched against one of the totes and crossed her legs at the ankles. Juliet sat next to her and ran a hand through her hair. Someone had to come. Soon.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “You want to play a game?” Juliet fidgeted with the frayed edges of the tablecloth.

  “No.”

  “Sleep?”

  “No.”

  “Do you want me to just stop talking so we can sit in silence and pout?” Juliet asked, nudging Sienna with her shoulder.

  Sienna ignored her. “Why haven’t they come yet? It’s been too long. It’s been nearly two hours. Do you think something terrible happened?”

  Juliet swallowed. Of course, those thoughts had been going through her head relentlessly, and she was sick with worry about Declan. But she couldn’t dwell on it or she’d go crazy. She had to believe that everything was fine, and everyone was working through the damage and would find them shortly. She had to.

  “No, I don’t. Our doorknob broke off, maybe theirs did too. We could have a whole town of people trapped behind broken doorknobs.”

  Sienna rubbed her arms as though she was chilled. “Come on, Juliet. I’m serious.”

  Juliet slid closer to her. “I am too. I mean, obviously we’re not in the middle of a doorknob epidemic, but my point stands. There are a million reasons why no one has come yet. Maybe they’re out there helping people who are in real trouble. They’ll come.”

  Every muscle in Juliet’s body tightened as Sienna closed the slight s
pace between them. Juliet had no idea what was going through Sienna’s mind, but her own heartbeat kicked up a few notches. She closed her eyes as she felt Sienna’s head rest on her shoulder. She wasn’t sure how to react. The proverbial butterflies fluttered around in her stomach, but Juliet could easily write that off as part of their current situation. She convinced herself that Sienna just needed some reassurance. She was a warm, familiar body, and Sienna just needed to feel safe. In that vein, Juliet slid her arm out and tucked it around Sienna’s shoulder, pulling her closer. Sienna offered no resistance. They sat there for a few minutes, in total silence, while Juliet contemplated every breath she took. She didn’t want Sienna to move away.

  Sienna sighed again but didn’t pull back. “Sometimes I think that I should just suck it up and be grateful for what I have. Isn’t that crazy? I’m blessed with more than I need, all that I want, and a stepson I love dearly. So what if my marriage is mediocre? Isn’t that how most people feel?”

  Juliet’s eyes widened in the darkness. She wanted to tell Sienna that she was insane, that she deserved to be loved in every way possible, in a way that would fill her completely. Juliet’s own experience with women was checkered at best, but it didn’t stop her from wondering if Sienna could be the one to fill that void. She’d been in a few relationships that had crossed the one-year mark, but they never made it much further. She’d always concentrated on her son and her work, and if she had anything left to give, she’d fill the time with whoever she’d been seeing at that time, but no one wanted to be the person you spent time with if you didn’t have anything else to do. Even knowing who she was and how she’d acted in the past, things were different this time around. Aside from the fact that there was too much baggage and too many hearts involved. She needed to be satisfied with their friendship.

  “No, I don’t think it is,” Juliet said instead. “You should be happy in your relationship. Mediocrity isn’t something to aspire to. I’ve had lots of mediocre relationships over the years. I promised myself a long time ago that I wouldn’t settle ever again. You should do the same. You’re worth more than that, Sienna.”