by Holly Hook
Part of me wants that family to escape. I want them to get in their car and drive away so I don’t have to see them get turned. But I don’t. Lots of people might still be hunkering down here, right in the Deathwind’s future path. I know it, even though I can’t tell which houses are empty.
And even if Williams Town is mostly empty now, there’s still every other town it’ll strike afterwards…
Another buzz. I look down. Coming.
OK.
I pocket the phone. Look again at the open garage. A car door shuts. Someone opens and closes a door to the inside of the house and the yelling stops. They’re going back inside for more. If they left now, they could escape the Deathwind.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. The words are hoarse. Raw. I turn away because I can’t watch them anymore. I step into the full darkness of a yard and watch the corner instead. It’s dead, as dead as I am inside.
Seconds tick by. A door opens and slams again in the garage. Something thuds.
“Is that them?”
I jump and whirl around. It’s Madeline, standing with Kyle and Uncle Cassius in the dark of the yard next to me. Madeline looks over me to the house at the end of the street.
I nod. I can’t say anything. I just can’t.
Car doors open and close in the garage. They’re about to leave.
Madeline shifts. If I had any light, I’d see her closing her eyes. Moving her lips. Giving the order.
A low whoosh fills the air.
Followed by a metallic grinding sound.
And screams.
I put my hands over my ears. Minutes seem to pass. I turn away from it. From Madeline and Uncle Cassius. From everything.
Uncle Cassius calls my name.
Thuds up behind me.
Takes my arm.
I whirl around to face him. The roar fills my being and it has nothing to do with any storms coming. “Let go.”
Uncle Cassius pulls me back. “We have to hide. Now!”
I go silent. It’s too late.
There’s a police car rolling past the corner, out on patrol. There’s no time for us to duck. It slows, brake lights casting red on the pavement behind us. A spotlight swings towards us. It lands on me and Uncle Cassius, both standing near the side of the road. Then it swings over further, illuminating Kyle and Madeline. Kyle’s still watching the garage. Madeline’s already on alert. She freezes, swallows and squints in the sudden light.
We’re caught.
But nobody moves. Uncle Cassius keeps my arm.
The police car turns. Kicks on its red and blue flashing lights. I can see the outline of the officer behind the glass. I’m not sure whether I like that or not.
And then, the whooshing noise grows louder above us.
It’s the Deathwind. Madeline’s sending it after the police now, too.
She stands there, dress flashing red and blue, staring down the police car. The door starts to open. A dark mass drifts over us like a phantom looking for prey.
And then, chaos.
The funnel forms right over the police car. The door opens all the way and the figure of an officer climbs out, shouting something, but it’s lost in the wind. The Deathwind descends. Hits him. The officer goes down, badges shining in the spotlight and the Deathwind follows, draining into him.
Uncle Cassius pulls on my arm again and I come back to life.
I realize two things.
We’re running.
And there’s police sirens going off, getting closer and closer. The officer radioed for backup. The helicopter’s getting louder, too.
Kyle’s leading the way, muttering something. Madeline looks back at us and nods. I try to yank my arm out of Uncle Cassius’s grip, but he’s still bigger than me, still stronger.
Uncle Cassius keeps my arm. There’s no other option. It’s the worst place we can go, but it’s only house on the end of the street. The only other option’s to run across the fields.
Lights flash. Sirens blare. The helicopter roars overhead. We’re seen. There’s no getting out of this now. Madeline and Kyle run into the garage. The car’s sitting there, motor going and lights on. Three figures lie slumped inside, unconscious.
“Inside,” Uncle Cassius puffs.
Madeline yanks open the inside door with the breaking of another lock. We burst into the family’s house and she closes the door behind us. Kyle slides a kitchen chair up under the doorknob.
We’re cornered. They’ve got us.
Madeline slumps against the kitchen wall. Breathes out. “The Deathwind still wants more,” she says, squeezing her eyes shut. “But if I send the Deathwind out again, they’ll storm in here, shooting. I don’t know what to do.”
The sirens peak outside and stop. They’ve got the house surrounded. I imagine officers climbing out. Fanning around the property. Getting a sniper set up somewhere.
I believe Madeline about the shooting part. She’d know.
“Where should we put Allie?” Uncle Cassius asks. “They think she’s our hostage.”
“That’s because I am,” I insist. “I didn’t come on this with you because I wanted to.”
“That’ll keep them from rushing in unless we attack first,” Madeline says. “We can’t let her walk out until I turn enough people to calm the Deathwind down. I think I only need a few more.”
They’re talking over me. “So I’m your pawn now? Great.”
Kyle wipes his brow. “We need to make sure they don’t come in before we can do that. Someone help me block the doors. Then we need to figure out a way out of here.”
Madeline turns to him. “We’re going to jail, Kyle. Prison. That’s the best that we’re going to do in this situation. We can escape—I think--if we let the Deathwind level this town, but I’m not going to do that. And besides—“ she looks between him and Uncle Cassius. “When we do go to jail, we can escape that, too. All we have to do is wait for a storm to pass over.”
Kyle’s shoulders sag, then lift again. “We have to make sure they don’t shoot us. How many of these situations end up with at least some of the hostage-takers dead?”
Madeline steels her stance. “Precisely. We need to think. Make sure all the curtains are closed. Allie, go and sit on the couch. I want them to know that we still have you.”
I have no choice. Not now. I could run outside with my hands behind my head, but then Madeline and Kyle and Uncle Cassius will go down in a shootout. The Deathwind will blow up here. Kill everyone else. My being the hostage could make all the difference.
“Okay.” I follow Madeline out into the living room.
She turns on the light. The curtains are open. The world outside is a light storm of red and blue. Dark figures run between vehicles. An ambulance weaves through and stops on the grass of the neighbor’s house. All the flashing hurts my eyes. They’ve all got to see me in here. I know it.
Madeline points to the couch, then pushes me down on it. I stagger. Land on the cushions and stay there. I know it’s an act, but it makes the roar explode inside me all over again.
She yanks the curtains closed. We’re separated from the outside world.
“So what are you going to do now?” I ask when the roar calms down.
Madeline turns away from the window. Doesn’t speak. Maybe her pushing me wasn’t that much of an act after all.
“I said, what are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. There’s no good answer for this.”
I let my head flop on the couch. “There’s no good answer for anything.”
I watch the fan blades go round and round. The family forgot to turn it off. Round and round…never stopping…
I’m shutting down.
I can’t deal with it anymore.
I breathe out. Numb.
There’s nothing I can do right now except wait.
I just want it to be over.
Someone yells through a megaphone outside. The helicopter stays loud. Madeline’s right that they’re not going to rush in on a hostage situation, especially if they can’t see inside. At least, not until they get something figured out. I’m the only thing keeping them back. Maybe this is another reason Madeline wanted to kidnap me.
The phone on the wall rings.
And rings.
It’s the negotiator. It can’t be anyone else.
I turn over. Bury my face in the couch pillow.
“Get that,” Madeline says. Her words are high and scared, about to fall screaming off a cliff. “Make sure they stay out of the house. At least for a while. I still have to figure out how to turn more people without them coming in on me.”
Kyle answers it.
“Yes, we have her,” he says. His voice quivers. He’s like a terrified nerd trying to play the part of the big bad hostage taker. I snicker into the pillow. I can’t help it, he’s so bad. “And we’ll shoot her as soon as we hear any doors opening or any windows breaking. I mean it, officer. You got that?”
He hangs up.
The phone rings again, and this time no one picks it up.
I stop laughing. I’m going insane. My whole existence has spun out of control…in more ways than one. I snort. That’s something Dorian would call a bad joke.
“Allie? Are you all right?” It’s Uncle Cassius, standing somewhere over me.
“Fantastic.”
“Lie here and get some rest,” he says. “You might want to lie on the floor. You’ll be safer there in case they do have to rush in here.”
“Fine.” I grab the couch pillow and crawl to the floor. I’m between the couch and the coffee table. Shielded. A little safer. “Thanks for pulling me into this, by the way.”
He doesn’t have a response for that one.
Minutes stretch into an hour. Maybe two or three. I can’t tell. My whole world is the floor, the couch, the coffee table. The footsteps of the others. And the noises outside. Somewhere, a clock ticks. The phone seems to ring every five minutes, but no one answers it. Kyle and Uncle Cassius talk in the kitchen. I pray they’re coming up with a solution. Something where nobody will have to die.
I may hate my uncle now. I may hate Madeline and Kyle. But I don’t want them to take any gunshots. If Madeline dies, it’s all over. Enough people have suffered because of this.
But what do I do?
Tommy would tell me we’d think of something, and he’d mean every word.
Dad and Mom would hug me and tell me they’d take care of it.
Dorian would—
Allie? Can you hear me?
It’s Dorian’s voice, echoing inside my head. I turn over. We’re still connected, even through he’s hundreds of miles away in his own misery.
I know you can.
I groan. Close my eyes. I’ve been awake too long. There’s nothing else I can do right now except for wait. If the police were going to storm in, they would have done it by now.
Allie. Stop lying there doing nothing.
He’s insistent. Got any bright ideas, Dorian? I hope he does. I can’t talk to anyone else right now. If I try to make any calls on my phone, Madeline will just take it away.
Your town’s under the guillotine. It’s going to end up like mine if you don’t try something.
Like what?
Take this over, Allie. You can figure out a solution better than these morons. You’re way smarter than them.
“Allie? Wake up.” It’s Madeline.
I sigh. Pull myself away from Dorian’s voice.
Uncle Cassius tries next. “Get up.”
I open my eyes, leaving Dorian’s voice behind in the darkness. Sit up. I listen for knocking. The sounds of the police force storming in. But there’s none. Madeline’s standing by the curtains, keeping them pinched shut like a monster’s on the other side, trying to look in at her.
Madeline turns to me. Her eyes are big. “Allie, your family’s here.”
I jolt back to life.
“My parents?” Panic rises to my throat.
She takes another look out between the curtains. “It’s them. And the boy, Tommy. They’re standing out behind the police cars. There’s a girl with them, too.”
I stand. Madeline squeezes the curtain shut again and nods at the couch.
I can’t sit. Not now. Everyone I love is still in the path of the Deathwind. “You’ve got to let me look.”
“Allie…” Madeline blinks at the wall. “Okay. Just a small look.” She goes over. Turns off the living room light.
I kneel down. Take a peek through the curtains at the mess outside.
It’s nothing but police cars. Officers kneel behind open doors. Others stand farther back with radios. Lights glare in my eyes. A pair of fire trucks block the road, lights flashing.
And there…standing down the street—
Mom. Dad. Dad’s got his arm around Mom, pulling her close. Tommy stands next to them. Even Bethany’s there, arms wrapped tight around her chest. She hangs back, digging her toe into the street like she wants nothing more than to leave. She’s only here because my parents—or Tommy—dragged her along. Bethany must have gotten separated from her family.
They’re waiting. Helpless. As helpless as me.
And the horizon’s pink with the coming sunrise.
I swear and turn away. Madeline waves me away from the window.
The phone on the wall rings.
“That’s them again,” Kyle says, marching into the dark room. “Let me pick it up.”
“Don’t answer it,” Madeline says. “I don’t want them setting anything up to their advantage.”
“But how?” Kyle asks. “Dawn’s almost here. All hell’s going to break loose.”
The phone rings again. And again.
My phone in my pocket joins in. Mom and Dad are making another attempt to call me. Or the police are. It kills me not to answer it.
“I don’t know,” Madeline says. “If I unleash the Deathwind here, they rush in and kill me before I can finish, and the Deathwind breaks loose anyway. If I don’t, the Deathwind does the same thing.”
My family’s out there.
They’re going to die if I don’t do something. Dorian’s right. Madeline and Kyle are messes. Uncle Cassius is no help.
That’s it. I’m taking over.
“But we’ve got to stop the Deathwind. I don’t care if you do have to turn some officers out there.” I look at the grandfather clock. It’s six in the morning. We’ve been in here for hours. “Turn on the TV. To the weather.”
Madeline blanches. She finds the remote and clicks on the Weather Channel.
There’s one green and yellow blob on the radar in the middle of Wisconsin, just to the west of Williams Town. The radar loops. It grows bigger, ready to plow right into us. There’s no warnings on the screen, but I know better. It’s the storm the Deathwind’s going to use to unleash its full fury.
The radar updates. The storm on the screen is larger now, angrier with orange and red. It’s building fast. Barreling towards us. Towards everyone I care about.
We have minutes left.
A breeze whips through the room, blowing some envelopes off the table.
Madeline looks around. Studies the ceiling, but nothing else happens. The breeze stops, letting one of the envelopes flutter to the floor.
No one says anything. We all know what it is. All the windows are shut, so it has to be the Deathwind. She hasn’t calmed it down enough yet.
“We need to act. Now,” I demand. My family
’s out there. Tommy’s out there. I’m not going to stand here and let them get hurt—or worse. “If it’s too dangerous to turn the officers from in here, maybe you should let yourselves get captured and put in cuffs. Since, you know, you’re going to jail anyway.”
Uncle Cassius shifts leg to leg. “Allie…”
I don’t care if he ends up in the slammer. Not now. He’s going to get out next time it storms, anyway. I turn to the others. “Madeline, you can call the Deathwind after they put all of you in the cop car. They won’t shoot someone they’ve already arrested. They’ll make your charges worse, yeah, but that’s better than watching my town get leveled.” Where am I getting these ideas from? I’m thinking so clearly, like my fear’s sharpened every thought.
Pain flashes across her features. She takes a step towards me. “My town did get destroyed, Allie.”
I back away. She’s shaking with fury, like the Deathwind’s possessed her. I ready myself for the blow. The slap.
Uncle Cassius grabs her arm. “My niece has come up with the best idea so far. I suggest we take it. My sister’s out there in this thing’s path.”
It’s my chance. But there’s one problem. One thing that can go wrong even if we stop the Deathwind. “Are any of us going to transform in this storm?”
Madeline shakes her head and turns it to the local news station. “I can’t know. If the Deathwind goes crazy, we probably won’t. That’s only because there won’t be any room left in the storm for us to.” She looks outside. “And if we do, the storm’s likely only going to take one or two of us. There are too many of us here for all of us to change at once. I can hold my transformations back, but the three of you can’t yet.” She glances at the coming light outside. “That’s why I don’t like the idea of us getting arrested.”
“The same thing’s going to happen if we stay in here.”
“I know. But Allie, they will take you to a hospital. To make sure you’re not hurt. The storm might follow you there.”
Oh, god. A hospital.
NO. Not doing that.
I swallow. “True.” I take a breath. “I’ll have to run from everyone when you’re done summoning the Deathwind. You know, in case I change. It’s the only way. But you guys will be stuck here or at the police station.”
Kyle looks at the floor. “I think I have the rest. We get arrested. Put in the cop cars. Then Madeline, you summon the Deathwind. Cassius and I can use the distraction to break out of the police cars and run before we transform.” He’s pale. Shaking. Kyle eyes the TV. He looks ready to throw up. “This might be my first transformation. I’m not ready for this.”
“That’s if we stop the Deathwind,” she reminds him.
A faint roll of thunder sounds through the air.
Another breeze whips through the room.
And the TV plays its news music and cuts to the weather guy. It’s a special report.
My stomach lurches. Uncle Cassius turns up the volume. The weather guy stands in front of the radar, pointing out the storm. It’s red and angry.
“…again, this has developed quickly and is moving towards Williams Town at forty-five miles per hour. Radar is picking up the possibility of large hail and some possible rotation on the southwest edge of the storm…”
I go for the door.
It’s time.
I’m not waiting anymore.
Madeline and Kyle follow. “Let me get the door for you,” she says. “I want it to look like we’re letting you go. Put your hands behind your head. Then we’re going to surrender.”
I stand at the front door.
Do as she says.
Another roll of thunder sounds through the air. Tommy’s got to be terrified. Waiting.
Madeline opens the front door.
Police stand between cars, guns drawn, waiting. All eyes are on me. I keep my hands behind my head and run. Run towards where I think my parents are. An officer tells me to keep running, not to slow down, not to look behind me. Another shouts an order. It’s all muffled.
All I can focus on is the coming storm.
I can only see out of the corner of my vision, coming across the fields beyond town, but it’s huge. Dark. It flashes like the clouds of an erupting volcano. It makes me wonder if all the fury of the earth has come out to destroy civilization itself.
Thunder cracks.
“Come on. This way.” An officer’s waving me closer. I reach him. He takes my arm. Leads me through the cars and towards the waiting ambulance.
I can’t go in there. I can’t.
“Allie!” It’s Mom. Dad. They rush for me. Wrap me up in a hug.
“Let go!” I can’t stand here any longer. They need to get away from me in case I do transform. I thrash. They won’t release me. Why don’t they understand?
Tommy’s there. Even Bethany waits, standing up against a tree. A paramedic in white shoves him out of the way, gloves ready. They’re smothering me. The storm’s getting closer. Madeline’s going to summon the Deathwind as soon as she’s arrested.
“Let me go!”
At last, they do.
“Allie?” Mom asks.
“We need to leave!” I point at the storm. “We’re going to have—“
The warning siren starts to wail.
Tommy jumps back. Dad grips the open door of the ambulance. I don’t miss the scared way he looks at me. An officer yells at Madeline and the others to get on the ground.
“Allie?” Tommy asks. I know what his question is.
I breathe in. I feel fine. No growl. No lightheaded feeling. That means—
“The Deathwind’s about to blow up.”
I can’t move. Not now. I face the fields beyond the last house. The storm’s much closer, marching across the world. It drops low, turning, twisting like ash from a million burning cities. It’s got to be miles across. It blocks all light from the dawn now. It’s goodnight for Williams Town. Goodnight for everyone after Williams Town.
Madeline, Kyle and Uncle Cassius lie on the lawn of the last house, hands behind their heads. The police rush for them, cuffs ready.
I turn to Mom and Dad and Tommy and even Bethany. “That house has a basement. Get in!” What am I saying? That might not even protect them. Not if the Deathwind’s going to be as bad as Madeline says…
Mom starts to run, but stops. Police swarm the yard. There’s no way through. They’re working fast, trying to arrest them before the storm hits. They don’t have long. In a few minutes, they could all be—
The Deathwind bursts to life above the heads of the officers. Madeline’s not waiting. The time for that is over.
Wind screams across the yard. Mom and Dad back away. Bethany screams. Tommy grabs my arm and pulls me back. The Deathwind spreads over the entire yard. The house. Lightning flashes and thunder roars. Two officers pull Uncle Cassius to his feet. Then Kyle. Then Madeline. She has her eyes closed. Her hair whips to the side.
Shouts ring out.
A gun fires.
Police scatter, going for the cover of their vehicles. Mom and Dad pull me back. Uncle Cassius dives to the side. Ducks. The Deathwind spins harder. The siren ebbs and flows. Car doors slam shut. Trash cans roll away. The Deathwind forms its funnel. Slams down onto someone.
“Let’s go!” I yell, turning back to Mom and Dad and Tommy. But now they’re frozen in terror, watching the scene.
It’s all noise. Sirens. Doors closing. Engines. Shouts and radio crackles. And above all, the wind.
The Deathwind collects itself. Moves closer and stops over another group of officers. Dives again. Another cop goes down. It drives its way down into him, getting shorter, injecting him with its curse. Madeline stands in the middle of the confusion, dress whipping around her and hands cuffed. Kyle and my uncle are nowhere.
Bethany screams again. Staggers back. Tri
ps over the curb.
The Deathwind swirls closer.
I grab Tommy’s arm and wave at my parents with the other. “Run!”
The ice breaks and we dart away.
The world’s a roar. Bethany climbs off the ground to join my mother.
We run for the edge of the yard. The Deathwind pulls at me. At us. It’s zeroing in on my family.
“Go!” The paramedic runs with us, waving.
We break through underbrush. Out into the field. Towards a line of trees ahead. The siren wails louder like it’s detected our escape. Clouds toil overhead. I’m not sure if it’s from the coming storm or—
The paramedic goes down next to us.
It’s the Deathwind. It’s got him. That means Madeline’s right behind us. She’s escaped in the chaos she’s caused.
Only my parents, Tommy and Bethany are here for it to choose.
I spread my arms out, shielding Tommy. Shielding Dad. It’s all I can do. It’s—
Silence. The wind stops. The roar dies with it.
Mom and Dad stop in front of me. Bethany crashes into them. I suck down air and stop too. Dad’s staring ahead, at the storm that’s closing in. He grabs Mom’s arm and pulls her towards him. He’s not aware that the Deathwind’s still behind us.
Tommy appears at my side. “Allie…”
I turn to where he’s facing.
The Deathwind’s still, spinning in place over grass and dirt like it’s lost all sense of direction. The paramedic lies in a heap back near the edge of a yard. Madeline’s standing there, her cuffs broken and chains hanging off her wrists. She looks like a ghost in the dim light, eyeing the Deathwind and muttering to it, desperate. No police run after us yet.
“What is this?” Dad asks. He’s quiet. I don’t miss the terror in his voice.
Thunder shakes the air. A hailstone falls and bounces off the ground. It’s the size of a baseball. Then another falls, and another. Shouts come from the direction of the street, which is hidden behind trees. The police have another problem now.
Bethany lets out a terrified sob.
Mom sucks in a breath.
Tommy pulls me close to him. We’re touching. Maybe for the last time.
There’s no time to run for cover now. Besides, it won’t matter.
The Deathwind gives one final, frustrated roar that cuts over the warning siren.
Rises.
I understand.
We’re out of time. It hasn’t turned enough people. The Deathwind’s unleashing its full power.
It spins faster…faster…shooting its dark clouds towards the coming storm’s jaws like it’s making a sacrifice to the storm gods. The Deathwind grows smaller. More and more of it sails for the storm on a river of darkness, ready to annihilate everything living in its path.
Madeline reaches us. She stops, staring up at the Deathwind, shouting something that’s lost in the roar.
“Look,” Tommy says, pointing.
I follow his gaze.
Oh, god.
The storm itself spins slowly, dropping lower and lower to the ground. It’s a lowering wall of twisting, turning death. It’s miles across and it’s going to swallow Williams Town and everyone I know and love.
Madeline gives a cry of terror. “It’s started.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven