Author’s Note: I hope those that celebrate Christmas had a wonderful time! Here’s your weekly episode of Twisted Fate. See you next year!
I hear the twisters getting closer and squeeze tight to my younger siblings. I have to do something so I close my eyes, concentrating hard. Maybe, just maybe, I can get them out of here.
“Rita don’t let go of me! I’m scared.” I open my eyes, Robert is clinging to my arm. Rain is clinging to Randy’s but she doesn’t make a sound.
I close my eyes again desperate to get them away from here. Away from the danger. The world around us starts to shake. “Rita!” I hear Randy cry in alarm. “What are you doing? You can’t move the shelter it’s too dangerous. You’ll use too much energy.
I can barely hear anyone else I’m trying to save them can they not see that? “Don’t worry Randy I’ve got this.” I feel Al next to me as she gives me some strength “I can’t give you too much more Rita, don’t you dare use too much energy it won’t be worth it.”
“Don’t you use too much of your energy trying to help her.” I hear Danny close by as well. These people right here are my family I can’t lose them.
“I’m not, chillax Danny.” My eyes are open staring at the faces of the people I need to save. If only there was a way I can keep us here but after the twisters cross the path of the farm. My vision starts to blur. I am almost done. I almost can get them to safety.
A final burst of energy and we stop moving. I collapse into Al’s arms and hear multiple voices at once.
“Is she ok?”
“Did she move us?”
“Rita!”
Then my eyes shut and I’m enclosed into darkness.
——
A pounding in my head wakes me up. I try to open my eyes only to have the lights cut through the pain adding a whole new pulse of pain. I shut them immediately. The footsteps of my siblings and friends add a thump, thump, thump. Everything is intensified and louder than I am used to. “Why are you guys so loud?” I weakly croak out.
The pacing stops. “Rita! You gave us quite a scare. Do you even know where you teleported us?”
“I did what? Al, will you stop yelling? My head is killing me,” It hurts to even think. “Can someone turn off the lights?”
“Dude, you can teleport more than just objects. You moved the whole shelter.” I shake my head in disbelief.
“There’s no way. I was just trying to move—“
“You were trying to save Rain and Robert.” I hear Randy speak quietly from behind me.
“At first but I was scared for everyone and I didn’t… there’s no way …I’m not… I’m not powerful enough for that.”
There’s no way I could move the entire shelter by myself. “But nobody else here can move things like you can.” Whoever is talking is right. It hurts to think.”Al lent you some strength. You could have died Rita.”
“Guys, let her sleep. She has used most of her energy.” Al, always to my rescue, even when I do stupid things like move entire storm shelters “We all should sleep. Let’s take turns keeping watch. We have no idea if where we are is friendly.”
I try to sleep as I listen as everyone settles down in the sleeping bags we keep in the storm shelter. We sometimes need to stay down here for days so we have it stocked well. Among the quiet discussion of who should keep watch I hear a soft “woof” and feel a warm body at the length of my back. “Hey puppy,” I put my head on his soft fur. His warm body comforting me. There is still a pounding in my head.
“Here Rita,” Robert places his small, cool, hands on my temples and coolness spreads in my brain releasing the pressure in my head just enough for me to sleep.
However, there is no healing in my sleep. In my dreams, the twisters are gaining on us. Correction, not my dreams my nightmares. We are surrounded by twisters; they are all converging on our farm. There is no way out. Suddenly I am alone. Only I escaped “Rain, Robert! Randy!” I run around there is no sign of Al or Danny either. I collapse to the ground and hold my head. “Where is everybody?” I break down “What am I going to do now?” I ask the ground through tears.
“Rita,” I hear a voice through the darkness. “Rita, wake up!”
“Robert?” I know it’s my baby brother. “Where are you, buddy?” Everything I hear and see is intensified, my heart is pounding in my head. Frantically, I reach out through the fog I can feel the moisture stick to my arms. I can’t find him “I’m alone.” I abandoned them. I am just like my parents.