Chapter 2

Trapped in a basement as the storms continue to rage above them

Kathy felt something brush her hand and almost shrieked. Turning her flashlight to see what had touched her, she saw a dog. She hadn’t noticed it before, but it must have been here the whole time. Maybe it was the one from outside that she had heard barking. It was big with brown and white, short fur and seemed friendly enough. Melanie cried out causing Kathy to turn the flashlight in her direction. There was a second dog licking Melanie on the cheek. It was almost as big as the first dog, but it had a light brown coat that was slightly longer than the other dog’s was.

“I see you met Sam and Kacie,” The second man, Chris, said as he and Eric walked back over to them.

“Um yeah, which one is which?” Kathy asked, trying hard to forget where they were and what was going on, but not succeeding very well. How could she?

“Sam is the brown one. Kacie is the brown and white one. They’re Chris’s.”

“They seem friendly.”

“They are and they love children.”

Lily giggled as Kacie licked her on the cheek. It was good to hear her giggling; it helped to calm Kathy down a little more.

“So what’s going on? Is it safe to go out yet? Can we even get out?” She had to ask, even if she didn’t really want to know the answers, which she didn’t.

They exchanged a look that told her she had guessed right. “Well…um…we’re not sure yet. We should probably wait until someone comes to get us though. It could be dangerous for us to try to climb out on our own, and we don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“But, people climb out all the time in the movies,” She said, knowing that she must sound so naive to them right now. Her mom always said she had a habit of not thinking before she spoke; guess she was right.

“That’s the movies. This is real. We don’t want to take any chances.” Chris said as he was looking above them again.

“At the very least we should wait before tryin’. Listen, it’s still stormin’ and we don’t want to create an openin’ and have another one hit. That would be worse.” Eric was trying to reason with her. It made sense, even if she didn’t want to stay there in the dark basement. She hated the dark almost as much as she hates storms.

“Ok. How long should we wait?” She couldn’t help the annoyance and fear in her voice, but she tried.

“Momma, I need to potty.” Lily interrupted.

“Ummmm,” ‘great, I should have known this would happen. Now what?’ She thought as she looked around trying to think.

“There’s a bathroom in the corner, but I doubt it will be workin’. She can still use it though.” Eric pointed to the far corner of the room, and Kathy stood up to take Lily to the bathroom.

They struggled around debris as Kathy carried Melanie with one hand and held Lily’s hand with the other. She wasn’t about to be separated from them, even down here. They made it there unharmed, though Kathy’s back was hurting pretty badly. Lily finished and they headed back to where they had been sitting; the only clear spot in the whole basement. The pain in her back was getting worse with every step she took.

Eric saw her wince as she sat down. “You ok?”

“Yeah.” Kathy said as she worked to keep the pain from showing on her face; she didn’t want them to know; the pain seemed trivial under the circumstances.

“You sure, you look like you’re in pain?” He sounded concerned.

“It’s nothing. My back kinda hurts; kinda stings too. No big deal, I’ll manage.” She winced again.

“Did you get hit by anythin’ on our way into the house, or maybe down here? There was a lot of crap flyin’ around.” He looked even more concerned now.

“No. At least, I don’t think so,” She paused trying to remember. “Maybe… I’m not sure. Everything was happening so fast. I guess it’s possible”

“Here, let me take a look.” He moved around behind her and shined his flashlight at her back. “You’re bleeding.” She could feel his hand on her back as he gently lifted up her shirt. “Be right back,” he said as he lowered the shirt back down, “don’t move.”

“Chris, we have a first aid kit down here, right?” He asked standing up.

“Yeah. Somewhere, but not sure where in all this mess though. I think it was in the bathroom. Is everythin’ ok?” They headed toward the bathroom at the same time.

Eric found the first aid kit, and they stood there whispering intensely for a minute, which made Kathy nervous, before they headed back to where she sat. “You hold the flashlight and I’ll apply the bandage,” he said as they sat down behind her.

“How bad is it?” She tried to turn so she could look at her back, but it was too difficult; she wasn’t made to twist that way.

“Momma’s hurt?” Lily looked worried.

“It’s ok, Honey, it’s not that bad, I promise.” Kathy said to reassure them both, and hoping she was right.

“Momma’s just got a cut on her back; she’ll be ok after we fix her up.” He was pulling her shirt back up. Kathy winced as her shirt snagged the cut. “Sorry.”

“It’s ok.” She lied.

“This might sting; I need to clean it first.” She could feel his breath on her back he was so close.

“Define ‘sting’, do you mean ‘hurt like hell’ or just ‘a tiny discomfort’?”

He chuckled. “You’ll live.” It did hurt like hell. “Sorry,” he said again. Kathy held her breath trying not to jump up. “Almost done. We don’t want to risk infection; we don’t know what hit you, so we need to make sure it’s clean.”

“I know. Doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it. I don’t generally enjoy pain, you know.” She said through clenched teeth, causing both men to chuckle.

“I wish I had something to stitch it up with, but the bandage will have to work for now.”

He worked for a few more minutes, cleaning the cut before gently applying an antibacterial ointment and a bandage. “Done. There are some general painkillers here if you want ‘em.” Kathy nodded her head and he handed her the container.

“I don’t suppose there’s anything to drink down here is there? I’ve never been good at taking pills without a drink.”

“I’m thirsty, Momma.”

“Me tirsty too, Momma,” Melanie licked her tiny baby lips.

“Hang on. I know we have some down here somewhere.” Eric stood up to search for the water, “Chris, do you remember the general area of where we put the emergency supplies? I don’t.”

Chris stood, trying to remember. You could almost see the wheels turning in his head. It was amazing how calm they both seemed to be. How many tornadoes have they lived through? After a minute, he moved away, shining his flashlight back and forth in front of himself.

“Over here.” Eric walked over and they gathered the supplies in their arms. “Who’s thirsty?” Chris grinned as he set them down on the floor in front of Kathy and her girls. Their calm was really starting to annoy her, why couldn’t she be that calm?

“Hang on a sec,” Eric walked over to a cabinet and pulled several blankets out. “Stand up, Kathy, we can sit on a blanket, it’ll be warmer than sittin’ on the bare floor.”

Kathy stood and helped the girls up, then moved out of Eric’s way as he spread a blanket out on the floor. When they sat back down, Chris handed Kathy a bottle of water. “You should share it and go easy.” He handed Eric a bottle as well.

Kathy took the pain pills with the water and handed the bottle to Lily, “Don’t drink it all and give your sister some.” Her stomach growled as she took her drink. Chris opened a pack of cheese crackers, handed one to each girl, and offered one to Kathy. “No, thank you.” She shook her head.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I am, but thank you.” She looked down at the girls eating their crackers. He understood and put the cracker back in the package.

They had been in the basement for about an hour when the dogs started barking. Chris told them to hush.

“Do you hear that?” Eric cocked his head to the side as he asked.

“I don’t hear"” Chris and Kathy started to say at the same time.

“Shhh. Be quiet and listen.” He was intent on trying to hear something.

They silenced the dogs and stopped to listen. “No,” she whispered, she could feel the fear rising inside of her, “not again,” it was more a moan than actual words.

The sound got louder as it got closer; there was no mistaking what it was, even from where they were in the basement. It roared like a train…multiple trains, and it sounded like they were heading right for them. They jumped up, Kathy lifting the girls as she stood, and ran for the safety of the table.

“Wait! Chris, help me!” Eric was trying to grab the emergency supplies, first aid kit, and the blankets. “We might need ‘em!”

Chris rushed back to help. When they had everything in their arms, they ran back to the table and crawled underneath it with Kathy and the girls. Eric draped one of the blankets around the girls’ and Kathy’s shoulders, before wrapping one around his own. Chris wrapped up in one as well.

“Momma, me scared,” Melanie whispered, tugging on her mother’s shirt. Kathy almost didn’t hear her because she was so quiet.

“Momma is too, but we’re going to be ok. We’re safe down here.” Kathy whispered back, though not as quietly as she had. She hoped she was right.

The roaring lasted longer this time, and they could faintly make out the sound of objects shattering above them. She couldn’t believe there was anything left to shatter. When it was over, they breathed a sigh of relief and started to climb back out. “Wait!” Chris yelled as the dogs started barking again. “Get back under the table! Now! It’s not over!” He grabbed the dogs and ducked back under the table as he yelled. Kathy and Eric didn’t hesitate to follow. She bumped her head in her rush to duck back under; she’s clumsy like that.

Whether it was the same tornado doubling back or a new one, they weren’t sure. It didn’t matter really; a tornado was over them again. Kathy had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last. That feeling in the pit of her stomach was back and it was stronger this time, too. She hated that feeling.

“At least we’re still down here!” Chris shouted, trying to be heard over the noise, “can you imagine if we’d gotten out?”

Eric laughed, “Yeah. We’d be trying to get back in!”

They went quiet, most likely they were thinking the same thing Kathy was; praying for anyone that was up there unprotected from the storms " unprotected from the tornadoes. How she wished it would end. Deep down, she had a feeling it was just starting.

The tornado finally moved on and they could hear the sound of thunder again. From the sound of it, the storm was still directly overhead. Kathy had done plenty of online research about storms, thanks to her phobia, so she considered herself a good judge of where it was; though, she knew she could be wrong, she doubted she was. They waited several minutes until it sounded like it was moving on before they crawled back out. When they did, Eric spread the blanket back on the floor so everyone could sit back down.

Chris gave the girls a couple more crackers for supper and they each drank a little water. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing at all. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion, and it felt like a really bad movie. You know the kind where you know something bad is going to happen but the characters can’t seem to find a way to stop it, and no matter how much you want to turn the channel, you can’t, because you have to see what happens? Well, that’s what it felt like.

They sat on the floor of the basement for several hours as the storms raged above them, very few words were spoken while they waited. As the night wore on, the group had to hide under the table several times, and Kathy realized that they weren’t getting out before morning. Both girls were rubbing their eyes and yawning like crazy, so she decided it was late enough to try to get them to sleep, even if she didn’t know exactly what time it was. It didn’t take long for Chris to figure out what she was thinking.

“I hate to say it, but I think we should probably sleep under the table tonight.” He looked at the girls and nodded as he spoke. “It’ll be safer that way.”

“I was thinkin’ that too. We can spread a blanket on the floor and cover up with the other ones.” Eric had started spreading a blanket out under the table as he spoke. “We don’t have any pillows, but we’ll manage.”

They climbed back under the table for what they hoped would be the last time. Kathy stretched out on her side and put Melanie beside her. Lily stretched out beside her sister. Eric was on the other side of Kathy and Chris was on the other side of Lily. The dogs were at the girls’ feet, on top of the blankets. Kathy put her arm over both girls and sang softly to them, as she did every night.

“Momma, do we get a story?” Lily asked after the song was over.

“I’m sorry, baby, Momma doesn’t have a book and it would be too dark to see it if I did.”

“Ok.” She whimpered but she didn’t say anything else.

“I’ve got a story I could tell you.” Chris said from his place under the table. “Close your eyes an’ listen ok.”

“Ok,” both girls said at once.

“Once upon a time, there were two beautiful princesses…” He continued to talk for several minutes, making the story up as he went along. Sometimes the girls would interrupt with questions or awe, but he would tell them to be patient and listen. As the time wore on, their questions became less and less until finally, they stopped asking altogether. He ended his little story with a proper “The End,” but neither girl made a sound, except perhaps the sounds associated with slumber.

“Thank you, that was sweet.”

“You’re welcome. Get some sleep while you can.”

Kathy laid there quietly waiting until Chris and Eric were asleep. When she was sure enough time had passed that they were sure to be, she allowed herself to cry softly. The events of the day and evening were finally catching up to her. She was so afraid and wanted to go home more than ever. Her family was probably worried sick about them and, because she had left her cell in the car when she jumped out, she couldn’t even try to call them.

“Shhh, we’re goin’ to be ok.” His voice startled her, “We’re gonna get out, I promise.” Eric had moved so his mouth was right against her ear to whisper without waking the girls. She could feel his warm breath on her neck; it tickled slightly.

“You don’t know that. You don’t know what’s going to happen. We’re trapped down here, that storm won’t go away, and I can’t call my family because I forgot my cell in the damn rental car.,” she whispered back as a rumble of thunder cut across the sky, as if to prove her point. Kathy knew she was overreacting about the storm, but she didn’t care anymore.

“Yes I do. This storm can’t last forever. We’ll get out of here. I left my phone upstairs, who knows what happened to it, so I can’t call my family either.” He whispered back with a bite in his tone that made her almost regret her overreaction.

“I wish I believed you. I wish I had your confidence.” Kathy whispered back, less emotionally this time. Maybe part of her did, after all, she wasn’t crying anymore. That had to mean something, right?

“That’s ok. I believe it enough for the both of us.” He squeezed her shoulder trying to reassure her. He didn’t sound bitter anymore.

“Have you ever experienced a tornado before? I mean before today.” Her natural curiosity was getting the better of her.

“Two, maybe three or four…I grew up in Texas, we both did,” he nodded toward Chris; “Actually, we grew up together.”

“Are you two…?” She couldn’t finish the question. It was none of her business. It didn’t matter anyway. It wouldn’t change the fact that they had both risked their lives to save Kathy and her girls. They were doing everything they could, even now, to help her family. She didn’t care what the answer was; though secretly she knew part of her desperately wanted to know"it was in her nature to be extremely curious about everything around her.

He chuckled softly, “No, just friends. We’ve been best friends since we were five. We moved out here to go to college. It was just cheaper to share the rent then to live alone.” Kathy heard Eric chuckle softly again and wanted to kick herself for even starting to ask the question.

“Sorry.” She didn’t know what else to say. She knew her cheeks had to be bright red from embarrassment; it made her glad he couldn’t see them.

“Don’t be, it’s ok.” Kathy felt him shrug beside her.

Melanie squirmed against Kathy as another round of thunder rolled above them. It was chilly in the basement, but their combined body heat kept them warm enough under the blankets. Eric had gone silent again; Kathy thought he had finally fallen asleep. Chris began to snore softly. Kathy realized how tired she was, but knew she wouldn’t get much sleep. Kathy rarely slept at home when it stormed either.

“Where are you from?”

“What?” She almost jumped when she heard Eric’s voice again.

“Where are you from?” He repeated a little louder.

“Oh, We…We’re from Ohio. The southern part. Small County, small town, we don’t get many tornados there. I’ve never seen one before. I can’t even remember when the last one hit in the area.”

They talked for hours. She told him about her childhood, her divorce, the girls, her family, and Ohio’s weather. He talked about his childhood, what it was like to grow up with Chris, his family, and Texan weather. She told him her likes and dislikes and he told her his. As they talked, she focused less on the weather and more on his voice; it was very soothing. Her eyes started to feel heavy.

When they finally said goodnight, the storm had calmed down enough for Kathy to doze. She was afraid to fall asleep completely. She was afraid the storm would get worse, and her nightmares about it were waiting for her.

Morning came with another rumble of thunder. Melanie started to cry and squirmed beside her, “Wet, I wet, Momma.” Beside her, Lily was also starting to squirm and whine. It was pitch black in the basement, but the girls were awake"that told Kathy it was morning. They always woke up at the same time every morning--no exceptions.

The side that Kathy had slept on was wet. She groaned. In the chaos of yesterday, she had forgotten that she didn’t have any diapers. All of their things"the diapers, their clothes, everything"were in the suitcase and it had been left in the rental car. She felt like a horrible mother.

“I know you’re wet, Momma’s sorry, baby.” She reached above her head and found the flashlight. Climbing out from under the blankets and the table, Kathy shined it down for the girls to crawl out. She led them to the bathroom where she stripped both of them down; Melanie had peed on all three of them.

She heard someone moving around, and opened the door to the bathroom to see who it was. It was starting to smell in there anyway and they needed the air. Kathy shined her light around the room and spotted Eric, she must have awoken him when she crawled out. “Eric,” she whispered, afraid that Chris might still be asleep. “I have a problem. Melanie had an accident last night, we’re wet, and I don’t have anything for them to change into.”

He nodded and started looking around the room for something that might help. She wasn’t sure if he was going to find anything, but there was a lot of debris down here, so who knew.

“Huh,” he said and climbed onto the table. He started tugging at something stuck in the ceiling. Kathy shined her flashlight at it for him. It came down after a few more tugs. “Bingo.” He jumped back down. “Look at this. Does it look familiar?” He walked to the bathroom door carrying a suitcase. Kathy’s mouth dropped open.

“It…it’s ours.”

“I thought so. I recognized it from the car.”

“How did it get down here? It was in the car.”

“I don’t know, maybe the first tornado threw it from the car and then one of the other tornados threw it down here. No way to know for sure.” He shrugged, “The point is that it’s here.” He brought the suitcase to her then and set it down on the floor for her to go through. Kathy found an outfit for both of the girls, diapers, and wipes. She even found an outfit for herself. Surprisingly, everything was still dry. She went back into the bathroom to change and help the girls put the dry clothes on.

When they came back out of the bathroom, Chris was up and helping Eric stretch out the wet blankets to dry. “Sorry about the blankets.”

“Don’t be. It wasn’t your fault.” They were working on spreading out one of the remaining two dry blankets left so they could sit on it. Everyone sat down for a meager breakfast of peanut butter crackers, Vienna Sausages, and water. The girls complained about still being hungry, made more obvious by their little stomachs growling; Eric gave them a graham cracker each.

After they ate, Eric decided to change Kathy’s bandage, stating again that he didn’t want to risk infection. He had Chris hold the flashlight again.

“Hold it a little higher. I can’t see.”

Chris moved the flashlight up, “Is that better?”

“No. Move it a little to the left. No, that’s too far. That’s it, perfect. Keep it right there.” Eric gently lifted Kathy’s shirt up as he directed Chris.

Kathy couldn’t help the giggle that escaped listening to him; it reminded her of something she had seen in a movie.

“Hey, not funny and hold still.” She could hear the amusement under his gentle scolding.

“Sorry.” Kathy did her best to show remorse.

“Uh huh…”

This time Chris chuckled.

“Hey, hold that still.”

“Sorry.” She couldn’t see him, but she imagined him playfully rolling his eyes. It was what she would be doing in his place.

Eric grunted quietly, which confirmed her suspicions. His hands were gentle as he removed the old bandage and worked to clean the cut. “It looks better today than it did last night.”

“That’s good.” She felt a wave a relief at his words. “You don’t have to clean it again, do you?”

“Yeah, I think that’d be best.” He replied through a barely suppressed chuckle.

“Great.” She said sarcastically.

After several minutes, they finished cleaning the wound and changing her bandage. Then they moved around to sit in front of the girls and Kathy. The dogs came over and curled up beside Chris; he reached his hand out to pet them each on the head before crossing his arms at his chest. He whistled softly, “So…what do we do now?” They all looked at Eric.

“Why are y’all looking at me? I got nothin’.” He shrugged and moved his flashlight around the room several times. He must have spotted something because he stood up and took off across the room. He moved here and there for several minutes before coming back. Chris and Kathy just sat there watching him in the light of the flashlights.

“Well, looky here at what I found.” He sounded pleased with himself. He sat down and placed a lantern on the floor beside the blanket.

“Cool…a lantern.” It was interesting to listen to them razz each other that way.

“Not just a lantern.” He said with mock annoyance in his voice as he reached behind his back and pulled out a game. “Who wants to play?” He wriggled his eyebrows playfully at Kathy.

“Sure, but you better not cheat this time.” Chris said with a smile.

“Me? Cheat?” He laughed; it was a good sound. It helped take the seriousness out of their situation.

They played the game for a couple of hours before getting bored and putting it aside. Crackers and water were on the menu again for lunch. Even the girls looked like they were getting tired of it. Kathy couldn’t blame them, she hated crackers; but at least it was something to eat. If they stayed down there much longer, they wouldn’t even have that. She hated to think like that, but she couldn’t help it. It was a bad habit of hers and she couldn’t shake it. She was a glass half-empty kinda girl at heart, and she knew it.

After lunch, Eric got up and started pacing back and forth. Well, it looked like he was trying to pace back and forth; there just wasn’t enough room to do it, so he was going around in a tight circle.

“Will you sit down? You’re making me nervous.” He was making Kathy nervous too; she just didn’t want to say it.

He grumbled, but he sat back down. Kathy knew exactly how he felt. She was starting to get cabin fever. When were they going to try to get out of here? Just as she was about to ask, the dogs started barking again. They didn’t hesitate to listen for it this time; they grabbed the girls and the supplies and crawled back under the table, they knew what was coming.

It wasn’t as loud this time, which made Kathy think it wasn’t passing directly over them; just close enough to alarm the dogs. It didn’t last as long either. Maybe it was almost over; maybe they would be able to go home soon"at least she hoped it was.

Kathy was wrong; it wasn’t over, not by a long shot. They spent six days trapped in the basement while storm after storm raged above them. The girls were starting to get cabin fever now too; they bickered and argued constantly. Eric and Chris were also starting to feel it more, but they did a better job at keeping their emotions in check than the girls did"most of the time. For Kathy, every day was a battle not to lose her mind. Eric and Chris did their best to keep her from falling apart.

Melanie had run out of diapers by the second day and was now completely potty trained. That was probably the best part of the whole situation, although it broke Kathy’s heart to have to have trained her that way. To make matters worse, they didn’t have toothpaste or even a toothbrush, and by the end of the third day Kathy didn’t want to open her mouth; it tasted so disgusting, and she knew her breath had to stink horribly.

By lunchtime on the sixth day, the storms had finally stopped; at least they couldn’t hear anything anymore. The girls were stretched out on the blanket petting Sam and Kacie when Kathy noticed Eric pull Chris aside once again. Kathy strained to hear their whispers, but could only make out part of what was being said.

“We should try an’ get out of here, Chris.”

“No. I think it’s still too dangerous. We don’t know what’s goin’ on up there and the roof could cave in on us if we try an’ climb out. You know that.”

“Stayin’ here isn’t all that safe either, I mean, come on, man, do you smell that? It can’t be healthy to stay down here and breathe that in.”

“I know that but"”

“No buts. Given the choice, I’d choose dyin’ fast over dyin’ slow and painful any day…any day.”

“Yeah, me too, but I think we have a better chance if we stay here an’ wait for help to come.”

“Chris, look at me, man. We don’t even know if help is comin’. Think about it. How many tornados tore through here this week? We’ve been trapped down here for six days! Six days, man!” Eric’s voice started to rise and he struggled to get it under control before starting again, “If someone was goin’ to come and get us out, don’t you think they would’ve done it by now?” He lowered his voice even more and Kathy had to strain even harder to hear him. “We don’t have a lot of water left and those girls can’t survive on crackers much longer.” He said crackers with a slightly raised tone. “We’re goin’ to starve to death if we don’t get out of here soon. Look at those girls; do you wanna watch ‘em die? I don’t. We have to try to get out. Tryin’ is better than just sittin’ here on our asses waitin’ to die and you know it.”

“I just…I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“We’ll be careful. If it looks like the ceiling might cave, we’ll stop; we just have to try though…Please?” His voice had taken on a pleading tone.

“Okay. We’ll try.”

Eric sighed; it was a sigh of relief as he turned away. Chris sighed too, but it was more a sigh of resignation than relief. They began shining their flashlights at the ceiling, looking for the safest place to start trying to dig out. After a couple of minutes, Eric climbed onto the table. “I think this looks like the best spot.”

Chris walked over to the table and climbed up beside him. They started tugging gently at a broken piece of ceiling next to the television set still hanging from its cord. They could hear a rumble as the loose pieces started to shift under their influence.

“Stop!” Yelled Kathy, but it was too late. Part of the makeshift ceiling came crashing down beside her and the children. Kathy dodged it just in time, pulling the girls out of the way of the falling debris with her.

“Are you guys ok?” Chris jumped off the table as he spoke.

“Yeah, I think so. It missed us.”

“Eric, it’s time to stop, it’s no use.”

He shook his head, “Kathy, get the girls and get under the table.”

Chris looked as if he was prepared to fight as he rose to his feet, “Eric, you said"”

“No. They’ll be safe there. We can’t stop now. We just started. We’re getting’ out of here. I need some fresh air, don’t you?” Kathy could hear the determination underlined with desperation in his voice.

Chris grumbled, but he nodded at Kathy to get the girls under the table before climbing back onto it. Eric waited only as long as he had to before he started pulling at the ceiling above him again. They were panting from their effort and Chris was starting to give up again, when the television set finally fell. They jumped out of the way, landing on the floor in front of Kathy and the girls, Eric on his knees and Chris on his butt. “Damn it!” Eric pounded the floor beside him.

“Are you ok?” Kathy asked as she started to climb out from under the table to check on them.

“No, we’re fine, right, Chris? Stay where you are. I think we might have the makin’s of a hole now.” He reminded her of a caged animal that just found a hole that would allow it to escape if he struggled with it long enough.

“Damn it, Eric, it’s no use. We’re stuck. You’re gonna’ get us killed.”

“No, I’m not. Look, we can fit through there. I know we can. We just have to move one more piece.” He pointed at the hole left by the falling television as he climbed back onto the table.

Chris mumbled something under his breath as he climbed back up beside his friend and they began tugging at the debris trapped in the ceiling again. “Hang on, hang on. Now,” She couldn’t see them but she could hear them. “That’s it, Chris, that’s it!” More debris fell to the floor. “We should be able to get out now!” Kathy could hear the relief in his voice, and felt it in her own heart. That feeling was short-lived, however.

“S**t!” She could hear the concern she knew would be on Chris’s face.

“What?”

“Listen…” He sounded defeated this time.

“No, no, no, no, no!” They jumped down.

“I told you! I told you we should’ve waited! Kathy, get the girls! We made the damn hole right over the table, we’ve gotta move! Now!”

“Don’t blame me; I didn’t know this would happen!”

“You should’ve! How long have we been stuck down here? How many tornadoes have we heard up there? Too many to count, that’s how many! You had to insist on tryin’ to make a hole, didn’t you? Are you happy now? Damn it!”

“Am I happy? Am I happy? Am I happy that we’re still stuck down here, with yet another tornado barrelin’ above us? Of course not! I just want to get the hell out of this basement!” He was practically screaming.

“Stop fighting! It’s not helping anything. Please stop fighting.” Kathy begged as she pulled the girls out. Her teetering sanity couldn’t handle them fighting right now. She could hear the tornado above. It wasn’t far, they had to move fast or they would all be in danger.

“Fighting not nice.” The girls said at the same time.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too. Come on, we should be safe over there.” Eric grabbed Lily’s hand with his left and Kathy’s with his right hand and led the way to the other side of the basement. Chris grabbed Melanie’s hand and followed quick on Eric’s heals. They had to climb over some debris to get to where he wanted to go, but they made it. Kathy fell once on the way to the other end of the basement, but Eric didn’t stop; he practically dragged her over the debris to the other side and to safety.

They didn’t have a table to hide under this time, so they huddled against the wall, as close as they could. Chris and Eric did their best to shield Kathy and the girls from any possible flying or falling debris. The wind coming from the hole was strong, stronger than anything Kathy had ever encountered. Chris yelped as something smacked him in the back of the head, and they both instinctively moved to shield them even more than they were.

Kathy could feel the wind trying to pull them, but they held on to a pipe coming up from the floor. Over the sound of the tornado, she could hear the girls screaming. Kathy thought she was, too, but she wasn’t sure. After about three minutes, the tornado finally moved on. They waited where they were, afraid to move for fear of another tornado. They sat there against the wall for what felt like an hour, before anyone dared move or even speak.

“Chris, are you ok?” Kathy asked, remembering his yelp.

“Yeah, fine. Just a bump to the head, no big deal.” He put his hand to the back of his head to check it as he spoke.

“Let me see.” She moved slightly to look at his head. There was no blood; luckily, but he did have a small bump. “Yep, you’re ok. You must have a tough skull, just a small bump nothing more. You’ll live.” She tried to joke"unsuccessfully.

“I guess,” he paused and took a deep breath, “I think we should go now.” He was the first to stand up.

“Oh, now you think we should go?” By the sound of his voice, this wasn’t going to end well.

“Yes, I think we should go. We were lucky this time. We might not be lucky the next time another one comes. You insisted on tryin’ to get out; now there’s a hole big enough to get out. Which means, if another tornado comes, it could younk one of us up through it. It’s not safe here anymore. You made sure of that when you demanded we try an’ get out!” He was almost yelling; he was so upset.

Eric got up to get in Chris’s face to argue with him, but Kathy jumped up to intervene. “Come on guys. Stop fighting, please, I can’t take it. Let’s just get out before it’s too late.”

They both sighed and nodded their heads as they climbed back onto the table and lifted the girls and Kathy up with them. “Ok, who should go up first?” Eric asked, looking up.

“I think you should go first. That way I can help ‘em from down here an’ you can help from up there.”

“Ok.” He agreed and jumped up trying to get a hold to begin climbing. He missed and tried again. After several attempts, he looked at Chris, “Can you give me a lift?” Chris nodded and bent down, putting his hands together for Eric to step into them. With Chris’s help, he finally managed to get a grip and began to climb out. It was difficult to do and he moved slowly, afraid the whole thing would cave in on them. After he made it to the surface, they heard him gasp as he struggled to speak. It took several minutes for him to find his voice, “Ok, send Kathy up first. Take it slow, I’ll help you.”

With Chris helping Kathy from behind, she started to make her way out of the basement. She didn't want to go first; she didn't want to be separated from her girls. She had to though; she didn't have a choice, Eric insisted that she go first. Kathy felt the ceiling shift beneath her and almost fell, but Eric grabbed her hand and pulled her the rest of the way up as part of the ceiling under her collapsed. They could hear Chris and the girls screeching from the basement.

“You ok?” He put his hands on her shoulders and shifted her back and forth, looking for any signs of an injury.

“I…I thi…I think so.” She stuttered. “What about…what about my girls and… and Chris? Can they still…can they still get out?” She was on the verge of breaking down; she would rather die down there with them than live up here "without them. She kept her eyes closed, trying to fight off tears. She couldn’t bring herself to look around yet; she was too afraid of what she would see. Kathy knew it was going to be bad; it had to be, they had heard too many tornados for it not to be bad.

“Look at me,” Eric took her face in his hands, and turned it to his, “Look at me. They’re goin’ to be ok. We’re goin’ to get ‘em out. I promise.” He pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her down. Kathy wanted desperately to believe him. After a couple of seconds, he let go and bent down, “Chris, everythin’ ok down there?” They waited impatiently for Chris to respond.

“Everything's fine. We got outta the way before it fell. You guys ok?”

“We’re good.”

“Ok, I’m gonna send Lily up first, are you ready?”

“Hang on!” He got down on the ground and leaned into the hole, preparing to grab her as soon as she was close enough to reach. “Ready!” Chris lifted Lily up as far as he could and Eric grabbed her hand. He pulled her up and out. As soon as she was up, he handed her to her mother, and got back in position to reach for Melanie. Once the girls were both out of the basement, Chris lifted the dogs out. Chris was the last one to climb out, because he was taller than Eric was he didn’t need the boost. The ceiling shifted twice before they got everyone out. At one point, Chris ended up sliding back down when it shifted, causing him to start his climb again.

“Chris!” Kathy shrieked and rushed forward, but Eric grabbed her before she could get to the hole. Chris called up to assure them he was okay before trying again. Chris and Eric were very calm and composed through the ordeal. If they were as afraid as Kathy was, she couldn’t tell. After what felt like an eternity, Chris finally made it to the surface where everyone was waiting. They had done it; they were finally out of the basement.

Author's Note

There's a chance that I might change a few things in this chapter but I wanted to post it and get your opinions on it. Please Review