Chapter Five
Thunder
boomed overhead as Jedidiah readied the dog’s food bowl. He tried not to
cringe. Loud noises still bothered him, even though he’d been home for almost a
month.
“We
have to go to the basement Hairy.”
The
dog whined, licked his hand, and then nudged him; his liquid brown eyes staring
up at him with such trust Jedidiah’s heart ached.
“I
hope you don’t trust me in vain.” He grabbed the dog’s leash and attached it
just as the tornado sirens went off. “Hurry, let’s get downstairs.”
The
basement was dark and smelled of mold and mildew, but Jed forced himself to
move down the last few steps. He knew the lights wouldn’t stay on long because
they were already flickering.
One
of the first things he’d done after arriving was prepare the basement for
emergencies. The weather radio began to beep like crazy, and then a voice spoke
urgently; “...take cover underground. This is a tornado emergency…”
Jedidiah
only heard bits and pieces as he pulled the basement door closed.
One
side of the basement had been dug up and there was one of those special
shelters made of reinforced steel installed into its dirt floor. He grabbed the
radio, his duffel bag full of food, water and other emergency items and
whistled for the dog, who ran toward him, his leash dragging through the dirt
as he raced down the steps of the small shelter behind his master. Jedidiah
gasped in horror as he pulled the door closed above him. The house was already
gone and the basement was exposed to the fierce winds of the tornado. The shelter door was being pulled from his
hands, but he gave it a jerk, closed it and pressed the automatic lock, and it
latched with a metallic click. “Whoa, that was close old buddy. I’m already
re-thinking my recent thoughts to settle down here. I can’t believe I’m
experiencing a tornado already.”
Hairy
whimpered as he sat full on top of Jedidiah’s lap.
“I
know you’re scared. So am I.” He buried his hands into the silky softness of
his best friend’s fur and prayed, “Dear Lord, I know I haven’t paid much
attention to you lately, but if you’re up there, please keep us safe.”
The
wind bellowed with a loud roar, almost seeming to answer his question. “I hear
you Lord. I will keep you in mind from how on.” The words were spoken with
quiet conviction.
Now
that they were relatively safe, Jedidiah’s thoughts went to Janna. Had she made
it to safety? He wished he could call her, but couldn’t afford for her to find
out he already had her number. If she was okay, she would know something was
up.
There
was a loud noise that sounded like a bomb going off, and then a long scraping
that ended right above his head. He was pretty sure they’d just been buried in
debris.
He
pulled out his cell phone, hoping for a miracle, but it wasn’t meant to be.
There was no signal.
“Of course there isn’t, you idiot, you’re in a
steel cage.” He nudged Hairy over with his free hand, exposing the duffel bag
that rested at his right side. He rummaged around inside, looking for a
flashlight. Was it over yet? He
tilted his head, concentrating on any noises he might hear as he pulled the
small plastic flashlight out, but there was nothing. He unwound his other hand
from the dog’s fur and stood up, turning the flashlight on. It didn’t work. He
smacked it; still nothing. “Turn on you cheap piece of…” Light snapped on and
he blinked, his eyes watering from the sudden flash. “That’s more like it.” He
grinned, despite the situation he and the dog were in. They were alive, and
they had light. “Hold on, Hairy. I’m gonna go assess the situation up top.”
Jedidiah
climbed the steps, muttering, “Please let the door open, dear Lord. He
unlatched the lock and pushed the door open. “Thank you Lord.”
His
relief was short-lived, however, as his eyes traveled even higher. About two
feet above the opened door, there was a pile of solid debris. “What is
that?” He trained the beam of light on
something metal. “Tell me that isn’t a muffler.” He stood on the top step and
gave it a push. The metal was surprisingly cool to his touch, and didn’t budge.
“I
think it’s an SUV Hairy. I don’t how we’re going to get out. How will they even
know we’re here?”
Jedidiah
came back down the four steps and settled into his previous spot. “We’ll just
wait a while and see if anyone comes to move it. That’s all we can do.”
After
a few minutes, he began to get antsy. He hated to sit still. He turned the knob
on the weather radio, but all he got was static. “Well that thing is useless.”
Hairy
pulled his head up from his paws and gave him a look that seemed to say, “At
least you’re alive.”
“I
know, Hairy. What would I do without you to keep me grounded?” He grinned and
patted his head. I’m pretty sure you’re dog bowl is gone, but I brought food
and water.” He delved back into the duffel and pulled out a baggie full of dog
food and a bottle of water.
Hairy’s
head came up again, and he got up on all fours.
Jedidiah
grinned. “I’m glad to see the storm caused no lasting effects.” He rummaged
around inside the bag again until his fingers clutched on two shallow bowls. He
poured the water, sat the bowl down and then filled the food bowl and sat it
beside the other one.
“I
wonder how long this is gonna take. Should I start trying to dig out somehow? I
know I can’t move the vehicle but surely I can displace the debris around it.”
He got up and retraced his steps to the top. He could hear what sounded like
chainsaws and men yelling in the distance.
“I
hear people, Hairy!”
The
dog continued eating his supper. Wow,
even the dog ignores me. He was sad for a moment, until Janna’s pretty face
came to mind and he grinned, his loneliness dispelled by her cutesy dimples and
beautiful amber eyes. He would be patient, but he needed to get out of here.
Tornado or no tornado, Janna’s attacker was getting out tomorrow and he needed
to be able to protect her.
“I
hope she fared better than us, Hairy.” He went to the back edge of the door and
tried to shove some of the debris away from the SUV, but it was packed tight. “Feeling
like a sardine here, Lord. Is this how Jonah felt?” I sound like an idiot. Maybe I’m in shock.
He
gave another shove, but the debris wasn’t moving. He returned to his seat
downstairs and closed his eyes. A nap would help pass the time.
He
dozed-off and woke-up some time later, and pulled himself to attention. He’d
been dreaming about her. How long was he asleep? He wiped his gritty-feeling
eyes and ran his fingers through his dark curls. A loud noise above him caught
his attention and he realized why he’d woken up. He heard chains and scraping.
“I
think they’re here to get us, Hairy.” He raced up the steps. “Can you hear me?”
When
there was no answer, he asked, “Can anyone hear me?”
“Mr.
Johnston, is that you?”
His
heart raced at the sound of another human voice. “No, I’m Jedidiah Jones.”
“Our
records show a George Johnston owns this shelter,” the man yelled from above
the debris.
“Oh,
that must be the previous home-owners. I bought this house and moved in at the
end of last week.”
“Oh.
Well we’ll be getting you out in a few minutes, then,” the rescuer said.
“Thank
you, I can’t wait. How bad is the damage up there?”
There
was silence for a few seconds, and then, “The worst I’ve ever seen.”
“Then
get me out of here, I have to go check on somebody.”
Just
then a motor started up, revved, and the SUV was removed from above him. He
raced up the steps, and then stopped short in horrified amazement.
“There’s
nothing left but piles of rubble.”
