Ain't No Love in Oklahoma: A Twisters Story

Ride It Out

A couple hours away from home

Callie and her family had been driving for a couple hours now, it was dark and strong gusts of wind had been kicking up, but their drive had been quiet. Callie had fallen asleep in the back seat of the truck, Kate and Tyler were silent up in the front, the only sound being an old Garth Brooks song playing faintly on the radio. "I guess the advice you gave Cal worked out well." Kate spoke, breaking the silence. "What do you mean?" Her husband asked, not following. "What you told her a few days ago after she hit that barrel and got down on herself, you don't remember?"
"No, what did  I say?"
"You sat down next to her in the grass outside the barn and said "we all go through rough patches, Cal. There will be times in life where the storm is so big and strong, you feel like you can't escape the rain. All you gotta do, though, is ride it out and wait for it to pass. The clouds will break and the sun will shine again, just you wait." Kate repeated the words. Tyler thought for a moment, trying to recall what she was talking about. "Oh yeah, I did tell her that, didn't I?" He remembered, smiling. Kate nodded and smiled, then she turned her eyes back to the road. Suddenly, a large gust of wind blew, strong enough to push against the truck. Kate and Tyler looked at each other, then an alert popped up on both their phones. A tornado warning had been issued, Kate rolled down her window and listened as sirens in the distance blared. Callie startled awake in the backseat, feeling the truck getting pushed around. "Oh shit." Her dad said as rain started to hit the windshield. "Is there a tornado?!" Callie asked, wide awake. "Yes, but I'm sure everything is fine." Kate reassured. "Can you see it?!" Tyler asked, starting to have trouble controlling the truck. Callie and her mom both looked around, then she spotted it out the window. "I see it, behind us and to the right!" She announced. Callie had grown up learning about storms her whole life, she knew a thing or two. It was barely visible against the dark sky, but she could make out enough to tell where it was headed. "Wind is blowing towards us, the storm looks still, that tells me it's coming this way. Drive straight, dad!" She explained. "Got it!" He answered, accelerating a bit. Kate looked behind her, watching it too. She stuck her hand out the window, feeling the wind. It immediately blew her back, she quickly rolled up her window and turned to Tyler. "Wind is about 100 miles per hour and gaining speed, storm appears to be EF-1 as of now. Should reach EF-2 at the highest if my calculations are correct." Kate relayed. Callie looked back nervously at the horse trailer, knowing that her equine partner was inside made her extremely worried. "We're still over an hour away from home, we just gotta ride it out." Her dad told them, still struggling to keep their vehicle from drifting. Callie looked back to the tornado, it was getting harder and harder to see because of the rain, which had quickly turned to hail. Kate startled as a large branch hit the truck, numerous objects had started flying towards them now. What appeared to be a large piece of scrap metal slammed into Callie's window, shattering it as she turned her face away. She let out a scream, shielding her face from the flying glass. "Cal, you okay back there?!" Her dad shouted. "I'm good!" She answered, looking at her hands and arms. She felt blood dripping down her forehead, a shard of glass must have nicked her. Kate looked back at her, her eyes widened. "Oh God, Cal! Your forehead!" Kate exclaimed, seeing her daughter. Tyler looked back as well, then he quickly turned his attention back towards the road. "It's not that bad, head wounds always bleed worse than they are." He said, trying to reassure his family. Callie ignored her injuries, she turned to look back at the storm. "It's changed directions! Heading northwest now." She shouted. "Okay, we're almost out of it! Hang in there a little longer!" Kate exclaimed. They all flinched as a branch hit the windshield, causing it to crack. "Oh, Jesus take the wheel." Tyler quietly muttered, still fighting to keep the truck straight. They saw where the sky cleared, and they all held their breath as they drove towards it. Callie looked back at their horse trailer, it was swaying in the wind, but still seemed secure. "Almost there!" Her dad shouted, determined to get them all to safety. Before they knew it, the wind and rain had stopped as they drove out of the storm. They all sighed with relief, happy that they made it out. Tyler drove a few more miles, just to make sure they were in the clear before pulling over. As soon as they stopped, Callie unbuckled her seatbelt and flew out of the truck to check on her horse. "Callie! Callie, wait! Be careful!" Her dad said, scrambling to hurry after her. Kate got out of the vehicle, she looked into the distance where the storm was. She couldn't see anything, she hoped that it was because the tornado had died out. Callie ran around to the back of the trailer and tried to pry open the door, but a large dent made the hinges work incorrectly. "Come on, dammit!" She shouted, determined to check on Storm. "Cal, Cal! Stop, you're going to hurt yourself!" Her dad exclaimed, pulling her away from the back of the trailer. "I have to make sure she's okay!" Callie yelled, fighting against her dad's grip. "We will, we will! Just hold on, let me grab the crowbar." He grabbed his toolbox from the backseat and opened it up, he pulled out the crowbar and used it to get the door loose. After a moment, it flew open. Callie rushed into the trailer, Storm appeared to be okay. She was bound to be sore and had a few minor injuries, but it didn't seem to be anything serious. Storm was obviously shaken up, seeing and hearing Callie did make her settle down, though. "Okay, Cal. Let's get you bandaged up and then we'll get home. It's been a chaotic night." Kate told her daughter. Callie nodded, then she followed her mom back to the truck. Tyler made sure the truck was safe to drive home, miraculously, damage was minimal. A few dents and scratches, broken windows, but nothing that would prevent them from getting home. Kate got Callie taken care of, then they headed home after that wild scare.