DEATH WISH - Twisters

I Found You

PHOENIX WAS definitely concussed. She thought she could hear the purring of an engine mixing in with the howling winds but that wasn't possible. No one would be stupid enough to drive towards a tornado. Unless they had a death wish.

She hadn't even bothered trying to lift her bike off her; she knew it was hopeless. Even the strongest man alive wouldn't be able to lift the bike off of himself in this position. And that position was pinned in a ditch by a quarter ton motorbike with a broken leg and two broken arms.

When the bike had fell, Phoenix had reacted on instinct. As most people do, when they fall over or when something is thrown at them, they put their hands up to protect themselves, yes? Well, that's exactly what she did and you can see how that would be a truly awful thing to do.

~~~~

Tyler Owens slammed on the brakes, the trucking halting rather quickly, sending his friends flying forwards in their seats. "Tyler! What the hell man?! Some warning next time?" Boone exclaimed. "What, you get cold feet or somethin'?" Lily laughed.

"There's skid marks" Tyler breathed. "What?" Boone yelled, the roar of the storm getting louder by the second. "There's-there's skid marks! On the road! It's from a bike, I can tell!" Tyler yelled back. "They could be days old! Months, even!" Lily replied.

"There! Smoke, look!" Tyler pointed off the side of the road where dark black smoke was rising up out of a ditch. "This crash just happened!" he unbuckled his seatbelt. "Tyler, we're too close man! Don't go out there!" Boone protested.

Tyler didn't stop, forcing his door open and jumping out of the truck. The wind slammed the door shut behind him and he covered his face from the raining debris as much as he could as he ran towards the smoke.

Boone didn't hesitate to jump out with him, obviously grabbing the camera for YouTube and filming the whole thing. Tyler crested the ditch, peering down through the pouring rain and his heart sank when he saw a rider trapped beneath their bike.

"Shit!" he muttered, quickly clambering down the ditch and crouching next to the person. "Hey! Can you hear me?!" Tyler yelled, looking at the scene before him. The rider could do nothing to speak, so instead they chose to cough. "Okay, good, that's good. Boone! Put the camera way and help me!" Tyler ordered and Boone quickly did as asked.

It took a few tries but the two men eventually got the bike lifted high enough that the rider could push themselves out with their good leg, screaming in pain the entire time. The men dropped the bike and Tyler quickly grabbed hold of the rider.

"Come on, we got you" he scooped the rider up and Boone supported their head as Lily opened the door, allowing Tyler to place the rider inside. "Screw this storm, we gotta get them help!" Lily yelled and Tyler quickly climbed in the back. "Lily, front. Boone, drive like hell!" he ordered and the two did so.

The wind slowly died down and it became easier to hear the other people in the vehicle. "Tyler, are they alive?" Lily asked, turning around in her seat. Tyler quickly placed two fingers on the rider's neck, sighing softly when he felt a pulse. "Yeah, yeah, they are" he nodded.

"Helmet" the rider whispered, their voice hoarse. "What?" Tyler leaned down closer. "Helmet" the rider repeated and Tyler nodded. "I can't take your helmet off, it's not safe" he replied. "Safety...clip. Under...jaw" the rider wheezed and Tyler looked around for it.

"Is it red?" he asked. "Yeah" the rider breathed. "Okay, okay. Just hold on" Tyler gently pulled at the safety clip, and the strap undid instantly, loosening the helmet. He slowly pulled it off, trying to keep the rider's head as still as possible, and he placed the helmet on the floor.

"Is that better?" he asked softly. "Thank..." the rider tried. "Hey, it's okay. Don't worry about it" Tyler smiled reassuringly. "Phoenix" she breathed. "I'm sorry?" Tyler frowned. "My name. It's Phoenix" she coughed slightly. "That's a beautiful name. I'm Tyler. That there is Boone and Lily" Tyler introduced.

Phoenix smiled softly before her eyes fluttered shut. "Hey, Phoenix? Hey, come on, stay awake. Please?" Tyler tried to keep her awake but she still did not stir. "Boone, drive faster" Tyler said, worry evident in his voice.

"Keep her awake" Boone said over his shoulder. "Yeah, too late. She's out like a light" Tyler sighed. "Damn it" Lily muttered. "Boone!" Lily screamed and the truck swerved as a large tree smashed into the side of the truck. The car flipped, somehow landing back on it's wheels just to the side of the road in a field.

"Holy shit!" Boone breathed heavily as Tyler refused to let go of Phoenix. "Everyone okay?" Boone asked, looking at the other occupants of the truck. "I'm good" Lily nodded. "She needs a hospital. Now" Tyler replied, ignoring the cut on his forehead from the glass.

"We got a problem" Boone said and Tyler looked up, seeing Boone frantically trying to turn the engine on. "Engine's dead. I can try and fix it, but-" Boone was cut off by another branch smashing into their car, thankfully small.

"No one goes outside. We'll anchor down, all the things we normally do. Just hang on for us Phoenix" Tyler spoke and Boone and Lily got to work, anchoring down the truck and strapping themselves in.

"Alright Tyler, harness up" Boone turned around in his seat. "I can't. There's no way to harness Phoenix up. She'll get thrown around like a ragdoll, especially unconscious" Tyler dismissed as the truck started rocking slightly, the tornado catching up to them.

"Just hold on tight, man" Boone sighed and Tyler tightened his hold on Phoenix, pressing his body against hers as the winds howled outside. Everything went silent momentarily and the truck stopped moving but it quickly picked back up again, the metal rattling as Tyler closed his eyes, bracing himself for the exit point of the tornado, which tended to be worse than the entry.

Soon enough, the tornado passed and Lily and Boone watched as the cell died out, dissipating before it reached any populated areas. "You better fix the engine fast. She's not doing good" Tyler sat up, continuing to check Phoenix's pulse.

As Boone and Lily were doing their best to fix the engine, Tyler's eyes snapped down to Phoenix when he stopped feeling the rhythmic thumping of her heart. "Oh, shit, shit, shit" he panicked, checking to see if she was breathing, and finding out that she wasn't.

"Boone!" Tyler yelled as he practically kicked his door open. Boone came around to Tyler's door, a frown on his face. "Help me get her out!" Tyler said and Boone quickly helped get Phoenix out of the truck.

The two men laid her on the floor as gently as they could and Tyler immediately started CPR as best as he could. He knew he was hurting her, and he knew her ribs were breaking even more, but currently, she was dead. So anything was better than that.

Boone and Lily continued working on the engine and got the truck running again. "Put her in the bed" Tyler ordered and all three of them lifted Phoenix up, placing her in the bed of the truck. "Drive fast but safe. I'm not strapped in back here" Tyler said as calmly as possible, continuing the CPR.

He had to save her.