When I woke up the sun was shining and the birds were chirping. I looked over and Daniella was still sleeping. I slipped on my robe again and climbed into my slippers. When I headed out the door I realized Olivia wasn't there. She must of gone down early, but she was never a morning person. The stairs creaked here and there, but no one stirred. I didn't know how I could get up this early being so tired. As I reached the landing I smelled apple wood bacon on the stove.
"Grandma?"
"Hmmm?" she looked away from the pan and over her shoulder.
"Did Olivia come down?"
"No," she sounded worried, "Was she not upstairs?"
I shook my head. I left the kitchen and walked out onto the porch and she wasn't there. And across the yard neither was her car. She was gone.
"GUYS! Olivia's gone!" I yelled into the house. All the boys bolted out. Max, Tyler, and Jack looked worried, but Steven looked terrified, more terrified than I have ever seen him. I ran in the house and grabbed my tennis shoes and bolted out the door in my robe. "I'll be back! I'm going to go find her, she couldn't have traveled far." Max followed me as I hopped into the driver seat of his truck.
"I'm coming." He said. I nodded, I didn't know how long I was going to be out here and I don't really like to drive in the dark by myself, even with my cell. We strapped in and drove off. My heart was pounding faster than ever. How were we going to find her? She could be anywhere in a 10 mile radius. That's like 300 miles to search. I grabbed the radio, maybe she would answer, just maybe.
"Olivia, Olivia please answer." I spoke into the radio. There was nothing. Where would she go? The only place she could go was her own house was......in Woodward!
"She's going to Woodward. How fast can we get there?"
"Uhhh...um take 79 and we should be there in about an hour." I nodded. I turned on 79 in about 5 minutes. The trees lessened the more we drove on 79.
"Hey! Can you guys hear me?" someone spoke on the radio. My heart lifted, hopping it was Olivia.
"Yes, who is it?" there was a scrambling.
"Daniella. Guys, where are you headed?" My hopes sank and my face drowned of joy that we might have found Olivia.
"Woodward."
"Shoot..." I heard her whisper, "Okay, um, you're not going to like this, but a F4 is looking to hit Woodward straight on." I looked at Max, how was this possible. It wasn't late enough to start. "Two cells converged from last night and it apparently was strong enough to last the night and form."
"Oh my gosh. We have to move Max." I pressed down on the gas pedal. No one was on the road so it was okay if I sped up. No one would be on this road, not now anyways. We rounded a corner and the sky began to turn a dark green. We were close. As we drove on a giant hill came upon us.
"If it's going to hit Woodward, were close. I bet it will be visible over that hill." Max implied. He was right. In a matter of minutes the giant itself was visible at least 1 ½ miles ahead of us. And Woodward was at least 2 miles ahead of us. We had to move it. I floored it. We sped up going at least 80 mph. The twister was huge. It could've been ½ a mile wide and over 500 ft. tall.
"What are you doing?!" Max yelled.
"Getting to Woodward." He grabbed the PRNDL and moved it into park and snatched the keys out of the ignition.
"What are you doing?!" I snapped.
"Stopping you from killing yourself." He retorted. My face flushed with anger.
"We have to get to Woodward before it hits!" I yelled. Shaking his head he yelled back at me, for the first time.
"By the time we get there we'll be in its damage path! We won't have enough time save anyone before it topples us! Why can't you see that killing yourself won't bring your mom back or save Olivia from what awaits her!" His face grew red. "You can't change what's happening, your mom loved to do this, and so do you, but can you do it if you die?" He yelled in my face.
I was so shocked. How could he understand what I was feeling right now?
"You'll never understand what it's like to lose your family! You never will! Not the way I experienced! My dad had already been dead by the time my mom died! My dad died of cancer and what did I have to do? I had to grow up at age 3! I never cried again, because I always saw my mom cry after my dad died. I heard her every night in her bedroom sobbing and I couldn't turn out like that! She left me, she sent me to my grandma so she could work things out with the financial business! She began a storm chaser not only because she needed the money, but because she thought that it would be easy to earn money by doing her most favorite thing! She was wrong, so wrong!" I had never told anyone about my past, never, I just couldn't bring it up without having to cry a little, but I vowed never to cry again.
Max's face lost it anger, he looked compassionate. As he grabbed my hand Daniella tuned in on the radio.
"Guys it's hit. It's gone now, gone to Mertha." I took in a deep breath as Max handed me the keys. As soon as they were in and the PRNDL was in locked in drive I floored it. We came up to the Woodward sign, which was ripped in half. Strips of wood and parts of roofs were everywhere. Families were huddled around the rubble. Hugging and making sure everyone was there, the others were sifting through the trash trying to save anything they could find. I had to jerk on the brake so I didn't speed through the town and run over something or run into something that was in the middle of the road. Around the corner was Olivia's house.
Oh Olivia's house. It was on a tilt and was about to collapse. It was an old house, so it could go any second. I bolted out the car door as soon as I was in the drive way.
"Bethany wait!" Max yelled "We need to get an ambulance so they can help her if we find her." I nodded. He ran to an ambulance that was pulling up. A man about 30 with deep brown shaggy hair came up with a stretcher.
"Stay back ma'am." he ordered. Was I supposed to just stand here and watch my friend be walked out on a stretcher? They went inside the house and didn't come out for another 10 minutes, with a figure on their stretcher. Olivia. I ran up to her and she was covered in blood. She had a gash in her arm that ran from her elbow to her wrist.
"Will she be okay?" He examined her arm.
"Yes, we'll probably have to put a cast on though. If you want you can come with her in the ambulance to the hospital." she stirred, and mumbled something. I walked over to her and touched her shoulder.
"What?"
"Mad-madison. Next house, check for her." she managed to say through the intakes of stiff breathes. I looked over at Max and he helped me out of the ambulance.
"Go with her to the hospital and get the others down there. Then come back." I whispered. He nodded and climbed in, then shut the door. I watched them drive away then ran to the car and grabbed a flashlight out of the glove compartment. Cautiously I made my way up onto the first roof and climbed through the window and the wood creaked. I gave a little shriek-squeak. This was going to be tough.
