Tornado Warning ("Disaster Strikes" Series)

Chapter 9: Happily Ever After

After a few minutes of slowly and awkwardly limping together, Sarah, Mrs. Miller, Ms. Gomez, and the baby finally reached the bus ramp. Buses were lined up on the road along the entrance to the school (since the actual bus ramp was packed with people), to take the uninjured students away to some safe location, where they could be picked up by their parents.

The students were lined up with their teachers, and classes were grouped by grade level. Sarah could see that the shortest students (AKA, the Kindergartners) were in the process of boarding already. She craned her neck, struggling to see if she could identify her sister. She needed to know if Alexis was okay. Suddenly, she managed to spot Mr. Taylor, Alexis' teacher. Sarah began to try to walk in that direction, but Mrs. Miller quickly put a stop to that.

"Oh no, you don't! Child, you need to go to the hospital!" She admonished the girl.

Turning towards the teacher, Sarah responded, her voice filled with desperation, "Please ma'am. I need to make sure that my little sister is okay. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to her! Please." Tears unwillingly slipped out of Sarah's eyes, both from pain and from anxiety over her sister's fate. Mrs. Miller's expression softened as she watched the teen break down into tears.

"There, there. All right, here's what we'll do. You are going to stay right here, I am going to find your sister and bring her here, and then you are going straight to an ambulance!"

Sarah agreed and, after leaving Ms. Gomez with the paramedics, Mrs. Miller placed the girl in a chair before going to have a conversation with Mr. Taylor. Sarah realized that she couldn't see her sister anywhere and began to panic, unwanted thoughts filling her brain. What if she's hurt? What if something's happened to her? She should have been there for Alexis. She should have protected her, kept her safe! Her breathing began to quicken and she realized that she couldn't catch her breath. She closed her eyes and covered her face with her shaking hands. I'm dying, she thought. After everything I survived today, I'm dying now. I'm dyi—

Suddenly, she once again heard Mrs. Miller's calm voice, speaking to her through the void of her own thoughts, coaching her breathing. Slowly, Sarah felt her heart and breathing rates return to normal, as the teacher helped ease her out of her panic attack.

"There, feeling better?"

Sarah nodded. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Rather than question her about what happened, Mrs. Miller just told Sarah that she had no reason to apologize. "You're worried about your sister, that's normal. Now, she isn't with her class—" Sarah gasped, interrupting the teacher. "—Alexis is over at one of the tables, helping administer minor first aid. Now, I am taking you to an ambulance and I will bring your sister over to join you, understand?"

Without waiting for an answer, however, she escorted Sarah to the paramedics and went off again in search of Alexis. Sarah was left sitting on a stretcher, with paramedics treating her various injuries with painful antiseptics before wrapping them with bandages and gauze. She was given an IV and was questioned about her health and injuries while she waited for Alexis to arrive.

Within minutes, the young girl climbed into the ambulance and jumped into Sarah's arms. Alexis sat down next to Sarah, who turned and thanked Mrs. Miller for everything. The teacher entered the ambulance and grasped Sarah's hand, saying "No dear, thank you."

She stepped off and left to find another ambulance to take her and her daughter to the hospital. The vehicles' doors closed and Sarah and Alexis were driven away, holding hands and talking about their ordeal and how thankful they each were that the other was okay.