Surviving the Tornado

Tanner.

"Oh it's really bad and I've seen a lot of-" he stops himself giving me a wary glance.

"A lot of what? What kind of storm is it?" I question giving him the what-are-you-keeping-from-me look.

"It's a tornado." he whispers, his voice barely audible.

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"Hurry Sky! Grab as many things as you can!" Mia screams over the wind.

We're leaving. We're leaving all of the memories we've had here. It's all because of a stupid storm. But it's not just any storm. It's a tornado. Of course of anything it has to be a tornado. I am now officially scared of them and my dreams aren't helping either. Now I'm having dreams about tornadoes ever night. Even when I'm not asleep, the scenes keep running through my head.

"I can't leave Tanner!" yells Alex. Just hearing his name is like getting stabbed in the gut.

"You have to! We can't carry him! Now hurry!" hollers Mia, as she pulls on Alex's arm.

"I am not leaving without him! Help me carry him!" she shrieks.

"No! Lets go!" I scream back at her. This is not the time for another one of Alex's temper tantrums.

"Charlie!" wails Alex, "Help me! I can't carry him alone!"

"Sorry babe!" I wince and he continues, "The tornado is really close. We don't have time!"

"Fine. I'm staying then." Alex crosses her arms and sits down next to Tanner.

"Alex you're making a big deal over nothing! Now get up and help us! You're wasting time! Now get up! Tanner is gone! You have to deal with that!" I screech at the top of my lungs.

"I'm not the only one, Skyler!" she retorts.

"Just come on." I whisper, defeated. She has a point. I need to deal with that.

I grab my backpack, the same one that I first brought here. Hopefully, it has my medical book in it. That book is my career. I run into my room and stuff some clothes into it, and grabbing some of Alex's too. If she's really going to stay here, I might as well make some good out of it.

Suddenly Charlie bursts into the room. "Skyler we need to go now." He says now with such force that I come without complaining at all.

We head toward the river, running at full speed. I think my heart is about to pound out of chest. If I thought running away was bad, this was 10 times worse. The feelings that I'm feeling are beyond words. And it's terrifying.

"Charlie," I pant with wide eyes, "Promise me we will make it out alive. Promise me we will stay alive. Promise me that."

"I promise Skyler." he whispers and plants a kiss on my forehead. I close my eyes for a second, enjoying the happiness. But then I hear a crack of thunder, and the moment is gone. "Now let's go. I said I would meet Mia and Alex at the big oak."

"Okay." I respond.

Once we get to the big oak, I spot Mia and Alex. Both of them wearing with worried expressions. "Finally. Now let's move. This tornado is coming in fast."

"Oh my gosh! I totally forgot! Guys I need to go get something! Wait here!" Alex exclaims suddenly.

"Oh no you don't Alex! We need to go!" Charlie yells, but I can barely hear him over the storm.

"I need to Charlie! Please!" With that Alex runs in the direction of the house.

"This is really bad." I state dumbly. Oh course it's bad. All of our memories here are getting destroyed. Literally destroyed.

"You think?" Charlie snorts, but he has a scared expression written all over his face. Charlie scared? That doesn't make any sense. Charlie is never scared. Not even a little bit.

At that very moment I just start to cry. I don't know why. I don't know how. I just did. I've been holding back the tears for so long. Ever since the incident with Tanner all I've wanted to do was curl up and cry.

I kneel down on the ground and just let the tears go. Wow I've never realized how good it feels bawl like this. I feel free.

"Skyler????" Charlie and Mia ask at the same time. How I'd love to see their faces right now. It'd be plain hilarious.

"Hey Sky what's wrong?" Charlie says softly as he slowly kneels next to me.

"Tanner. Tornado. Me. Everything." I sob. Charlie wraps his arms around me.

"Don't feel bad about Tanner. It wasn't your fault."

"You don't understand! It is my fault! It's all my fault! He died because of me! We got into that fight! That horrible fight. I said horrible things. He listened to them and then obeyed them! I told him to get out of my life and he did. He's gone now. All because of me!" I scream. I don't feel free anymore. I feel trapped, like a rat in a maze.

Charlie pauses for a moment and then says, "But you didn't mean it. Don't feel bad."

"I try not to feel bad! I try so hard! But all the guilt from over the years is crushing me! It's turning me into a monster."

"But you're not Skyler. You're far from it."

"Ha! That's a funny joke!" I sigh sarcastically.

Charlie grabs my hands and looks into my eyes. Wow, this escalated quickly. "Sky, believe me when I say you are not a monster. You never were either. Just please believe me when I say this. Please."

"Um sorry to break up the feels right now , but Charlie your girlfriend is still inside the cottage and we need to go now." Mia states harshly, making me wince. Alex is still Charlie's girlfriend, after all.

Charlie stands up, letting go of my hands. "What should we do then? Wait until she comes out? What if she never does? What if it's already too late?"

"I don't know. I just don't know. But, in my opinion we should leave while we can. Alex will know what to do when she comes out."

"Let's go then. What are we waiting for?" Charlie grumbles.

"Actually we were waiting for you." Mia starts running away, and I follow her.

Then I stop and look back at the tornado. I can actually see it now, and it's terrifying. All of this is terrifying.

It's like I'm living in a nightmare.

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BOO YAAA! I FINISHED A CHAPTER! Now you all know how I got the title! I hope you like it and sorry for the wait! Toddles!