20 minutes pass by in the blink an eye. I definitely can't squish the tornado now. Even though it's about 15 minutes from reaching us, it feels like just a few seconds from eating us whole.
I don't even have time to cry. That would take up too much energy.
"Come on adrenaline! Don't fail me now!" I scream hysterically. What a sight we would be right now. Three teenagers running from a tornado, screaming. I almost laugh, but decide against it.
We've tried running to the side, but it seems just to follow us. It's completely unreal.
I look to the right and gasp in shock. Charlie isn't there.
The panic starts to kick in. Did he stop running and get swallowed by the storm? I whip my head around and spot him way behind us. He probably ran to the side.
Just the thought of it makes my blood boil. What a traitor! He left us just to save himself!
"Mia!" I yell. I can barely hear myself over the winds. She turns to me, eyes full of fear. I point over at Charlie and she growls in anger. "I know right!" I shriek.
"Nothing we can do now!"
And just like that we forget everything, except the storm. I'm guessing it'll reach us in 5 minutes. 5 miles away too. So that means it's going at 60 miles per hour.
I definitely can't run that fast.
A minute passes. I grab Mia's hand in mine.
Another minute goes by. I try to focus on the forest ahead of me.
We're down to about two minutes. We both scream and look back. It's so close to catching us.
One minute. One minute to either die or survive. "Sky! I can feel it pulling me! HELP!" Mia screams. I use all my force and pull her forward. The winds are too strong.
I feel her come to a stop. "Sky." she whispers and looks me straight in the eye, "I love you."
I scream no but she pushes me and runs in the opposite direction. The tornado follows her. When Mia is far enough away from me, she halts and looks at me with pure love written all over her face.
As the tornado engulfs her, and a rock comes hurling my way.
It bangs into my head and all goes dark.
The sound of Stairway to Heaven replays in my head as I drift away.
++++++++++
I jolt upright. I must've had one of those stupid tornado nightmares again. Then why is my head pounding?
"Sky!" exclaims Charlie from nearby.
"Hey! I had another stupid nightmare again. This time it felt different though. You ditched us. Seriously, not cool." I grumble.
"What are you talking about?" Charlie asks as he comes around a corner. His face is red and puffy.
I cringe, "What happened to your face?"
Charlie sighs and looks me straight in the eye. "Do you remember anything that happened yesterday?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Charlie's eyes well up with tears and he looks away.
"Charlie! What the heck is up with you? I need to ask Mia about this." I stand up and yell her name.
I get no reply.
"Skyler stop. She isn't here." Charlie sniffles. "She's really far away."
A burst of pain erupts on the back of my head. "What! Charlie what's going on? Where is Mia? Why is my head pounding? Why are you crying?"
"Because she's dead."
"Stop this right now. I want to know the truth." I shake my head and walk towards him. I slowly lift his chin up so I can look right into his eyes. "Tell me everything."
Charlie's eyes hold so much sadness and grief that I can't bear to look any longer. "It wasn't a dream that you had. It was reality. Yesterday. Mia's gone. Please believe me, Sky."
The truth hits me like a bullet through the heart. "No. No. I won't believe it." I whisper.
"You have to Sky. You can't hide from it!" Charlie yells.
I take one last look at him before whipping around and running as fast as I can.
+++++++++++
The next few hours are a blur.
All I can remember is running, crying, and screaming.
She's gone. Mia's actually gone.
But Charlie's right. I can't hide from it. I need to deal and slowly forget about the death.
The bad news are I realized this after I'd run hours away from Charlie. He's long gone and I'm not going to go finding him again. He'll only remind me of Mia. I need to get back home.
Wherever my home is.
I guess now it's back with my step-family. I've never wanted to see them this much in my entire life. Now they just seem like an escape from disaster.
First things first, I need to find a town.
++++++++
As it starts becoming dark, I consider stopping here for the night. But I don't know these woods and I don't want to take my chances against it. I'm going to keep walking.
I can faintly hear engines running and people talking. I'm definitely not resting now.
My pace picks up into a full sprint. "Hello! Anyone? Is anyone there?" I yell.
"Uh hello?" a voice asks out of the darkness.
"I need help! I need to find shelter! I need to find my family!" I shout.
I hear the rustle of bushes and a figure emerges from the thicket.
And at that moment all of the memories of my past come rushing back because of this one face that I recognize so well.
The person gasps, "Skyler?"
"Hello, Sidney." Is all manage to say before I pass out.
+++++++++++
My eyes snap open. Police sirens blast. My body is being lifted. People are staring. My head is spinning.
Only one thought remains. Sidney. I never thought I would see her again. After what had happened, that is.
"Sky!" she exclaims, "It's okay! The police are here!"
"Why?" I grumble.
Sidney pushes a dirty blonde lock of hair out of her face. "We all were so worried when you fell. The gash on your stomach was also pretty bad. You obviously needed help from the police."
"Thanks." I mumble and close my eyes once again.
++++++++
"Hello honey." The voice of my foster mother wakes me up.
I sit up in a moment of panic and my head immediately starts throbbing. "Ow." I mutter.
My foster mother gasps and rests my head back down. "Don't sit up too fast, dear. It's not good." she chides.
"When did you get here?" I ask, ignoring how weird and happy she's being. "Where am I?"
"The Emergency Room. Your cut on your stomach is really bad. It could have gotten infected. That's not good, Skyler." she replies, "But, of course I don't blame you. It must have been an accident. You've had a lot of troubles ever since you ran away because of that horrible friend of yours. What was her name? Oh yes, it was Michelle. She was dreadful. No wonder you ran away." My foster mother flashes a fake grin at me that clearly means that I shouldn't reply.
Anger pulses throughout my body. Michelle was perfect. She did nothing wrong. My mom doesn't know a thing. "I'm sorry Jennifer. I must have heard you wrong-" I start, flashing her a deathly smile.
"Sweety, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me that? I know you're just trying to sound professional, but I prefer 'mother'."
"I'm sorry I can't call you that." I respond, totally unfazed, "Because you never have and never will be my mother."
A voice behind me speaks for the first time, "Mrs. Salzman, I think it would be best if you left the room. You are upsetting my patient."
Ohh so that was why my foster mother was acting so weird. It was to impress the doctor. "Yes. I agree." I state, lifting my chin up, "Leave Jennifer. I cannot stand seeing your face any longer." I dramatically point to the door.
My foster mother grits her teeth and nods slowly. "If I must, darling. Whatever makes you happy." She slowly creeps out of the room, shooting fake smiles at the doctor and me all the while.
Gosh, she's so weird. "Once you'll leave I'll be happy." I snarl.
She sends me one last fake smile before shutting the door and leaving me with the doctor.
"Hello, my name is Dr. Trotter. I will be your doctor while you stay here." he says in a professional voice.
I snort and sit up, "Yeah whatever. I want to get out of here."
"I totally understand. You must be having a bit of trouble with that mother of yours." Mr. Trotter smiles.
I smile back. This doctor is cooler than he looks. I bet he listens to ACDC during his lunch break. "She is always like that when adults are around. She likes to impress and get attention. That's probably why she wanted me to come back. For all the publicity."
The doctor nods, knowing exactly how I feel. "As much as I'd like to complain about your mother-"
"She's not my mother." I state, cutting him off. I hate it when people call that monster, my mother.
"Okay, foster mother. I really must be going and you should too. You are free to go. Have a good day, Skyler."
I smile at Mr. Trotter, "You too!"
"Yes ma'am!" he grins and exclaims. Then he opens the door and walks out.
At that moment I felt actually happy. The feeling I hadn't felt in a while.
Too bad I wouldn't be feeling this way for long.