It doesn’t even look like a tornado.
It looks like a dust storm descending from the sky with swirling demons inside, waiting to devour all living in their way. Vortexes form inside the main tornado. Rip across the ground. Disintegrate. Form again. Above us, the Deathwind shrinks, flying away to power the apocalypse.
It looms larger every second. I can’t even make out its edges. It’s a miles-wide carousel of dust, raging vortexes, and death. Its roar cuts over the siren, growing louder each second, punching my eardrums.
Terror bubbles up inside me. Explodes.
I have a feeling this thing can kill even Outbreakers.
Hail beats down on the earth. Mom cries out. She keels over, holding one hand to her shoulder.
“Back to the house!” Dad orders. He’s full panic, taking Mom’s arm. He reaches for me with his free hand. Grabs on. “Allie! Move!”
“No!” Madeline rushes in front of us.
Dad stops, then dives around her. He loses my arm. I stagger. The roar grows louder. Madeline pulls me to my feet. Dad lunges for me. She pulls me away. Mom cries out and Tommy yanks on my arm.
“There’s still time!” Madeline shouts. She looks up at the shrinking Deathwind. “We can stop this if we turn someone right now! I can’t make the Deathwind move.” She lets go of me. “Pull one of them under it!”
Her words whip away on the raging wind.
And stab into me.
I have to choose who to turn.
The grass whips down. The tornado’s closing in for the kill. Mom and Dad pull at me, screaming. Tommy stands in front of them, begging. Bethany pulls at him, strangling him with his own shirt. I can’t…I can’t…
The tornado’s so close that the wind threatens to knock me over. Even the hail has fled. Branches crash into each other. One snaps. The whole world beyond the field is spinning, twisting, raging…
Bethany. She’s the closest. I have no choice.
I lunge for her.
Grab her arm. Pull her away from Tommy. Under the Deathwind. She eyes the coming monster. Looks up. Looks at me.
Madeline closes her eyes.
Bethany screams.
Kicks.
Pain explodes in my knee and I let go. Bethany turns. Bolts for the trees. For any shelter she can find.
I straighten up, ignoring the pain. Reach for her. She’s gone, disappearing into the dark. I can’t even tell which direction she’s running in. Mom and Dad grab my arms. They pull, but I hold back. Their mouths move, but I can’t hear what they’re yelling. Not anymore. The roar is everything. The world, black. I can’t breathe.
Tommy pushes Mom and Dad out of the way. He grabs my arms and mouths something.
Turn me.
I stagger in the wind. It’s black. It’s hell. The tornado’s close. I can’t tell where the rest of the Deathwind is. Madeline’s a blur next to me. She pulls me back. I keep Tommy’s arm. The storm pulls at him, trying to take him away. I can't see Mom and Dad. I can't see the--
There.
The Deathwind’s the size of a beach ball, gray against the darkness. It’s almost gone. We have seconds to interrupt this.
I pull Tommy under it. “I’m sorry!”
He can’t hear me. There’s no way. I hug Tommy close, holding him in place. The Deathwind forms its funnel. Drops.
The wind screams.
Someone crashes into us.
We go down in the dirt. Earth batters us from all sides. Gravel pelts my skin like a million angry gremlins. The wind sucks the air from my lungs. I hold onto Tommy. He's not moving. Not reacting. He's the only solid thing left in the world.
I'm going to die.
Maybe I deserve this.
Maybe it's poetic justice.
The roar washes over us, popping my ears, stoning me.
Something hits the side of my head.
Then silence.
Nothing but silence.
Chapter Twenty-Eight