Twister on Tuesday (5 page)

“They have a storm cellar!” Jack said. “That's what our book said!”

“Yeah, but it's only their first day in the dugout! They might not know about it!” said Annie. “There was a rug on the floor!”

Annie is right
, Jack thought.

He looked up at the tree house. All they had to do was climb up and leave, and
they'd
be safe.

But what about Miss Neely? What about Will and Kate and Jeb?

“Okay!” said Jack. He jumped down from the ladder. “Let's go back!”

He and Annie started running back toward the schoolhouse.

They ran as fast as they could across the prairie.

The roaring sound of the twister followed them.

Suddenly, the wind threw them to the ground!

Jack clutched the tall grass, trying to stand. When he got up, he grabbed Annie's hand. He pulled her up, too.

With all his might, Jack held on to Annie and pulled her along.

The roaring twister came closer and closer.

The wind ripped up grass and earth around them. The roar grew deafening.

Jack and Annie could barely stay on their feet. Finally, they reached the dugout.

They tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

They banged on the door with their fists.

“Let us in!” Annie shouted.

No one opened the door.

“They can't hear us!” yelled Jack.

But the sound of the twister drowned out his voice.

Suddenly, the schoolhouse door blew off its hinges! It went flying through the air!

Jack grabbed Annie and pulled her into the dugout.

Inside, the benches were overturned. The room was a mess.

Miss Neely and the three kids were pressed against the dirt wall. Kate and Will screamed as the winds whipped around the room.

Miss Neely hugged Kate. Jeb held on to Will.

“Get in the cellar!” Jack yelled.

“What cellar?” shouted Miss Neely.

Together, Jack and Annie pulled the rug off the floor and uncovered the cellar door.

They grabbed the door and tried to open it, but the wind was blowing too hard.

Suddenly, Jeb was beside them. He pulled the door open. A ladder led down into the cellar.

One by one, Will, Kate, Miss Neely, and Annie went down the ladder.

Jack waited for Jeb to go down.

“Go! Go!” Jeb shouted.

Jack climbed down into the cellar.

Jeb came last. He closed the door behind him, leaving everyone in total darkness.

The twister roared fiercely above them. It sounded like a train barreling right through the schoolhouse!

As the twister roared and howled, Jack couldn't think. He couldn't feel. He was totally swept up in the howl of the wind.

Then, just as Jack felt he would disappear in the roar of the twister, the noise died down.

And then it was silent.

No one spoke for a moment in the blackness. Then Annie broke the silence.

“Are we still alive?” she whispered.

Everyone laughed.

“Yes, I think we are,” said Miss Neely.

Jeb pushed open the cellar door. Daylight streamed in. He looked out.

“All clear,” he said.

Jeb crawled out of the cellar. Jack followed him, then Annie, Will, Kate, and Miss Neely.

The sky was gray above them. The twister had torn the roof off the dugout and sucked everything out, even the rug.

They all stared in shock at the empty space.

Then Miss Neely smiled.

“Well, at least we are all safe,” she said.

They stepped out of the hut. The air was thick with dust and bits of grass.

The twister had cut a wide path of dirt and destruction across the prairie. It was still whirling away on the horizon.

Everyone watched silently as the twister became long and thin, like a piece of rope. Then it vanished completely.

Miss Neely turned to Jack and Annie.

“You saved our lives,” she said.

“Thank you!” said Will.

“Thank you!” said Kate, hugging Annie.

“Jeb actually opened the cellar door,” said Jack.

“Yes! Thank you, too, Jeb!” said Miss Neely.

The older boy only scowled.

“I hope you can get a new school,” said Annie.

“We will,” said Miss Neely. “Just as we planted our fields again after the grasshopper attack, we'll build our school again after the twister. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.”

Jack thought Miss Neely was one of the bravest people he'd ever met.

“You're a good teacher,” he said shyly.

“I love teaching,” she said. “It's a job that lasts forever. Whatever you teach children today travels with them far into the future.”

“That's true!” said Annie.

Jack smiled.

“Well, we better leave—again,” he said.

“Bye!” Everyone waved, except Jeb.

Jack and Annie started across the prairie, back toward the tree house.

They hadn't gone far when Jack heard someone shout his name. He turned around.

It was Jeb.

“Wait!” the older boy yelled. He had a fierce look on his face. He started running toward them.

“Oh no,” Jack breathed. Did Jeb still want to fight?

“Leave us alone!” Annie said angrily.

“Shh, Annie,” said Jack. “Let's see what he wants.”

When Jeb got close to them, he stopped. He looked right at Jack.

“Why did you come back?” he asked.

“We wanted to tell you about the storm cellar,” said Jack.

“How did you know about that cellar?” Jeb said.

Jack pulled their research book out of his leather bag.

“We read about it in this book,” he said.

Jeb stared at the book. Then he sighed.

“I aim to read someday, too,” he said. “That looks like a good book.”

Jack didn't know what to say. He was still afraid of making Jeb mad. So he just nodded.

“My ma and pa were too poor to go to school,” said Jeb. “They want me to go. But I'm getting started mighty late.”

“It's not too late,” said Jack.

“It's
never
too late,” said Annie.

Jeb narrowed his eyes.

“If you ever come back through here … ,” he said.

“Yes … ?” Jack asked carefully. Was Jeb about to threaten him again?

“Maybe I'll be able to read that book of yours,” Jeb said.

Jack sighed and smiled.

“I know you will,” he said.

Jeb smiled back. He had a nice smile.

“Thanks for coming back to rescue us,” he said to both Jack and Annie. “Too bad you can't stay. I reckon we'd all be good friends if you did.”

“I reckon we would,” said Annie.

Jeb nodded. Then he turned and ran back to join the others.

Suddenly, the sun broke through the clouds. The wildflowers danced in a gentle breeze.

“Ready?” said Annie.

Jack just stood there, staring at the sunlit prairie.

“
Jack?
Ready to go?” Annie asked.

In that moment, Jack actually hated to leave. But he nodded slowly and said, “Let's go.”

He and Annie took off through the bright, sparkling grass. They ran to the small grove of trees near the creek.

They climbed up the rope ladder and scrambled into the tree house.

Annie picked up their Pennsylvania book.

“I wish we could go there,” she said.

This time the wind did
not
start to blow.

The tree house simply started to spin on its own.

It spun faster and faster.

Then everything was still.

Absolutely still.

Jack opened his eyes.

Morning light filled the tree house.

He and Annie were wearing their own clothes again.

“Home,” said Annie, smiling.

Jack looked out the window.

He saw their nice, cozy house in the distance, their lawn, their sidewalk, their paved street.

“Life here is pretty easy compared to pioneer life,” said Jack.

“We're lucky,” said Annie.