The door opens so fast that the lock snaps. The lead volunteer walks in. Two other men come in behind him. Betsy storms her way in too, but they block her way, leaving her squeezed up against the door frame. Even her voice won’t get her through now.
I’m frozen, a character caught in a bad horror B-movie. The three men stop, blocking the one way out of the kitchen. Even if I could move, there’s nowhere to run.
Dorian looks at me. So does Tommy. Their faces are wide with horror.
“Allie, Dorian,” the head volunteer says. “We want you to know that we didn’t come to this decision lightly. We hate to burden the two of you with this.”
“Then why don’t you take it back, Jeff?” Betsy hollers from the back. “Let any of us go in their places. My nephew is not going to have this hovering over him for the rest of his life.”
Jeff turns away from her. “Nobody can go in their places. We went over this. It’s the only way.” He turns back to Dorian and me. “I’m sorry.”
“Look, man,” Dorian says. “I’m not doing anything to Evansburg. You can forget it. And by the way, what a great thing to do for our neighbors. What are you thinking?”
Jeff shakes his head. “Destroying the entire town is the only thing that will keep our human neighbors away from here long enough for Madeline to call the Deathwind back. We considered everything else before this, and I mean everything. Nothing else will keep them safe from being turned. And don’t worry. We’ll make sure that no one’s hurt or killed. The other Outbreakers are making plans to lure our neighbors out of town for tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I jump back to hit a cabinet.
“Tomorrow is Thursday,” Jeff says. “There’s a chance of storms. If you’re here, Allie, you’ll attract one so that it comes right over Evansburg. That’s why we need you. No one else can guarantee that a storm will roll in when we need it.”
I’m about to throw up. I gag and make a show of it. Tommy pulls me close to him. The floor tilts.
Destroy Evansburg.
I can’t.
I won’t.
“I’m not doing it,” I say.
“Leave her alone!” Dorian shouts. “Find someone else. The Curts might be more than happy. They’re into that stuff.”
Jeff clears his throat. “We need a tornado that’s capable of leveling the whole town. It’s rare for an Outbreaker to have that amount of power. Most of us just become weak or average tornadoes when we have Outbreaks. So do you and Allie.” Jeff steps a little closer. “Unless the two of you have Outbreaks at the same time and merge. We’ve never heard of anything like it. That’s why it must be you two.”
An invisible fist slams into my stomach. I gasp and look up.
“We…all we did was destroy one barn,” I stutter. I’m losing it. How can they just assume all this? “That’s it. So you don’t even know if this will even work. And we can’t even control ourselves when it happens. We could totally miss Evansburg for all you know.”
“She’s right,” Tommy says. He’s got his hand in his pocket. No doubt he’s clutching his phone in case they want to steal it and see the pictures. That’ll seal it right there.
“You also ripped the concrete from the road, picked up a tractor and mutilated it,” Jeff says. “No average tornado can do that. And for the record, we’ll make sure you’re both in the right place when the time comes. We’ll calculate how the storm’s moving. You likely won’t miss.”
“That…that merger was a freak thing that happened. It probably won’t happen again in my life,” I stammer. “There’s got to be another way. It’s going to ruin a bunch of peoples’ lives if we do this.”
“It’s better than ruining them in the way that Madeline wants to,” Jeff says. “We’ve talked about all of this. They won’t come back to Evansburg for months if their homes are gone. And Madeline won't know where they all go during that time. When they do come back in, Madeline will have moved on.”
“But they’ll still come back to salvage what they can,” Dorian argues. “The Deathwind can get them then. Then their lives will really be ruined. Haven’t you thought about that one?”
Jeff nods. “We’ll be here with our neighbors during this difficult time. If the Deathwind shows its face, we’ll protect them in the way that you two protected your friend here. What we can’t do is stand guard in their bedrooms at night.”
Dorian opens his mouth to say something. He blanches. “But…you know what could happen!”
My knees buckle.
These guys are serious.
They really, really want us to go through with it.
“I...I don’t know if I can do this,” I say. “I mean, I see what you’re saying, but this is a whole town of people we’re talking about. It’ll never be the same again.”
“You can,” Jeff says with a solemn nod. “We’re very sorry it has to be this way. This is very hard for everyone involved.” He nods to the guys behind him. “Take them to the--”
Dorian's parents move. His father leaps at Jeff and shoves him into the counter. His mother and Betsy wrestle with the other two men. The doorway's a mass of thrashing bodies.
Dorian's father pulls his arm from Jeff's grip. He faces us. “Get out of here!”
I turn. No exit.
“The window,” Tommy shouts. He lifts a kitchen chair. He's going to do it.
“Go!” Dorian's father's voice booms through the kitchen.
I nod to Tommy. That's a yes.
He rams the chair into the glass. It cracks. He pulls back.
I rush up and take the chair too. “Now!”
We shove the chair forward. The dining room window explodes. Glass shards fly. Feet thud behind us.
I rush out and a hand scrapes against my shirt. I hit the ground. Dorian does the same. Tommy lands on me and we’re a tangle.
“Run!” Dorian shouts.
I shoot up and run. Endless fields and grass bounce in front of me.
“Dorian! Allie!” Jeff’s shouts crack the air. “If you don’t do this, you’re dooming everyone in Evansburg!”