Tommy lets out so much swearing next to me that for a second, I’m in a Jerry Springer episode.
“Quiet,” I tell him. I fight the urge to stand. I don’t want Madeline to see me here. I’m not sure what she’ll do if she does.
My town. My neighbors. Madeline’s plan is so much worse now. So much more evil. Oh, I’m going to kill Uncle Cassius. Why didn’t he tell me? Why did he keep this from me? At the very least I’ll never speak to him again.
“But…but the Deathwind…” Tommy’s gaze shoots to the sky and back to me. “Allie, she’s going to use the fireworks to mask it. Nobody’s going to notice it in the noise.”
“I think you’re right.” I scoot down to the next row, past a couple of junior high girls who are busy fiddling with bracelets. “We’ve got to—ohmigod. Mom and Dad!”
They’re still sitting eight rows down. Dad’s got his arm around Mom’s shoulder. They relax in each other’s arms, waiting for the show to begin, unaware of Madeline watching us all from the fence. In a few minutes, they could be new Outbreakers. So could half the audience. Madeline’s planning to turn a hundred and twelve people if she’s here.
That could end up being my family. Or Tommy.
“What are we going to do?” Tommy asks. I can’t miss the panic in his voice. He slides down next to me like we’re on the slope of a volcano that’s about to blow.
I have to get my parents out of here.
I’ve got to get Tommy away from this.
Madeline has no choice about turning people. But she did have the choice to choose my town.
I scramble down the rows to where my parents are sitting.
“Mom. Dad. We’ve got to leave. Now.”
I stand on the bleacher they’re on, barely missing stepping on some woman’s purse. Tommy stands on Dad’s side. He glances at me. I can tell what he’s thinking. We might have to drag my parents out of here. I’m ready for that.
“Allie, we just got here. Is there a problem?” Mom looks up at me, wide-eyed. “Is there an emergency?”
“Yes. There is.” Madeline’s still on the other side of the fence, waiting for the fireworks to start. Emergency. I need something, but I can’t lie anymore. I’m done doing that. “When the show starts, this force called the Deathwind is going to appear and if it gets you, you’ll turn into a tornado every time it storms and destroy everything in your path.”
I shrivel. Did I seriously just say that?
Tommy’s eyes pop out at me.
Oh, wow. I did.
Dad laughs. It’s a nervous, my-daughter’s-going-insane laugh. “Creative, Allie. That sounds like a good story. Where did you come up with it?” I can see him trying to remember the psychiatrist’s number.
“I didn’t.” I’m shaking. They’ll believe me in a few minutes. I grab Mom’s arm. “We’re—“
An explosion shakes the air. A yellow and purple blob bursts to life in the sky.
It’s ten. The show’s started.
I freeze. Look over the faces in the bleachers. Light reflects off them, then fades.
Madeline’s got her eyes closed behind the fence. Her lips move.
“Tommy!” I look at him and nod.
I pull Mom to her feet. She gasps.
He tugs on Dad’s arm. Dad looks at him and tries to stay down, then rises in anger.
“What are you doing?” he says, trying to keep his voice down. “Go and sit somewhere else.” He wrings his arm from Tommy’s grip and glares at me. “We’re having a talk when we get home.”
“She’s right!” Tommy yells, drawing stares. “I’ve seen it. You both need to find an exit. Now!”
“Allie,” Mom says, trying to pull her arm from my grasp. “What are you doing? Calm down.”
A trio of white bursts pop into the sky. The noise makes the bleachers under me vibrate. A little kid shouts something.
Then, I see it.
Dark clouds roll over each other, floating over the top row of the bleachers like dirty fog. Nobody looks back at it. They’re transfixed by the fireworks. I squint, trying to see in the dark. There’s a lone person sitting on the top row.
It’s Bethany.
The Deathwind’s right over her.
She’s the first victim.
She stares ahead at the show, arms wrapped around her knees. Nobody will see her when she goes down.
Tommy follows my gaze to Bethany and his mouth falls open.
“Crap!” he shouts, taking off up the bleachers.
I follow. Tommy and I thunder up the rows. People lean to the side to avoid us. Mom shouts something angry at me. Dad does the same. They’re lost in the cannon shots, fizzles and flashes all around us.
“Tommy!”
He keeps running. He’s on the top row now. Of course. Bethany’s still his friend. He’s going to go after her. People scoot out of his way. Shouts fly at me. Someone whacks me on the side of the leg. Curses.
I’ve got to help Tommy. That’s what he’d want.
We dash along the top bleacher. The fireworks light the world again. The Deathwind’s starting to spin. It glows with an eerie yellow light until the fireworks fade.
Bethany looks up at us. Her mouth falls open. Tommy reaches her. Grabs her arm and drags her to her feet.
“What—“ She eyes Tommy, then me.
“Move!” I shout. “Unless you want to end up like me, move!”
Tommy pulls. Bethany staggers forward.
The Deathwind twists harder by the second. Bethany’s hair flies. She looks up. Another flash lights the Deathwind. Its funnel drops, racing towards her. I take her other arm. We yank her away and the funnel grinds into the bleacher, angry that it’s missed its prey.
Bethany trips. Gets back up. Whirls around as much as she can in our grips. Her hair flies back. She stares at the Deathwind, still spinning feet from her.
And shrieks.
Her screams cut over the fireworks. My ears ring. Heads turn. People stand. Point at the force spiraling over us. Scramble backwards down the bleachers. Mutters fill the air. Wind snaps at their clothes, at their hair, at their faces.
Bethany stops screaming and backs into me and Tommy. I scramble to stand in front of them, to put myself between them and the Deathwind. I catch my feet and barely avoid tripping. The Deathwind spins in place as if making a decision.
Tommy nods at us both. “Back.”
I let go of Bethany’s arm. We scramble away, the three of us a unit, as fast as we can without going down.
Another firework goes off, lighting the Deathwind enough for all to see. It widens enough to block out the sky with its storm clouds. The world above us toils. Rolls. A fresh gust blasts through the air, whistling and roaring in my ears.
Screams explode through the bleachers and everyone stampedes for the exit.
“Come on!” I shout, turning and running back to where Mom and Dad stand.
They’re there. Standing right behind me. They look up at the scene above us. The red in Dad’s face rushes out and his skin blanches. Mom glances up at the nightmare and back at me. Her eyes bulge. “Allie?”
I rush at them, waving my arms. “GO!”
I shove Mom. They turn and run with us. The bleachers clear. A woman trips and lands in a heap at the bottom. The Deathwind rushes for her. Even though I know it can hit people while they’re running, she’s the easiest target. Its funnel tightens above her. Slams down. Impales her in the back and drains into her.
I don’t slow. There’s nothing I can do for her.
Mom and Dad make the leap off the bleachers. Tommy and Bethany rush for the gate. People crowd in front of it, screaming. Madeline’s van blocks the way out. She’s inside, a ghost in the window, watching the crowd. Kyle and Uncle Cassius must be in there, too.
Uncle Cassius.
He gave her Williams Town.
I’m going to—
“We’re not getting out that way,” Tommy shouts, stopping in front of us. He points. “Over there. There’s an opening near the track.”
Behind him, the Deathwind pours down and spreads out over the heads of the crowd. More screams stab through the air. People scatter. Wind blasts everywhere. A kid younger than me leaps for the fence. Starts to climb over. The Deathwind shifts, zeroing in on him. He doesn’t notice the funnel forming above him, or Madeline staring at him from the van. I pray for him to make it over, but the Deathwind slams down. He falls from the fence and a tsunami of screams rises up.
“Allie!” Dad seizes my arm. “Come on! Follow your friends.”
We turn. Bolt across the football field. Under the goal post. Explosions cast light down on us. Feet thud. Others follow us.
Tommy and Bethany push Mom through the athletes’ entrance. Tommy waves for me. Mom waits. I shove her through the opening and wave Dad through. I have to make sure Madeline can’t tell where my family is. If she can’t, they’re safe.
Bodies slam into us from behind. I fall forward. People jostle and swear, running around us, fanning out towards the parking lot. Some go for the trees. Others, for school building.
I stand. Dad grabs my arm again. Bethany stands at the fence, staring in that chaos. The football field’s clearing now…except for two people. The woman still lies at the foot of the bleachers. The boy’s slumped by the fence. They’ll wake up, not knowing what they are. Not knowing what’s going to happen when the next storm arrives.
“What the hell?” Dad sputters. He turns his head to look at me. He’s shaking. Wide-eyed. His eyes are full of a question that he doesn’t want to know the answer to. Full of the open house and the news footage, of my disappearance in the woods, of the real reason that I ran away. “A…Allie…”
Oh, god. He knows.
I look at the football field. Anywhere but my parents. The Deathwind’s gone. It’s a trick. It’ll reappear and strike someone. It could be us. And without Dorian, I can’t shield my family. “We’ve got to move,” I say, waving them along. “It could come back any time!”
“It?” Bethany’s voice is anger and fear mixed into one. “Did you bring this thing here, Allie? What is it? Your new pet? It probably just killed those people!”
I ignore her. Wave Mom and Dad along. We run towards the parking lot. People weave between cars. Shout to each other. A baby cries somewhere. Where did my parents park? All the vehicles look the same.
A truck roars past, almost running us down. My shoes slap against pavement. Mom yells something at me. Bethany screams an obscenity to join it. The fireworks go off like thunder, so much that I’m not sure if it’s them or a real storm coming in anymore. The people letting them off from the junior high must not know something’s wrong yet.
A pair of kids slam into me. Keep running, keeping their heads low. Dad’s got his keys swinging in his hand. He runs close to the wall of the school, staying out of the open. We run single file after him. Our car waits at the end of the line, in the corner where we left it.
Dad stops. The wind’s picking up. It snaps against him and he drops his keys. He cusses. Tommy says something that’s lost in the revving motors and slamming doors around us.
“Dad, hurry up!” I slap the car with my palm so hard it stings. We can’t stay in one spot too long.
Someone steps out from behind a truck, staring at us.
Brown hair. White summer dress.
Madeline.
She stands her ground and a blast of wind socks us so hard that I gasp. Tommy crashes into me. Bethany staggers and grabs onto the hood of the car. Mom and Dad look up like puppets caught on a string.
Above, storm clouds bubble into existence and start to swirl.
Chapter Twenty-Three