Here they stood, poised to leave in the dead of night, and didn’t even have a solid plan of attack. Weariness blew over Eve, despite the fact she’d just slept for a few hours.
“I think you’re right, Trav. What you say makes sense. And the farther north we go, the cooler it will be at least. Mississippi in the dead of summer can’t be all that wonderful.”
They weren’t used to the heat and humidity in the South. They were accustomed to a much cooler climate with far less humidity than here. Cammie had suffered even before falling ill.
“Maybe I can even find work in Clarksville just for a day or two before we move on,” Travis suggested. “It couldn’t hurt to pad our cash a little.”
“We’ll see,” Eve said. “For now, let’s just head that way and we’ll cross the other bridges when we get there.”
Cammie slipped her hand into Eve’s and squeezed. Tears burned Eve’s eyelids as she gazed down at the sweet little girl who was offering Eve reassurance. It should be Eve comforting her siblings, and instead they were trying to reassure her.
Eve squeezed back and smiled. “Shall we start our next big adventure?”
Travis took the backpack from Eve and curled his hand around the handle of one of the suitcases. Eve lifted Cammie’s hand and then reached for the other suitcase as they opened the door and stepped into the night.
A stiff breeze immediately blew over Eve’s face, startling her with its ferocity. There were bites of rain mixed in the wind, and it pelted her skin, eliciting a shiver. Damn it. She’d thought the rain was over.
“Should we wait it out?” Travis asked in a concerned voice.
Eve stepped farther out into the yard, turning her face up to look at the sky. There was an eerie howl that unsettled her. The quiet that had bothered her earlier was reinforced.
“No, let’s go now,” Eve said. “It will be morning soon, and I want to be off the main roadways before it gets light.”
Travis nodded and shut the door behind him.
“Ready?” Eve asked Cammie in a light tone.
“Ready,” Cammie said resolutely.
They started across the yard toward the road. The deep ditch in front of the trailer gurgled with runoff. Water ran through the big culvert that served as their driveway and swirled its way farther downstream.
They were to the road when the wind suddenly picked up and nearly blew Eve over. Her grip tightened around Cammie’s hand just as a roar sounded.
Fear tightened Eve’s gut and she hesitated, glancing back at the trailer, which shook with the force of the wind.
“Maybe we should . . .”
She never got to finish the thought.
Debris began pelting them. Dime-sized hail began hitting the ground—and them—and the roaring became so loud that it nearly deafened Eve.
Cammie screamed when the force of the wind nearly tore her hand from Eve’s grasp.
“We have to take cover!” Travis yelled. “I think it’s a tornado!”
Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. The trailer was no shelter from a tornado. It was the very last place they should be.
“The culvert!” Eve cried. “Get in the culvert and stay down!”
She shoved Cammie forward and reached back for Travis’s hand to pull him along. A tree branch blew between them, knocking Travis back several feet.
“Travis!”
Eve stumbled toward him, torn between her need to protect Cammie and her desire to make sure Travis made it. To her horror, the wind tugged mercilessly at Cammie, and it took all of Eve’s strength to maintain her grip on her wrist.
“Get Cammie in the culvert!” Travis shouted.
“No! I won’t leave you, Trav!”
“Evie, do it! Go!”
Eve stared stricken as yet another limb blew right into Travis’s side, sending him sprawling to the ground.
“Trav!” Cammie screamed.
It was Cammie’s hysterical cry that galvanized Eve to action. She spun, rapidly hauling Cammie into her arms. Adrenaline gave her strength as she dove for the culvert, bearing Cammie’s weight the entire way. They hit the ground just as a limb crashed down on them, hitting Eve squarely in the back.
All her breath was knocked painfully from her lungs, leaving her gasping for air. Her eyes watered and stung as bits of hail and rain hit her face. Cammie squirmed beneath Eve, and she worried that Cammie was being smothered by Eve’s weight.
Pushing herself up, impeded by the heavy limb, she crawled toward the ditch, determined to get Cammie to safety so she could return for Travis. As she gained her footing, she heaved Cammie upward once more. She was nearly there when she stepped into a hole.
Her ankle gave out, wrenching painfully, and she went to her knees, gasping in pain. Damn it. She was so close. She wouldn’t give up now. They’d survived the worst so far. No way she was going to let a damn tornado take them down now.
Using the last of her flagging strength, she managed to push Cammie into the culvert. Water rushed around them, tugging at their bodies. If it got much deeper, they’d be swept away.
“Listen to me, Cammie,” Eve shouted above the roar. The wind whistling through the tunnel along with the rushing water made it almost impossible to be heard. “I’m going to position you in the middle of the culvert. Get a handhold on whatever you can and don’t move! I have to go back for Trav.”
Cammie whimpered but nodded, her fingers wrapped tightly in Eve’s drenched shirt. It took everything Eve had to pry her hands away and leave her alone in that culvert even for a few moments. She was terrified of losing Cammie. She was terrified of losing Travis. Neither was an option. She’d die before letting that happen.