“Shepley,” Brandi said, grabbing my chin and forcing me to face her, “stay put. If she comes back here and finds out you’ve left, what do you think she’s going to do?” When I didn’t answer, she let go of my chin, disgusted. “Do the same thing you would. Go looking for you. This is the safest place for her, and if you stay here, she’ll find her way back.”
I gripped the edge of the stretcher, squeezing the plastic-covered cushion in my fist, while Brandi carefully slid a scrub top over my head. She helped me slip my arms through, patiently waiting, while I struggled with lifting my left shoulder.
“I can get you a hospital gown instead,” she said.
“No. No gowns,” I said. Grunting, I maneuvered my arm through the sleeve.
“You can’t even get dressed, but you’re going to go look for her?”
“I can’t just sit here, safe and warm, while America’s out there somewhere,” I said. “She probably has no clue she’s about to get hit again with more weather.”
“Shepley, listen to me. We’re still under a tornado warning.”
“It’s impossible to get hit twice in the same night.”
“Actually, it’s not,” she said. “It’s rare, but it happens.”
I climbed off the stretcher, my breath catching when the torn muscle in my arm moved.
“Fine. If you’re gonna insist on being ridiculous, you have to sign an AMA.”
“Sign a what?”
“AMA—Against Medical Advice.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Chief said, holding up his hands. “Where do you think you’re going?”
I breathed out through my nose, frustrated. “Another storm is coming in. She’s not back yet.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s a good idea for you to head out into the rain.”
“What if it were your wife, Chief? What if your daughters were out there? Would you go?”
Tornado sirens filled the air. They were much louder this time, the eerie drone sounding like it was just outside the doors. Everyone looked around, and then the panic began.
I started for the door.
But Chief stood in front of me. “You can’t go out there, Shepley! It’s not safe!”
Holding my left arm to my middle, I shouldered past him and then pushed my way through the crowded waiting room to the doors. The sky had opened up again, pouring down rain on the parking lot. With horror and disbelief on their faces, people were running across the cement to the emergency room.
I looked up for signs of a funnel cloud. I had no car and no idea where she was. I’d been afraid plenty of times in my life, but none of them had ever come close to this. Keeping the ones you love safe wasn’t a question, but I couldn’t save her.
I turned around, grabbing Chief’s shirt with my fist, his badge digging into my palm. “Help me,” I said, shaking with fear and frustration.
Screams erupted, and power flashes sparked in the distance.
“Everyone, get in the hallways!” Chief said, yanking me back to my stretcher.
I fought him, but even though he was twice my age, with the use of both of his arms, he easily overpowered me.
“Get! Your Ass! Down!” he growled, struggling to push me toward the floor.
Brandi put a young boy in my lap and held on to three more children, hunkering down next to me.
The young boy didn’t cry, but he shook uncontrollably. I blinked and looked around, seeing the terror-filled faces of everyone around us. Most of them had already suffered through one devastating tornado.
“I want my dad,” the young boy in my lap whimpered.
I hugged him to my side, trying to shield as much of his body as I could. “It’s going to be okay. What’s your name?”
“I want my dad,” he said again, on the edge of panic.
“My name is Shep. I’m alone, too. You think you could hang out here with me until this is over?”
He looked up at me with big russet eyes. “Jack.”
“Your name is Jack?” I asked.
He nodded.
“That’s my dad’s name,” I said with a small smile.
Jack mirrored my expression, and then his grin slowly vanished. “It’s my dad’s name, too.”
“Where is he?” I asked.