7

“Daddy,” I screamed.

“What’s wrong?” Daddy slammed on the brakes. He looked closer into the sky as his face grew pale. “Let’s go!”

The car swerved to the right and pulled back. After a fumble with the pedals and gears, the car was flying through the thick rain, retracing the road we had taken.

“Daddy, what are we going to do?!” I cried.

“Look for the nearest house!” Daddy responded.

I kept my eyes peeled for any signs of houses. Finally one appeared up the road.

We pulled up into the driveway and rang the doorbell. I glanced anxiously at the upcoming tornado. It was closer.

Finally the door opened and an elderly woman ushered us in and into an unfinished basement.

“Put these over your heads,” she instructed, handing us two dirty pillows. 

There was a closet in the basement, and she pushed me in. I heard breathing from someone else, but I couldn’t see because it was so dark.

“Aspen?” someone said as I jumped in surprise.

“Yes,” I answered. “Who are you?”

“I’m really sorry about the ’Stalker’ note,” the person said.

“Huh?” I asked, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Aspen, you know who I am. Don’t pretend that you don’t.”

“No. I don’t know.”

“I’m Jenny.”

“Jenny?”

“Yes.”

“Jenny!”

“I’m really scared. I can hear the tornado coming,” Jenny’s voice quavered. “Maybe we should pray.”

“Wait,” I stopped myself for a moment. “You are a Christian! Ha! I didn’t know that! I’m so sorry. I was trying to approach you to tell you about God.”

Jenny giggled in the dark. “Funny, I didn’t know you were a Christian. What denomination are you in?”

“Adventist!”

“Hey! Same!”

“Heh! And I’ve been trying to minister to an Adventist!”

“Actually, Nana and I are new to it.”

“That’s great! So, are we friends?” I asked, groping to find Jenny’s hand.

“Deal,” she found my hand and shook it. “Now, can we pray?”

“Wait, the tornado’s here,” I screamed. “Duck! Oh, and yes, let’s pray!”