Path of Destruction by Caisey Quinn, Elizabeth Lee Page B

eyes went wide.
    “A thunderstorm warning.” She looked up at him and repeated, “There’s a thunderstorm warning.”
    Coop could feel the panic radiating off her as her legs shook beneath his hands.
    “It’s just a thunderstorm,” he said, trying to soothe her.
    “Thunderstorms are always first,” she continued without removing her eyes from the phone. “It’s never just a tornado. There’s always rain. Then wind. Sometimes hail. Then the tornadoes come,” she rambled, standing up and taking a few steps. She turned back to him. “The sky looked a little green this morning, right? I mean, it always has a weird color before a big storm. Like last time. The sky was like a pea-green color and we all just ignored it.”
    He stared at her. Watched every bit of common sense fade right out of her head and watched her morph into an anxiety-ridden fool. Not a fool. If the rumors were true, she’d been through the wringer that night. It had obviously screwed her up. She was scared. Beyond scared. Before he let his nerves get the best of him, he took in a deep breath.
    It’s just a thunderstorm.
    “Cameron.” He gave her shoulders a firm grip, steadying her sway.
    Her eyes were fixed to the screen. She was fixated on the small radar—the swirls of green, yellow, and red swirling around had hypnotized her.
    “It’s almost here,” she whispered. “We should get under something. Get in a far corner. There’s no windows down here, right?” Her eyes went on a frantic search of their surroundings.
    “Look at me,” he pleaded, dropping his hands to her hips. She didn’t. “Look at me, damn it!”
    Her eyes shot to his, and all he could see was fear. He felt something tighten in his chest as he pulled her into his arm, not having a clue what else would calm her down. Maybe if she could feel that he was calm, he could transfer it over.
    “We’re okay. It’s just a storm.” He felt the tension in her body start to lessen as she dropped her arms to her side. “We’re in the basement. Safest place we can be.”
    As if the universe was trying to totally fuck up any credibility he had, the school storm sirens went off, blaring at max capacity. She jumped in his arms. His heart and stomach dropped as held on to her. What if she was right? What if a tornado was headed right toward them? There was nothing he could do to stop it. He just needed to keep her calm.
    “Oh my god,” she cried out. “I knew it was going to happen again.”
    “It’s gonna be okay,” he said as she continued to ramble on. “We’ll wait it out. I’ll keep you safe.”
    The sounds of the wind and rain outside were barely audible from where they were, especially with the incessant howl of the warning sirens. His mind wandered to Ella Jane. Was she safe? He was supposed to be protecting her. She was probably in the same panicked state as Cameron.
    “You can’t be sure! It’s red, see!” She pointed at a tiny red blip on her screen. She’d already convinced herself that it was really happening. That another massive tornado was headed straight for them.
    Coop knew the odds of another EF-4 hitting the area were slim, but his heart rate was still on the climb. The small light bulb hanging in the center of the room they were in flickered, sending her straight off the edge of the emotional cliff she was teetering on.
    “No, no, no,” she rambled. “This cannot be happening.”
    “Give me that damn thing!” Coop had had enough. He took the phone from her hand shoved it in his pocket. He knew they were in the safest possible place they could be in. Her obsessing over some picture of what was happening was not going to change the situation. “Just try to stay calm. It will be past us in no time.”
    “You can’t possibly know that!”
    He moved his arms back around her waist and pulled her toward him. He felt bad for yelling at her, but she didn’t seem to listen when he tried reasoning with her like a normal person. Maybe he