Chase the Storm by V.m Waitt Read Free Book Online Page B

closed before running back inside for Samson. I wasn’t sure why I was putting them outside in the stormrather than keeping themprotected in the barn, but I did as I was told.
    Just as I led Sampson through the gate, Chase arrived, jumping off Admiral before he was at a complete stop. In a second, the saddle was off Admiral and on the ground. The horse pranced anxiously next to Chase as he led him to the gate. He opened it and gracefully slid Admiral’s bridle off in one motion before slapping his flanks. Admiral broke into a gallop and took offinto the field. Just as I was about to enter the barn, I was hit by something. Stunned, I looked up into the sky and saw not rainfalling, but hail.
“ Get moving! ”Chase demanded, runningbyme into the barn.
    I followed him, getting Keno from his stall while Chase got Lakota. Wind gusted around us, blowing hay and pelting us with ice. Holding my arm over my eyes so I could see the ground, I led Keno to the field and released him. Chase and I ran back and forth untilallthe horses were out. I went to go to the truck to move it, but Chase seized myarm.
“There’s no time,” he shouted, pointing over my shoulder. I looked behind me and saw it.
    The dark clouds were moving in a circular motion, gathering thick and heavy until a defining point unmistakably plummeted toward the ground. At first it was small, more like a string of clouds, but in a heartbeat, it had widened and solidified.
“Oh my God,” I yelled, failing to make myself heard over the howlingwind.
    Grabbing my hand, he pulled, dragging me at a run down the aisle of the barn. Sprinting next to him, I matched him stride for stride as we headed to the house. I thought he was going to take me inside, but he led me around the back to a set ofdoors in the ground. Kicking themwith his foot, he loosened the old doors and yanked them open. He shoved me forward and I tripped, catching myselfbefore I felldown the stairs. It was completely black, and I couldn’t see a thing. Blindly, I made my way down a short set of steps to the bottom, and I heard the doors close and Chase’s footsteps following me. Adrenaline flowed through me and I gasped for breath. The sound outside was deafening, and I stood shaking inthe darkness.
“ It’s coming ,”he bellowed over the growingroar. “ Get down! ”
    Crouching on the cold dirt, I tucked my knees to my chin. From behind, Chase wrapped his arms protectively around my waist, burying his head between my shoulder and the wall. The buttons of his shirt dug into my back, and his panting breaths warmed the already heated skin of my shoulder. My heart beat as loudly as the thunder outside, and as frightened as I was, all I could think about was the way he felt pressed to me, how strong his arms were, and the soothing motion of his thumb on my side. I was certain he could feel my heart racing, but he probably assumed it was because ofthe weather.
    The ground trembled, and I could no longer hear his breaths only a few inches frommy ear. I could only imagine what was going on outside, the damage being done and the devastation left behind. I’d seen tornados on the news, heard people describe their sound and power, but nothing I’d ever seen on television could compare to the deafening roar seemingly only feet fromus. The wooden doors to the shelter shook violently, and I envisioned them being ripped opened and Chase being sucked into the twister. Reaching for his hands, I tightly laced my fingers through his, holdinghimto me as I bowed myhead and squeezed myeyes shut.
    Somehow it got louder. The doors rattled and the freight train sound I’d heard about was right over our heads. I thought about my family, how I’d promised my mother I would be safe and return to school. They would never know what happened to me if I died right then; no one even knew where I was.
    Chase’s lips were at my ear. “It’s okay, Elijah, it’s going to be okay,” he assured me. It sounded like he was