Storm Clouds
by Laird Long
ok u win Bailey. where are u?
i’ll pick u up and take u home
go to hell Cody!
what? yr still mad?
are u going to wander all over the bald prairie under the hot sun all afternoon?
Bailey?
i’m sorry i yelled at u. ok?
now tell me where u are so i can pick u up and we can
we go for a pleasant Sunday drive in the country and u kick me out of yr truck!
u abandon me in the middle of nowhere!
u told me to ‘stop the fucking truck’ and let u out on the side of the highway!!
u started the argument!!
i only said we shouldn’t get married until
u drove off
u left me
you told me to fuck off! i fucked off!
ok c’mon bails...i’m still on highway 58. turning around and heading back.
where are
holy shit! where did the sun go!?
Bailey...it’s gotten really dark all of a sudden...
jesus those are some huge black clouds
where are u Cody? i need to pick u up. quick
do u want to pick me up Cody? :-|
YES. that’s a helluva lot of lightning!
and thunder! the ground just shook!!
where are u bails?
i...i’m not sure
i’m in an open field. a plowed field...
i walked. stomped a long way off from the highway i guess :-(
i don’t see any farmhouses or barns or anything
holy shit! the wind just about blew my truck right off the highway!
it knocked me right off my feet!!
come and get me Cody!! hurry!! please!!
it’s like midnight at midday out here! i’ve never seen such dark clouds piled up like that!
the lightning is incredible! flashing all over the sky!
the thunder is shaking the ground out here!! exploding it’s so loud!!
OMG it’s pouring rain now!! almost horizontally with the wind!!
i see it! i feel it!
COME AND GET ME CODY! HURRY!
i hauled ass back to where u got out...i think.
but I don’t see u anywhere in the fields on either side of the highway Bailey!
it’s hard to see anything with all the rain and dirt blowing around - even with my high beams on.
the truck is rocking!
i’m scared Cody!!
i feel so small all alone out here in the open. getting soaked. blown around...
FUCK! MY EARDRUMS JUST ABOUT SHATTERED WITH ALL THIS THUNDER! THE GROUND IS SHAKING!
can u see any landmarks of any kind Bailey!?
trees? a creek? dirt road? grain silo? billboard sign? barbed wire fence?
anything!?
Bailey!?
OMG
what!?
i see something.
A FUNNEL CLOUD
OMG CODY!! there’s a huge white funnel cloud coming down out of the pitch-black sky!!
IT’S A TORNADO!!
HELP ME CODY! I’M ALL EXPOSED OUT HERE IN THIS OPEN FIELD!
i’m coming for u Bailey! hang on!
god almighty! i see the funnel too...it’s huge!
it touched down. it’s touched down on the ground Bailey!
it...that twister must be half a mile wide! god almighty!
CODY THE TORNADO’S RIGHT BEHIND ME
it’s only about a mile away from me! and coming fast!!
HELP ME CODY! HURRY! I’M RUNNING!
ok! it’s moving south...fast
that means it’s just north of u. there was a dirt road i just passed going east west.
i’ll cut across the dirt road and hopefully intercept u
THE TORNADO’S COMING RIGHT TOWARDS ME CODY
I CAN’T RUN FAST ENOUGH
THERE’S DIRT FLYING EVERYWHERE
THE WIND IS BLOWING IN EVERY DIRECTION
I CAN’T SEE...HEAR...HARDLY MOVE
I’M GETTING KNOCKED OFF MY FEET! LIFTED -
i’m on the dirt road Bailey! going ninety!
the twister’s only a couple of miles away!
i...i can see an old grey farmhouse up ahead on the south side of the road!
run for the house Bailey! can u see it!?
hide inside the chimney!
the wooden structure might be blown away but the stone chimney will give u shelter!
Bailey!?
BAILEY!!??
i see the house!! barely...through the whirling dirt and rain!!
it sounds like a locomotive is chasing me Cody!! bearing down on me!! right on my heels!!
i
BAILEY! RUN!
i don’t know if -
i can make
i’m coming up fast!!
I’M COMING FOR U BAILEY
BAILEY
god almighty! the twister blew the farmhouse right apart!!
and tore away the chimney
it’s moved on thank god Bailey
Bailey!!??
OH GOD BAILEY!!??
i’m...ok cody
i think :-|
BAILEY!!!! :)))
WHERE ARE U?
WHERE ARE U BAILEY?
I’M PARKED RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE FARMHOUSE
where it used to be anyway
do u see me!?
i fell in a gully..,about a hundred yards from the road
a deep narrow gully..,it saved me! the tornado passed right over top of me...
my ears are still popping and i’m totally covered in mud :-P
I SEE U
do u see me!?
yes. it’s so bright and sunny out now!
and a huge bright beautiful rainbow stretching across the sky too :-))
see what happens when we break up? :-D
YES. let’s NEVER do that again. ok Cody?
never again bails. never again
App