Wild Is The Wind, Part 4

Sunshine streamed through the dark, swirling clouds, signaling the storm was truly over. A wide, barren skidmark snaked through the devastated Southfork landscape, the only trace of the tornado that had scrubbed the path clean. It was in direct contrast to the messy debris field that flanked it as far as the eye could see.

Broken limbs hung from the few trees that still stood. Ribbons of twisted metal lay in heaps, some driven into the ground at bizarre angles. Cattle huddled in dazed hordes, seeking now useless protection even as the horses pranced around, whinnying nervously.

Legendary stories of how tornados could pick and choose their targets had been proven true once again. Despite the devastation that surrounded it, despite blown-out windows and missing shingles, the ranch house was still intact.

The back door slowly opened and Ellie exited, moving carefully onto the patio that was littered with broken glass and debris. Fighting back tears, she gazed out over the ranch and the destruction before her. Trees were uprooted. Her flower gardens were bare. Fence lines and buildings were gone without a trace. The view she had known all her life was now barely recognizable.

A mixture of pain and despair welled up inside of her. How could this happen? Not on Southfork. Not on the land her father had worked into one of the best ranches in Texas. Not where she had met and fell in love with Jock ... raised his children ... symbolically buried him in the memorial they had planted out by the lake. Would it still be there?

"Mamma?" Bobby gently said, interrupting her incoherent thoughts.

His hand rested gently on her shoulder and Ellie finally surfaced out of her shock, turning to her youngest son. There were tears in his eyes, too. He understood. Behind him she saw the dazed faces of Clayton ... Cally ... her grandsons ... all of the guests who were there that day for the wedding. The wedding … J.R. and Sue Ellen.

"My God, Bobby ... we've got to find J.R. and Sue Ellen!" Ellie exclaimed.

"We will, Mamma," Bobby said gently and attempted a smile. "I'm headed out to look right now. If J.R. kept his wits about him, he headed for the storm cellar near that stables. That's where I'll look first. Can you stay here and make sure everybody is okay?"

Ellie nodded then wiped her tears away, summoning the inextinguishable inner strength she had always relied on. Southfork would recover. Their beautiful house has survived. Most importantly, her family was still at her side … most of them. But this was not the end of J.R. Ellie knew in her heart he was alive out there … somewhere. There was no doubt in her mind.

"Go, Bobby … find your brother. Be safe."

Clayton came up behind Ellie and put his arm around her shoulder. She reached up to hold his hand. Bobby looked over at his stepfather and nodded. No other words were needed. He knew his mother would be safe with Clayton.

John Ross suddenly emerged from the small, dazed crowd and ran over to Bobby. "Uncle Bobby, do you know where my dad and mom are?"

"I have a pretty good idea but I don't have time to talk about it right now. Stay with your grandma and I'll be back just as soon as I can and tell you all about it."

"No!" John Ross adamantly said. "I'm going with you to look for them and you can't stop me."

Bobby took a moment to adjust to the unaccustomed bravado of the boy. He was suddenly so much like his grandfather and namesake … so much like a Ewing. And if it were Jock who was missing, nothing would hold him back from searching, either.

"All right, partner," Bobby nodded, "let's go." He looked over at his own son. "Christopher, help Clayton and Teresa look out for your grandma and everyone else 'til I get back."

"I will, Dad." Christopher nodded.

As Bobby and John Ross turned to walk off, a short, curly-haired man approached and fell in step with them. "Don Lockwood," he said to Bobby in an English accent. "This is a hell of a way to be introduced but I escorted Sue Ellen here today. Mind if I join in the search for her?"

Bobby looked over at the man and shook his head. "No, not at all. I'll probably need an extra pair of hands." He pointed to the rubble heaped over the ground where the stable once stood. "Let's start over there."

Never before had seventy-five yards seemed so far to Bobby. Treacherous fragments of unrecognizable debris were scattered everywhere, slowing their progress. Added to that, the paddocks between the house and stable looked like a horrific parking lot full of the remnants of cars that had only minutes before filled the driveway. Some had been lifted and twisted by the wicked wind then deposited upside down. Others had shattered windows and scarred paint jobs, looking as if as if they had been in a war zone.

So did the stable. The closer he got to it, the more Bobby was awed by its destruction. All that remained standing were a few battered vertical beams that had once supported the roof. The roof itself had been ripped off and thrown into the pasture behind where it shattered into a million pieces. Just like everything else. Most of what was left reminded Bobby of kindling for a campfire.

"J.R. ... Sue Ellen?" He loudly shouted as he surveyed the pile of rubble before him. He silently hoped they hadn't taken shelter inside the stable as he moved towards where he thought the storm shelter was. One of the stable walls had collapsed over it. Had they made it there in time?

"Sue Ellen?" Don called out, remaining close to Bobby, unsure of which way to go but hoping for some signal from the lady he had accompanied to the ranch less than two hours ago.

"Mom? Dad?" John Ross echoed, moving along the side of what was left of stable, searching for anything familiar.

Below in the cold, silent shelter, Sue Ellen opened her weary, scratched eyes. She was sitting against the wall near J.R., her hand and arm resting protectively on his chest, afraid he would stop breathing and she wouldn't know. Had she dreamed her son's voice, only hoping to hear John Ross again? She waited, unknowingly holding her breath when the faint call came again ...

"Mom? Dad?"

Sue Ellen scrambled to her feet and went to the air vent. "John Ross! I'm down here, sweetheart! You're daddy is here, too!"

John Ross heard her faint voice and excitedly called out to Bobby as he wildly looked around, searching for any sign of his mother. "I can hear Mom, Uncle Bobby! Somewhere over here!"

Bobby moved quickly to join his nephew. "Keep calling out to her, John Ross!"

"Mom, Uncle Bobby is here, too! We'll find you! Keep talking to us!"

"We're in the storm cellar!" Sue Ellen shouted back. "But your daddy is hurt. Tell Uncle Bobby to hurry!"

By that time, Bobby had reached the vent. "I'm here, Sue Ellen! We'll get you out just as soon as we can! Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine but J.R. is unconscious, Bobby. Please hurry!"

"Hang tight just a little longer, Sue Ellen. The stable collapsed on the door and we're gonna need a tractor to uncover it." The faint sound of approaching sirens suddenly reached Bobby and he couldn't help but smile. In her usual way, Ellie had obviously somehow gotten help called to the ranch. "Sue Ellen, I can hear the sirens!" He called out. "Help is almost here!" He turned to John Ross. "Listen, you stay here and talk to your mamma. She needs to hear you more than anything right now. Okay?"

"Yes sir," John Ross nodded as he watched Bobby hurry off then looked down at the vent. "Don't worry, Mamma ... I'm gonna stay right here 'til me and Uncle Bobby get you outta there."

Below, Sue Ellen smiled even as she started to cry. Having her son there calmed her in ways she didn't think possible under the circumstances. "Thank you, sweetheart. That makes me feel so much better. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Mamma," John Ross replied as he tried to hold back his tears. It was his first chance to be scared by all he had seen from his first tornado but he knew he had to be brave, just like his daddy had taught him to be.

Not far below where he kneeled, his mother was experiencing similar emotions. She was suddenly terrified, felt like screaming because of all she had seen and heard, felt like the confined shelter was suffocating her. But she knew she had to hang on, just like Bobby said. She had to be brave for just a little bit longer … but how?

"Mamma?" Came the echo of John Ross' voice down the vent. "Will you tell Daddy I love him, too?"

That was the answer. She suddenly knew she could hold herself together, be brave as long as needed for that little boy up there who truly did need both her and J.R.

"I will, sweetheart … I'll do it right now."

She turned and went over to where J.R. remained motionless on the floor and knelt down next to him, taking his cold hand in hers.

"Did you hear that, J.R.?" She whispered. "John Ross is here … and he loves you, very much. So, you hang on for him, damn you! You make sure you are here with me to see him grow up and get married. You make sure you are here to see his children because I'm not gonna be a grandma alone. Besides, there is still so much I want to fight with you about. Plus you owe me about a thousand apologies. So you hang on!"

In the following silence, she realized that even as angry as she had been with him, even after all the low tricks and horrible things he had said to her, there was nothing she wouldn't give to hear J.R.'s voice again.

"Please, hang on." She softly added.