Chapter 2
"Popcorn?" I said, holding the bowl out to Dawson so that he could take some if he wanted any. I knew he would take some. After all, it was his favorite food.
"Sure." That's all? I thought. Sure? I knew he was probably just paying attention to the movie. He took some popcorn and looked at the television screen. I took some as well and focused my eyes on him. He caught me. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, no." I said blankly. I needed an excuse. A good one. I looked around, intently, hoping to find something that wasn't in its place. My gaze fell upon the window. It was open, and a breeze was making the curtains move. My forehead crinkled. It couldn't be this dark this early. I checked my watch. It was only around six thirty. And the sky was a dark blue. "Dawson, the sky, isn't it a little dark for six thirty?" He looked out the window too. He looked at me, a little bit of worry in his brow. He then picked up the remote and attempted to switch the channels.
"Let's check the weather channel." That was a good idea. It was probably just going to rain. But something felt odd about the sky which was really dark. I had a feeling that this was more than just your average rainstorm. I worriedly looked back at him while we waited for the weather information to be announced on the news. I focused on his gorgeous green eyes and brown hair. Then I noticed his red cheeks. They reminded me of a day when we were little. I think it was when we were thirteen, just before school started. I didn't want to remember it, but I began to.
Dawson had insisted on pushing me on the tire swing in our conjoining backyards. It was after a long day of school, a Friday I think. The swing had been there for as long as I could remember. As a joke, he pushed me higher than I wanted to go. But on the way back I twisted the swing and he missed it. The tire hit him in the chest knocking him flat onto the ground. I tried to free myself from the swing, but I had to wait until it stopped. When it stopped, I had finally realized where Dawson was. He was lying on his back. Apparently I had knocked the wind out of him. I scrambled to his side. He was wheezing terribly. His cheeks were red. I knew we were in trouble. I didn't say anything. I knew he was having an asthma attack. I also knew I had to find his medicine. I checked his backpack. No luck. I ran up the yard to his house, but the back door was locked. No one was home at either house. Dawson was supposed to stay over my house that afternoon. I ran to my house and opened my back door by taking my house key from my backpack. I ran through my kitchen and made a wide turn rushing up my stairs to the bathroom. I found his inhaler and flew down the steps. I didn't really think much in that few minutes that it happened. I sprang into action quickly, not even knowing I did so. I hated when this happened, and Dawson was always having an asthma attack. I couldn't remember a day where he wasn't wheezing to begin with. Rushing back to him, he was breathing really heavily and looked bluish. This one was serious. I remember yelling at him, telling him to come on and breathe. The look on his face was now playing over and over in my mind. I forgot I was really just on the couch, watching a movie. "Dawson, come on, breathe!" I yelled. It was like a nightmare. Dawson grabbed me and shook me out of my dream. Now I was the one breathing heavily.
"Joey, it's okay! It's just a dream." His hands gripped tightly on my shoulders was soothing to me. I looked around quickly, just realized it was only a dream. I closed my eyes. "Joey, everything is alright. I'm not having an asthma attack. I'm fine." I opened my eyes, and looked at him and relaxed. He was fine. "You just dazed out for a minute." He smiled at me. It was just like when we were on the floor. I smiled, and then he and I looked at the TV. The weatherman was talking quickly and his arms were moving rapidly about the screen. Red boxes were all over the screen.
"We have a severe thunderstorm and tornado watch for areas surrounding Capeside. We urge all people to stay indoors." He paused and touched his ear. "We now have word that a tornado has touched down in a town around Capeside. I repeat, tornado warning for Capeside areas. That's all we have on that right now, but towns mentioned, please stay tuned for more updates and remember to stay underground if possible and if there is no basement where you are, please stay in a doorway or closet." He kept talking, but thoughts were running through my head like crazy. I could no longer hear him. We lived in Capeside. What if a tornado hit us? What about my parents? What if we got stuck in the basement afterwards? What if Daw- Dawson stopped me in mid-thought.
"Joey, we should prepare to spend the night downstairs. That means that we have to find water, some food, blankets, flashlights, a first aid kit, and batteries. Oh, and a radio too." He was serious. And calm. Then again, Dawson always acted calm in an emergency. It seemed odd that he was the one, but he always knew what to do in any situation. I looked at him, knowing that he had already though up a plan.
"You find some water, food, and flashlights. I'll get the batteries and other stuff." I began to get up from the couch. But Dawson stayed down and put the volume on the television really high. I looked back at him, perplexed. He looked at me, and started to explain. "If we hear any warnings we can run to the basement. It's loud enough to hear almost anywhere in the house." Smart idea, again. I would have never thought of that. He got up, and headed for the kitchen. I nodded and walked away, heading first towards the cabinet in the upstairs hallway. I found some extra blankets and flashlights. I went into the bathroom and opened the drawer under the sink, grabbing the first aid kit. I closed the cabinet door, picked all of my stuff up, and walked cautiously down the stairs. Dawson was already there. I could tell because the basement light was on. I made my way slowly down the steps, hoping not to trip and have anything fall out of my arms. I could barely see over the blankets. I found a plastic bag and put the stuff I had already gotten into it. I got some water and food, and headed for the basement. He must have scored some couch pillows before, as they were in a pile on the floor.
"What did you get?" I said laughing. "You made me get everything?"
"I got the batteries and some couch pillows." He grinned at me, kind of like the look Andy gave me when he was trying to get pay back. I studied his dimples. They were deep. His cheeks were rosy. I smiled and gave him a look as I trudged back up the steps to find the small radio. I ran into my room and searched my desk for one. I knew it was somewhere in there. I pulled out papers and other things, finally finding it after a five minute search. I checked to see if it worked or not. It did, but it was old, dusty, and the static it produced was really loud. I hurriedly flew down the stairs, skipping every two steps. Everything was happening so fast that I almost forgot about my parents and Andy. I knew they were probably fine, being at the school and all. Making my way past the living room, I listened for the TV, but heard a strange beep pattern instead. Making my way towards the TV, I noticed the screen was like a regular news show, but no one was talking. A red strip was flowing across the bottom of the screen. It said TORNADO ALERT FOR CAPESIDE.
"Dawson, we have a tornado alert." I yelled, hoping he heard it from where he was. I grabbed everything and ran for the basement. I somehow, hustling with the radio in my hand, managed to pull the door shut. I gave Dawson the radio and settled in on the floor. Dawson turned on the radio and attempted to find a news station. The lights immediately began to flicker. He paused and looked up.
"Great. I hope the lights don't go out." Dawson said going back to tuning the radio. I kind of wanted the lights to go out. We usually got tornado watches, but never any tornadoes. I sighed. This was going to be a long night. Without any adults. I spoke aloud, not even knowing until I did so. "My sister." Then I remembered. They were at the school. Dawson's too. They had begged me to go, but I didn't want to go to the PTA dinner. I wished I had gone. I missed them.
"They're fine. Everyone is at the school." Dawson, an only child. Lucky. In a way. I guessed I was like his sister. We looked alike. Brown hair and green eyes, lanky bodies. He was a little more built than me. But we could pass as siblings. When we were little, people had always thought we were twins.
"But what about us?" I said. Without an answer from Dawson, thunder went off and the lights went out. What a great answer to my question I thought as I searched the floor for a flashlight and finally finding one, turned it on. The light beamed at Dawson. He squinted his eyes. I redirected the light a little below his face.
"This is going to be a long night." He said and turned the radio off. "The static is terrible. We can live through tonight without the radio." Dawson seemed so sure of himself. He knew what he was doing and why. He was smart. "So, what do you want to do?" Now he was lying on his pillow. I could hear that it was raining outside. Thunder went off.
"Sleep. I'm exhausted." I mumbled. I realized how tired I really was now. I yawned.
"I'm tired too. God night." He said. I said it back to him and we both kid of layed there for maybe ten minutes, hoping to fall asleep. I didn't know if Dawson fell asleep or not, but I knew that I couldn't. I was on alert, adrenalin running through my body. Besides that, I knew that we were both light sleepers. Falling asleep with the thunder was going to be tough. I yawned again and made myself even more comfortable on the floor. Because of the carpet, it was soft. I smiled. I was comfortable all right. I wanted to, but I couldn't close my eyes. I laid there in almost silence. I was thinking about my family. I knew that they were okay, but what about me? I heard an odd noise. Through the rain and thunder it was hard to hear. But I definitely had heard something. I propped myself onto my elbow. I stayed still as ever. I heard it again. I moved slowly towards Dawson and shook him.
"Dawson, wake up." I whispered.
"I'm awake." He said. I guess he hadn't fallen asleep either.
"Did you hear that?"
"Yes, I did." But that was all he had said. I wondered why.
"What is it?"
"It's me Joey," he said, slowly getting up, and then sitting up against the wall. Now I could hear it much better. Dawson was wheezing loudly. I now knew what he was talking about. I grabbed the flashlight and turned it on. I aimed it just below his face. His hand was on his chest and he was panting. Great. What a great time to have an asthma attack. I must have said that aloud, because Dawson shot back at me, "It's not." He paused to breathe. "my fault!" Before either of us said another word, the tornado sirens went off.
"Popcorn?" I said, holding the bowl out to Dawson so that he could take some if he wanted any. I knew he would take some. After all, it was his favorite food.
"Sure." That's all? I thought. Sure? I knew he was probably just paying attention to the movie. He took some popcorn and looked at the television screen. I took some as well and focused my eyes on him. He caught me. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, no." I said blankly. I needed an excuse. A good one. I looked around, intently, hoping to find something that wasn't in its place. My gaze fell upon the window. It was open, and a breeze was making the curtains move. My forehead crinkled. It couldn't be this dark this early. I checked my watch. It was only around six thirty. And the sky was a dark blue. "Dawson, the sky, isn't it a little dark for six thirty?" He looked out the window too. He looked at me, a little bit of worry in his brow. He then picked up the remote and attempted to switch the channels.
"Let's check the weather channel." That was a good idea. It was probably just going to rain. But something felt odd about the sky which was really dark. I had a feeling that this was more than just your average rainstorm. I worriedly looked back at him while we waited for the weather information to be announced on the news. I focused on his gorgeous green eyes and brown hair. Then I noticed his red cheeks. They reminded me of a day when we were little. I think it was when we were thirteen, just before school started. I didn't want to remember it, but I began to.
Dawson had insisted on pushing me on the tire swing in our conjoining backyards. It was after a long day of school, a Friday I think. The swing had been there for as long as I could remember. As a joke, he pushed me higher than I wanted to go. But on the way back I twisted the swing and he missed it. The tire hit him in the chest knocking him flat onto the ground. I tried to free myself from the swing, but I had to wait until it stopped. When it stopped, I had finally realized where Dawson was. He was lying on his back. Apparently I had knocked the wind out of him. I scrambled to his side. He was wheezing terribly. His cheeks were red. I knew we were in trouble. I didn't say anything. I knew he was having an asthma attack. I also knew I had to find his medicine. I checked his backpack. No luck. I ran up the yard to his house, but the back door was locked. No one was home at either house. Dawson was supposed to stay over my house that afternoon. I ran to my house and opened my back door by taking my house key from my backpack. I ran through my kitchen and made a wide turn rushing up my stairs to the bathroom. I found his inhaler and flew down the steps. I didn't really think much in that few minutes that it happened. I sprang into action quickly, not even knowing I did so. I hated when this happened, and Dawson was always having an asthma attack. I couldn't remember a day where he wasn't wheezing to begin with. Rushing back to him, he was breathing really heavily and looked bluish. This one was serious. I remember yelling at him, telling him to come on and breathe. The look on his face was now playing over and over in my mind. I forgot I was really just on the couch, watching a movie. "Dawson, come on, breathe!" I yelled. It was like a nightmare. Dawson grabbed me and shook me out of my dream. Now I was the one breathing heavily.
"Joey, it's okay! It's just a dream." His hands gripped tightly on my shoulders was soothing to me. I looked around quickly, just realized it was only a dream. I closed my eyes. "Joey, everything is alright. I'm not having an asthma attack. I'm fine." I opened my eyes, and looked at him and relaxed. He was fine. "You just dazed out for a minute." He smiled at me. It was just like when we were on the floor. I smiled, and then he and I looked at the TV. The weatherman was talking quickly and his arms were moving rapidly about the screen. Red boxes were all over the screen.
"We have a severe thunderstorm and tornado watch for areas surrounding Capeside. We urge all people to stay indoors." He paused and touched his ear. "We now have word that a tornado has touched down in a town around Capeside. I repeat, tornado warning for Capeside areas. That's all we have on that right now, but towns mentioned, please stay tuned for more updates and remember to stay underground if possible and if there is no basement where you are, please stay in a doorway or closet." He kept talking, but thoughts were running through my head like crazy. I could no longer hear him. We lived in Capeside. What if a tornado hit us? What about my parents? What if we got stuck in the basement afterwards? What if Daw- Dawson stopped me in mid-thought.
"Joey, we should prepare to spend the night downstairs. That means that we have to find water, some food, blankets, flashlights, a first aid kit, and batteries. Oh, and a radio too." He was serious. And calm. Then again, Dawson always acted calm in an emergency. It seemed odd that he was the one, but he always knew what to do in any situation. I looked at him, knowing that he had already though up a plan.
"You find some water, food, and flashlights. I'll get the batteries and other stuff." I began to get up from the couch. But Dawson stayed down and put the volume on the television really high. I looked back at him, perplexed. He looked at me, and started to explain. "If we hear any warnings we can run to the basement. It's loud enough to hear almost anywhere in the house." Smart idea, again. I would have never thought of that. He got up, and headed for the kitchen. I nodded and walked away, heading first towards the cabinet in the upstairs hallway. I found some extra blankets and flashlights. I went into the bathroom and opened the drawer under the sink, grabbing the first aid kit. I closed the cabinet door, picked all of my stuff up, and walked cautiously down the stairs. Dawson was already there. I could tell because the basement light was on. I made my way slowly down the steps, hoping not to trip and have anything fall out of my arms. I could barely see over the blankets. I found a plastic bag and put the stuff I had already gotten into it. I got some water and food, and headed for the basement. He must have scored some couch pillows before, as they were in a pile on the floor.
"What did you get?" I said laughing. "You made me get everything?"
"I got the batteries and some couch pillows." He grinned at me, kind of like the look Andy gave me when he was trying to get pay back. I studied his dimples. They were deep. His cheeks were rosy. I smiled and gave him a look as I trudged back up the steps to find the small radio. I ran into my room and searched my desk for one. I knew it was somewhere in there. I pulled out papers and other things, finally finding it after a five minute search. I checked to see if it worked or not. It did, but it was old, dusty, and the static it produced was really loud. I hurriedly flew down the stairs, skipping every two steps. Everything was happening so fast that I almost forgot about my parents and Andy. I knew they were probably fine, being at the school and all. Making my way past the living room, I listened for the TV, but heard a strange beep pattern instead. Making my way towards the TV, I noticed the screen was like a regular news show, but no one was talking. A red strip was flowing across the bottom of the screen. It said TORNADO ALERT FOR CAPESIDE.
"Dawson, we have a tornado alert." I yelled, hoping he heard it from where he was. I grabbed everything and ran for the basement. I somehow, hustling with the radio in my hand, managed to pull the door shut. I gave Dawson the radio and settled in on the floor. Dawson turned on the radio and attempted to find a news station. The lights immediately began to flicker. He paused and looked up.
"Great. I hope the lights don't go out." Dawson said going back to tuning the radio. I kind of wanted the lights to go out. We usually got tornado watches, but never any tornadoes. I sighed. This was going to be a long night. Without any adults. I spoke aloud, not even knowing until I did so. "My sister." Then I remembered. They were at the school. Dawson's too. They had begged me to go, but I didn't want to go to the PTA dinner. I wished I had gone. I missed them.
"They're fine. Everyone is at the school." Dawson, an only child. Lucky. In a way. I guessed I was like his sister. We looked alike. Brown hair and green eyes, lanky bodies. He was a little more built than me. But we could pass as siblings. When we were little, people had always thought we were twins.
"But what about us?" I said. Without an answer from Dawson, thunder went off and the lights went out. What a great answer to my question I thought as I searched the floor for a flashlight and finally finding one, turned it on. The light beamed at Dawson. He squinted his eyes. I redirected the light a little below his face.
"This is going to be a long night." He said and turned the radio off. "The static is terrible. We can live through tonight without the radio." Dawson seemed so sure of himself. He knew what he was doing and why. He was smart. "So, what do you want to do?" Now he was lying on his pillow. I could hear that it was raining outside. Thunder went off.
"Sleep. I'm exhausted." I mumbled. I realized how tired I really was now. I yawned.
"I'm tired too. God night." He said. I said it back to him and we both kid of layed there for maybe ten minutes, hoping to fall asleep. I didn't know if Dawson fell asleep or not, but I knew that I couldn't. I was on alert, adrenalin running through my body. Besides that, I knew that we were both light sleepers. Falling asleep with the thunder was going to be tough. I yawned again and made myself even more comfortable on the floor. Because of the carpet, it was soft. I smiled. I was comfortable all right. I wanted to, but I couldn't close my eyes. I laid there in almost silence. I was thinking about my family. I knew that they were okay, but what about me? I heard an odd noise. Through the rain and thunder it was hard to hear. But I definitely had heard something. I propped myself onto my elbow. I stayed still as ever. I heard it again. I moved slowly towards Dawson and shook him.
"Dawson, wake up." I whispered.
"I'm awake." He said. I guess he hadn't fallen asleep either.
"Did you hear that?"
"Yes, I did." But that was all he had said. I wondered why.
"What is it?"
"It's me Joey," he said, slowly getting up, and then sitting up against the wall. Now I could hear it much better. Dawson was wheezing loudly. I now knew what he was talking about. I grabbed the flashlight and turned it on. I aimed it just below his face. His hand was on his chest and he was panting. Great. What a great time to have an asthma attack. I must have said that aloud, because Dawson shot back at me, "It's not." He paused to breathe. "my fault!" Before either of us said another word, the tornado sirens went off.
