Stephanie was rounding the long sweep of John Nolan Drive right between the two lakes when she spotted the funny cloud. Funny as in suspicious. The way that particular black nub Ved down was probably just a fluke. Though still early in Summer, they really shouldn’t be seeing too many funnel clouds now. Then again it seemed like the warning sirens were going off more and more lately.
She should have taken the direct route home, but she needed more time to calm down before she faced Lisa and Tracy. She’d planned on grabbing some groceries from Willy Street Co-op as an excuse for being late. Maybe they’d have some fried spiced tofu ready. The kids liked that.
She followed the rush hour traffic onto Willy Street with one eye on the sky. The nub was gone now. She’d probably imagined it. No one could blame her for a bit of paranoia after a day like today.
They guys hated it when she left her cubicle in Distributions to visit the loading docks, but she had an anomaly in the paperwork that Accounting wanted her to check into. You really didn’t want to mess with Accounting. Not at Niison Industries.
When she got there a crowd of men stood around a forklift truck, all looking down. Though the guys usually gave her these resentful looks every time she visited, and tended to make her feel out of sorts, she walked right up to the group. It as better than lurking around like a kicked puppy.
It was Noah. Of all the guys in the back, he was the only one who treated her well. There he lay in a pool of blood with both legs twisted horribly. It looked like someone had tried to run him through.
“Noah! No!” She dropped to her knees.
He was unconscious, but still breathing. His hands felt cold. She tried not to look at his legs, but suspected he’d be crippled for life.
“Someone call an ambulance!”
“Already did,” one of the guys said. As if to confirm his words, the sound of a siren grew closer.
They all stared down at her with cold expressions. She couldn’t tell which of them might have been driving the forklift. She felt completely out of her depth, but she couldn’t make herself let go of Noah’s cold hand until the paramedics rushed in.
At a traffic light she gripped the steering wheel tightly with fists together. A little fleck of blood caught in the cracks of one knuckle flashed at her. There was another at the hem of her skirt. Stephanie’s stomach lurched. It was his blood. Noah’s.
When the light changed, Stephanie gunned it. She sailed right past Willy Street Co-op. It wasn’t like she could find parking anyway. All she wanted to do was go home and bury her head under pillows.
A block away from home hail pelted her. By the time she’d pulled into the driveway it had turned to heavy rain. Even running, her hair dripped by the time she got inside. She slammed the door closed behind her and stopped short as not two, but three girls stood in a line before her.
“This is Emma. Can she stay here a while?” Tracy was the one who spoke, but both girls looked hopeful.
“Yeah.. Fine. Give me a little while and I’ll have supper ready.”
While the girls jumped and squealed, Stephanie rushed to the bathroom to wash her hands.
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