Secrets 2: Looking Through Different Eyes - 28. Chapter 28 S2

Chapter 28 – Blow the Man Down

Now that we were back from vacation, we only had a couple of days before we’d be heading back to campus. Time passed quickly for us, and after my parents got home each night, we would let them know how much we appreciated everything that we’d done over vacation.

As we expected, my parents had already left for work by the time we woke up on Wednesday, so after we got dressed we hopped in the SUV and went to get something to eat. We made a quick stop so we could each purchase a breakfast sandwich, hash browns, and an OJ, and after we finished eating, we set out for Fort Collins.

The ride started out fairly well and the weather was sunny and very hot, but the air conditioning in the SUV took care of the heat for us. However, things began to change after we passed through Denver, because that’s when we started to notice the dark clouds and flashes of lightning in the distance.

The thunderstorm was rapidly moving in our direction and seeing this caused us to wonder how bad the situation might become before we reached our destination. It wasn’t long after that before we were caught in a heavy downpour, so the question had unequivocally been answered for us.

“Hey, doesn’t that look like a tornado touching down over there?” I asked. I was looking out the extreme left side of the windshield and pointing toward a spot about a mile away and off to the west.

“It certainly does and it appears to be moving in a northeasterly direction. If that’s the case, then it’s going to cross the highway somewhere up ahead.”

“Then pull over on the shoulder and stop. I don’t want to get caught in it, if that’s what’s about to happen.”

After Devin pulled over and stopped, we could see the debris that was being flung into the air by this terrifying weather phenomenon. Some of it was landing on the vehicles that had just passed us. It wasn’t long after that when we saw some of those cars pulling off the highway as well, after they realized the same thing we had about the path the tornado was taking. Other drivers, however, hit the gas instead and tried to race to get ahead of the tornado.

“I hope they don’t get killed by taking such a foolish risk,” Devin stated.

“Yeah, me too.”

Curious, Devin rolled his window down, not quite halfway, so we could hear the tornado as well, and as weird as that may seem, it sounded like a freight train as it grew closer. We also began to notice the SUV was beginning to rock back and forth due to the wind, and the rain was pelting the SUV even harder. This forced Devin to roll up his window, because he was getting drenched.

“Keep your seatbelt on, but move the strap so you can bend toward me and position your head so it’s below the dash,” I advised him. “That way if some of the debris breaks one of the windows and sends glass flying inside the SUV, it won’t affect us as badly.”

I kept ignoring my own advice and lifted my head occasionally so I could peek out the windshield to see what was happening. That’s how I noticed that before the tornado reached the highway, it made a turn and unexpectedly changed course. It was now moving in a northwesterly direction.

“Oh, fuck, that’s not good,” I shouted. “It’s heading toward the recreational and nature areas, and there’s an RV campground there as well.”

“How do you know that?”

“I peeked out the window to see what was happening.”

“No, what I meant is how do you know what areas are there and that the tornado is heading toward them?”

“It’s because you usually drive this leg of the trip and I spend my time reading the roadside signs to see if there’s anything interesting along the way. That’s how I know about those places.”

“Are you sure they’re in this area and it’s not somewhere else?”

“I’m positive, because we just passed the signs telling about them, except the state refers to those places as ‘natural areas’, not nature areas, but I’m certain it’s the same thing. And another sign indicated the RV campground isn’t very far from here.”

Shortly after we finished our conversation, the tornado appeared to be dissipating, and then it totally disappeared and was no longer a threat. The rain was letting up as well and I began to wonder how much damage the tornado had done while it was on the ground.

“Maybe we should drive over there to see if anyone needs help,” Devin suggested.

“Yeah, let’s do that and I hope no one was killed.”

***

Devin pulled back onto the highway, but then he took the next exit so he could drive toward the landmarks that he and I remembered seeing as we watched the tornado move across the countryside. As we got closer to those areas, it was easy to tell where the tornado had made landfall, due to the massive amount of destruction it left in its wake.

Devin had to navigate around the larger debris that was cluttering the roadway, but he drove over the smaller pieces as we made our way to the RV campsite. When we got closer, we noticed there was only one RV there and it had been blown over, so it was now lying on its side.

“I wonder if anyone is in it,” I said as we approached.

“We’ll soon find out,” Devin replied, and it wasn’t long after that when he stopped the SUV and we both got out. Before he closed the driver’s side door, however, I saw him transition into the largest and most muscular person possible in the clothes he was wearing today, as well as changing the appearance of his face. Seeing he probably had a reason for doing this, I did the same thing.

The overturned RV was lying at an angle as we walked toward it, and we could hear someone crying out for help. We quickly suspected he was trapped inside the RV, and it sounded as if the person was in a great deal of pain.

“How can we get to you?” I responded.

“I’m over here, on the ground next to the RV.”

We had been walking toward the roof of the RV, so we quickly walked around to the other side and discovered the predicament the guy was in. He was lying on his stomach and the frame of the RV had pinned his right leg to the ground.

“How did this happen?” Devin asked.

“I’ve been on vacation fishing and was staying in the RV, rather than paying for a motel room. When I heard the whooshing sound of the tornado approaching, I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I hid under the RV. I thought it might protect me from the worst of what was about to happen, but I guess I was wrong. When I saw the funnel was getting closer to my location, I started to back away from it, because the rain was pelting me and it was kicking up all kinds of shit.”

“It must have been awful, because it was bad enough for us in the SUV.”

“Yes, it was, and I guess I must’ve backed up farther than I thought, because when the RV blew over the damn thing landed on my leg. I’m positive my leg and foot are broken and I’m pinned here. I need you to call for help and tell them I’ll need something to lift the RV off my leg.”

“Maybe we can lift the RV enough so you can crawl forward and free your leg.”

“I know you two look pretty rugged, but there’s no way you’ll be able to do that. You will either need a lot more help, a couple of jacks, or a truck with a winch in order to free me.”

“It won’t hurt to give it a try, so let’s see what we can do.”

We quickly looked the situation over and realized there were areas where we could get a grip on the RV so we could try to lift it, although I had my doubts that we could pull this off. I knew we had a better chance of being successful since we’d bulked our muscles up when we transitioned, but it still was going to be a tough task, even for us. I wasn’t convinced that we’d be able to pull it off, but we’d certainly give it our best try.

As we were getting into position to lift the RV, Devin offered some advice. “Remember to bend your knees and lift with your legs. Don’t try to lift with your back. I’ll count and we’ll both lift on three. One, two, three.”

We both gave it all we had and I was surprised that we were having an effect. This made me try even harder, and a few seconds later we heard the guy speak.

“Ok, I’m free, but I sure as hell don’t know how you two pulled it off. Are you weightlifters or somethin’?”

“We do work out, but it was probably just an adrenaline surge,” Devin replied after we set the RV down again. “We saw that you were in pain and we wanted to help, and sometimes when a person is facing an adverse situation he starts producing more adrenaline than usual, which helps him to do the impossible. I think that‘s what happened here.”

“I guess you might be right about that, because I never thought you’d be able to pull it off.”

While they were speaking, I was observing the man’s injuries. He was right, because he apparently had multiple broken bones, at least judging by the unusual angles those body parts were currently in, but I only observed a minimal amount of blood. After seeing how severe his injuries were, I realized it must have been extremely painful for him to even crawl the short distance it took to get out from under the RV.

“I’ll call 9-1-1 and have the operator send an ambulance here so they can take you to the hospital, but in the meantime we’re going to drive around and see if we can find anyone else who needs help.”

“Yeah, sure, because there might be others even worse off than I am. I just want to thank you for what you did, although I still can’t get my head around how you were able to pull it off.”

“Like I said, it was probably an adrenaline surge that helped us do it,” Devin replied.

We then went back to the SUV, opened the doors and sat on the seats, and then we started adjusting our bodies back to their normal size, although we didn’t change our faces just yet. We drove around the area instead, so we could see if there were others we might be able to help. From what we could tell, it was fortunate that no one else had been in the path of the tornado as it went through this area, unless the tornado picked their bodies up and carried them to another location. It had obviously done it with some of the shrubbery and trees that used to cover this location, so it’s a good thing that this is a natural area and there weren’t a lot of power lines to deal with.

As soon as we spotted the rescue vehicle assisting the man with the broken leg and foot, we left the area and continued our trip to Fort Collins. Once we were back on the highway, we transitioned our faces back to normal and discussed what had just transpired.

“I’m glad we were able to help that guy,” I began, “and I’m glad that I was actually able to help you this time and not merely making it appear as if I was assisting you.”

“I am too, because I wouldn’t have been able to lift it by myself. I wasn’t exactly at the center of the RV, so you not only helped to lift it, but you kept if from tipping in the other direction as well. If that had happened, it might have done even more damage to the guy’s leg.”

“Then I feel even better that I was actually able to help this time.”

“And since you now have the same powers that I do, I don’t want to hear you calling me a Superhero any longer.”

“Fair enough.”

“Besides, if the guy thought it was strange that two of us could do that, what would he have thought if it was just me?”

“Yeah, so I’m glad I went through the training and can do nearly all of the same things that you can do now.”

“I am too, and we’ll continue working on those other things, but it’s going to be difficult for you to learn to be a fish and breathe through gills.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it will be. You know, I still can’t help wondering if there are others that were injured out there as well and we just didn’t see them.”

“It’s possible, but if they were picked up by the twister and tossed out of it at some other point, then their chances of survival probably aren’t very good. In fact, their bodies might not be discovered until a hunter or hiker comes across them, but we won’t know if anyone was killed unless that happens.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right. How was it when you transitioned in your new clothes, since they weren’t as large as you used to wear? I kjnow that I found my clothes kina tight, so you must have found it uncomfortable as well, but it didn’t seem to affect what you could do. Did they make you feel different?”

“Nah, it was pretty much the same, except I didn’t make my body quite as bulky as before. I was leaner, but still as muscular.”

“I’m just glad I was able to help you this time.”

“You will be an even greater help if we run into an even larger problem, like an 18-wheeler in a similar situation, instead of an RV.”

“I’m not sure we’d be able to handle one of those, even if I am a skinwalker now, unless the trailer is totally empty.”

“Maybe, but hopefully we’ll never have to put ourselves to the test.”

 ***

When we eventually arrived at the house in Fort Collins, Devin parked the SUV in the driveway and we went inside to make certain that everything was as we’d left it at the start of the summer. Once that had been verified, we started carrying our belongings inside and taking them up to our bedroom.

When we finished, we decided that we needed to wash up and change, since we’d gotten a little messy while helping the guy with the RV. We would be going out in a little while for an early supper, since we hadn’t stopped for lunch on the way here.

In fact, I was totally amazed that we hadn’t made our usual stop at the diner on our way back, but I guess Devin and I must have been talking at the time and didn’t realize that we’d passed it. Then again, maybe it was an unknown force that compelled us to keep going, because if we hadn’t we would never have seen the tornado and then gone looking to see if anyone needed help.

We knew the dining hall wouldn’t be open until tomorrow, so we’d have to go out to eat tonight, and of course we headed to Dominick’s. We’d eaten at different restaurants during our vacation with my parents, but eating at Dominick’s is unique. Whenever we eat there we almost feel as if the two of us are having a quiet meal at home, since we’re so familiar with the people that work there.

In fact, while we were there the hostess, our server, a couple of the other servers, as well as the owner all came over to ask us if we’d had a nice summer and wanted to know if we’d done anything interesting. It was nice and made us feel that they actually cared, so it was almost as if various members of our extended family were asking us those questions.

After we finished our meal, we made our way back to the house, and along the way we chatted.

“I wonder if our ‘friendly’ neighbor lady realizes we’re back yet,” Devin stated with a smirk.

“It was too early for her to be home from work while we were at the house, and since we left so early to eat as well, there’s a chance that we left before she returned home from work as well. She might notice the SUV in the driveway later, if she happens to go out for a walk after we return, but otherwise I doubt she’ll realize we’re back until tomorrow.”

“Nah, I doubt she’ll go out for a walk, because she doesn’t look the type that gets a lot of exercise, not with her portly build. And even if she did, since we’ve already unloaded the SUV, I’ll just pull it into the garage so she won’t see it then either.”

“Yeah, but she’ll probably notice there are lights on in the house.”

“Oh yeah, I didn’t think about that.”

“It doesn’t really matter though, because she’ll still be a pain in the ass no matter when she realizes that we’re here. She might have even figured out that we haven’t graduated yet, so if that’s the case then she’ll be expecting us to return. She might be dreading the fact that we’re going to be her neighbors again, possibly even as much as we’re dreading having her for a neighbor.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right.”

“So, are Gramps and Pops coming here this weekend?”

“No, but I’ve marked my copy of the football schedule to indicate the games they want to attend.”

“It will be good to see them again, and don’t forget to ask one of them to let your parents know that they’re invited to have Thanksgiving at my house this year.”

“Yeah, I plan on doing that.”

We spent the rest of the night unpacking and getting organized, and by the time we finished we decided to get ready for bed. There will be a lot of other things for us to do tomorrow.

We made love before we showered and it appeared that Devin was using the same body as when we helped the guy with the RV, and I was fine with that. When we finished showering, we cuddled together in bed and fell asleep, while also looking forward to the new day ahead.