Nayeli glanced up at the sky as she headed into the grocery store. The sun was shining brightly in the east and a dark storm front was rising in the west. It was almost upon them. She picked up a basket and quickly moved down an aisle.
As Nayeli pulled a loaf of bread off the shelf, thunder rumbled and a torrent of rain crashed onto the roof. You could barely hear the intercom squawk as an employee called for assistance in some department. Nayeli flinched. If only she had thought to grab her rain jacket before heading out.
The intercom squawked again. This time a voice shouted over the system. “A tornado has been sighted. Please make your way to the back of the store.” Nayeli turned and started walking toward the back. It was that time of year.
Two employees stood at the back, directing remaining customers into the storage area. Nayeli was halfway to them when a sound unlike any she had heard before erupted. Noises of creaking, ripping metal and splintering glass exploded into the store, with a rushing jet-engine sound.
The employees’ eyes widened and mouths dropped open. If they were screaming, she could not hear them. People stumbled into the back room, falling as they went. Nayeli turned to look behind her.
A large gash had been ripped through the store front, exposing a thick, turbulent wall of wind. The tornado. Nayeli dropped her basket and ran for the back. Steps before hitting the doors, she spotted an elderly lady by the back coolers. She was on the floor, struggling to rise.
Nayeli paused. Jagged pieces of metal and glass were flying into the store and the rushing sound was deafening. Nayeli squeezed her eyes shut briefly and then pitched herself across the space, covering the elderly lady with her body.
She grabbed at the low edge of the cooler and pulled so they were right up against it, the elderly lady between herself and the elements. Nayeli could feel the lady shaking uncontrollably. Then she felt shards of glass and metal hit her back. She screamed. Then an aisle cooler slammed into them.
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I love this!
Recently we had to have our washer serviced. Fine Appliance is awesome btw. But it reminded me of an incident a few years back where the service company was horrible. No replacement parts. Order delayed with bogus stories as to why. Being accused of being belligerent to where I was hung up on. When I cancelled the service, the owner sent text and email messages that were frightening
Can you use this? If not, no problem.
Wow! What a crazy situation. I’ll add it to my list of possible situations and let it simmer at the back of my mind 🙂 We’ll see!