Tornado Alley

When disaster strikes, the only thing you can count on is yourself! Wyatt Anderson isn't thrilled that his prissy cousin is visiting his family's Oklahoma ranch. But it turns out Wyatt has bigger problems to deal with when a pair of dueling tornadoes lock the prairie in their Alison, and neighbors Joshua and Jackson have nowhere to run. And when the old barn is battered by the tornadoes' ferocious winds, the animals that live inside are in danger. Will Wyatt and his friends risk their own lives to protect them? Marlane Kennedy is the author of ME AND THE PUMPKIN QUEEN and THE DOG DAYS OF CHARLOTTE HAYES. She has lived through one tiny earthquake, the blizzard of 1978, and a tornado that swept through Wooster, Ohio, where she lives with her husband and daughter. Though she is having a blast writing about disasters, she is hoping not to add any more to this list! You can find her online at From DISASTER STRIKES #2: TORNADO ALLEYWyatt looked westward, the direction the storm had come from, and saw something so surreal and terrifying on the horizon that he had to do a double take to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. For a moment he stood absolutely still, awestruck by the enormous funnel cloud that kicked up swirling columns of dust in the distance. There was something hypnotizing about it. Part of Wyatt wanted to stand there and watch, but soon his common sense took over. "Tornado!" Wyatt screamed. "Get to the storm cellar!" He pointed at the doors by the side of the house. "We have to get to shelter. Run!"For a split second, the others froze in their tracks, startled by Wyatt's outburst, until they, too, saw the tornado. The wind picked up and whipped around the them, pushing away the stillness, and all four kids bolted, making a bee line for safety.Wyatt was surprised to see Alison outrun them all. She was fast and reached the cellar doors first, quickly followed by long legged Jackson. They heaved open the doors revealing a staircase down to the cellar, and paused for a moment, waiting for Wyatt and Joshua to catch up."Don't wait. Get inside!" Wyatt yelled. Jackson and Alison obeyed his command and disappeared down the steps, with Joshua scrambling in close behind them. Phew! We're all safe, Wyatt thought as he darted down the first few steps and reached to close the doors. But before he could get a hold of it, a flash of pink streaked by."Duncan is in the barn," Alison shouted as she rushed back up the steps. "I have to go get him and bring him to the cellar!""Are you nuts? Get back here!" Wyatt lunged for her, but she slipped out of his grasp. "There's no time!" he yelled after her with desperation and fury in his voice.Allison turned and looked at him briefly with panicked eyes. The wind flung her long dark hair every which way. And then in a flash she was gone. Running away from them. Away from safety. And into the path of a monster.