Photo copyright by David Stewart
The wild clanging of the heavy iron bell that normally summons the kids to dinner wakes me, a sound not indigenous to this late hour. Pulse pounding, bare feet slapping worn oak, I grapple with the shackles of a sinuous cotton gown in my mad scramble to the back door. I pull aside the curtain as lightning splits the sky, illuminating a monster that should not exist outside of nightmares. Hail begins to strafe the roof as I whirl to rouse my sleeping family, my frantic cries a whisper against the train-like roar outside. “Get to the cellar! Twister!”
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One hundred words in response to David Stewart‘s photo, selected this week by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields, the leader of the pack at Friday Fictioneers. You can check out other submissions by clicking the little blue guy below.
Things I See and Know 
silentlyheardonce
February 21, 2014 at 5:05 PM
Original and a frightening scenario.
Victoria K Gallagher
February 21, 2014 at 9:04 PM
That’s a scary scene to picture. I hope they got out in time. This, to me, could be a ‘carry-it-on’ story…. A very frightening tale.
patrickprinsloo
February 22, 2014 at 6:33 AM
A great build up to the climax. Well done.
helenrj
February 22, 2014 at 8:08 AM
Well-written…and very scary. I have been in the cellar many a time waiting for the storm to blow over. What is very good about this piece is that you took an ordinary object and turned it into a harbinger. It has great ‘slap’ factor (shock and fear).
sustainabilitea
February 22, 2014 at 4:41 PM
A nightmare!
janet
patriciaruthsusan
February 22, 2014 at 11:01 PM
Good story with the kind of description that paints a word picture leading to a frightening ending.
Björn Rudberg (brudberg)
February 23, 2014 at 4:05 PM
Oh a twister twist… nightmarish… I did not expec that end.
Nan Falkner
February 24, 2014 at 4:18 AM
I live in tornado alley in Kansas (land of Oz). This is a nightmare well written! Nan
rochellewisoff
February 24, 2014 at 6:07 AM
Dear Michelle,
As always, well written. I felt the tension coupled with raw panic. Thank you for a good read.
shalom,
Rochelle
atrm61
February 24, 2014 at 9:49 AM
Brilliant piece!Loved it!