6:00 Hours: A Dystopian Novel by Chad Evercroft Page A

of a phone. Some people were still eating, cradling their paper plates in their laps. A few greeted Danny by name, and he waved back. No one attacked him like those two men had earlier, and even they had looked begrudgingly apologetic when they stood together in line waiting for food. With community support, those affected by the tornado would be all right. Danny went up to the folding tables where food had been served and approached someone in an apron.
    “Do you have a phone I can use? I need to call my family.”
    The young woman pointed to a line that extended from the gym doors all the way through the lobby. Danny sighed.
    “No other phone lines?” he asked.
    “I’m sorry,” the woman said.
    Danny shrugged and turned to walk to the doors when she reached out to touch his arm.
    “Wait a minute. You’re Danny Morgan, aren’t you?”
    “Yeah…”
    “The prepper guy?”
    “I guess so.”
    The woman glanced around to make sure no one was watching her before motioning for him to follow her. She pushed open the door to the outdoors and put her foot in its way so it wouldn’t close.
    “Hold this open,” she instructed Danny. “Or it will lock behind you.”
              She reached under her apron into her jean’s pocket and withdrew a cell phone.
    “I didn’t want people to see or everyone would be asking to use it,” she explained, holding the phone out for Danny.
    “Why me then?” Danny asked, puzzled.
    “My dad went to one of your classes,” the woman said. “He learned about how to tie off deep wounds, stuff like that. He went camping alone and cut himself really bad. What you taught him saved his life.”
    Danny’s mouth fell open a little. The woman smiled, blinking back tears. She put the phone in his hand.
    “So hold the door open with your foot or something,” she repeated.
    Danny nodded, swallowing down the lump in his throat. The woman went inside, leaving Danny outside alone in the fading light. The sky was layered in gold and crimson. Looking in this direction, everything was clear and peaceful. Danny looked to the north, where the wind blew from, and glared at the dark clouds still swirling. He thought he saw a bolt of lightning skid across quickly like a cockroach. So it wasn’t over just yet. Danny checked the cell reception and dialed. He tried his sister’s number first. Still nothing.
    Damn it, Danny thought, gritting his teeth. What have you gotten yourself into, Rachel?
    Danny called his dad next. The phone rang twice before he picked up.
    “Hello?”
    “Dad, it’s me.”
    “Thank God! Are you guys okay? We’ve been tracking what’s going on and it looks like about five tornadoes touched down within a 40-mile radius.”
    “Yeah, we got hit. We’re all ok, though, but the house is gone.”
    “I’m so sorry. Are you safe now?”
    “We’re at a church. Not sure what the next move will be.”
    “Does it have a basement?”
    “No, just the gym.”
    Danny’s father was quiet for a moment. Danny could hear talking in the background and typing, like someone was banging angrily on a keyboard.
    “Dad?”
    “There are more tornadoes forming. Can you see anything?”
              “Some storms in the north. Is it bad?”
    “Hard to say by the time they reach you, but it is definitely heading your way. I…”
    The phone went dead. Danny stared at the phone, seeing everything was fine. Something must have happened on the other end. He tried redialing, but the call didn’t go through. He called his mother’s number. Nothing. Anxiety crackled through Danny and he wished he had his pills. He stretched his neck, feeling it pop, and looked at the darkening clouds. They had swelled and there was definitely lightning now. The wind had picked up as well. Danny thought about Rachel and where she might be. Had she gotten out in time? Or would he receive a call that she had been put on a missing persons’ list and would likely never be found, her