twisted metal

Elaine looked out the kitchen window as she finished washing dishes from the evening meal. She studied the clouds, noticing the darkening sky to the west taking notice of the wall cloud, the contrasting grays deepening and descending into a sky of blackness. She silently cursed to herself. Earl had promised to clean out the cellar, to replace the pump that had gone out last year, to remove the 3 foot of musty smelling water standing inside the dwelling of the cellar floor.

Nestled down deep in a cleared valley deep in the midst of the Oklahoma Arbuckle Mountains the evening sky loomed dark overhead with ominous, menacing clouds. The crackling and whistling of the winds, increasing with strength made apparent through the sound of the nearby trees, leaves rustling; limbs snapping back and forth, waving frantically. A few hours before the deep heat of the afternoon sun baked the cracked, dry soil at temperatures driving most people indoors seeking shade and respite from the heat of a blistering Oklahoma summer day.

Elaine dried her hands with a blue and yellow striped hand towel, a frown etched upon her thin, worried face. Earl had gone out after dinner to check the livestock and hadn't returned. Looking out the window again to try to catch sight of him returning, she noticed four cows and baby calves running towards the barn; a good indication the storm would be strong.

Intuitively, she began closing the blinds at the windows and unplugging electrical appliances. She loved living in the valley nestled between the mountains. Heavon on Earth the closest description she could conjure. During the storms though, she was often reminded of their remote location, the drawbacks of having no family or neighbors nearby, today was no different. She debated silently on whether to set out on foot to find Earl to help round up the stragglers, the livestock which ventured off on their own, away from the herd. She was afraid she'd take a wrong trail and would find her own self disoriented and not able to find her way back if the storm hit before she found Earl.

Another look to the barn, four more head of cattle racing towards the safety of the old tin barn. No sign of Earl.

The wind grew louder, the sky darker. Up ahead the sky split as a flash of lightning crackled and lit up horizontally then vertically across the sky, fingering off like little branches, reaching out to strike out at prey. Snap, crackle, Pop. Elaine jumped as thunder clapped loud, a pink haze within her peripheral vision, then the unmistackable splitting sound of a nearby cottonwood tree hit by lightning. "Wow, that was close." she said outloud, to no one but herself.

It was moments like this one, she felt uncomfortable living in a mobile home. Moments like this, when she felt helpless against the acts of nature, things beyond her control. It was moments like this she wondered if something bad happened, how long would it take someone to find them, and if they were seriously hurt, would they be found in time. She tried to shake off the thoughts. She stepped outside onto the porch. She called out as loud as she could for Earl. She hoped her voice would carry with the wind and not be drowned out by the wind itself. A cold splash of rain hit her face, stinging from the coldness and with the wind force behind it. Another drop hit her shoulder, she ran towards the barn, jumped up onto the bottom board plank of the coral panel, counted the livestock tucked away inside the lean to and performed a head count. Recalling the direction she had seen them heading from, she ran towards the area at the break of trees. As she neared the treeline she called out for Earl again. She tried to calculate if all the livestock was accounted for, naming them off by name, counting them off on her fingers. One cow was missing.

She cringed and jumped as another thread of lightning flashed across the sky, dancing upon the clouds, ricocheting across the darkness on blind barricades in the sky until it streamed into a jagged neon bright line into the treetops. She hesitated, looking back up into the sky, menacing, but not as minacing as the intuitive danger she felt fluttering in her stomach as her determination began to find Earl.

She took flight by foot through the trees, darting between the trunks and dodging low hanging branches. A thorned vine fluttered in the wind, snaring at her sleeve, catching hold, tearing the fabric. She winced as the thorn scratched her skin, the pain passed in a moment.

Elaine turned her head upwards and towards the west, the sky dark as night. Rain began falling heavier, the sound would have been soothing had the situation not looked so sinister. The treetops provided some shelter from the sheeting rain as she proceeded further, slower, taking caution not to slip and fall on the wet leaves underfoot. The boughs of the trees began to take on a life of their own, dancing, flailing, upright, bending from one extreme to another. Rolling thunder, bright flashes of lightning, added backdrop and illumination to the dance of the trees.

"Where are you Earl," she muttered to herself.

As she neared another clearing, she spotted Earl and the unaccounted cow. The cow lay on it's side, it's side heaving, its head moving up and down like a lever. Earl was positioned behind the cow, his feet perched upon the cow's hind legs. He had been struggling trying to help birth the calf, breech delivery for over an hour. He was tired, the cow was nearing exhaustion and he wasn't sure if the calf was still alive or not. Elaine rushed over to Earl, not sure what to do.

"Go to the truck," he yelled out at her, "get the yellow rope out behind the seat." She quickly nodded and ran to the truck. As she approached the truck, the wind began blowing with sheer force winds, the truck rocked back and forth in front of her. She felt nervous and scared. She wiped the rain from her face and reached for the door, using her strength to open it against the wind. She gasped at how the truck looked inside, filthy dirty farm truck, she told herself, shaking her head. She found the rope and ran back to where Earl and the cow lay on the ground.

As they tied the ropes to the calf's legs, the pelting rain suddenly stopped. The lack of sound, eerie after the blasting wind and rain. Total silence, then a noise neither had ever heard before. A roaring, whirring sound, deep and strong, building in loudness, escalating. Sounds of movement and dark shadows began darting through the darkness at the treeline. Elaine found herself grasping ahold of Earl, as she realized the livestock from the barn were running past them, in blind patterns, oblivious to their presence. A bright flash of lightning across the sky, the roaring cresendoing rumble in the sky, Elaine and Earl caught sight of the funnel cloud. It's tail dipping in and out of the sky.

"Help me, Elaine, quickly," Earl's voice had an urgency and a note of fear in it. "How..." she began to ask, as he gave her one rope and told her to place her weight against the back of the cow's hip and when he gave the order..to pull as hard as she could.

Elaine quickly rubbed water from her face with her free hand, grabbed the rope with both hands, filled with a sense of tension and a gripping fear. The cow's head raised, the muscles in her tired body straining.

"Now!" Earl screamed out. As Elaine leaned back, gripping the rope, she looked at Earl. His face was grimaced, the tired lines of exhaustion showing across his forehead, but determination shining in his eyes. She pulled, uncomfortable sitting against the wet ground, leaning back, until she was almost lying down, her wrists felt like they were about to pop. She was about to lighten her pull when she felt the rope move, her body slipping further back, the calf was now laying between her and Earl at their feet. Earl jumped up quickly, pulling the birth sac away from the calf's mouth and began breathing into it's nose and mouth. Rubbing then patting the calf's sides. The whole world was silent as Elaine sat in awe at the sight before her. She heard a small noise escape from the calf, then watched as Earl's face tilted upwards, a smile erasing the lines upon his face, and she seen his mouth form the words, thank you towards heaven above.

The rain was still pelting them, but went unnoticed. The winds were rocking and bending the trees, then as quickly as it all built up it disappeared, moving further eastward, out of sight.

Earl scooped up the calf into his arms and carried it to the pickup. The cow bellowed out, calling for the calf. Earl hoped it would give her incentive to try to stand, the toil of the delivery had taken alot of strength from the animal. The cow knelt up onto her front legs, trying to pull her back legs up into a standing position, after several failed attempts she stopped, as if to catch her breath. Earl shook his head, placed the calf into the bed of the pick up then sat himself upon the tailgate. "Drive us to the barn please," he asked of Elaine. Before she got into the pickup he changed his mind and asked he to head to the east corner, he had an idea.

When they arrived to the corner he chained up an old car hood to the back of the truck and told Elaine to pull up as close as she could to the cow. He was going to try to roll the cow onto the hood so they could get both animals to a safe dry environment.

With much effort from both Earl and Elaine, the rolled the cow onto the car hood, the calf safely secured in the back of the pickup bed. Earl was thankful his herd was gentle and that the animal was not fighting their attempts at moving her and the calf to safety. He talked quietly and calmy to Elaine, who was now trembling from anxiety and wet from the rain. "Put the old truck in granny gear," Earl instructed Elaine, "then take the right path to the barn. I'm going to ride back here on the hood, check your mirrors once in a while. I'll whistle if I need you to stop. Got it?" he asked. Elaine tried to smile and nodded, giving him a thumbs up and climbed into the cab of the pickup and eased it into gear.

Elaine reached over and turned on the headlights and within a few minutes, driving down the path, the barn came into view. They had a small barn and pen built for situations like this to keep a cow and calf seperated. She stopped the truck and pulled into the pen. There was barely enough room in the pen to give them clearance to turn and exit out. As she was getting out of the pickup, Earl had fastened a come-along to a chain, hooking one end to a wooden beam inside the structure. With effort, he pulled the hood into the barn, giving the cow shelter from the rain. He opened the tailgate of the pickup and gently carried the calf, laying it in the opposite corner of the little shed. He looked up at Elaine, his face weary but with apparent relief visible, "Good Lord willing, all will be well," he spoke. He went to stand next to Elaine, slid an arm around her, pulled her towards him, kissing the top of her head, "thank you darling, I was at the end of my rope when you showed up. How bout we get to the house now and call it a night?"

Elaine, nodded and turned to get into the passenger side of the old ford pickup. As the pickup turned to exit the pen the headlights flashed against something reflective in the treeline. A clanging noise caught their attention to the left and a quick glance exposed several sheets of tin on the old barn roof, loose and flapping in the wind. "Nothing that can't wait til tomorrow," Earl told himself.

"Oh my......" exclaimed Elaine in a half gasp, without finishing, her eyes stared into a dark empty space where their home had been located just a short 1/2 hour ago.

Earl grimaced, tried not to show the distraught look across his face. He turned the pickup down the drive, spoke as calmly as he could to Elaine, "I think you deserve a night out away from home, how bout we go into town and grab us a motel room and relax."

Elaine reached over and squeezed his hand. They rode towards town in silence, both with thoughts about the cleanup and mess before them.

As they neared town, they noticed downed power lines and a few roads closed to thru traffic. They reached an intersection, where flagmen were redirecting traffic, and noticed a large two story home, recognizing it as one of the historical homes from the early 1900's, now largely destroyed from a huge cottonwood tree, split and laying depressed into the west wing of the house. Elaine shook her head, "how terrible, such a beautiful piece of history," she said as memories of the interior of the old home flashed through her mind.

This time, Earl reached over and squeezed Elaine's hand. As they sat waiting for traffic to begin moving again, he looked up and mouthed the words 'Thank you for keeping us safe'.

"How bout tomorrow, we look for a spot in the wooded lot and find us a place to build next to the creek."

"But how.." Elaine began, but Earl placed a finger to her lips to quiet her. "Don't worry little lady, God answers prayers, he led us safely through the storm."

Elaine unfastened her seatbelt and leaned over, kissing Earl on the cheek, "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

They unrolled the windows in the truck now that the rain had subsided, and listened to the squelching of radios blasting from the electric company crew and the officers directing traffic.

They arrived nearly an hour later at a now packed motel six. After Earl felt reassured that Elaine was calm and ready to relax, he kissed her forehead, and told her he was going to go see if they needed extra help to check on neighbors along the storm's path.

Elaine nodded, closed the door behind him as he left, giving silent thanks for her blessings, especially him.