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Chapter Twenty-One

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The aftermath of any destructive tornado leaves residents in shock. But in the midst of the shock, something kicks in to help recover and find friends, pets, and loved ones. Then they survey how their lives have been ripped apart and decide how best to put it back together. With hearts broken they picked up the wind-torn and rain-soaked mementos of their life.

Sirens were heard in the quiet as people were picking up and sorting through the remnants of their homes. While some treated the wounded, fire trucks raced to prevent gas leaks and fires. Police officers assisted in rescues.

The only lights to see by were the emergency lights as all the power had been brought down from twisted and tangled transformers and power lines. Cars and homes and all manner of things had been randomly moved and crushed. It was as though a toddler had dumped out all their toys and began digging through them, scattering the pieces, looking for something they couldn’t find.

Blake and Brandon had been at Brandon’s dinner table when the storm sirens had blown. It was about seven thirty and there was still some light out, but that quickly changed when the dark clouds moved in.

The sudden darkness brought Blake to life, and he rushed to the front window as Brandon turned on the TV. There he saw the weather and the huge line of colors which ran a broad swath diagonally across the entire state of Oklahoma. The weatherman zoomed in and pointed out large swirls in the colorful line that looked like large hooks, tornados.

With very little time to prepare for a tornado, Brandon and Blake ran to the basement. But almost as soon as they were safe, the tornado had passed and with its passing, came the calm, deadly quiet.

“It sounds safe now,” said Brandon.

The only sound was their footsteps on the wooden basement stairs as they emerged.

“Looks like you got off easy,” observed Blake.

Brandon breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Yeah, it looks like only a few broken windows, and some shingles out there on the yard.”

Brandon’s home had suffered. But as they stood on his lawn, they realized just how blessed they had been, for all around them, there was devastation. Random homes were left next to vacant lots where homes had been.

Darkness filled the night sky. The tornado had passed and the stars now shone brightly. It was a beautiful night to behold, had it been any other night.

Workers and residents worked the night through helping each other. The next morning, they were still working hard to do what they could. Blake and Brandon were both exhausted.

Because Brandon’s home had suffered minimum damage, he’d welcomed as many people in as he could, for shelter. He had families sleeping all across his living room floor.

The smell of bacon and eggs the next morning woke those asleep as Blake cooked all he could find in Brandon’s kitchen. He’d found eggs, bacon, and biscuits, and had also whipped up some pancakes, concerned that there wouldn’t be enough food for everyone. Knowing appetites would be low, he did it anyway. Everyone would need their strength for the work that lay before them.

As soon as the smell began to wake the crowd, several people came to offer help. Breakfast was finished, eaten, and then cleaned up efficiently. They were all grateful for the shelter and food that had been provided them.

Brandon and Blake felt grateful to be able to help and offer what they could, but all Blake could think about was Senna and Andrea.

In the night, Blake had finally been able to make it over to see what had become of his home. He could tell while still two blocks away it wouldn’t be good. All the homes as far as he could see were destroyed, some more than others, but none salvageable.

As he approached his home, he realized it had been on the edge of the tornado path, but had still suffered greatly. The roof was gone as were most walls. His life lay in an absurd blanket across his lawn and the surrounding street.

With nothing to be done in the darkness of night, he made his way back to Brandon’s in order to help those he could, the only difference being, that he was now one of the homeless, too.

Blake and Brandon had not slept at all. They worked until the early hours of the morning helping rescuers find missing loved ones and pets. Then, once they had settled in to try to get some sleep, sleep didn’t come.

They lay on their pallets in Brandon’s home office and talked. The entire time that Blake was diligently helping others do what he could, his heart and mind never left Senna. Where was she and was she safe? It was still too hard to maneuver through the streets so he’d not been able to get to Senna’s house. Both he and Brandon lived on the far side of town quite a long distance from Senna’s home.

He kept resisting the urge to run straight to her house, but the immediate needs of others right before him kept him occupied. Before settling in for the night, he had started in that direction only to have Brandon pull him back. He reasoned that there were others all across town helping their neighbors and someone would be helping Senna, too, if she needed it.

The electric company was still working hard to remove dangerous live lines that were down across homes and streets. It would not do Senna any good if Blake hurt himself just trying to get to her house. He had reluctantly agreed to wait until morning.

He didn’t even know where Senna was, nor Andrea. The search Brandon and Blake had been on all day had been fruitless. He knew something bad had happened, and sadness and despair had settled over him. She was gone, and he didn’t know where.

Thoughts tormented him when exhaustion should have taken him under. When the first hint of light seeped through the window, he was up and making breakfast. He would do this for those here and then he would set out to try to find both Senna, and Andrea.

The ladies who had spent the night were relieved to have something to do, so they eagerly took over the breakfast cleanup, which released Blake to go search.

He quickly realized that there was still no easy way to do that. Entire homes lay scattered in the streets, roofs and walls, boards with nails, and glass were everywhere. Huge crews had already begun their clean up, but from Brandon’s house, there was no way he was getting his car out and down the street.

So he walked, and as he walked, he prayed. That deep fear in the pit of his stomach would not go away. No matter what he said or did, it remained. There was a foreboding feeling that said, she’s gone.

He wasn’t quite sure when the tears started. It wasn’t a manly thing to do, but his heart was breaking and he didn’t care. “Help me find her, please,” he prayed. He just wanted to find her now even if she was no longer alive.

To get to Senna’s house he had to pass through downtown. Remarkably, the storm had done little damage there. Hope surged that he’d been wrong and that he would find Senna safe and sound in her little house.

Blake picked up speed and began to jog the last couple of blocks to her home. Once there, he turned a corner and there it stood. It was intact and he could see no visible signs that it had been damaged. Her car sat in the driveway.

He ran up to her door and knocked hard. No response. He went to the back door and once again knocked, calling out to her, “Senna, open up. Are you there?” No answer.

He knew where she kept a key to the back door so he got it and went in. Maybe she had been inside and was hurt. He unlocked the door and let himself in, but the house was empty.

The keys to her car were laying on a table near her front door, so he decided to take her car and drive where the streets were clear. Maybe he could find her still.

Blake was forced to avoid the side of town where the streets were impassable. As he drove, he just seemed to drive with no thought whatsoever regarding where he was going.

As if an answer to prayer, he felt an unseen navigation system directing him. He then realized he was heading south out of town toward Crown Rock Mesa.

~~~

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The short-lived downpour had woken Andrea sometime after the storm. She’d survived the tornado, but the shed was gone. All that remained was the old floor and the pipe she was still strapped to.

She began to laugh hysterically as she realized that the sturdy pipe and the straps had anchored her to the ground and were what had saved her. In a tornado, they could just as easily have ripped away and taken her with them, but in this case, today they had saved her.

After the tornado came through, the rain had only lasted for about ten minutes and then the beautiful night sky had appeared. She wasn’t sure how long she had been out, but the rain had passed and the night sky was clear when she came to. As she looked up, she knew it was a message of splendor from God to let her know He’d been with her all along, and He still was.

Andrea was wet and the cool night breeze chilled her to the bone, but she had hope. The bruises ached, but she didn’t think she had any broken bones. The cuts from the nails were mostly superficial, and the rain had washed away the blood.

As she rested her head down on her knees, she wondered about Sienna. The words she had spoken to her came from somewhere other than her own mental knowledge. She could feel her mouth speaking truths she had known but could have never put to words herself. She knew it had been God speaking through her to Sienna.

When she spoke, she’d felt God’s compassion for Sienna, and therefore, Andrea had begun to feel compassion for her as well. She had seen her the way that God saw her.

As she was speaking, she saw in her mind things about Sienna, she could have never known. She knew God was revealing things to her mind, so she could help Sienna.

So while the storm raged, she wondered where Sienna was and if she was all right. Before Sienna had left her for the last time, Andrea had been able to explain to her about the cleansing blood of Jesus. How it had paid the price for all sin, for all time. And all that a person had to do was to come to Him and receive it. She explained that He waited with loving arms to receive any and all.

Andrea had also explained that it didn’t matter if a person had tried to be good all their life or if they had only been bad. No one could be good enough to bring wholeness to themselves, only the blood of Jesus could, which had already been freely given. The price had been paid and was hers for the receiving.

Sienna had seemed non-receptive and skeptical, but she listened, and as she listened, Andrea could tell that barriers were breaking down inside of her. Sienna’s countenance changed and the evil that was so dominant before just seemed to wash away. What was left was a face wracked with pain and sadness.

Andrea was not sure she had convinced Sienna that no matter what she’d done, no matter how horrible it was, God’s forgiveness was already there and waiting for her.

Andrea had told her of murderers in the Bible who had held prominent roles in God’s family. Even David, who had a man sent to the front lines of his army to die, so he could take his wife, was later referred to as a man after God’s own heart.

Sienna had left when Andrea’s words had run out. She looked sad, but more at peace. Andrea hoped that wherever she was now that her words, the words that had been inspired by God, had taken hold of her heart and that she was safe.

~~~

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Blake didn’t know why he was driving to Crown Rock Mesa. It made no sense in his mind, but he felt a driving urge to continue. When he reached the top, there were no cars and many of the spindly trees and shrubs were stripped and mangled from the tornado.

He got out of Senna’s car and began to walk the perimeter of the area. The mesa itself was several acres, but the area that was clear enough for people to park was only about one acre.

The only vegetation on top of the mesa was a variety of wild grasses, short bushes, and cedar trees. Cedars could and did live anywhere they chose. Most had weathered the tornado, but many had been ripped from the red sand rock and the various bushes had had their new spring leaves stripped from them.

Blake kept thinking and asking himself why was he up there and what was he doing, but he felt compelled to stay. So he walked. He decided to walk the entire circumference of the cleared area.

As he walked, he looked into the vegetation, and where he could, over the edge to the area below. In most places, there were sheer cliffs straight down, and in other places the drop off was a more gradual slope.

Blake had been slowly walking and looking for about an hour when something caught his eye. Out of a tangle of cedars and brush he saw what looked like a shank of brown hair. The color was so close to the red sand rock, particularly now that it was covered in red mud, that he nearly missed it.

He ran over and began to remove limbs and branches. And then he saw her. It was Senna! He had found her. But he didn’t think she was breathing. Doing the best he could to check her without moving her in case she was critically injured, he found she had a pulse. It was faint, but it was there.

He immediately pulled out his phone and called Brandon asking him to get help as quickly as possible and send it to the top of Crown Rock Mesa.

The second he hung up, he was brushing mud and leaves from Senna’s face. She was scratched from the cedars, but it didn’t look like she had any serious cuts.

“Senna,” he said. “Senna, please wake up. It’s me Blake.” She didn’t stir. He patted her cheek, stopping short of actually slapping it, in an attempt to wake her. Still no response.

He sat and held her hand. She had a pulse, so he decided he would just wait for the ambulance. It seemed to take forever. He knew they’d all had a long night and that the roads were still not entirely passable. It would take them longer than normal to get there.

Blake reached down once again, and he kissed her cheek. He brushed his hand along her hair and with urgency said, “Senna, wake up! Please. Please wake up.” Memories of the past two weeks flooded him. Had it only been a little over a week ago that he’d been urging her to wake up just like this?

Nervous energy caused him to continue to brush her hair and face with his hand. It seemed all he could do since he didn’t want to move her and had to resist the urge to pick her up and hold her to himself.

“Senna, I’m here. I will always be here. Please, please wake up,” Blake pleaded.

Just when he was about to give up again, he saw her eyelids flutter just a bit. “Senna, It’s me, Blake. I’m here. It’s going to be okay.”

Senna turned her head slightly to look at Blake. She didn’t know where she was or what had happened, but when she saw him, she felt relief rush over her.

She reached up weakly towards him with both of her arms. “Oh, Blake!” Senna exclaimed. He accepted her arms and as she pulled herself to him, he cautiously slid his arms underneath her, holding her as if it were the last time.

He sat there rocking her gently back and forth in his arms. “Why were you up here?” Blake asked her. “I’ve been looking for you for three days. Where have you been?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t know.” And she didn’t. She tried to reach back to her last memory, but couldn’t seem to find it. It was like a vapor that dissipated each time she tried to reach for it.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Blake kept holding her and gently rocking her. “I’m here now. I love you Senna.”

“I love you too, Blake.”

When the ambulance arrived, they were still sitting there holding each other. Blake gave way to the paramedics who quickly took over with practiced skill, asking her questions and providing medical care.

Blake stood and continued to look around as they worked. What on earth had she been doing here and how did she get here? he wondered.

He followed the ambulance to the hospital where they took her immediately into a room at the back of the emergency room. To his disappointment, they requested that he stay in the waiting area since he was not immediate family.

Before he did, he turned back and asked Senna, “Do you know where Andrea is?” She shook her head, no. And she didn’t. The last memory she had of Andrea was leaving the library to go to her doctor’s appointment on Thursday.

~~~

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The day was quickly growing warmer and with everything soaked from the rain, it was also humid. Andrea thought to herself that it was time to get out of there.

The cabin no longer had her pinned in the corner so she slid to a standing position and then began to work her arms back and forth. She found that she could shrug her shoulder just so and then when she then leaned to one side, the top strap popped up and over one shoulder loosening it. However, she remained bound by the second strap. The success of freeing herself from the first strap gave her new momentum to tackle the second one.

Standing there thinking, she looked up and saw the top of the pipe. It was about nine or ten feet high. She tried to lean forward in an attempt to pull the pipe with her and bend or loosen it. There was barely a wobble.

With the walls gone she could see just outside were the pipe was and realized it was coming from an old water well. It was a galvanized water pipe. Someone must have intended to add plumbing to this cabin at one time, but never had.

She’d tried multiple times to reach back towards the ratchets, but the straps wouldn’t allow it. Now that she was standing and had one strap gone, she tried again. The remaining strap had her forearms strapped tight to her waist just below her elbows.

She could move her arms behind her, but was unable to bend her arms in such a way as to reach the ratchets. She realized that she was able to wiggle her arms enough to reach a distance in front of her though. If she could turn herself around inside the strap, she knew she could reach the ratchet.

The pipe prevented her from being able to rotate herself. She then began to slide to the side of the pipe in an attempt to position the pipe next to her arm. Once there, she was easily able to rotate herself.

She grabbed the ratchet and pulled, releasing the strap. She was free! Relief flooded her. She was free, but it had come at a price. She had ripped dry scabs from the wounds that the straps had created when rubbing into her skin. Dirt and sweat stung and burned, but she didn’t care, she was free.

Andrea stood for a minute catching her breath. As she did, she looked around. Where was she? Dense woods were all around her. The tornado had stripped many of the trees bare, but there was still a tangled mess of limbs and briars. In front of her where the door of the cabin had been, was the light impression of a footpath through the woods.

This was the only way Sienna could have possibly come through, but it was so overgrown with briars and vegetation she wasn’t sure how. It took her about fifteen minutes walking on the path to get to a clearing.

A beautiful rolling pasture spread out before her. Looking around she saw no sign of a house or a road, but she could see what looked like tracks of some kind that led around the edge of the pasture. Andrea looked closer. They looked like some type of motorcycle or four-wheeler tracks and they went off to her right, so she followed them.

Andrea walked for what felt like hours in the hot sun, but it was actually only about twenty minutes. She was severely dehydrated and the hot sun made each necessary movement take twice the effort.

Then there it was, an ATV. She had reached a road. It wasn’t like a city street or even a country road. It was more like what you would see on a golf course, but wider. And there sat an ATV.

Adrenaline surged through her giving her new strength. Sienna must have taken the ATV to come to her. She realized that Sienna could have driven a car to this point, then taken the ATV to get closer to the cabin.

Hopeful, Andrea began to search the ATV. “Yes!” she exclaimed out loud. The keys were in it. She hadn’t ridden something like this since she was in high school, but she knew she could remember how. And sure enough in no time, she had it started and was heading down the little road.

~~~

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The tornado in Kachina had been devastating, but close by in Oklahoma City, there had been no damage and life continued on as before. The path of the tornado had taken it through Kachina and then in a northeast direction tearing up much of the rural countryside and homes there.

Of course, first responders from all the surrounding towns and cities had flocked to Kachina in order to help, but those who didn’t have an immediate need to be there knew it was best to stay out of the way so that the work could get done. There would be a time to help, but not now.

Carrie woke wondering where the storm had left their investigation. Had it wiped out places they would need to gather more evidence? What would be left? She was glad they had found the tub that had been locked away in Senna’s garage. It was odd to her that there were only a few things in there. The knife was not there, and they still hadn’t located the ATV.

They had gotten a warrant to search the ranch owned by Williams Stables, Inc., and would be doing that today. Once again, she’d talked Randy into stopping to pick her up on his way.

“We may both get suspended if Bracket finds out you’ve been out on the search warrants,” Randy said as Carrie slid into the passenger seat of his car.

“Well, I suspect he knew all along I would be,” said Carrie. “But you are right, he will give us hell over it.”

Darren was consumed by the rescue and clean-up in Kachina, but Rick and Mike were eager to be part of the search at the ranch.

“Wow,” exclaimed Carrie as they turned onto the drive and the massive house came into view. The tornado had traveled through this area, but the house and barns had fared well.

Mike and Rick were waiting for them as were several uniformed officers. This was a massive search area and it would take several people to conduct a thorough search. They developed a plan and split into teams, dividing the area to be searched.

After several hours and covering the entire house, garages, and barns, nothing incriminating had been found. All the horse tack, supplies, and tools were gone. It was possible whoever was living here had sold it all when taking over. There were no horses any longer, therefore, no need for gear to care for them.

Inside the house, were just normal, everyday living items. The clothes in the master bedroom closet were not clothes that Senna would wear. But they were clothes that the lady Carrie had seen in the bar would wear. In fact, she recognized a pair of boots she had seen her wear. She remembered them because she wished she’d had a pair just like them.

Carrie wasn’t sure what she’d hoped they would find, but she really had thought they would find something to tie it all together.

“How big is the entire property?” asked Carrie as she stood outside surveying the countryside.

“It’s big. Had we found more to give credence to our search, we could request teams to search the pastures and woods, but SAC Bracket would never authorize that kind of manpower with what we have,” said Randy.

Carrie knew it was true. They had to take a step back and see if they could see things from a different angle. That meant they were back to doing research and digging into the corporate documents, waiting to see if the forensic team would find anything on the items they had taken from Senna’s garage.

Soon the other officers had gone, and it was only Randy and Carrie who remained. They were heading to Randy’s car, thoroughly discouraged when Carrie stopped. “Do you hear that?” She asked Randy. She could hear what she thought was the faint sound of a motorcycle coming from behind the barn.

Randy stood listening, then his face brightened. “I do,” he nodded as the sound grew louder. They shut their car doors and walked towards where they thought they heard the sound.

They walked behind the barn on a driveway that had split from the main driveway. It narrowed significantly behind the barn but remained paved with asphalt and was still just barely wide enough for a truck or car. They stood looking across the hills towards the sound and then up popped a lady driving an ATV. It was just like the one they had been looking for.

Both Randy and Carrie instinctively reached for their weapons, but stood still waiting for the rider to reach them. When she got closer, they realized it was not Senna, but did not holster their guns.

Andrea could see the man and lady standing by the barn and she pressed down harder on the throttle. When she reached them she collapsed forward in exhaustion and relief. She was panting for air amidst tears of joy.

Randy and Carrie quickly ran to assist her. “What is your name,” Carrie asked.

“Andrea Wells,” she said. Then she began to rapidly babble out the events of the last few days of her captivity. It all came in random bits and pieces and totally out of sequence, but she just had to get it out.

They helped her to their car. Randy had already called for an ambulance as soon as they had seen the shape she was in.

Andrea rested her head back on the seat of the car and closed her eyes. Both Randy and Carrie gave her a minute to rest.

Then not being able to wait a second longer, Carrie asked, “So Senna Carter is the one who abducted you, correct?”

Andrea raised her head and looked at them. “No. It was Sienna.”