08 Get Below!

8 Get Below! Suddenly, the schoolhouse door blew off its hinges! It went flying through the air! Jack grabbed Annie and pulled her into the dugout. Inside, the benches were overturned. The room was a mess. Miss Neely and the three kids were pressed against the dirt wall. Kate and Will screamed as the winds whipped around the room.

Miss Neely hugged Kate. Jeb held on to Will. “ Get in the cellar! " Jack yelled. “ What cellar?" shouted Miss Neely. Together, Jack and Annie pulled the rug off the floor and uncovered the cellar door.

They grabbed the door and tried to open it, but the wind was blowing too hard. Suddenly, Jeb was beside them. He pulled the door open. A ladder led down into the cellar. One by one, Will, Kate, Miss Neely, and Annie went down the ladder. Jack waited for Jeb to go down. “ Go! Go! ” Jeb shouted. Jack climbed down into the cellar.

Jeb came last. He closed the door behind him, leaving everyone in total darkness. The twister roared fiercely above them. It sounded like a train barreling right through the schoolhouse! As the twister roared and howled, Jack couldn't think. He couldn't feel. He was to-tally swept up in the howl of the wind. Then, just as Jack felt he would disappear in the roar of the twister, the noise died down. And then it was silent. No one spoke for a moment in the blackness. Then Annie broke the silence. “ Are we still alive?" she whispered Everyone laughed. “ Yes, I think we are, " said Miss Neely.