Sam swore the security guards, the customer service agents, even the cleaners, were watching him while he waited at the airport for his flight and insisted the shoe store where he worked hired them. As I drove my buddy home, Sam vilified his manager for sending him to the conference in Kansas City, “That bastard set me up after his wife caught us in their garage.”
An emergency radio broadcast interrupted Janis Joplin’s wailing. “Tornado warnings include Shelby County. Take appropriate measures.” Sam insisted it was all part of their plan to get rid of him.
The clouds darkened and a twister appeared on the horizon. I stopped the car and yelled, “Gotta take cover to save ourselves.” I sprinted and dove into a ditch filled with water that smelled like dead animals. The tornado passed over, reminding me of that gunfire raid by the Vietcong. Minutes later I staggered out of the ditch and saw no damage to my car or the surrounding homes, only some downed trees.
Sam was missing.
Jeff Harvey lives in San Diego and is the founder and EIC of Gooseberry Pie Lit Magazine. His fiction has recently appeared or is forthcoming in Whale Road Review, MoonPark Review, and Ghost Parachute. His debut novella-in-flash Life Would Be Perfect If (Bottlecap Press 2024) is available through the publisher or at jhhwriter.com