The Storm

"This kid ain’t goin' back, Henry, no way!” Gunny said. “Gunny! Calm down. The kid's okay and I trust him. He’s comin' out here to report on the storm and that’s it. Right kid?” I was stunned, but somehow managed to get out a "Yes Sir." “Besides this, if he talks about you and your location, I’ll kill him myself!” My head snap ped over to Henry, and then I felt like I was between two lions deciding who would kill and eat me first. Henry spoke up, “It’s OK Gunny. It’s cool. The kid’s OK." Gunny responded, “If you love your life and everything you hold dear, Kid, you’ll forget th is part of your journey or ever seein' me. What you do about Henry is his business, and what you do about seein' me is my business. Got it?” “Yes Sir, I got it," I said. Then Henry said with a calmer voice, ”Hey, Gunny, let’s go inside. I don’t like bein' visible on the compound." We stepped through the door into a darkened room. As we went inside, I noticed that the building was about three floors high with sunlight peeking through the boarded-up windows. A walkway went all along the inside walls, and you could look down onto the lower floor that was now covered completely with water. We headed deeper into the old, weathered building, with the floor squeaking and groaning as we walked. It appeared to have been abandoned for some time. An old staircase wound its way to the upper floors and disappeared into darkness. “You build this, Gunny?’ Henry asked. “No. It was already in place when I took it over," Gunny responded. "It was an old broom-corn factory and was abandoned. Nobody has

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