Respecting Mr. Ravi

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Box

A mysterious woman rescues Alex from the creek and guides him to an old barn. Alex nervously takes refuge in the barn, hoping to wait out the growing storm. As he looks for a safe place in the barn, his attention is suddenly diverted.

Alex reached to the cat and petted its damp fur. It stood up on all fours and gently purred as it leaned up against Alex’s hand. “Why are you here? Is this your home? Are you looking for something?”

Along the floor, a stack of boxes leaned up against an old wooden stall. Several piles covered the cement floor, trailing along the back wall of the barn. The cat clawed at the cardboard, tearing bits off the top of the box. “What’s in there, little buddy?”

Alex placed the cat on the floor and lifted the lid. “This can’t be.” Alex rubbed his eyes again. “You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s no way.”

An image appeared in Alex’s mind, sending him back in time— back before the complicated mess had even started. “I’m dreaming. I must be dreaming or something.” The cat hissed behind him and flurried away behind a stack of milk buckets. The rattling stopped, and the barn door burst open.

“Alex Thomas?” shouted a voice. “Are you in here?” A bright light danced frantically around the inside of the barn.

Alex pulled his hands away and tucked them into his pockets. His face heated up, and his body tightened. Emptiness took over his mind. Everything escaped, except for one thing.

The box.

“Alex Thomas, are you in here?” the voice called out again.

He scanned the barn, inching toward the damp cardboard box. His hands reached inside again. His fingers stretched out.

Behind him, a wooden plank ripped off the frame of the barn and disappeared into the darkness. “Alex Thomas!”

He pulled his hands away again and dropped to his knees. “Yes! Who’s there?”

Another plank pulled itself away.

“It’s the police. Are you hurt?” “No, I’m fine.”

“Alex, we need to exit this building immediately. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand,” Alex shouted. “Just give me a second.”

“Alex? Where are you? You need to follow the light.” The beam from the flashlight scattered about the vibrating floorboards and rickety walls washed out with every powerful blast of light. “Alex, where are you?” Bales of hay dropped from the rafters. Tools clanked along the ground, shaking off the shelves and hangers. “Can you hear me?”

Alex pulled himself back up to his feet. He eyed the box one last time before the entire roof of the barn lifted up and escaped into the night. The rush of wind and rain instantly attacked Alex, pushing him against a set of wooden stairs. Above him, water poured down from the sky where the roof used to be. Out over the tops of the distant trees, flashes of light bounced off of a strange dark tower—a monstrous, spinning tower, tossing away anything in its path. He knew what it was. He had seen it before. Only the last time he saw it, he was in a safe place, at home, with his family. This time it was different. The feeling was different; the feeling was very different.

The beam from the flashlight bounced around the stairs and onto Alex’s face. Standing before him was a woman, a police officer. Her eyes were wide, her lips moving and contorting.

“What?” shouted Alex. “I can’t hear you?”

She reached out her hand and pulled Alex up. He glanced back one last time at the box before slipping out of the roofless barn towards her patrol car.

“Wait!” he shouted. “We need to go back inside. There is a cat in there.”

“We don’t have time. We must leave this area immediately!”

Alex had no choice but to follow the officer. He hopped in the car, and they drove away as the tornado tore a path through the nearby forest.

“Hold on tight!” she shouted. The car shook from side to side. Gripping onto the steering wheel, the veins on the woman’s hands bulged out of her skin. “We’re not safe yet.”

Alex looked behind him. The dark tower tore up trees, pouncing around the forest toward the patrol car like a hungry tiger chasing down its prey.

“It’s coming right for us!” Alex squeezed the seat, digging his nails into the stitching.

“I know, don’t worry, we’ll be all right, just stay calm. Alex? Stay calm!”

“Okay, I’ll try!”

The policewoman grabbed her radio, pushing hard on the gas. “This is Officer Wilgar. I repeat, this is Office Wilgar. I have the boy.”

Rocks and planks smashed against the side of the car. Alex’s jaw clenched, his muscles contracted, flexing every part of his body. Like meteors, more rocks pounded the vehicle. The rear window smashed, firing a deafening explosion through the inside of the car.

“It’s getting closer!” shouted Alex.

As the tornado’s strength pulled and pushed the patrol car along the dirt road, Alex closed his eyes and thought of his first experience on a roller coaster. “This is just a roller coaster. This is just a roller coaster.”

When Alex was eight, he visited an amusement park with his family. There was a ride there called the “Mind Buster,” the steepest roller coaster in Canada. The thought of a small car racing at incredible speeds along a tiny track made of steel and wooden planks simply terrified him. Its sheer power was very intimidating. He worried he would fall out or the car would slip off the track. However, when the ride ended, Alex felt a wave of relief come over him, and he was no longer afraid. He realized that he just had to trust it, and once he could do that, he was able to enjoy roller coasters all the time. It was all about trust. Alex knew he had to trust the police officer.

“I trust you,” he said as he held his breath.

“Thank you,” replied the officer. Moments later, the tornado changed direction and slipped away into the night.

To Be Continued: Thursday, March 4