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Excerpt
I Survived the Joplin Tornado, 2011
Chapter 1
Sunday, May 22, 2011
5:42 P.M.
Joplin, Missouri
A monster Ef-5 tornado was destroying the city of Joplin, Missouri. And eleven-year-old Dexter James was in its killer grip.
The tornado had snuck up on the city, hiding behind a wall of storm clouds. Few knew it was coming. And nobody imagined that within minutes, it would kill 158 people and destroy much of the city.
In the hours before, Joplin had hummed with happy life. Cheers rose up from Little League fields. Gardens bloomed with roses and wild strawberries. Churches echoed with prayers and hymns.
It was a typical Sunday afternoon.
Until the day turned dark and the wind began to howl.
An then the sky exploded like a bomb.
The tornado was three-quarters of a mile wide, with winds that topped 200 miles per hour. It swept away houses and blasted the wreckage thousands of feet into the sky. It tore apart schools and sent stores crashing down on the people inside. Cars flew through the air. Trucks turned into missiles. Century-old trees were ripped from the ground.
The tornado sirens wailed.
People rushed to their basements and huddled in bathtubs as their houses collapsed on top of them. Parents gripped their children as cruel winds tried to tear them away. In minutes, entire neighborhoods lay in ruins.
Dex was in an SUV when the tornado hit, and now he was trapped.
The ferocious winds roared and sent tree limbs and rocks smashing against the SUV.
And then,
Smash!
A window shattered.
The tornado's fury blasted into the SUV. Dex was attacked by swirling winds filled with bits of wood and metal and glass. The pain was like being stung by thousands of scorpions, over and over again.
And then the wind grabbed hold of Dex. It wrapped around him like invisible tentacles, pulling him toward the open window.
Dex had always wanted to see a tornado for real. And now here it was--the evil, swirling darkness. Dex was being sucked into the tornado, and he knew there could be no escape.
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