Jack Thompson wiped the sweat from his brow as he crouched beside the hulking grain dryer. The Texas sun beat down mercilessly, its relentless heat shimmering off the metallic surfaces of the machinery. The dryer had been acting up for weeks, and with the harvest season approaching, it was imperative to get it back in working order.
He adjusted his cap and leaned in closer, fiddling with a stubborn bolt. The rhythmic clinking of his tools filled the air, a comforting sound of familiarity amidst the wide, open plains. The sky above was a brilliant blue, dotted with lazy white clouds drifting aimlessly.
Then, without warning, the day changed.
A low rumble echoed across the fields, like the distant growl of a waking giant. Jack paused, looking up just in time to see a flash of lightning split the sky, though there hadn't been a hint of a storm. The clouds darkened unnaturally fast, swirling together as if stirred by an invisible hand.
"What in the world..." Jack muttered, dropping his wrench with a metallic clatter.
The clouds coalesced, forming a massive, swirling black vortex, pulsating with an eerie, otherworldly light. Tendrils of shadow snaked out from its center, reaching toward the earth like fingers of some ethereal beast.
Jack stumbled backward, heart pounding. He had seen plenty of tornadoes in his life, but this was something else entirely. A gust of wind whipped through the fields, bending the stalks of grain like supplicant worshippers before a dark god.
Before he could react, a powerful force tugged at him, pulling him toward the vortex. He dug his boots into the dirt, but it was like trying to resist the tide. The air crackled with energy, and the world seemed to tilt, the familiar landscape of his farm stretching and distorting as the vortex pulled him closer.
"Help!" Jack shouted, though there was no one around to hear him.
The force intensified, lifting him off the ground. Tools, dirt, and debris spiraled upward, caught in the vortex's unyielding grip. Jack twisted midair, reaching out desperately for something to hold onto, but there was nothing but empty space and the roaring wind.
In the final moment before he was consumed by the darkness, he saw his farm, his home, receding into the distance. The vortex closed around him, and with a blinding flash, Jack Thompson was gone, leaving nothing behind but the echo of thunder and the whisper of the wind.