Irritation
“Waiting for” John and Cylvia “to get going one morning in their kitchen,” the protagonist noticed “the sink faucet was dripping” and remembered that it was dripping the last time he was there. “In fact,” it had been dripping as long as he could remember. When the protagonist commented on it, John said he had tried to fix it “with a new faucet washer but it hadn’t worked.” That was all he said. “The presumption left” was that “that was the end of the matter.” That made him wonder to himself if it got on their nerves, “this drip-drip-drip, week in, week out, year in, year out.” This imagery evokes irritation and great discomfort.
The storm
“Now on the horizon” the protagonist sees “something else” he doesn’t think “others see.” “Far off to the southwest...you can see it only from the top of the hill...the sky had a dark edge.” The man knows what it is, “storm coming.” That has been “bothering him.” “Deliberately shutting it out of mind,” but “knowing all along that with humidity and wind it was more than likely.” He is a little bit upset that it happens on their first day, but, as said before, “on a cycle you’re in the scene, not just watching it.” This imagery evokes a feeling of worry. The protagonist knows how vicious storms can be.
Overwhelming feelings
The sun is “gone,” the wind is “blowing cold,” and “a wall of differing shades of grey looms around.” The prairie here is “huge” but “above it the hugeness of this ominous grey mass ready to descend” is frightening. The team is traveling “at its mercy now.” “When and where” it will come is nothing they can control. The only one thing they can do is “watch it move in closer and closer.” It will be on them “soon now.” “I don’t see any town ahead,” says the protagonist. The only one thing they can to do is “run for it.”
