Page 54 of Through the Storms

When they stepped out, a gust of wind rocked the van.Shit.It was moving in faster than Oakley had anticipated. The group huddled near the van, not taking advantage of the twenty-foot leeway Oakley had allotted.

Asher jogged toward them. A deep line creased his forehead. “Don’t you think we could go a little farther?”

Oakley shook her head and motioned for him to follow her. She walked across the road away from the van, so they could talk freely. When they were out of earshot, she said, “The CAPE numbers keep rising. And look at the back flank. That’s some updraft.”

Asher nodded. “I trust you.”

They were shoulder to shoulder, neither speaking. They’d stood in this position many times in their lives. It felt familiar. The sky continued to darken, and the cars that passed all had their headlights on. The sky’s change from day to what appeared to be night was one of Oakley’s favorite sensations. It turned the experience surreal, almost magical.

She watched as the supercell teased them. Three times, the spinning vortex dropped below the wedge cloud only to be sucked back up. Each time, the formation was met with excitement from the group and then a cacophony of groans.

“The next one is going to be it,” Oakley said. “It’ll either peter out or touch down.”

“How do you know this shit?”

Oakley grinned. He’d asked her that question so many times in the past, and each time, she didn’t have an adequate answer. She had no illusion of clairvoyance; instead, she believed it was her brain’s ability to unconsciously analyze data. Now if she only knew how she did it.

The light rain had turned into tiny bits of hail. If it got much heavier, they’d need to get to safety in the vans. Several in the group caught bits of hail and were so busy examining the tiny pellets that they missed the spinning vortex that dropped from the cloud.

The few that noticed screamed.

“There she is,” Oakley said. “That one’s touching down. You better get back to your group,” she said to Asher.

“Later.” He turned and sprinted back to his van as larger hail began to fall.

Oakley’s group pressed against the side of the van as if it would protect them from the weather. Their gazes shifted between the rotating cloud that inched closer to the ground and the pea-sized hail.

Oakley trotted back toward the van. The newlyweds were several feet from the others, but the sisters, Riley, and Chloe were huddled close together. Riley and Chloe stood in front of Sandy and Peggy, blocking much of the hail, but the sisters were still able to peer over their shoulders into the sky.

“If the hail gets any bigger, you need to take shelter in the van,” Oakley said when she was within earshot.

“But look at that. It’s going to touch down, isn’t it?” Riley asked.

“It’s scary and unbelievable all at the same time,” Chloe said.

Oakley chuckled. “Nice description.”

Chloe wrapped her arms around herself. “Oh, god, is that farmhouse going to be safe?”

Oakley strained to see through the heavier hail and wind. With the visibility down and them being at a safe distance, it was hard to get a good read on how close the swirling cloud was.

“Holy shit. Holy shit.” Riley bounced on her toes. “It’s getting so close to the ground.”

“Are we safe here?” Sandy’s voice came out in a high-pitched squeak.

“We are.” Oakley made a sweeping motion with her hand. “It’s about a mile and a half due north of us, and it’s heading east.”

“What’s it doing?” Chloe squinted and craned her neck. “Why is it all murky?”

“You’re witnessing your first tornado.” Oakley threw her hand up toward the sky. As she did, she noticed that the cameraman had the camera pointed at her.Eat your heart out, Asher.

Everyone gasped, except for Riley, who put a protective arm over Chloe’s shoulder. Oakley wondered if Riley was even aware of it.

“You mean it’s on the ground?” Peggy shouted.

“It is. The murkiness Chloe mentioned is a debris cloud. Must be a winter wheat field gauging by how much debris is being kicked up. If it were a cornfield, we wouldn’t see much more than dirt.”

“No!” Chloe called. “It’s headed toward that farm.”