Short Story Sunday... er, Monday: Stormchaser

Yep, look who got busy and forgot their Sunday blog post XP

Due to that, I don't have a brand new story to post, but something from me that I know some of you have probably read before, so today I'm going to give you a challenge with this.

Please tell me in the comments below one thing you like about Trisha in this excerpt and one thing you dislike. That way, y'all can help me develop her character more and make her more interesting to you, the reader! :D

Without further ado, I give you:

Stormchaser

"Trisha, we don't have time for this! Seriously!" shouts Robert Waters over the two-way radio.

The tornado is becoming bigger in my sideview mirror, and the 'objects in mirror are closer than they appear' isn't what I would call comforting right now.

I press down on the gas pedal but my tires only spin.

"Devin, I'm stuck!" I shout over the radio to the chaser driving the heavy Ford with the winch.

"Tell me you're joking!" he shouts back.

"Do you think I'd be sitting here if I was?" I answer, "Look at the size of that thing!"

In the backseat of my car, photagrapher Sean Casey* is snapping pictures as if he's not face-to-face with a death threat and I am tempted to smack the man.

Devin says something else but the radio crackles with interference from the storm, and anyways, I can guess what he said when he pulls up to my Land Rover.

We're pushing our luck as he jumps out and hitches the winch to my undercarrage.

Finally, his winch straining and my tires spinning, the Rover pops free of the mud and I floor the gas just as the hail core of the tornado starts pounding my vehicle.

Sean is in ectasy and even my partner Bill Trenton seems rather adrenaline drunk.

"Did you see that? I'll bet it hit our probe dead center!" he howls, doing as much of a dance in his seat as he can without damaging the gadgets filling my vehicle.

I just shake my head and laugh. "Well, I don't want to do that again, but look at our hail-catcher! We got some good samples, for sure!"

The funnel behind us shifts off the road, going northeast as it becomes a thin line, sliding around like an eel.

"Rope stage! Do you think there'll be a handoff?" asks Robert as we pull over into the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel and jump out of our vehicles.

Devin answers, "I doubt it. The radar shows the storm's running out of fuel, though it could deliver a surprise."

Other chasers are pulling up and I turn to them as they get out and join us watching the storm dissapate.

"You okay?" askes one of the chasers, "I saw your live stream. Getting stuck is not fun."

Sean is dancing around, geeking out over his pictures and I jerk my thumb at him.

"I wish we'd taken his T.I.V. 'cause I thought we were gonna get bitten for sure today!" I answer, "But he's happy, so I'm cool. Also, I've learned not to take dirt roads."

The chaser nods as we all cram inside the building, sharing photos and stories, trying to see who got closest to the storm.

Today, Sean and my crew have the best photos for sure, and I am listening to another chaser tell about a time he almost got swallowed by a tornado when I jump to my feet.

"Holy cow! Sean, Devin, our probe!"

Both men launch up as well and several other chasers follow as we go to find our probe.

As we drive, I am awed by the destruction. Barns and grain silos are non-existant, mere piles of rubbish.

"EF-4 or 5 damage for sure," says Devin in an undertone, "I think we're gonna be hearing of fatalities soon."

I nod, and at his words I remember why I chase.

I chase because I want to study the information my tornado probes gather and I want to study that because I hope that the information can help us save lives when the next tornado spawns in the midst of a supercell.

I am Trisha Lockwood and chasing storms is what I love.

*Sean Casey is a real-life stormchaser and photographer. The T.I.V. is his armored Tornado Intercept Vehicle.