“Nari…”
“Go, Ruka!”
“Fuck. If we get arrested, I am telling Mom on you.” He slams his foot on the gas, and the car lurches forward, smashing against the rusted gate with ease.
There are trails from other vehicles, and I’m wondering if this entrance is for emergency responders only. I’ll worry about the consequences later. What’s that saying? It’s better to ask for forgiveness instead of permission?
I’ll apologize until my throat is sore. I don’t care.
“A funnel!” I point towards the sky, the wind rotating the clouds into a gorgeous rope.
“Come on, come on. Touch the ground. Touch,” Ruka pleads.
We cheer when our first tornado of the season lands. The dirt immediately swirls at the bottom, creating a debris field. Awicked growl tries to warn us away, hail licking us as if we were an appetizer.
The car violently shakes. Uneven ground causes us to bounce. Lightning shreds the sky, a loud crack landing across the field. I snap a picture, knowing it’s probably one of the best images I’ve ever taken. The bolt landed right next to one of the most perfect ropes I’ve ever seen.
“Ready?” Ruka asks, driving towards the funnel.
The passenger seat is custom-made for me. With a press of a button, it spins around, the chair sliding towards the middle of the car, and I look through the shatterproof dome to see the swirling sky.
“Ready.”
Ruka drives ahead to get in the tornado’s path. “Anchoring,” he announces. The anchors cut through the dirt, securing us in our position.
The moment the twister hits us, the car shakes. The wind is an ear-piercing howl, rain beating the sides of the car. I tilt my camera up and into the dome, gasping at the sight before me.
I can’t see anything but the havoc of the clouds spinning and the rain slamming against us. The demonic snarl has goosebumps rising on my arms, the hair standing up on the back of my neck.
And then we are in the core.
The inside is beautiful and calm. The clouds circulate, creating a perfect funnel stretching up into the sky. It’s a split moment of clarity, being able to see through the break in the clouds, witnessing a small hue of blue.
I snap as many pictures as I can.
The tornado passes through us, traveling across the field, ripping up grass and dirt. It leaves a path of destruction that is very minimal.
“Holy shit,” Ruka gasps.
“Oh my god!” I shriek with excitement, fumbling with my harness to get out of the car. “Ruka! We did it! Oh my god! Holy shit.” The wind fights with me over the door as I open it.
Ruka runs around the car and picks me up, swinging me around in a circle. “Oh my god, Nari! You did it. We did it! Did you see it? It was beautiful.”
“I know! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything that could ever compare. Ruka, I got the images! We have to follow it.”
The tornado dissipates, leaving us alone in the middle of the torn-up field.
A horn blaring has us turn around to see Millie driving towards us. She parks, and everyone pours out of the van.
“I held my breath when I saw you in there. I thought for sure it was going to suck you up!” Millie hugs me first, squeezing me tight before making her way to Ruka.
“No way. It wasn’t strong enough. We were fine,” I explain.
“I got amazing data for us to analyze,” Jessica says.
“I think we could still follow the storm. It might produce more,” Reina informs, peeking her head into the van to watch the radar. “Wind shear is dying down, though.” The excitement flees from her voice, her shoulders slumping from the possibility of continuing the chase, not being likely.
“That’s okay. We got what we were looking for.”
