“It took it!” Lando shouted from the back, the computer open in front of her as she stared at the screen.
Violet didn’t even have a second to think about that when someone answered the other end of the line. “Hi, we’re storm chasers in the area. My partner just called in. There’s golf-ball-sized hail, a satellite tornado that has touched ground and still going, and at least four subvortices that I see.”
She gave them as much detail as she possibly could, not knowing what Diane had already told them. They took down all the information. The car jerked sharply, and Violet flung her hand out to the door to make sure she stayed upright. It felt as though they’d been slammed in the side by another vehicle, but when she opened her eyes, they hadn’t.
“Shit.” Violet twisted around to Lando. “Hang on.”
Diane gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles white as she turned into the wind. The tornado was coming right at them and instead of them moving away from it, they were moving toward it. It had changed directions.
Violet spoke into her phone. “It’s now moving north-northeast.”
“Wind speeds are hitting over a hundred!” Lando yelled up to her.
Relaying the information, Violet stared out the window as Diane navigated, the Hummer creaking against the added stress. She had to trust that Diane knew what she was doing, that she knew where she was going. Violet’s heart ran wildly until Diane took a sharp turn and drove south, the wind pushing the car along far more easily than before.
With the tornado behind them, Violet twisted around to face the back of the vehicle. Lando did the same as they each watched the tornado move farther away. Violet finished her call with a few more tidbits of data that Lando shared. Diane finally pulled off the road a quarter mile from where they had been, and they all got out again.
Violet put her hands on her hips as she stared at the tornado, continuing its path of destruction through the fields. They were miles from the nearest town, although she was sure the closest ones were already under shelter-in-place. She walked down the road to get a better view. Sure enough, she could still see the satellite tornado right next to the main one.
“That was insane,” Lando said as she stood next to Violet, her hair an absolute mess but her eyes with that wild look to them.
Violet nodded. “See the satellite? I’m not sure I’ve seen one go this long before.”
“How long can they last?”
“No idea. Longest I’ve personally seen was only a few minutes, but records don’t have them for very long.” Violet crossed her arms until she felt a nudge. Looking down, she found Eli’s old camera in Lando’s hands. “You do it.”
“Your turn.” Lando grinned and forced Violet to take the camera.
Drawing in a breath, Violet lifted the camera up to her face and snapped a few photos. Zooming in as best she could, she steadied the camera and took another one. Hopefully Diane had gotten some good photos because that would land them some decent money with this tornado. She had no doubt that this one was going to take the cake in the news for the next week at least. They were close enough to a large town that people would feel it was a threat but far enough for it to not really be, at least not yet. There was always time for mother nature to do the unexpected.
Diane stood next to them as Violet lowered the camera. “Fancy driving.”
Diane snorted. “Don’t wait so long next time.”
Violet’s lips curled upward at the underhanded compliment. They had done what they’d gone out there to do, and that was an achievement in and of itself. She’d wanted nothing less, everything else was simply a bonus.
“Let’s follow it,” Violet stated.
“On it.” Diane chuckled lightly as she went back to the Hummer.
Lando looked confused for a brief moment before she grinned broadly and hopped into the car herself. Violet took one more photo before she followed and got into the back seat with Lando. Rolling down the window so she could have a better view, she took even more photos as they drove. She missed this.
Diane didn’t need as many directions this time as they followed from a safer distance, since their work was largely done. Violet sat quietly in the back of the vehicle while Lando checked the data on the computer. It was the first time since they’d started chasing all those years ago that she’d allowed someone else to read the maps instead of her.
She trusted Lando to do it right. She hadn’t even been the best student in the class, but Violet was sure that wasn’t because she didn’t have the brains to do the work. Classwork was simply not Lando’s strong suit. Violet understood. There had been classes she loved and some she hated. Diane took a turn and started north.
“The satellite is gone off radar.”
“Good,” Violet stated, more to herself than to anyone else.
“There’s another one, though.”
“Really?” Twisting in her seat, Violet moved the computer so she could see it. Sure enough, another one was starting and ready to touch down. She glanced toward the front of the car. “Want to chase that one?”
“Damn straight.”
Smiling, Violet shook her head. “Start heading east hard.”