When most people hear a storm warning, they go inside, and stay inside. When I feel a storm coming, I go outside, and stay outside.
I chase storms for a living.
With my closest friends Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward, I chase storms and photograph them. As soon as we hear about a storm, we pack up our equipment and find it. Tornadoes, lightning storms, and hurricanes, they were amazing to all of us.
They were so destructive, but came from Mother Nature. A huge force that was all natural. Storms don't need weapons or hate, just some land to destroy.
After capturing the storms, we sell our photos and videos to museums, independent meteorologists, TV stations, anyone who wants them.
People thought we were crazy; getting up so close to danger that huge. But they didn't understand the rush, the thrill, of seeing destruction up close. Once you start you can't stop.
The storm that changed my whole career was a tornado. The weather channel had predicted it for a Wednesday afternoon. The gang and I packed up the van and set sail.
"There," Alice said from her position in the passenger's seat. Jasper cut across a field towards the cyclone.
This was my least favorite part of storm chasing. I never knew for sure how big the storm was. It was so stressful. I'd seen cars ripped off the road by tornadoes. We were careful and Jasper was an experienced tornado chaser, but I worry.
"Emmett? Would you hand me that tripod next to you?" I asked while going through my mental checklist. He picked it up and handed it to me while saying,
"This is gonna be a fast one, isn't it Bella?"
"Yeah."
You measure tornadoes by the amount of damage caused with the Enhanced Fujita Scale, in terms of EF0-EF11. 0 being weakest, 11 causing the most damage. EF5 tornadoes destroy houses and deform skyscrapers. 80 of tornadoes in the U.S. are EF0 and EF1 and just damage trees. Usually, the bigger the tornado, the higher it will be on the EF scale.
This tornado wasn't huge, but it was bigger than most EF1 tornadoes we chase.
The big ones were my favorite.
"I'd say it's an EF4, Bella?" Edward predicted. I nodded. "Biggest we've ever had."
"Is this a good place to stop?" Jasper asked Rosalie.
"Yeah, let's go."
I threw open the doors and was immediately exhilarated. The wind was so strong and almost blew the doors closed again. Edward hopped out and seized the door while Rosalie handed me my designated pile of equipment. My heart raced as I set up the camera.
"Bella?"
"What, Edward?"
"It's too close. We have to go now."
This was the biggest storm of our careers and they wanted to abandon ship? I was almost done. We already came out here and faced danger. I couldn't make all of that for nothing.
"I'm almost done."
"No, Bella, NOW," Jasper yelled from the van. Emmett pulled Rosalie inside protectively.
"Bella," Edward said.
"Almost."
"Bella!"
I clicked the shutter and pictures flashed on the screen.
"FUCK, BELLA!"
The camera clicked one last time and then went quiet.
"I'm done." I started disassembling the tripod when I looked up at the storm. I was hypnotized. My eyes stayed fixed and my hands stopped working. Then I felt arms around my waist. With just the camera in my hands, Edward threw me over his shoulder and ran me to the open door of the awaiting van. Emmett slammed the door behind me as Jasper floored it.
"The tripod!" I yelled and saw it lying dejected on the grass.
"It doesn't fucking matter Bella, it's too close," Edward practically shouted.
I looked out at the tornado again.
It was the closest we had ever been, and it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.
It was so much better than the little EF2s we always chased. This storm was huge, amazing, and tearing up everything in its path.
"That was amazing. The shots are gonna be amazing," I said sheepishly. It was so dangerous to be this close to a tornado. But that's what storm chasing is about.
"Bella," Edward sighed and smiled at me. "You could have been sucked up and all you care about is the pictures?"
"Of course. That's storm chasing. Thanks for picking me up, by the way."
"Your welcome."
I reached up and kissed his cheek.
When you chase storms for a living, your whole life becomes a chase. A chase for danger, and a chase for love.