Author's Note: Prompt suggested by Acertainoperaphantom
D is for Derecho
Dusty had fled in front of the storm, just like the other of his kind. A military or large commercial aircraft might have a chance to survive the strong line of thunderstorms, but a small, general aviation aircraft would quickly be torn wing from wing by the winds aloft. The danger of this type of storm wasn't limited to aircraft in the air. Even if they Dusty had found a place to land before the weather front hit, without the shelter a hanger or the grounding strength of a tether, he would risk being tumbled across the ground tumbled end over end.
Sadly, while Dusty had known that fleeing ahead of the storm was his only choice that didn't do anything to reduce his guilt. Derechos only happened in Prop Wash Junction every couple of years, put it far behind other dangerous weather phenomena such as tornados, blizzards, or ice storms. But just because this type of storm happened rarely did little to dampen the damage a Derechos wrecked when they did develop.
From the sky, the aftermath of a Derecho was always easy to spot. There were miles upon miles of corn fields laid on their sides and soybean with their leaves shredded beyond recognition. The sight of trees snapped in half or with limbs torn off were common, and every town had cone of debris that had formed down wind of the community. From the air the destruction looked both organized and chaotic at the same time. Organized because everything had been pushed in the exact same direction…chaotic because haphazard way that the wind picked up and dumped things.
Dusty suspected that being trapped in the storm itself must be terrifying. For the cars and other ground vehicles the who lived in his community having to sit tight as they watched the wind try to take apart the building around them was something that the aircraft simply couldn't wrap his head around. So, he focused on what he did know…that if the storm caught him it would mean death and that dread was a powerful enough force that it propelled him away from the danger.
When the storm was finally past and the shear scope of the damage started to become apparent, Dusty would return to help where he could. But for now he swallowed his guilt and flew with all of his might.
