Sins In Twisters

by Blonkess

When Lincoln was destined to never have success like his family, after surviving the Royal Woods' Tornado, his future takes him on the path of becoming a renowned storm chaser. But as years pass since that day, his family tries to hold together after freak disasters put a halt to the sisters' lives when Lisa discovers a past family secret that tells Lincoln's time is running out.

36. Into The Storm

Sins In Twisters

Chapter 36: Into The Storm

---

Brace yourself; this is a long one.

---

Come the mid-morning of Sunday the 15th, the air was much warmer than it had been yesterday. Across the region, many were out in droves with a bit more pep in their step, hoping the coming snowmelt meant Spring was fast approaching.

For the sisters, it felt like time was waving their goal in their faces with a fishing hook that got yanked away every time they tried to grab it.

Today, Lisa did not hide her frustration. Standing outside the repair shop, she watched the trio of mechanics and her sister continue to labor away at Vanzilla 2's rear axle. Glancing to her right in the adjacent bay, what looked like an even older model of the van that was primed and ready to meet the crusher sat in the air with most of its underside gutted. From the condition of the replacement parts when compared to newer elements like the bearings and brakes, she could only question how long this kind of repair would hold up. She shook her head at the thought of how the additional weight on the vehicle skipped her planning. Believing just better suspension to hold the extra load would have been enough.

She watched as one mechanic put the rear wheel that went free back on its bearing, pulling the lugnuts from his pocket and using an impact drill to tighten each one. Lisa didn't flinch from the sharp noise each time it switched lugs, only when he put the tool down and shook the wheel before spinning it forward and back. It was a welcoming sign that progress was being made, and soon, they could roll out here.

With a sigh, she turned away and returned to their vehicle. Ronnie Ann let them borrow Linc- her car, so that she, Luna, and Lynn could return to pick up the van.

But her gaze was on the clear skies above. Aside from the dozens of crisscrossing aircraft contrails, there was barely a cloud to be seen, in stark contrast to the thought that today would invoke the idea of severe weather.

But that idea had long been shattered for months now…

… and Lisa took a moment to think of what today could bring for them.

The Enhanced risk still stood firm, with the trough barely having the signs of going negative on the water vapor imagery that had gotten some speculation the day could be upgraded into a Moderate risk with the targeted zone of severe potential now a bit further east, spanning from central Missouri down into northern Arkansas. Cape values were about 2300 joules per kilogram, and a strong wind shear was already present. The storm's relative helicity was seen to possibly reach as high as 400 in places, an unbalanced value for what has to be a balanced environment for storms to grow in yet be unstable for them not to be either killed off or produce significant weather. If the thermometer handed on the wall to the shop's office was correct, then 42 degrees here was nothing compared to the high 60s expected to reach midday in Missouri.

One element that seemed to be more missing was the cool air itself. An oddity given the vast amounts of snow in some places, but divided by a weak dry line moving across Oklahoma to Nebraska. Plenty of moisture was being brought across the lower Midwest. Any storm that could form now at best would just be some rain and wind. The longer that cold air sat in the back, the longer the land had time to cook itself. More and more rising heat to fuel growing updrafts and create lift.

The elements were gathering. Some weaker than others, some yet to arrive as some continue to build up. Models had storms firing simultaneously in Oklahoma and Kansas moving eastward, yet struggled to stay separate. Today had the chance for storms to either be explosive in places that can get their act together or fizzle out and become just a big line of heavy rain and wind at the front. A far cry from what happened earlier in the month and what many were calling for an explosive season, but across the board many agreed that the timing wasn't right for the big events to really unfold this year.

But this year, she was prepared… more prepared than completely prepared, but any level was better than nothing…

There will be days they have hiccups along the way; that much is unavoidable, like with the van and what may come of it, but her family was adaptable. A lot of people suffered… similar problems. A chuckle ended up escaping at how she was reminded that history had just repeated in a similar case to when Lincoln was racing to catch the Kingman storm and broke down; he was becoming increasingly agitated at the idea of missing such a storm.

Sure, they weren't facing down the godfather of all twisters today (or she prayed that they didn't…), but here they were. Stuck far away from their target with all the likelihood they could miss a near-perfect opportunity that could make or break-

She snapped back to the shop as the hydraulics on the lift caught her ears. Watching the workers push away items, the van slowly lowered back onto its four wheels as one two gathered around the front checking on the engine as another poured a can of gas into the tank. Lana ducked into the driver's seat, and with a splutter as the tail lights illuminated, the van came to life.

In hase, Lisa joined back with her elder sisters as they watched the mechanics do a few more adjustments before the hood slammed shut. Clearing away as the van lurched backward, slowly letting itself roll out of the shop and into the morning light, feeling like it was another repeat of yesterday's rather lackluster trip.

Once the van was fully out, Lana carefully backed it up to be next to the car and turned it around to face the road. Coming to ease, she popped out with her clothes from yesterday and exposed skin covered in grease and grime, yet with a bright smile at her work.

"Is it ready?" Lynn asked, the boredom in her voice heavy from sitting outside for what felt like hours.

"As can be." Lana proudly announced and patted the door. Yet her expression and voice took a much grimier tone as she continued, "But we're not gonna be winning any races with this thing anymore. It's not exactly a one-to-one fix, but it's enough to get us rolling. But I'd recommend not driving in mud or something."

"Then let's not waste a second anymore." Lisa said, turning about to climb into the car, "The sooner we get back heading south, the better."

"I'll drive!" Lana shouted excitedly until Lynn forced the door open further to her confusion.

"I'll drive." the athlete bluntly stated, "You don't have your license yet."

"Ah, come on, Lynn!" the older twin cried, but she really couldn't argue. Getting so mentally focused from January and physically occupied by rebuilding the van, she hadn't had the time to go down and grab her license. But with any facts, she looped around the front and hopped in the front seat. Knowing that this would be the first real road test with the new parts, it would be better to stay with it if she had to quickly tinker or adjust anything.

"Have a good one, boys!" she shouted, waving to the men standing in the garage, waving back as the van slowly pulled towards the road, with Luna bringing the car behind to follow.

"They seem rather happy," Lynn commented, mentally noting how they looked more glum yesterday and lively today as they got on the road.

"Because I helped optimize some of their stuff." Lana answered, still proudly smiling, "While waiting for stuff, I was allowed to tinker and help speed up something. Got about five days' worth of work down overnight for them."

"Don't places like that charge to get their money by the hour?"

"Yep. But with how good the work was, they even offered me a job if I ever wanted to stop by and lend a hand." she held up a business card with the shop's logo.

"And you said you worked through the night?"

"Yep."

"Did you even sleep at all?"

"Not even for ten minutes; I only had some coffee."

…

..

.

"How are you still-"

*snore*

"-awake..." Turning towards her co-pilot/mechanic, Lana's head was already tilted back, pressing up against the window as a trail of drool had already started dripping down her chin.

Lynn shook her head and let a quiet laugh slip between her lips. Knowing all too well the kind of focus Lana had gone through to pull an all-nighter. She'd probably be out for the rest of the tri,p but they have to do something about her dirt…

As their group snaked their way back to the apartment, the rest of the family was scrambling to get ready again with word initially planned for earlier and no update, the girls had given the doubt that it wouldn't be until later that they'd be rolling out.

With the call, they had to rush to repack everything. Down in the laundry room, Luan and Leni were pleading for the machines to hurry up so they had extra clothes to last; up in the apartment, Lola and Lucy were trying to get the others packed as anyone else who had yet or had finished was running around trying to make sure they had everything and grab a bite to eat from an early lunch Bobby had offered. All the while, Ronnie sat on the sideline, keeping Gracia out of the way while still entertained by the comical sight of the Loud's famous family antics and discord on full display. The little one laughed at some misfortune here and there, only causing more distractions as one sister stopped to see the child so bubbly only to be standing in the path of another and unleashing another mess.

In the kitchen/dining room, Bobby and Lori tried organizing the mess while others came in and out, grabbing a quick bite of whatever they had left on their plate before the call. Scarfing down all they could before running off, Bobby took what was left, added a little bit more, and then dumped it into a container with their respective names on it as Lori tried not to leave a massive mess for the father to deal with later.

"Sorry about this, Bobby. Didn't expect to eat and run suddenly." She apologized while tending to some of the dishes.

"Ha! It's fine." He said, placing the last lid on a ten-level stack of containers. "You know me. Plus, it was a good opportunity to clean the fridge out for the week. Figured you guys would wanna get back on the road as soon as possible."

*Honnnnkkkk* "Let's go, ladies! We're burning daylight!" Lynn's voice shouted up to the apartment from outside. Kicking the other into gear as whether they were ready or not, it was time. Bobby quickly dumped the containers into a bag as Lori snatched her suitcase by the door. Lucy, Lola, and Lily had a bit of a struggle getting the other's bags out of the apartment as they cascaded down the stairs like a human avalanche to the next floor.

Nearly breaking the door down and embedding it into the wall, they pour out onto the street where Lisa and Lynn were busy moving an unconscious Lana into the backseats.

"What happened to Lana?" Lori asked like they were trying to hide a body.

"She over exerted herself last night to get the repairs done. I'd recommend letting her remain asleep, it'll give her some peace during our long trip." Lisa added as Lynn finished buckling the twin in.

"Come on! Traffic was hell getting here and I want to avoid it getting out!" Lynn shouted as she hopped back into the driver's seat.

Luna came running around towards Bobby meeting him halfway up the stairs, "Keys, thanks for the ride, Bobby!" She said dropping the bundle in his outstretched hand before quickly snatching her bags and tossing them into the roof rack as Luan worked to get the hatch closed.

"Well," Bobby sighed, coming down the steps with Lori, "Hope you have a good time on your trip."

"Thanks again." She said, bringing him to a tight hug as he returned the same, "Sorry to keep jumping in like this. I… I literally-"

*hoonnnk*

She glared at the van, wanting to yell to give her a minute but Bobby couldn't hold back a smile and chuckle.

"I understand. Stay safe, Lori. Stay safe girls!" he called out as Lori gave him one last smile before heading for the van. Tossing her bag into the last free spot and locking it down. Giving the case one last check over, she reached to open the door and hope into the-

"Occupied." Lisa said, sitting with her computer setup.

A bit peeved, Lori looked to Lynn, about to tell her to swap as the athlete already buckled in and put off the brake.

"Come on, Lori! You're the last one lagging!"

Realizing she wouldn't be the one behind the wheel, she huffed in frustration. "Lola, scoot over." She ordered, accepting her fate to the second row behind Lisa as she pulled the door shut.

"Alright, the Louds ride again!" Lynn cheered as some of the others joined in. Until they were brought to a stop at a light not one block away.

"Were rolling…" She grumbled. Fingers tapping on the wheel and resting her arm against the door with an impatient sour look. "So if we're not stopping, what's the first place we're going?"

Turning towards Lisa, the genius already had her laptop pulling up maps and radar, "Start heading back to 94. We'll contine to take it until we exit to Route 6 West before getting on the 80 West until we're past Joliet and them dive south on 55. We'll stay on it until we reach St Louis and evaluate our situation there."

"How long until St Louis?" Luan asked from the back.

"Approximately," Lisa looked at the route then down at her watch, "Five hours and twenty minutes if no more breakdowns or delays."

Even as the light turned green and they got moving again, the collective groan that echoed in the van made anyone nearby think something was about to collapse. Not knowing it was the collapsing hope that they'd be there in no time.

Bobby had felt an odd feeling wash over him as he saw the van slowly merge into traffic and be unrecognizable. Feeling like he was seeing two different images at once with the difference in he had time to adjust and not be blindsided after just waking up. Even Ronnie, with Gracia in hand sucking on her fingers while looking around the outside world, emerged from the doorway slowly coming down the stairs, looked on in the direction her brother stood locked in as she joined his side.

"You do know exactly what they're doing, right?"

"Yep."

"And where are they really going on a day like this?"

"Mhmm."

She turned to him, "Did you say anything about what they might find out about him?"

"I'm surprised you didn't." He looked over to her. "From what everyone told us, it'd be like trying to stop a flood with a mound of sand."

Ronnie shook her head, "From what Jordan and Stella told me, it was pretty much the same thing…"

"Did you reach Clyde?"

"I tried, but the line was busy. He might be with Lincoln out in the field right now."

"... Did you try calling him?"

She sighs. Looking away, "I don't want him to worry. Him knowing all of his sisters are coming to him on a day like this? He'd go bonkers trying to keep them away and still try to chase. And if he gets too distracted…"

Bobby pulled her into a side hug. He understood her reasoning as he remembered what Lincoln and he had talked about that morning.

'Look out Lincoln… Here comes the Loud House.'

---

4 Hours Later… (because there isn't much to talk about four hours of sitting in a car)

The atmosphere in the van could best be described as… mellow, to say the least for them.

The smell of grease and old was one downside. Aided a little by rolling down the window, Lana was pressed against it so they could let some of the smell out. Another downside was that while the weather outside was warming up, it still lets in an endless blast of cold air into the van that made some of them have to stay bundled up in the back while those upfront enjoyed opening up their jackets.

Since leaving Great Lakes City, the electric feeling in the air that they had yesterday was much more palpable. They were happy they were back on track and covering the ground that would bring them closer to their brother. Yet, like yesterday before breaking down, that energy had evaporated as much as the snow covering the landscape outside by the middle of the second hour.

There wasn't much they could do now but wait. Just stay buckled in, listen to music, read, doodle, follow Lana's lead to get some more sleep, text friends, or watch the world pass by. They think they have seen that place before in a town, then immediately forget when passing through. Watching the land snake between the hills and fields like they were on the family trip years ago. Any distraction served to keep their minds away from what later today could mean. They knew the basis of Lisa's plan; they understood that today could get chaotic and that they'd all need to be ready for when it came.

There was that bubbling excitement for when that time would come when it would be not ten but the eleven of them together again. But the feeling of what stood between them and that moment felt so much like a counterweight to their hopes…

"St Louis," Lynn called out, getting some of their attention at the announcement as they stirred from slumber or looked away from their phones. "Coming up close now."

"And how close are we?" Luan mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes from a nap.

"Currently, we are 9.12 miles from St Louis proper and 15 minutes out," Lisa answered, checking the map on her computer. "Lynn, take the next right marked Exit 6 Wood River." she directed.

Lynn looked at her, confused, "I thought we were going to the city?"

"We aren't." Lisa replied, confusing the others, "I want to avoid getting bogged down by urban areas and traffic. Once we exit, take the next left and follow the road until reaching the light."

Though slowing down, Lynn cast Lisa an unsure look, to which she blankly looked back, affirming her directions. In the mirror, the sisters all looked at each other in question as Lynn shrugged and slowly took the van off the highway. Coasting down the ramp to a vacant intersection and steadily picking back up speed down the road. The land vaguely reminded them of the outer reaches of Royal Woods, towards the point that it wasn't much suburban life but more like the pockets of buildings between empty lots and fields to little centers around a traffic light.

"Take a left here," Lisa directed. The light flicked green before the van came to a halt. Pull into the gas station coming up on our left. We'll fuel here and wait until further notice, " she said, looking up to see the approaching sign of an Exxon to confirm their position.

Rolling into the station with only three other cars and stopping on the far side, the van muttered to rest as the doors popped open. The girls piled out, groaning, to stretch from the ride, taking in the scenery around them.

"So this is St. Louis, huh?" Leni asked. "I thought the arch thing would be bigger."

"Leni, that's a broken shopping sign," Lola replied, pointing to the rusted remains of a billboard on the otherside of the road.

Confused, Leni squinted hard to see what she meant, "Oh… I wondered why all the skyscrapers looked so flat and bland." She said, pointing to a boarded-up store before Lola rolled her eyes and dragged her to the market.

As they went to possibly drive the poor store clerk bonkers on what he'd hoped was a quiet day, Lisa remained outside as Lynn started fueling the van. Sliding out of the front seat with her laptop in hand, she wandered across the lot to a small patch of grass divided by the outlets. Lisa watched a radar loop of a cluster of rain storms sparking throughout the state.

Coming to a stop a few feet from the road, Lisa looked to her side, where a Slots sign fluttered in the breeze. She looked up at the sky, seeing the white clouds merging and growing as they climbed higher into the atmosphere. Some became a darkened gray the further you looked, with another future storm developing to the far south just beyond the tops of the tree line, like a herd of animals moving across the plains of the bright blue sky.

She had shed off her winter wear from the feeling on her exposed arms by her sleeves being rolled up. It wasn't needed; if anything, it'd be a hindrance when she could feel the warm air she had to estimate was closing into the 50s. Only aided more in by the warm winds coming from the east being pulled across the land and spanning dozens to hundreds of miles all around, being ingested into the creation of the machine of nature that could produce a monster.

Left behind to tend to the van, Lynn searched for a solution to wipe the numerous bugs off the windshield when she noticed Lisa standing far from the place. The laptop was held in one hand, but the other was by her side, and her head tilted towards the sky. Seeing the same growing clouds reaching above them just like that day…

Finding a squeegee by the trash utterly bone dry, she scoffed and dumped it back in before making her way over. Looking off in the direction, they were heading to what she could guess was the west, where another storm was growing by where the city would be.

"Do you know where he is now?" she called out, coming down to her side and glancing at the computer.

"He's moved position further northeast. Sitting in the town of Rolla right now—still an almost a two-hour drive from our current location at best," Lisa answered, quickly pulling up the spotter network that showed them both a mess of dots all over a gray road network. A few were even here in St Louis, sitting in clusters or crossing over the spaghetti of roads, trying to play the game of finding the best position to hunker down and wait for a storm to fire.

That was much of why she had them to stop. They were well ahead of the entire line as several smaller cells were fighting over the instability. Some chasers were moving eastward into Illinois, expecting storms to go up further upstream, possibly or to sit and wait for something to form downstream. She hoped for the former; they were in a good spot if a storm developed on the west side of the Mississippi River and followed through without dealing with urban areas.

If it got itself together, it could become the dominant storm. They needed to move to stay out of the core, but if it developed early and matured later, there was all the chance that Lincoln could head in this direction to get ahead of it. They'd basically intercept him. It saves them travel time and gives them time to prepare to meet him.

But you couldn't rely on the weather like that. It could become the main storm, look good, and then get choked off when another storm to the north or south cuts it off and becomes the main show. If one did, they had to scramble to get to it if Lincoln chose to go after it.

Chasing the storm chaser. Ironic in her mind. Years of trying to find the right spot to find him, and here she is trying to predict where he could… be…

She looked closer at her screen like a detail she hadn't seen finally got her attention. Moving the map further west, changing from the spotter network to infrared radar, the loop advancing roughly an estimated half hour, close to west Springfield and closer to the dryline, a cluster of storms went from nothing to exploding triple in size on an eastward track. In all practicality, right now, that storm didn't exist. The clouds were gathering, but the storm the model showed hadn't yet been created.

But it was building and gaining the necessary resources to mature and organize quickly. Kill off those that could stop it and absorb what it could to fuel. The storms far out ahead of the line and cluster, the very ones she could look up and see with her own eyes, were utter garbage for what those to the west could potentially do. They would destabilize the atmosphere even more. Any horizontal or vertical rotation that they latched onto could get pulled into the new storms as they reached the area and got boosted.

At a storm motion nearing 40, they would be moving fast yet slowly. One could run away or keep up but get stopped, be stuck in an onslaught of rain and hail, and possibly get hit by something worse…

"We need to go…" Lisa said, her voice growing in panic.

"What?" Lynn asked, her guard growing and seeing her sister suddenly be on edge.

"We need to go now!" She stumbled, turning around and dashing for the van.

"Wha- Lisa!" Lynn sputtered, trying to catch her, "What happened this time?"

"We're out of position…" Lisa muttered, climbing back up into the front seat. "I thought that the systems would be further east. That we could wait for him to come to us. But even if they're moving east, they'll grow faster by the west-"

"Speak English, please…"

Lisa huffed, "Just get in. I'll explain once everyone is back inside." She swiftly shut the door and buckled in, sat frozen in place, hesitating, until she reached over and smashed her fist onto the horn. Leaning over to look at the windows in the store, she could see several heads pop up and look in this direction. Lynn frantically waved over to them, pointing to Lisa with urgency written on her face as those in the mart quickly darted around, trying to get out sooner.

Pulling the gas nozzle free and smacking the fuel cap shut, hopping back behind the wheel with the door slamming shut so hard the van rocked.

"When you said we'd wait here, I didn't think it meant even ten minutes.

"No. I said until further notice. And this is, in fact, further notice to me stating it twenty minutes ago." Lisa shot back. She looked over her shoulder in time to see a mob of eight come storming out the door, making a beeline for them.

In their haste to get into the van, the mob pushed the passenger side hard enough that the two occupants could feel the wheels briefly leaving the ground. Fighting for the handle until either Lucy or Luan found it, the door sliding open only brought half the crowd with it, freeing the others to jump inside for a seat.

"What's the rush now?" Lori asked, feeling frustrated by the impact and sudden alarm.

"Yeah, I didn't even get a turn on the can," Lana complained, earning a couple of scoffs, ews and groans as the rest climbed in. Once the door was shut and a quick head count was done, Lisa brought her laptop over to the center glovebox to show the screen to everyone, with Lynn leaning her seat back and the others in the far back having to crawl across the third row to see.

"See those storms? " she circled the blue blobs. Those cells are forming in a much more favorable environment. If one or two get their act together, they can quickly become severe and tornadic."

"What happened to waiting here?" Lola asked from the back.

"That was before the close future models said otherwise." Lisa pointed out and highlighted the time. Letting the radar replay an hour ago to advancing in the afternoon, "These storms could easily go severe in the next hour and be tornadic in less. And even with them technically moving in our direction, we are still over three hours away from where Lincoln is, and he's already moving to get ahead of the storm."

Lynn tightened her seat belt, getting the gist of what she meant, "Alright. So where to now?"

"Get back on 55 East and head for St. Louis. We'll have to-"

"I thought you said you wanted to avoid-"

"I KNOW WHAT I SAID!" Lisa snapped back, surprising everyone into silence as even Lynn had to lean back from seeing a fire spark behind those glasses. "But the weather dictates where we go. If Lincoln's moving, we need to be moving, even if it's through unfavorable routes and conditions."

Returning to her computer, the scientist took a slow but deep breath to calm herself. Today was not the day for her to lose her focus and demeanor. Too much was riding on her to be the one to get them to their brother and not get themselves killed.

"Welcome to the world of storm chasing. Where it's statistically 90 percent waiting, driving and getting somewhere else to wait…" she muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. Closing her eyes to clear her thoughts, she focused on her computer and reviewed the numbers. Bouncing back and forth between the models, reviewing the most recent sounding data from any station she could link to, and tracking the mess of spotters.

Feeling her lips suddenly a bit dry, Lynn looked back in the rearview to search for Luna's eyes in the third row. Though others looked up to see her search, the rocker knew she was the target and looked back at her sister, sending a voiceless message that she was feeling the same thing when Lynn glanced in Lisa's direction, and Luna made an ever so slight nod.

Lynn took a deep breath to calm her own thoughts and nerves and shifted into gear. Rolling the van across the relatively empty street to avoid the light, she put more pressure on the gas pedal. Quickly making ground back to the highway, it felt a bit like a quick pitstop that served its purpose, and they were in a rush. She could understand where Lisa was coming from when she was still bouncing from every sport the schools had to offer.

But part of her had to be reminded by a voice that was like a friend you knew but rarely saw, yet is always around and sees more than you thought was going on. Telling her today wouldn't be like that day in November; they were prepared and a little ahead of the game now. They weren't going in blind; they had a plan. It wasn't the most locked-in plan that kept getting changed every time Lisa did something, but it was far better than getting blasted by giant hail and hiding in a car wash. They had to catch up, but they were all together and far from home. They'll be fine.

They'll all be fine…

The darkening sky above them somewhat agreed as they traveled across the bridge towards downtown St Louis. The sunlight reflecting off the skyline and gateway arch, casting a beautiful mirror into the river, made them quickly get out their phones for a photo or a few selfies when they still had the chance. Some spoke about wanting to make a little detour, but a glance up front to Lisa looking in the mirror shut any of that hope down.

They loop down the off-ramp like they are entering the city, only to bank away in a left turn. The skyline was now in their rearview, and the endless highway in front of them as the rain began to trickle onto the windows, and the world began to turn gray.

---

An hour and a half later…

Cruising at a steady 72 mph down the westbound of 44, the rain showed the duality of nature when they would get a ten-minute downpour before half an hour of light rain and some sunlight before it went back.

Yet Lisa wasn't too concerned about this storm. The people around St Louis might. It was getting bigger and stronger, developing a small hail core north of the city. Velocity showed little to no upper rotation that didn't last a few minutes before a cold spot seemed to choke it off—leaving it just a severe storm, with the flood risk being a bigger issue if it continues.

Looking ahead as they passed the town of Sullivan, any potential hook echo would be forming behind them. Anything that dropped would be moving in the opposite direction. Later in the day or at night, it could try to get strong enough to keep one alive to produce a tornado, but that was in the future behind them. Dead ahead was part of their actual targets. One that, with every mile they gained, brought them closer to colliding with the storm behind it.

And what a beautiful sight it was.

Once it reached the point Lynn could switch off the wipers, it was like entering a new world with how brightly the sun reflected into the can, making them shield their eyes.

"Look alive back there! " she yelled as the rain finally stopped, and they could see the landscape.

To their far south, like it was splitting the horizon, you could see the rising tower of one storm, but over the highway, it was like a heaven's anvil was put onto the very earth itself, growing in every direction. Close to the ground, a bulbous cloud reached from either end of the horizon like an outstretched wave with a dark cloak underneath blocking any light from reaching the western edges.

"What is that?" Leni asked, leaning into the second row and pointing to the giant formation near the ground.

They had seen plenty of clouds and storms in their days passing over their home, but seeing one in all its glory, showing off its size and power, it was boggling to think this was really nothing more than the result of wind and water.

"That is a shelf cloud." Lisa stated, "It forms when rain-cooled air meets warm moisture and forces it up. It is mostly seen in squall lines, but for this, it can act like a shovel digging up any warm air in its path to fuel its updrafts. Sometimes, even having a horizontal rotation could spawn brief spin-ups of tornadoes and help the storm in forming its mesocyclone. First comes the presentation, then the wind… and finally the ungodly amounts of rain right behind that..." She muttered the last part. Knowing that once they cross that boundary, they'll be at the mercy of nature.

"The deceptive beauty that can be the most deadly…" Lucy added. Recalling some memories of Lisa showing her things to study about storms for this journey.

At least, that's what Lisa hoped.

It was an honest question, one she could quickly answer in detail. Today was the very reason she was studying the weather so much, even now on her computer. But it made her question if the others had to.

Looking in the mirror, she looked for Lily in the third row. Looking off to the sun-bathed land with a glint in her eyes but a stone face.

So far, no sign of 'unusual' behavior had been seen. They had been on the road for almost seven hours today; it was evident by everyone that they were just bored or uninterested as if this was just a crazy road trip. But that could apply to any other human being, from being on an hourly flight to three months on a ship. The reaction to the weather made her start splitting her focus and monitoring everyone as closely as the skies.

Only three of them had gotten a taste of what it was like going after a monster. Three had been spared by distance, but four had directly experienced what these kinds of beasts can do. They started that day as usual and became emotional wrecks halfway through. The storm then was just another layer of icing on that cake that they didn't expect to bite them. They had no say or choice in where it was going or what it would do.

Right now, they do. They have plenty of time to stop and take a different road. They run north; then they'll be past where most cells were forming. Running south puts them ahead of another, but they can avoid that by pressing on. There are plenty of options to avoid going into the storm. Her reasoning that Lincoln could still jump from one after another was there, but unless something else got to him, he could latch onto just one and follow it to the Appalaches. They could catch him on the way back. Keep going to El Reno and meet him there.

They could…

But what it could do to them?

Her earlier assignment had proven marginally correct. Lana and Lori's actions spoke of what they could do, and she was doing her part to get them there alive and uninjured.

What will happen when faced with that moment? She wasn't sure who among them was even mentally ready.

When the wind hit, they definitely weren't ready.

Brake lights lit up as far as the eye could see, trees going from standing tall and pretty to losing masses of leaves and any branch ready to break and fly with the garbage along the shoulders. Coming through a curve and exposing the van's broadside, they could feel it be jerked back when the wind whistled above them between the rack and edges of the windows.

Lynn wasn't ready to suddenly fight to keep the van from being pushed into the rear wheels of a semi-trailer. Putting more pressure on the pedal to get them further ahead and around another truck, it also fought to keep itself upright. The van's rear wheels started to pull further ahead than the front, and holding the wheel with reducing speed snapped them back into a somewhat stable

"Christ…" Lynn muttered. Feeling her nerves suddenly get that shot of adrenaline she didn't want today. "A little warning would have been nice..."

"In all fairness, we were heading directly towards-"

*CRACK*

A bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens. Appearing deep from within the clouds, crawling along the underside before bursting in brightness and fading just as fast right above them. The boom moments after was strong enough to make them all jump in their seats. Sending some to duck their heads for cover.

"Deadly alright…" Lana muttered, lifting her hat off her eyes. Tap on the window she spent days swapping out. "Are you sure this stuff is strong enough, Lisa?"

"Its MOR rating is capable of surviving a two-by-four going 140 through the air at center mass. Tree damage and hail would be far from the worst that it would begin to crack under." She said tapping on her window.

"At this rate, traffic will be worse…" Lynn grumbled, trying to get around a duo of semis, making the wipers work overtime, forcing cars that got close to going even slower and trying to dodge around and pass.

Checking their position, Lisa pulled up a traffic map. Seeing growing lines of orange and red building up further ahead. "Indeed… Take the next exit to St Robert. We'll have to wait until conditions clear up to some degree."

"Thought you were rushing to get moving?

"Would you prefer being stuck in traffic again?"

"... no."

"There's another gas station at the next intersection. We'll wait there until-"

"Until further notice…" Lynn repeated. She got the message from earlier as she got them back off the highway in a burst of speed.

The semi-tsunami had finally gone away, but the heavy rain was still coming down so much that the wipers at max couldn't keep up. Just getting off the highway was becoming a challenge as other cars tried to get clear. Some went too fast over the bridge and hydroplaned, almost colliding with traffic when one overshot a red light. Thankfully, going the other way, traffic thinned out, yet the station next to them was utterly packed with cars trying to get out of the rain. Almost four deep in lines under the awning, others sticking close to the curb to stay out of the way.

However, upon pulling in through the second entrance, the ten of them were greeted by a sight that surprised most yet gave Lisa that little boost in the assurance that they were on the right track.

Accompanied by four pickup trucks with modified cargo beds and ladder racks, each with flashing ambers on the roof illuminating a mobile mesonet rack, the fifth vehicle at the head of the line stood raised on supports with a mesonet tower reaching a good twenty-plus feet above their heads as a giant dish whirled around on the back. The dish made a complete revolution before pausing, tilting itself up just slightly, and resuming its spin.

She tried to keep her eyes on the truck and where she was driving and pulled into the second line of fuel pumps once another van backed out, freeing up space to get undercover. It cut down heavily on the rain, but gusts of wind were still sending it underneath in waves. It did little to detract those who stood on the opposite side of the pumps, doors, and windows open, waiting in their seats, enjoying the moment, or talking with others and pointing at phones and laptops in discussion until someone spoke about something that got them laughing.

Curious to get information from another source, Lisa rolled her window down, letting a blast of wind and rain enter, much to their displeasure.

"Ah, come on, Lisa! Really?" Lola cried out.

"A little rain won't hurt you," Lisa called back. However, rolling the window up, when another gust made it spray into the van, she was the one to get a more considerable soaking and wipe off her glasses.

"So, like, are all these people with Lincoln's group?" Leni asked.

"No. Most of the groups here are solo or freelance. That group, however," Lisa pointed to the radar fleet, "Is more likely one of the handful of meso-fleets the project is using. They're by themselves for acting as a scout fleet, but why they're this far east from the main fleet is questionable."

From the corner of her eye, Lisa could see the truck shift. She looked to see the tower steadily coming down as its supports retracted to let it sit on its wheels again. Several people took notice, hastily ended conversations, and returned to their vehicles like a startled herd of animals.

"Wonder what's got into them," Lana asked herself.

"They're possibly about to relocate. Many would rather chase the radar trucks or specialized vehicles instead of the storm itself." Lisa explained, "Even with the advent of improved forecasting, navigation, and the help of a smartphone, anyone can find a storm, but picking the right one that will spawn twisters is the greater guessing game. Having the technological edge the radars provide with a widely known success rate, they're one of the closest guarantees you can get in finding one. That's why after a few years, you'd see a line of cars always behind Lincoln wherever he goes."

"So more like leeches then…" Luna commented dryly. "So if they're here, Lincoln's close?"

"Yes. And he should be about…" Lisa paused, confused, as she quickly typed and searched for something that didn't exist on her screen.

"About…?" Lynn droned out, tapping the wheel impatiently as Lisa's expression only got deeper.

"I can't find him."

A collective "What" rattled her ears.

"His beacon is offline, " she quickly stated before the car erupted in questions and accusations. I had it marked to track, but he either deactivated it or the storm is blocking the signal."

"How far away was he?" Lori asked.

"Last known update was 43 miles to our west. West of Lebanon and North of Phillipsburg. There's a likely chance he's sitting inside the core of the storm right now if he hasn't moved, but that update was over half an hour ago."

"Then why did we stop?!" Lori shouted behind her.

"Because of two lines of thought; either he'd continue east to stay ahead of the storm and have the chance to drop south if the southern storm develops, possibly closing the gap to us. Or we sit in traffic and not move at all. Which would you prefer?"

"Great. Just freaking great. He was stuck at another gas station and could be anywhere by now." Lynn angrily hit the wheel, trying to keep herself from going crazy at all the constant stops and going, knowing they were still getting closer.

However, as they stayed put, a third of the parking lot came to life once the radar truck started rolling out. The mesonets followed close behind onto the road, with anyone else wanting to follow staying close.

"Do we at least follow them?" She asked as the radar headed towards the highway.

"No. They're likely heading south to get out of the way of the core or possibly deploy on the next storm. A group like that is meant more for environmental scouting than intercepting. Fewer vehicles and equipment help to be a more mobile unit."

*CRACK*

Another bolt ripped through the air. Striking down somewhere on the ground as the lights all around them struggled to remain on until they became stable again.

"Getting out of the way seems like a great idea," Lynn said as the car in front of them pulled away. Inching the van further up, she pulled out from under the awning just enough to look mostly up into the clouds. She saw a familiar greenish hue mixed with gray and black.

"Hey Lucy, there's something for you." She pointed up, looking back as, with curiosity, the goth leaned over to peer out the window.

*pnk* Something bounced off the hood.

"What was that?" Lynn asked, looking over, trying to find what hit them.

*pnk* Another bounced off the roof.

*pnk* and another, bouncing off the car's roof parked across from them.

"Sounds much like Lori when she didn't know how to aim." Luan piped up, getting a few snickers from the others. *pnk*

"Hey! It was my first time!" Lori protested with a blush blooming.

*pnk*

"How was I supposed to know that they put the parking-"

*CRRNNK*

The sound of the hood getting a new dent put any words Lori had to silence, but the sound didn't stop. More continued to ping off the van as the rain intensified. From there, you could see a hotel across the street become nothing more than a blur behind a curtain of rain and falling stones. Trees swaying in the breeze found their branches being shotgunned off as signs had the wind start having holes punched through.

"Ladies," Lisa said calmly, leaning back from the windows, "we got hail."

Almost as fast as she finished those words, the 'wall' passed over the gas station. People still lingering outside quickly dashed into the store as windshields began to crack and cave in. A few were daring or crazy enough to venture from their shelter, some with a few brain cells to have a helmet, and ran to collect a handful of stones before racing back to cover.

"Who knew storm chasers were so strange?" Leni said as a group in a truck beside them celebrated their grabs.

"More like deranged…" Lola added.

'More like they know what to expect.' Lisa said in her mind. Understanding that while yes some were crazy to risk injury like that, it did help give them some insight into what the storm was doing. The simple rule is that the stronger the updraft, the bigger the hail can get, and the higher the chance the storm itself is getting stronger. On the reflectivity, a bubble of pink was growing. They were sitting just within the northern edge, getting what she could guess was nickel to quarter-sized stones coming down. The thought was that if it were this thick, anyone on the highway close to Laquey would get golf ball-sized stones or, more significant—a spot she didn't want to get stuck in, regardless of the upgrades. The van could take a beating, but getting trapped was…

'Wait a moment…'

A new bulletin and warning had gone out for their storm.

"Everyone, QUIET!" She shouted for the talking to cease as she turned the volume on the radio to nearly max as the beeping of an eas had just ended.

["The National Weather Service in Springfield has issued a Tornado Warning for… Southeast Camden County, North and Eastern Laclede County, West Central, and Southwestern Pulaski County until 5:15 pm Central Daylight Time. At 4:42 pm, National Weather Service Doppler radar and storm spotters were tracking a dangerous storm capable of producing a tornado. The storm was located eight miles East of Lebanon, moving East at 40 miles per hour."]

The tension in the van spiked, and a few felt like trying to find a monster when looking out the window.

"Where's that to us?" Luna asked, but Lisa shushed her.

["Hazard: Tornado. Other hazards may include: Quarter to golf ball-sized hail, heavy rain, and gusty winds over 60 miles per hour. Heavy rain may result in flash flooding in low-lying areas. Doppler radar and trained weather spotters. Impact: People and animals outdoors will be injured. Expect wind and hail damage to roofs, siding, windows, vehicles, and trees. Prepare immediately for large hail, deadly clouds to ground lightning, and flying debris. Seek shelter in a well-built structure away from windows and avoid going outside. If you are driving, seek shelter now. If no shelter is available, lie low in a low-lying ditch and cover your head."]

Three more long beeps followed, and the radio fell silent.

Before any tunes could resume, Lisa twisted the knob to silence the device. Sitting still as she processed what she had been given to work with, she looked back to the radar screen where a large warning box stretched across the supposedly affected areas—zooming closer to the supposed location of what had caused the warning to be triggered, a scattering of reports agreed in the possible chance that a wall cloud was lowering near the backside of the hail core. A few further to the northeast, closer to them, even said about possibly seeing a funnel or two trying to form.

"You want to know where we're at?" She asked, bringing the computer back over. "The area of interest that made that warning go out is passing over the community of Abo. It'll hit near our location at its current heading and speed in approximately 39 minutes."

She could see it, that change in all of their eyes. The reality of the situation they were about to be in, for some, again was finally sinking in that this wasn't just some random shenanigans that would happen during a road trip. This was what the trip was about. Where they sat now could be the distance their home once stood from when that monster first scarred the earth. They didn't know how big or how strong it was. This was a different beast that could do something completely different than they had experienced before. And with 39 minutes before that moment comes again…

This time. This time, she would ensure that all of them were out of the way. But to do so meant taking heavy risks…

"Right now, our options are roughly as follows: we get north away from the core but set ourselves back by miles. We wait for it to come to us and risk getting hit or… we core punch it and take the south road 17."

"Wait a minute. What about all these roads?" Lynn pointed to the gray mess that wormed through the trees. " Can't we just take them?"

"We take those side roads, and then all it takes is one strong gust to bring trees down and block any escape route. If a tornado is in progress, it could trap us for who knows how long. We'd be closer to where the storm will cross a main road. Lincoln might take the eastbound highway if he attempts to get back ahead of the rotation. If he's heading towards Laquey now, he could be attempting to intercept the storm on that south road."

"You are saying all these ifs really isn't helping much…" Lynn dryly muttered with a few nods in agreement.

However, like the atmosphere, Lisa could feel her nerves boiling.

"This whole situation is built out of ifs, wheres, and whens. Everything about a storm has those elements, and we're not the only ones that have to play that God-forsaken game of 'where is it, when is it going to get here if it hits here?' and every moment we sit here explaining it is a mile the closer it gets and less time we have!" She shouted, her voice growing more and more aggravated than before. The silence was so thick it was like the hail and rain had stopped for the sake that maybe nature did fear setting off what could be a potential time bomb.

Without better judgment, Lynn opened her mouth to speak- "No, Lynn. I'm not." Lisa replied, knowing what was coming.

Taking off her glasses to press her forehead against the rain-cooled glass provided a small comfort to the headache flaring up. "I just wish this day would be over with. Had it gone as planned, we wouldn't be in this mess…"

"Lisa," Lucy's voice called from the back.

Twisting around in the seat to glare down the alley formed by the seats, Lucy was free from hers. Pulling herself forward to roughly be between Lori and Lana. "You've gotten all of us this far, and it's the furthest we've ever gotten without fate stopping us. You can guide us as you have done before."

'As before' filled her mind, and in a blink, her frustration was punched in the face and fell to the ground. It was still there, but it was down for now.

"Okay… You're right… you're right." She repeated, putting her glasses back on and straightening herself out. "But you all need to listen to what I say. We mess up here, and it could be something a lot worse than missing Lincoln." Everyone nodded once. She looked into their eyes, still seeing that conflict but seeing their trust in her. They had doubts about the situation, but not in her getting them out and where they needed to.

"See that road over there?" She asked Lynn, pointing to the road that curved towards the hotels, "It follows the highway to the next exit and joins US 66 before it emerges directly into State Route 17. From there, we'll keep going until we're out of this. Got it?"

Lynn nodded. Slowly creeping the van forward, the bombardment of hail and rain remembered what it was supposed to be doing and resumed in force.

"Tighten your seat belts, ladies; we're going in."

Once they were clear of the station, another strong gust knocked into them, but this did little to deter them from pressing forward. Nature was challenging them to stop and turn back.

But Lynn liked a challenge. She was more inclined to accept the challenge and come out on top. If this is all Mother Nature has to offer and threatens them with something they've overcome before, by all means, 'Bring it on.'

If Lincoln can do it, what's to say she can't, too?

That thinking seemingly transferred into all of them, giving them that shot of confidence they needed as they crested over the hill and saw just how dark everywhere they looked. It was not the same sickly green from early on or before, but a dark yellowish white fog with lights of buildings coming to life or the lines of cars bumper to bumper barely crawling on the interstate cut through. Picking up speed as they zoomed by the traffic, it felt good that even as the world was starting to slow down, they were still marching forward like the unstoppable force they were.

But a bright, violent crack of lightning in the distance, followed by another further away lighting up the clouds as a rumble rolled overhead, reminded them all that this was nature's domain they were entering. What it brought down from the sky in whatever form, they would have to suffer its effects.

And even though she was focused on the radar, Lisa couldn't tear her eyes away from the mirrors.

She wished she was sitting somewhere in the back with Lucy so they could speak even in limited privacy. The curse was no secret anymore, but what it could do now was utterly unknown. She thought of the breakdown as just poor planning, but this, the chance that for the second (technically third) time, her family was staring down the mouth of death in physical form, and this time they all would, made her nerves rack for possibilities she needed to be ready for in the next hour.

The storm could stay like this and die or become the next Kingman.

Who it'd be for with all eleven of them in such proximity, it was hard for her to choose the greatest chance of disaster. If they succeeded in finding him, what would that be considered? A victory for them to cause disaster for him? If he gets the storm, does that victory mean they don't reach him? What if they don't get him and he doesn't get the storm or… God knows what some combination of events could unfold.

It took them an hour to see the storm come down and vanish and the destruction it caused when Lincoln missed being thrown from the earth; what this hour could have been left her guessing too much.

The further into the core they went, the more she saw that determination falter. Traveling through St Robert proper, from what footage she had discovered across Royal Woods during the event from traffic, phone, and dash cams, the wind wasn't as strong and sustained, nor was the hail as large as the softballs that it dropped, the scene was near enough identical.

Lisa could see Lori's face twist into discomfort. The twins, trying to keep face, kept their heads down and sat a bit further from the windows. Luan had that tension more locked in, but her twitching right hand and darting eyes, fidgeting in her seat like she was ready to jump at something. Lucy sat still, but like her, she was watching everyone, but she wasn't. Leni looked like an actual scared child, not knowing what was going on, and flinched each time something big would bounce off the roof. And Lily…

She looked totally indifferent.

Without showing much care since leaving Great Lakes City this morning to now. She only looked up from her book when another lightning bolt would crash down. All the hits on the roof and sudden jerks the van suffered from hitting a deep puddle didn't stop the pencil in her hand.

After taking a moment, Lisa opened another window, pulled up a file she had recently been building for everyone, and noted everyone's current state and time so she could look through it all later.

Rolling into the town of Waynesville, stopping at the traffic light that led to their southern route, traffic itself was becoming heavier. Ichord Avenue, just two miles down the road, was becoming nearly gridlocked on the westbound. Police reports were coming in that they were attempting to shut down the on-ramps and get people to stop piling into the mess with an accident with an overturned semi-trailer a half mile from the Buckhorn exit. Another mental pat on the back for her to get them off the interstate before getting stuck in it.

Once the light turned green, however, they didn't move. They couldn't move. An idiot in a Chevy with enough rust to make Vanzilla look brand new was sitting in the middle of the intersection with a line of cars trying to make a left turn behind it. Some people giving traffic laws the boot tried to drive down the shoulder, and another attempted to extract itself, only making another mess drivers had to get around. They sat in the same spot long enough that once the lights turned yellow to red again, Lynn felt her frustration speak to open the door and yell for them to move.

A strong gust of wind-driven hail made her rethink her plan and focus more on picturing herself just tossing every car in front of them out of the way.

"Christ… we're never going to get out of this… We've gone what; three miles in the last 15 minutes?! It'll be tomorrow before we get out of the state again."

"I concur, but right now, we have the problem that our south road might get cut off." Lisa brought up the velocity screen again, zooming over Laquey where, just over the interstate, a pixelated blob of green sat in a sea of red curling around one little spot. "Rotation is weak but tightening. I have little doubt that something isn't on the ground already."

"So don't go west now?"

"..."

"Lisa? Don't go quiet on me again."

"... we might have to make a run for it. Our northern option isn't the best right now." She gestured to the street that was causing the jam. "And turning around will just get us stuck in the core longer. If we can get to Ichord Avenue, we can take Polla Road south and try to let it…"

Feeling her ears start to ring, the others winced and covered their ears as a high-pitched whining blasted throughout the town. It started as one until other sources began to whirl to life behind them.

"Waynesville tornado sirens," Lisa said, louder, to be heard. Feeling a different annoyance in the overlapping intensity the sirens unleashed. Though she gave it some credit, it finally made the mass of drivers realize they needed to actually get the hell moving instead of making stupid turns or blocking the intersection when horns were being added.

When their light turned green again, Lynn didn't show mercy. Laying hard on the horn, she let the van inch closer to the Chevy. Close enough to see the front grille reflect almost perfectly off the guy's rear fender, he moved with double the haste. Other vehicles that were in the line behind him tried to follow, but Lynn put down the pedal, much to the other's annoyance and frustration; it was like the floodgates spilling open behind them.

In the mindset that anger had taken hold or it was the panic taking the wheel, it was a one-two kick that drivers needed to get moving, ignoring other cars and debris falling into the road to cut through parking lots of side streets, risking to turn around and find another road or make a break for the northern option.

Ducking into the middle turn lane to avoid a car that couldn't make up its mind, Lynn felt herself staring at the road with gritted teeth and white knuckles. Too focused on avoiding getting hit by a driver, not paying attention even if her own driving was a little… crazy to everyone.

"How close did you say it was?" she asked, gunning the van as hard as possible when an open slot formed ahead, allowing her to pick up speed.

"Just north of Laquey. If it continues its current east-northeast motion, it'll be near us in the next roughly ten minutes." Lisa replied, trying to look to the sky ahead for something but couldn't see beyond the heavy rain. While the hail was thankfully minimized on the core's backside, the heavy amin being pulled to the west ahead made it nearly impossible to see what lay beyond the distance.

The radar reflectivity showed more of a wet blob than an organized storm. They were close to being nearly dead center of where the inflow notch, usually a clear area in the storm that helps give the rotation that distinct hook shape that pulled in warm air into the updraft to fuel said rotation, but so much moisture was filling in the gap. All this rain and wind could be the very fuel that was being guzzled up by a hungry mesocycle and preparing to drop whatever itself had cooking.

It was not a good spot to be in.

Amateur or professional, it was that one spot in a storm that could lead to one choice in direction, whether deadly or life-saving. Going back the way they came, they came would still put them in the tornado's path, but staying put could mean if the storm took a northern turn or the tornado itself turned or concluded, it could slingshot at them.

Yet two things kept her attention: there were little to no beacons on this storm anymore. The cluster that had been gathered around the storm before the tornado warning was understandable, given there were other potential targets to go after and better roads to take. However, everyone she could pinpoint was still moving westward. A few were in the area near and ahead of them, but so many were risking getting around the rotation to get back on the highway by the Buckhorn exit. So many more were gathering towards another storm developing by north Springfield.

That storm itself looked like its own monster on any radar display. The storm that was initially ahead of it that they had seen early had practically been ripped apart by both it and the cell they were in. Two halves are being cannibalized to fuel the other's development. How it was being eaten alive, three-fifths being taken by their storm, and the rest being rapidly digested in the other intrigued her. It wasn't a cell split when a storm divides itself, but two storms eating their middle sibling.

It explained why so much rain was being pulled into the rotation, but the couplet seemed weaker now. Mergers on this scale often become one supercharged storm when the updrafts combine. Less competition meant all the fuel going into two would go into one. But the storm was getting weaker. The hail core was expanding but dropping. Another storm to the north, closer to Columbia, was getting its act together, moving slightly South, and the storm they saw over St Louis was eating up all the valuable warm air needed to survive.

What part got sucked into the western storm was the side that held the entire important half. Whatever rotation, updraft, or inflow, it was all taken by the storm to the west. A new tornado warning was issued for Springfield ahead of the cell, with an almost solid line of chasers trickling down 44 and spreading out in preparation.

That… that is where they needed to get to. It had all the signs pointing to it becoming the dominant storm of the day since it formed by the border. The merger was possibly complete by now, and every chaser who didn't stay behind to report anything this storm could do was already on their way.

But the giant dark wall of rain and wind kept them from going any further.

Stuck just a half mile from their turn, traffic had become a standstill again. Police lights in the distance gave the slightest estimate of how close they were, but the rain was reaching the point where it was becoming more challenging to make out distinguished shapes. Visibility was dropping so quickly you couldn't see what was five cars ahead anymore. A middle school parking lot, a U-haul center, a gas station, a gym, and lots becoming crowded with vehicles just trying to get off the street.

The van kept crawling forward until a truck ahead slammed on its brakes. "Dammit! Come on!" Lynn shouted, hitting the horn in vain as she had to brake hard and turn to the side, thinking their bumpers were just inches away from kissing each other. "Having a flying car would be great right now..."

"In these conditions, using flight would actually-"

"Not helping…" she muttered, hoping that them inching forward would mean the line was moving until getting another face full of brake lights. "GAH! What are the chances a twister doesn't just come down this road and sweep everyone away?!"

POM* Something just beyond the trees unleashed a bright blue flash illuminating the storm. Lights on either side of the street struggled to stay on until some ultimately gave up and plunged the area into further darkness that the sea of headlights barely made much difference in.

"And you might get your wish…" Lisa said with dread as she reached down and pulled on her seatbelt to tighten it. "The rotation is directly in front of us."

Looking at her, horrified, Lynn quickly checked her seatbelt as the tops of trees swayed violently in all directions, with chunks flying through the air. Raining down on traffic as parts of the right side's powerlines began to spark all along the lines from impacts. Another power flash followed, ignited when a tree couldn't support itself any longer, let itself give away, and crashed into one of the poles. Causing a domino effect as sparks rained down on cars and brief puffs of fire from the arching electricity mingled into the limbs as the winds grew stronger and closer.

"Lynn! Point the front into the wind! The less surface area it hits gives, the greater chance of it passing over us than tipping us!" Lisa shouted, bracing herself.

"Holy crap, are we seriously doing this?!" Lola shouted, tightening her belt to the point she tried to loosen it when pieces of hail and loose objects bombarded their left side.

"I don't wanna do this! I don't wanna do this!" Leni cried. Covering her ears as Luan quickly pulled her down and close to the floor.

"Everyone, get down!" Lori commanded, dragging Lana down with her. Then, they grabbed one another and did their best to get as low as possible.

With little option, Lynn backed the van up, feeling the car behind them take the rear bumper to the face; she turned the wheel hair over. She did her best in a hasty three-point turn to get into the middle lane and have them pointed at an auto shop that instantly lost half its roof.

The change in position did work; the van didn't feel like it was about to roll over, but it just meant that she and Lisa had a front-row seat to the chaos as something came flying into the windshield on Lisa's side. Roughly at eye level, if Lynn had been sitting up straight and in the opposite seat, the impact left a massive dent in the glass, with cracks almost reaching her side. Specks of shards fell down the dashboard onto Lisa's computer and lap as she looked up to see how half the windshield was destroyed in a single hit.

Looking into her side mirror down the road; she saw the darkness was nearly a shade short of black and came up the street, swallowing everything. The wind was getting louder to where she couldn't hear her sisters' cries, debris pelting them from every angle, and the van wobbling on its wheels. A loud groaning sound of something snapping sent her attention to the left, in time to see a swath of trees coming down into a warehouse and crushing the building.

Something slammed into the cars behind them, and more sparks were raining as the canopy of the gas station they passed had part of the power poles fall inwards. Taking down a corner and half the awning onto the pumps and cars below.

Pushing the top of her laptop back open despite her natural urge to duct and cover, she couldn't tear away from the radar. The signal was being scrambled hard from interference; something pinging off the roof made her hope it didn't take out one of the antennas, but the next scan image of two minutes ago and its previous loop gave her plenty to build a picture.

And it made her sigh in relief.

The velocity couplet had almost fallen apart. The storm was beginning to expel so much of its moisture into rain-cooled air that it was causing the storm's outflow to choke out the low-level inflow. Like cutting a fuel line to a running engine, what little was still in the system was being guzzled up too quickly, and when it had nothing left, it sputtered and killed itself.

They should have been on the northern edge if there was a twister. Possibly inside the core-inflow winds, if the velocity size was anything to measure from, it was big enough to mark the core passing to their south between them and the interstate. They would be lucky not to have been further west or south, at least getting hit head-on or by the leading edge; here, it was the help of forward momentum and air friction that helped keep them in the weaker winds.

But any chance this had to be one fell apart before that first transformer blew up. All this wind wasn't changing direction: more straight-line winds and downbursts from the inner mesocyclone collapsing into its low pressure. The merger had killed any chance for a tornado to sustain itself if one was even on the ground before getting this far. Just heavy rain and really, really strong wind…

As fast as the storm was moving and how it came, the wind rapidly began dying down. Debris still flew in the air, crashing into parking lots, tangled in trees, or wrapping around signs. However, the rain eased significantly from when they first got stuck here.

Without helping it, she chuckled as she combed a hand through her hair. The feeling that mad part of her gets that rush of being on the edge of a disaster with an experiment only for it to succeed or fall apart and not get far enough to end anything but itself. It was enough with the dying winds that coaxed the others to rise back up into their seats. Looking around, stunned at what just happened, with faces flush, trying to catch their breaths, they patted themselves down—looking for any sign that they could have been hit by something or that this was still the land of the living.

Feeling that they were not and were, they looked ahead, dumbfounded, "What the hell just happened?" Luan asked. Her breath was still shallow as she tightly gripped her armrest.

"A near miss, luck and trial by fire. All in one." Lisa said, unrolling her window and letting a blast of cool air into the van that felt oddly welcomed.

It was short-lived. Lynn grabbed her by the shirt, turning her towards the angry driver. She could see yellow reflections in those glasses.

"The hell do you mean trial by fire?" Lynn seethed. For a brief moment, everyone remembered that day when the secrets were told, and Lynn was ready to knock her sister's lights out for it.

"Exactly as my earlier statements," Lisa said bluntly. "Not only was this a nearly perfect test for the van, but for you, everyone."

"For WHAT?!" Lynn screamed.

"If you were still willing to risk it all for him."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Look at what has happened since the first time we stopped." The scientist gestured back the way they came. "Having doubt isn't unexpected, but having too much of it can cause things to go wrong. I admit my weather sense isn't up to high standards like Lincoln's, but this is new to us both. Do you remember what I said about that report? This is why."

Though Lisa meant it to everyone in the van, it felt more like a slap to Lynn instead. She said nothing else. Knowing that right now wasn't the best time for her to vent just yet.

Letting Lisa go, Lynn counted to ten in her head. Gripping the wheel for a second longer as she took a deep breath. "So what now?" she asked calmly, but her temperature was still high on a hair trigger.

"We continue west," Lisa answered as she rolled the window back up. "The other storm cell we saw earlier was split apart by this and a new system further west. Our storm died because it ingested the worst parts, but the new storm got the better and is rapidly intensifying. It explains why ours failed to produce a meaningful twister, let alone why every chaser is right now screaming towards it.

"Are you crazy?!" Lola burst from the back, hair frizzled from the stress, "You want us to go after another one!?" The others nodded in agreement.

"As I've said, this is why. If we don't take the high risk, there is no reward regardless."

"Takes basically what you said two hours ago…." Luna countered, feeling on edge, "Blood hell, you said we'd find Lincoln here, and what does that get us? What are the odds this next one is it?"

"High, actually. They've even increased now as Conway is becoming hailed as the new targeted area, and with this becoming the dominant storm in the region, Lincoln wouldn't miss it unless he breaks down."

"How far," Lynn asked sharply.

"About an hour down the highway if we don't run into any more slowdowns. The size and direction of the storm should allow us to stay on the southern edge and avoid the hail core. We'll possibly have a much easier time traversing and observing."

Lynn asked for nothing more. She rolled her window down and stuck her head out to look backward as she reversed the gears. Backing up as close to the downed lines as possible until they all heard something crunch under the rear wheels. Groaning and praying she didn't just break the van again, she turned hard over and got the van pointed back the right way. Traffic itself was starting to move again, but the road was an utter mess towards the highway, with cars trying to navigate through debris and downed power lines, forcing many to share both directions of traffic in the middle to keep traffic flowing.

Coming into the intersection, emergency personnel were scattered, trying to shepherd cars through as a police cruiser pushed the lights off to the side. They came up two cars away before stopping, listening as a fire engine came down their street, with two ambulances and police following directly behind. Racing through the intersection in a hard left turn, when it was their turn, and they slowly followed, Lisa's confidence in what actually happened felt like it was being put into question.

Coming down Ichord Avenue, the damage got exponentially worse. They were snapped in half, where they saw some trees and poles toppled over. Cars tossed on top of each other, and the amount of damage clogging up the road grew. Rolling past a shopping center, it only got worse, and as Lisa rolled her window down to get a better look, it surprised her more what exactly she was seeing.

It wasn't straight-line wind but actual tornado damage. It was not the same kind of absolute destruction they had seen before, but if you could see chunks of roofs torn off and anything firmly nailed and bolted down now scattered for a square mile with every window missing, it would be seen as destruction nonetheless. With all the giant stores next to each other, you could actually see exactly where the path and possibly the core of the twister had cut through.

Starting from the tree line in the back, it cut through the near center of the plaza; every window to the right side where the wind would have been coming back on its north side was gone, along with masses of roofing panels blown up from the top with a clock tower half missing. Cars in the lot were peppered and mangled, but between the plaza and front faces of a McDonalds and Subway store, a vast majority were flipped over or tossed on top of each other. Using the parking spaces as a scale to the flow of damage, the twister had to be no bigger than maybe 150 to 200 feet wide, giving or taking an inconsistent core flow. In the world of tornadoes, compared to the average, it was downright puny.

Jumping back onto the highway, the lanes were more opened up from vehicles sticking close to the shoulder or behind someone blown off the road. Picking up speed, Lynn jumped them into the passing lane to avoid hitting anyone getting back on the road, a good mile up before ducking back when coming up to the scene of four cars piled together with their ends smashed into each other.

"Guess we did get lucky…" she mumbled to herself. Focusing on the road ahead, the quietness she hoped for was constantly broken by the annoying 'vrmp' sound the wipers made each time they went over the impact on the glass. Reaching over, she tried to feel how broken it was, running a finger over the center and cracks to feel if it did go all the way. "I thought you said these windows could handle something going 140?"

"They can. Just not the windshield itself." Lisa tapped on her window again.

"That's why I was building the hail guards." Lana said, " We couldn't find anything to replace it with, so we decided on the guards. But I didn't have time to finish…"

"So for now, it's best to avoid the core at all possible chances. If we maintain-" she leaned over to see their speed holding at about 67, "then we should ride along its south side and be ahead of the hook. This time, it will hopefully allow us a clear visual of the storm's entire southern flank."

"You said at this speed?" Lynn asked, eyeing the speedometer.

"Yes," Lisa answered, not thinking much about it until she could hear the engine revving louder. Leaning back over, she saw that the gauge was already reading 74 and climbing.

"Lynn…"

"The faster we go, the quicker we get there…" she said slowly as the needle kissed 80. Nature isn't going to wait for us, and I'm done getting sidetracked."

"Understandable, but there's no reason to-"

"Don't talk."

Lisa turned to her sister, confused, "What?"

"Nothing. Just… don't talk." Lynn 'calmly' said, and it didn't take a genius among them to know that tone of voice. "Only say something if it's important, like a turn or something. Anything else, just…" She pointed a hand forward but said nothing more. Prepared to rebut her sister, Lisa felt a tapping on the back of her right arm from between the seat and door.

Looking over her shoulder to see what Lori wanted, she got a gallery of exhausted looks that silently begged her not to go through with it. Shaking their heads that it wasn't worth it. Getting the message, she turned back to face the road ahead. The sunlight grew stronger the further they got away from the dying storm as the rains eased enough that Lynn switched off the wipers. Rolling her window down to get some fresh air flowing.

Looking over her shoulder to see what Lori wanted, she got a gallery of exhausted looks that silently begged her not to go through with it. Shaking their heads that it wasn't worth it. Getting the message, she turned back to face the road ahead. The sunlight grew stronger the further they got away from the dying storm as the rains eased enough that Lynn switched off the wipers. Rolling her window down to get some fresh air flowing.

Sighing, Lisa looked back to the radar—content in building a new battle plan once they reached the target area. A new scan coming in showed the core had expanded, reports from chasers of two-inch plus-sized hail lending credit to its growing updrafts when dozens of photos were being tagged and posted by locals. More reports went by from seconds to an hour as she searched for anything on social media. Plenty of live streams and commentaries, but a brief skim over yielded nothing for her results. One did have a video from a chaser by Lebanon showing the imposing tower of the west storm approaching, but nothing much else.

Then, from some random person trying to drive in the rain, a short video, seventeen seconds long, of a car going eastbound west of Gascozark got her attention. Possibly trying to outrun the storm as the horizon gradually got brighter, the only available audio was the wipers and rain, with the only voices from reporters on the radio.

By the 13th second mark, a flashing yellow and green light came to life as they finished rounding the curve. Part of a dark mass parked in the middle of the highway, the mass took shape as a truck. And she paused by the 16th-second mark in the few frames it came into view and vanished. Playing it back two seconds, she paused again, then let go a quarter of the speed. From being a lane over and appearing to try to jump onto the westbound, there stood the rain-blurred hulk of Storm Shrieker. With so much mass on the back, blur it further; you could confuse it for a streamlined semi-truck, but the lights gave it away.

Another assurance that they were on the right track. Even if the video was taken from… an hour ago, he was in the area. They are probably chasing their storm, going east to stay ahead, or maybe going south to get ahead of the original second. It was after his spotter had gone offline, but turning around to go back west meant he abandoned the storm for a number of reasons.

He was mobile, a negative aspect of finding him but a positive aspect of figuring out where he might be going.

"Hey… Isn't that the group we saw earlier?" Lynn asked, pointing to the right side as she got into the passing lane to bypass a line of cars. Several sedans and SUVs, but by the fourth vehicle, a familiar ladder rack came into view with another further ahead.

"Indeed it is," Lisa said, sitting up closer to see the third truck further up. They must've stayed behind to document the tornado or could not move ahead. They were too far west to deploy mesonets but close enough for them to collect radar data."

"So where's the—never mind." Lynn quieted. Looking further ahead, she could see the spinning dish on the truck kicking up a large spray of mist. Without a word to convince her, she picked up more speed. She went nearly 90 to get ahead of the third truck and slotted the van behind a regular pickup that drove in the gap.

These guys were the real professionals of the art. Knowing where they needed to go. It'd be stupid not to take a page out of other's playbooks and not follow.

At least then, they can avoid driving into hail and idiots…

And with the circus that was the last hour finally behind them, despite the storm that waited for anyone to come across its path, the journey started feeling like it did early in the day. The sun and blue skies felt like they had just driven into heaven. Everyone seemingly agreed on a united direction as they flew toward Lebanon at full speed. The half-hour that was supposed to give them all a moment of peace came and went like they hadn't even gotten out from one storm, only to be in the shadow of another.

What they saw before wasn't comparable to what stood now. It was a dark mess back there, but now, you could see the full scale of everything.

Lisa could feel her mind working over every detail; the mesocyclone, just a little south, churning the sky as the top of the cumulonimbus incus 'anvil' cloud spread along the tropopause. The hail shaft was visible off to the northwest and far away from them. Winds were light from the forward flanking downdraft, not the same wall as they drove straight into last time, yet the shelf cloud structure was truly a fascinating thing to see from this-

"Conway," Lynn called out, interrupting her thoughts. She reduced her speed as she followed the convoy off the interstate. The storm finally began to overtake them as the rain picked up.

"We're here. Now what…." she asked, but watching the convoy turn away from town and head toward the forest made her question null again.

"They could be attempting to either reunite with the main fleet or position closer to the path." Pulling up the spotter map, Lisa said, "Many are gathering between Springfield and Elkland."

"How far is that?" Lynn asked as they were next to turn.

"From this spot? 20, 25 minutes?"

"I'll take it, " she said, turning to follow the trucks. She picked up speed as the nausea-inducing hills overshadowed any real semblance of them being somewhere familiar. The road bobbed up and down, thick trees flanking the sides, broken only by fields and farms.

With the radar truck leading them, cresting over one hill that gave them a view for the next mile until the next, the rain did little this time to impede their mission. With every little mountain they traveled, it only put them closer to reaching out to the storm itself. Yet the storm's structure was mesmerizing; Lisa's gaze was like an overly excited retriever trying to look out the windshield or Lynn's window and trying to look to the southwest with every opportunity that the top of the hill or open field would allow her to get a view of the storm's base.

Climbing up the gradual curve into an odd U-shaped section of the road, the van was higher than the trees out in the field, yet more kept passing by and blocking any view of the lower half. She wished she had a link to what the radar truck was seeing and if it was seeing anything. The inconsistency and density of the trees and changing elevation would throw off or block any signal the dish attempted to break through.

Then, in a brief clear spot that was only blocked by a single power pole, a view for nearly miles into the distance. Proudly displaying the eastern side of the entire mesocyclone like a giant alien saucer was close to the ground. Further inside, hidden in the darkness and rain, something else was there, even lower to the ground. But moments later, her view was again blocked.

"Come on… give us something to work with…" she mumbled, frustrated. Trying to use her computer, but the display wasn't responding as well as before. Having no means to track in such a rural location was like walking in the dark with one eye closed.

They passed another southbound road, but the convoy kept going. Past a sign that side a speed of 55, they were fighting to keep up with 70. They were rapidly coming upon the community of Charity, which gave her some familiarity with the Amish communities around Michigan. It felt like rural Michigan. That could technically apply to every state with thick woods and sprawling hills crisscrossed by winding rural roads and streams with farms every half mile.

Feeling herself zoning out, she was brought back to reality as the truck took a left turn and disappeared behind another homestead.

Lynn didn't hesitate to follow, nearly colliding with the mesonet truck ahead when it had to slow down to give the radar truck space to build its speed back up. A mini traffic jam formed behind them, but she paid no heed as they got back underway again.

Checking their route, they should be on MO-38. Pulling clear of the heavier precipitation with the sun more abundant, they could see the storm much clearer now but lacked that lower-level view. The signal on her laptop spiked again, and the latest updates for the last ten minutes finally gave her a better insight into what the storm was doing, and it was cooking something big in there. The nearest radar station was still 25 miles away in Springfield, but the upper-level scans revealed a massive velocity couplet had taken shape. Almost a mile and a half wide in the mid-levels, yet the lower was only a fourth of the size. No reports of tornadoes or funnels yet, but eyewitnesses closer were reporting a massive wall cloud close to the ground, ready to drop something big.

And she hated reading each one. It only made her know the closer they got, the less any kind of prayer that the storm wouldn't produce was dashed entirely away.

Less than a mile from Elkland now but still nearly eight miles away from the storm. Another right turn that led them back westward made the road go from a flat plain to so many dips you could consider it part of a natural rollercoaster. The sheer drops made the radar completely disappear until they started down themselves, only then for the truck to dip down another before gunning back up the other side.

It took the entire line of nearly a dozen and a half cars to reach the other side and come to a stop at another intersection. The truck paused when pulling through as if it couldn't decide whether to continue. A second later, it slowly went to the left, passing over the last part of the peak before picking up and disappearing with the pickup right behind it.

"After this turn, we should be able to get a clear view of the entire structure any moment now…." Lisa said with anticipation. Coming over the otherside to where they were at the very top…

There it was.

Everything from the very top that felt impossible to reach all the way down to a spinning mass close enough to consume skyscrapers and swallow mountains whole. Part of the storm that was miles across, spinning like a corkscrew by the rising updraft cranking the inner vorticity deep inside that could make a storm this size be driven by one point.

And there, at the bottom of what was the mesocycle, the lowering of a wall cloud, something that in the grand scheme of all this was but a tiny byproduct that was dwarfed by the leviathan above, it had reached the ground.

Shrouded in the rain but glowing by the sunlight, a beautiful white or light gray color blended into the darkness from the outer edge of the sinking lower edge of the wall. But it begged the question: How big was it if they were so far away and it was already this big? The couplet was tight but an utter mess; several smaller areas of rotation, both cyclonic and anticyclonic, were within the the greater-

"There's two." Lori pointed out, surprised to see a second one so close to the first.

"No, three!" Lola countered.

"No, six!" Leni shouted, showing her hand with all five digits extended, confused when the number didn't add up.

"And… it's gone. No, wait, there it is again! … never mind, it's-"

"Okay, Luan! We get it! We can see it!" Lori shouted, looking back out the window to briefly see two before trees blocked them out. "Just calm down…"

ping* Lori felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Grumbling at how now was the time anyone decided to text her, she saw a message from Lisa with just two words:

[Watch Them]

Confused, she looked up to Lisaa to ask, but she was busy typing away on her computer, looking up every time they passed a clearing that revealed more tornadoes popping up and disappearing. Holding down the message, she sent a single question back.

The reply was borderline instantaneous enough to make her think she was waiting for a reply to send an answer, but it was the same level of vagueness.

[Watch Them, Not That] with an emoji of a window and a twister. She leaned a little over her seat to see how Lisa had sent that so quickly, but she could barely see her reflection on the screen with the light off her glasses blocking her eyes.

"Lisa, how far away is that?" Luna asked as they turned right, heading straight toward the massive spinning clouds.

"At the storm's current heading and our speed, we're approaching under nine miles now. But we're essentially right in the path, and it's less than seven miles from the highway…" she answered, rapidly typing.

"What the heck are you trying to do, anyway?" Lynn asked, seeing Lisa more aggressive on that keyboard than a Call of Duty gamer on their sixth monster drink.

"We lack the necessary equipment, so I'm attempting to patch into the radio frequencies being broadcasted by other vehicles. We can't respond, but we'll get a lot of information regarding what the storm is like there. Turning up the volume now and…" She tapped a number zero key once. Watching a little loading bar appear and disappear several times before a new screen that looked like the spotter map appeared, green with waves of yellows, reds, and blues pulsating from each one. The line of trucks was in the middle of a seismic wave, pulsing like disco lights with them stuck in the middle.

"... why did you do that earlier?"

"Because trying to use the reports alone was becoming repetitive in finding which one was accurate. And adjusting frequency now…" she mumbled, using the arrow keys to search for one- ["-MULTIPLE VORTEX TORNADO ON THE GROUND! ANOTHER SPIN UP FORMING JUST TO OUR LEFT!"] Her computer erupted, startling everyone. Flinching back, Lisa quickly turned the volume back down as more and more transmissions poured in.

["New funnel coming down. Got three, four vortices going right now."]

["Currently getting winds of around 120 on the south side north of Avalon Park. Another possible satellite is forming to the northwest."]

["PDS tornado warning just now got issued for Fair Grove."]

["Be advised, Highway H is blocked by heavy damage at the intersection to State HCC. Turning back north to try to get back ahead."]

Turning the volume down a little more to let themselves think, that sinking feeling that this was actually happening was taking its grip even harder. A monster was just beyond the trees, coming at them. There was a nearly endless stream of snaking tendrils coming down from the edge of the base, spawning funnel after funnel, and dozens of voices trying to call out locations. It was like seeing a new version of a movie scene or play. It was not the same as the first time, a bit smaller in scale, but it gave the same picture that experiencing it in real life couldn't compare to photos and video.

Checking in the mirror again, Lisa saw her sisters' faces in shock and awe. Lori and the twins, especially in the latter category, only see one from far away for a few moments or not at all. Lynn tried keeping her focus on the road, but wiping a patch of sweat away made it seem she was getting a workout in keeping herself in check and reminding her that she was driving now and not sitting there useless besides trying to see where it was in the rain.

This time, they could all see it—not just from afar or hidden in the rain, but seeing it morph into a dozen shapes, appearing from one spot to the next from thin air and causing a power flash or explosion of dirt to greet it.

["Dow 7 to Spy Six, do you have a visual?"] a woman's voice asked.

["Yeah, we see it. It's to the south, southwest of us. Large, stovepipe multi-vortex east of us by about two miles. It's moving steadily east, but prepare to bail southeast."]

"Wait a minute, that's Clyde!" Lori exclaimed, recognizing that voice

["Do we want to drop pods?"] someone asked, waiting a few seconds before they got an answer back.

["Yes. Deployment measures will be given by momentarily. Transferring control to station seven. All Probes, start your runs as directed."]

["Probe One, drop your first pod at the 215-65 intersection. Continue south every 150 meters south. Probe Five: drop your first pod 750 meters to the south. Probe Six: drop your pod 1500 meters to the south. Probe 9 and 12, continue towards Garden Road and deploy until you reach Potters Road…"] another woman's voice continued directing other vehicles

"Isn't the one woman on Linc's team that knows about the radars?" Luna asked, trying to remember some clips of the show with that voice giving orders.

"Erin Smith. Yes, she's one of the main operators for the Vortex 3 project." Lisa noted that she had mentally recalled the list of nearly 200 people and was labeled as the primary director of the SkyKnights.

["Storm Shrieker, what is your current position?"]

That one question from Clyde completely derailed any other thought she or the others had. They all turned towards the laptop, straining their ears to focus on whatever noise came through. There was static like the radio was dead. But through it came banging and a grunt as a voice answered, ["Just finished fueling now. Heading east on MO 215 towards highway 65 now."]

["Tornado's current location is about 6.11 miles to your south and 4.3 miles from the highway by 5.4 miles north of Fair Grove. You said you're on the 215?"]

["Correct."]

["When you reach the end, take Red Top Road north and then get on 65 south. It'll give you options for a west turn should this go to the north by the south end of Red Top Road."]

["If I do that, I won't have any east options until Fair Grove."]

["There should be two turnaround points between the Red Top exit and Fair Grove. If it doesn't take the turn, you can wait at the exit and have the option of going back up 65 North or Red Top to State 38."]

A lull in the chatter gave a brief calm to both sides, and Lincoln made his decision.

["Copy that, heading for 215-65. About four miles out."]

"I know where he is now, " she said hastily like she couldn't control her excitement or anxiety. At the very least, we know exactly what road he's on. Four miles from the intersection puts him in or near the community of Tin Town. If I can find where his radio signal is coming from, then—there."

From where she had the display tracking their location to the tornado, a giant spinning, simplified hurricane icon miles away, to their green dot, a white dot appeared above the tornado, blinking in and out, heading in their direction.

For the first time in years, they knew exactly where Lincoln was. Not from second-hand word of mouth or hearing about where he was, they could actually look at where he was going. If there weren't a storm on top of them, she would have probably tried hacking a satellite to get a live feed, but just having a lock was enough to end a wave of relief over her, like stepping into a hot shower after a long, screwed-up day.

They were closing the gap. The fleet was actively deploying on several fronts, but Lincoln was lagging behind. Why he was so far west of the circulation, she didn't know nor cared. He hadn't intercepted yet, but he was just three turns away from putting himself on a collision course with a monster.

"Is… is that really him?" She heard Luna asking, not able to believe what she had just heard with everyone else.

Pulling the laptop over again, Lisa couldn't hold back her smile as she enlarged the screen. The white dot gradually moving to the right down a rural road with a small fleet in front of and behind it.

And for a moment, for the first time in months, it felt like it had all been shoved into the back corner of their memories to let the reality of those words and that little white dot mean so much more.

"Lincoln…" Lynn whispered. Feeling her mind exploding with glee like her favorite draft pick had been chosen by her favorite team. Heart pounding with every beat at the thought of what could be- 'No! Focus, Lynn. Focus…' she shouted in her mind. Not wanting any more distractions now, despite what the heart and brain said. She swallowed it down hard to make her point get across no matter how much she wanted to yell it out loud.

The second she brought the laptop back on her lap, Lisa went into overdrive, the likes of which they hadn't seen in months.

"Where do we get him now, Lisa?" She asked, but only heard her mumbling coming from the scientist as her hands rested still on the keyboard and her head hung low.

"Had we known about his earlier movements, we should have turned north at the intersection and gone west instead of following this convoy. We would have been ahead of him…"

"Lisa! Focus!" She yelled, a bit unbelieving. She had to tell Lisa, of all people, to focus right now.

"Sorry, sorry…"

"Can we turn around and go back?"

"No. No, we'd waste too much time taking backroads. He's covering ground too quickly; we won't have the chance to catch up if he reaches the highway before us."

"Okay, then what?"

"Keep following them." Lisa pointed to the trucks. "They'll likely move north to redeploy ahead or along the highway. We can run up to the same entrance he's going for and use the turn-around just after it to get on the southbound."

"Alright." She said with renewed vigor, "Let's go get out broth… oh my god." Lynn felt her words die on her. Eyes widened in disbelief as even Lisa felt her positive thoughts tapered down when they rolled up to the highway. It wasn't like the half-mile-wide beast they saw before. Even with the rain they could see the size up close, this was miles away and put that size to shame. She tried putting her thumb out in front of her like you'd see, trying to guess the size of an explosion, but even halfway out, either side extended beyond the edges. Despite how low the sky was, the way it moved felt so much slower than the massive blur going so fast that it was still.

"Focus, Lynn." Lisa repeated her words back to the jock, "We'll deal with that when we need to. but right now, head north." Lisa advised, even as power flashes lit up in the distance and the radio buzzed to life.

Waiting for the trucks to enter the highway, Lynn struggled to tear her eyes off the growing debris cloud that floated around the outer edge of the funnel. Even so far away, you could see things exploding apart, being lifted into the air and joining the ungodly buzzsaw approaching them.

When no more cars came by immediately, she gunned it—getting to the other side and pushing the van to get its speed back. Coming up behind the trucks, she finally got tired of seeing this view for the last hour and shifted into the other lane. Quickly speeding past another lane with a handful of cars attempting to turn and cross over the opposing lanes, she made a mental snapshot to remind herself where the next one for them was.

The northbound was a bit more sparsely packed in numbers, and it was like an open invitation to the jock. Watching the radar truck coming up fast before it rapidly faded in a cloud of mist in the mirror felt like they were finally making their headway again.

Until the rain began quickly picking up itself.

"Ah, come on… I'm sick of this already!" She whined. Having enjoyed their dry period, she put the wipers back on high and groaned at the return of the annoying 'vrrmp' noise.

"Just be glad we're moving away from-"

*CRACK* A lightning bolt struck from nowhere onto the highway far ahead.

"...I was going to say the tornado, but chances are we're entering the southern regions of the hail core again," Lisa commented to confirm her idea; hail did begin to fall on them. It was possibly not the first time this area had experienced it, with the grass and hills already salted it and several cars with their hazards on pulled to the sides with missing windows. Something that, from the second row, Lana inwardly smiled proudly to herself.

*pnk*

Until something more prominent than the nickels everywhere hit the top of the windshield. Creating another web of cracks the size of a jawbreaker made Lynn and Lisa flinch away, expecting the glass to give out any second. When another stone hit but just shattered itself, Lynn began taking off the gas and slowed down as more vehicles started packing the shoulders.

"Surprised there's this many people…"

"Clyde mentioned station seven, and with the truck we followed, there might be a significant part of Vortex 3 on this highway alone."

"Like another radar truck." Lynn pointed to the mass of flashing ambers piercing through the rain, recognizing a giant dish spinning behind it as they both crested another hill.

"The Sky Spy," Lisa said, watching the orange and gray dow truck fly down in the opposite direction. Turning to follow it with her own eyes as it quickly vanished into the haze in the direction of the tornado. "There's a high likelihood we had just passed Clyde's group."

"So Lincoln's got to be close behind."

"He just turned off of Red Top Road. He's about to get on the interstate now, and we're just a mile from the turnaround. There's a chance we could be passing him any second now.

In the second following the end of that sentence, the entire van shifted hard enough to the left that Lynn had to hold the wheel more to the right to keep it from veering off the road. Thinking they got hit by something, the two looked back up front to see all of their sist crowded on the van's left side. Faces pressed against the glass so much they're breathing was fogging it up faster than one of them could wipe it clear.

The two looked back at each other, sharing the same mental question before shaking their heads as they focused forward.

"He's coming up in the next minute now. " Lisa announced. Feeling her hope rising, they rounded the outer curve to the exit that had a thick patch of trees as the only things that were separating them both. Even though swamped by others, his signal was still by the on-ramp.

One thing she didn't expect to see was the amount of southbound traffic pouring out of the storm's core. From the darkness in the hailshaft, an endless stream of headlights came over the hills in packs so tight it became harder to tell how many vehicles were present from the glare of headlights and mist. Some of them were chasers coming from storms further north, but so many were regular people just caught up in the storm.

"DAMN SEMI!" Lola shouted at an accursed 18-wheeler that blocked their view. Happy that it quickly rolled away but groaned when another three came one after another.

"30 seconds…"

Lynn tried slowing down; the turn was coming up in moments, and she tried to buy some time for them all. But the traffic was getting thicker every step, and the slick roads weren't helping one bit.

"250 yards away…" Lisa said, counting down. "200, 150, 100…" They all strained to see through the mist and rain, past all the vehicles, when the hill the ramp bridged over was right next to them. They could see many cars waiting and gradually pouring onto the highway, but nothing they saw looked close to the tank.

"And… we passed him." Lisa again announced, pinching her nose in frustration as they slowly stopped behind another line of cars waiting to use the turnaround.

"Does anyone see anything?!" Lori shouted next to Lana as she held her ear.

"Can't we roll the window down?" Luan asked, trying to find the lever or switch to get the glass dropped.

"Come on, people, move…" Lynn begged, her leg thumping against the door.

"Don't bother… he's already moving away from us," Lisa muttered, sinking back into her seat.

"DAMN IT!" Lynn screamed, pounding the wheel with both fists. Hearing something crack but did not care whatever it was. All the others slowly retreated into their seats with gloomy, downcast looks on each of them until they heard chuckling from the passenger seat.

With her head held in her hand, Lisa's chuckle quickly devolved into sounding like she was breaking. "This is irony…" she laughed, combing both hands through her hair, "The closest we were now was only double the distance when he came to the house in November. We missed him by that much, and he still slipped away practically undetected… If the curse wants us dead, it'll ensure we don't get to see the other…"

"LIKE HELL IT WILL!" Lynn declared. Having enough of this day, she floored it the moment their turn came. Feeling the back wheel burn rubber on the wet pavement, she launched across the highway, using her turn signal with some courtesy and nearly hydroplaning right off the road before correcting herself from slamming into a garbage truck in the next lane.

"LYYNNNNN!" Everyone screamed. Holding onto anything solid as the truck blasted its horn when they flew in front of it to pass a box truck slowing down.

Fighting to get ahead of the deluge it was kicking up, the athlete could feel the van's wheels sputtering when it hit a large patch of water, triggering the wheel slip alert. Using the bumps on the shoulder to get some distance and break off the alarm, even a piece of hail coming at the windshield, cresting another impact, and a web of cracks in the bottom corner of her side did nothing to sway her.

"Lynn! Slow down, or we're going to fly off the road!" Lori cried, holding onto the seat tight enough to start tearing the fabric with her nails while behind her. Leni hugged Luna for dear life.

"Are we close?!" Lynn yelled, fighting to keep them fast enough to stay in traffic but slow enough not to wreck.

Lisa tried to answer, searching through the various channels and frequencies, but couldn't lock onto one without connecting to a dozen others. "Gahh! There are too many close together! Anyone trying to listen to the team's communications is tuned into their frequency, and the amount of chatter is muddling voices."

"Is that him?!" Leni asked, pointing to their back right.

"WHERE?" Everyone who could jumped towards the back, nearly squishing Lola and Luan to see where she was gesturing. They saw an odd, dark shape rapidly approaching them.

It wasn't a regular truck, a Ford, by what Lana could tell by its headlights, but it was so much more boxy and angular. The front was an assortment of panels and slabs, and once it was roughly beside them, it looked like a strange SUV low to the ground, bulging out. It stopped being recognizable when they saw a literal twin rocket launcher on the roof pointed skyward, and then the back third collapsed onto a giant slant of windows.

"That's not Lincoln…" Lana said, disappointed.

"The heck is 'Dominator'?" Lola asked, reading the name plastered on the side.

"A third generation intercept vehicle," Lisa answered as she watched it overtake them. "One of the most recognized vehicles in the chasing community that holds near halo status among those on the road."

"And what about that one? Luan asked as another similar vehicle that looked more like an actual car kept close behind the bigger one. Not as ridiculously proportioned, with its back half having a weird hump and a collection of plastic pipes on its side.

"The first generation of that vehicle. D1, it's called. Those two are of a vehicle class meant to sacrifice raw strength for mobility. They're mostly two normal vehicles outfitted with roll cages and thin plating, and hydraulics are used to lower down and block out the wind."

"Seems a bit… stubby…" Luan admitted, trying to think of a word to describe them until her ears picked up a siren's growing 'wrrrs' behind them. Seeing ambers flashing directly behind them move to pass them, they piled to the left side again. Faces light up as they say several amber and white lights on a dark angular silhouette with a large dome on the top kicking up a massive cloud behind it.

Yet once its front end reached its back window, the hope of seeing the tank was dropped when it wasn't the tank they wanted. While the other two cars looked somewhat like cars, this one lacked everything save for driving on six wheels. It lacked any other shape except steep side walls with a trio of windows forming the front half of the cabin while three giant panels wrapped around the entire front to just before the back wheels. It had a turret just like Lincoln's truck, but it had vastly more small windows filling in its shape that sat just over the edge of the sides. Decals cover most of its side panels and rear with everything from 'Storm Chasers' in bright white to a big blue and gray mountain logo on the rear panels.

It didn't slow down; if anything, Lynn tried speeding up, but the tank quickly overtook them. Kicking up an enormous cloud than the other two, it went around, changed into their lane, and raced after the others.

"The TIV2. A second generation and one of the two oldest vehicles still operating since 2008. It was previously known as the strong vehicle of its class and one of the big three sources for Lincoln's creation." Lisa explained, carefully looking over the entire vehicle, pointing out characteristics she could spot as positives and negatives in its design, and thinking back to what elements her brother took for his own use.

"Yeah, really nice, fantastic. Fascinating, one question: where is it?" Lynn asks, not finding any of those details helpful to her.

"He's still close. It's possible that with all these interceptors in close proximity, they might be cooperating with each other or the fleet to get into position for-"

"IT'S HIM!" Leni shouted, interrupting Lisa. But the 'girl who cried truck' thing had lost its effect already.

"Sure it is, Leni," Lynn yelled back, not amused after the third time.

"NO! LOOK! HE'S RIGHT THERE!" Leni cried out so desperately you'd think she was dying. "IT'S TOTES HIM!"

"Storm Shrieker!" Lily called out, surprising them all when they looked back to see her completely turned around in her seat, facing out the back window. Beside her, Lucy was the first to turn and look at what was behind them. She moved her hair out of her eyes to see if what she saw was actually real.

Seeing the bright, glowing nameplate staring right back at her was real enough to convince this wasn't another false alarm.

"It… it really is him." She whispered to herself. Staring at the shadowy figure where the driver was, several lights on the side began blinking, and the tank moved into the left lane. Hearing the power of that engine on a brand new TV was one thing to make the room rumble, but hearing a roar with the power to make you feel the van shack like you were trying to race a freight train felt like the program had lied about its power. It wasn't a beast of the road but a demon on wheels. Pulled from a pit in hell, cast into a shell of steel armor and tamed to be at the master's control.

It didn't launch past them like the others, but Lynn was struggling to keep a steady speed when the front windows were right next to her. Every glance she could shot in its direction, she saw more and more details, from the flashing green and ambers to the odd gunmetal blue and gray with spots of black and white be broken by the stark red the outriggers on the side created. They all sat there in stunned silence that all that divided them from the driver was a four-foot gap and two layers of metal and glass.

Those who weren't there on that day back in the Fall couldn't believe that the thing their brother had built and poured so much of his time, heart, money, sweat, tears, and blood into just driving into twisters was mind-boggling. Compared to the three other vehicles they saw, this was utterly huge compared to the van. Riding beside it showed how much of a commanding form it possessed like it could smash through anything that was on its way without caring about a few paint scratches.

But that didn't matter to any of them. What did the most was who, through the rain-streaked windows, they could see into the cab where only one person was visible behind the wheel. They were too far away to see any details like a face or clothes, but the stark contrast their head made was a blurred gray color with a headset moving around, looking at a computer by his side and out the windows.

For a brief moment, they saw him turn towards the van like he was looking directly at them. Their hearts left like they were suddenly launched into their throats. Unable to breathe or move a single muscle, praying to anyone listening for him to look at them in the eyes, each begging for it to be them, for him to see who was here.

Instead, the tank began speeding up.

Lincoln looked away, bringing a hand up to the side of his head, and from the laptop, they could hear him speaking, but his voice was layered with static and others trying to talk, ["Clyde, how close is the tornado to the road?"]

["Circulation is about three miles west, northwest of Fair Grove. Shifting northeast and might go through the north side of town."]

["Wind speeds?"]

["Mesonets reporting outer gusts of 80, current winds are about 66 to 74 meters per second, so 150, 160?"]

["This is Scout 11; Tornado is becoming rain-wrapped! Repeat, the tornado is becoming heavily rain-wrapped! Visibility is rapidly decreasing on the west and south sides."]

["Copy that, I'm going in."]

The tank picked up speed. Roaring louder than thunder, it got further away.

"Nonononono, Lincoln!" Luna shouted, thinking he could hear them, and they all tried pounding on the glass. Wildly waving their arms, they got their phones to turn on the flashlights to signal him. Lynn laid it hard on the horn. Switching between it and flashing the headlights, they got a response from the tank, which let out two quick but deafening blasts of its own horn before it got far enough for them to see its rear bumper vanishing in the mist.

"He didn't see us!" Leni cried.

"He was looking right at us, too!" Lola yelled. "He just drove off like he didn't even recognize us!"

"He most likely didn't recognize us," Lisa countered, working fast to lock in his signal from the mess. We're currently driving a significantly modified version of a large passenger van. Given the external setup, he could have taken us as just another chaser or a tour group. Had we been operating the original Vanzilla, there would likely have been a greater chance, but his focus is oblivious somewhere else right now."

"I could try to ram him?" Lynn suggested, "See if that gets his attention."

But Lisa slowly looked at her like she had finally lost her mind, "We're in a 3-ton van, and he's in a 9-ton truck, both at speed; we'll just bounce off him and wreck before he probably registers the impact."

"Then how do we get him to stop?!" Lynn yelled back, growing anxious as the rain began thinning out and the distant light illuminated the left edge of the tornado.

After checking the radar, Lisa knew this would be the road to intercept. Winds around 150 to 160? Mid to high EF3 range if they didn't grow. It was close to being a challenge for the other interceptors attempting to deploy on the storm, but it was well within the range of safety with a decent dose of caution for Shrieker. Lincoln would have to go full 'lock down' if he wanted to get into the core, he'd have to go further to have the time to position.

They'd have minutes before he stopped, and it crossed the road. Maybe less to stop, get out, and reach him before the leading edge of the funnel overtakes them.

"Chase him."

"Huh?"

"Speed up. Speed up, just speed. We need to stay close to him before he deploys," Lisa stressed, leaning over the dash and looking around the cracks as the distant monster became clearer.

There was every chance he'd come out okay before entering, but then the storm could become stronger, and he wouldn't have time to escape. He could enter the weaker side of the core, but the backside could intensify into something beyond what Shrieker could survive.

It was a fifty-fifty chance, with so many more in the middle, and she didn't want to risk it. He could be mad at them later for causing him a miss, but they'll cross that bridge when they come to it.

"We got to try and stop him from intercepting. The second he stops to deploy, some of us will get out and try to get him with us, or we will get into the tank."

"So we're going to either kidnap him or carjack him? That's the plan?" Luna asked, feeling the absurdity of Lisa's plan and feeling like she was the one who actually lost it.

"Better than waiting for something else to get him!" Lisa countered, waiting for Luna or anyone else to come up with another idea. She saw them all look around, trying to think of something. But she sighed and shook her head as she waited for all the blessing she needed to turn toward Lynn and utter two words.

"Punch it."

Everyone and everything launched backward when those words clicked into Lynn's brain. Channeling that energy from miles ago, she put the pedal to the metal. Surprised by how well this van accelerated so much easier than the old one, she didn't waste a drop of fuel to burn when diving into the left lane.

Despite the hills and trees hindering anyone trying to slow down or stop and watch the tornado, Lynn could see their target dead ahead, with a few other vehicles weaving in and out of her way. The rain had practically ceased, the road wasn't as wet as before, the sun was still shining, and it was impossible to miss the flashing amber and green briefly dip below a hilltop. A car tried merging in front of her to get out from behind another, but she didn't give up. When that one became three trying to go around another semi, she didn't care about the numerous nasty looks or insults they were throwing her way. They were all in the past, and she saw the future before her.

And it was getting bigger.

In a brief moment, her foggy mind found its clear spot. Her sense of humanity felt the wind taken from its sails as she saw Lincoln go down a hill, banking to the right, with the tornado eclipsing everything.

She felt her body become cold. Eyes were fighting to stay on the road again, but it was so close you couldn't stare at it. No rain or distance was hiding it from them this time. They heard it once, watched it a second, and almost felt it a third, but it was becoming all that to 11 and beyond here. You could see how the funnel warped itself. The debris cloud thick on around the ground brown from the chewed up earth behind it with another town facing down the barrel of total decimation. It had to be half a mile, maybe a mile wide? She didn't know; its shape broke apart for a second, with the right looking like a funnel half its size with a giant portion of the left side literally curling into itself. Trees by the dozens were getting lifted into the air with a sporadic explosion of what unfortunate building was too close to its fury…

"Okay, Lynn, start slowing it down," Lisa said, tucking her laptop below her and readying her seatbelt—intent on being one of those to try to get to him.

But when they passed the Dominators sitting on the side of the dropping down, she realized they weren't slowing down.

"Lynn? This is close enough." She said, a bit more panicked as they passed the TIV as it finished lowering its flaps but still didn't stop.

"Lynn?" She asked, panic growing as she realized Shrieker was slowing down and pulling over.

Her panic was equally shared as the others saw his lights coming right at them and put their voices together, fulfilling the family's name, "LYNN!"

Her ears rang hard as her trance finally broke. Only then realize that Storm Shrieker's back end was quickly getting bigger but not moving. Instantly, she slammed both feet on the brakes. Feeling the wheels utterly screaming in agony as they left long skid marks everywhere, she fought to keep them from flipping over.

In some miracle, the wind actually helped a little. It buffered against one side to push it back when it tried to fall in that direction. The second they finally stopped, the ten of them desperately tried to catch their lost breath again.

"Oh my God…" Lynn muttered, feeling her hands shaking.

"There he is!" Lori shouted, pointing forward.

But Storm Shrieker sat on the shoulder like it was the one that wrecked. The rear wheels were barely on pavement, with the nose pointing into the small hill in front of it at an angle that showed them more of its right side.

"Oh my God…" Lisa quietly said as she quickly started undoing her seatbelt until a rapid flash of red stopped her efforts.

The feeling of panic that he did crash was destroyed faster than the tree line in the distance. Realization dawned brighter than a supernova as the outriggers swung out. Extending the inner arms as the shields folded out from the undercarriage and twin sets of spikes on each one slowly sunk into the ground and asphalt. Then, the main outriggers were shot down. In the blink of an eye, four-foot-long spikes penetrated as far into the dirt as possible. Working their purpose to make the tank as close to an immovable object as possible.

["This is Storm Shrieker, locked down and waiting for contact!"]

"Oh… my… God." Lisa repeated, her eyes widening in horror as her efforts to unbuckle herself were replaced by tightening the strap harder. There isn't time…. We're too close. "For the love of Einstein, we're too close! Lynn, back up!" She tried to say it as loud as she could, but the approaching roar stole their attention, and in seconds, all the light around them vanished.

Any form of thought for anything else became irrelevant when the land to the west of the highway was disappearing before their eyes. Seeing things flying in the air as if they were nothing so freely, smashing into the ground, being tossed away, taken to the otherside, or high up within. It felt impossible. That something like this actually existed right in front of-

*BANG*

Something smacked into the driver's side. Shaking the van as it tumbled over the top and was sucked away.

"Debris!" Lana shouted, ducking down when something else, a trashcan maybe, came bouncing off the highway and collided with the door.

"Lynn, punch it!" Lori shouted, pulling the twin as close to her side as possible.

"What about Lincoln?!"

"Trust in that tank keeps him safe like before, but right now, we got to go!" Lisa shouted, losing all sense of formality and leaving a scared 13-year-old in her place. Ducking down, something scraped across the windshield and taking out the wipers. "JESUS CHRIST! BACK UP!"

Almost snapping the shifter off, Lynn put the van into reverse and floored it. The rear wheels screeched as they burned rubber, trying to get a grip. The van wobbled as the wind's pull grew stronger. More debris flew overhead as the edge of the funnel began to overtake the highway, swallowing parts of the town of Fair Grove in plumes of wood and metal as an endless light show exploded one after another.

The van slowly accelerated, the needle passing 40 and soon after 50. Using the mirrors to try to see behind her was utterly useless as the rain wrapped around them. The headlights from the dozens of vehicles parked on the shoulder, unable to go any further or wait for impact, were her only real guidance to know where the road was, but they were fading too quickly.

"BACK UP!"

"I'M TRYING!" Lynn cried, using every nerve she could muster to keep herself focused; she made the mistake of looking back in time to see Storm Shrieker's lights engulfed by the funnel wall. She only had a moment to check her speed, almost over 60, until what could only be felt as something that was moments away from causing them to go airborne slammed into the back end of the van above the rear wheel.

It hit hard, and they felt it.

The van spun out of control. Whipping across both lanes as Lynn fought with every muscle she could to get the wheel realigned with everyone screaming. Hitting the brakes to get them to stop, she could smell burning rubber and brake dust blast through the vents until they felt the van go nose-first into the ditch that formed the highway median. Sending them tossing and banging against the glass and window pillars, anything loose like the cooler smashing into the roof and spilling ice and can everywhere.

"Shit!" Lynn cried as her head collided with her window. Hissing when she felt the impact spot sting when she touched it. Finding the small fortunate she wasn't bleeding, she knew it would bruise later, but right now, her priority instantly was to get as far away from this spot as possible. Shifting out of drive into first gear to get more power, not caring if they drove on the wrong side of the highway, she floored it. The van wobbled in the back, but they moved more from the wind than her efforts.

"Why aren't we moving!?" Lori yelled as loudly as the engine revved with ire, but they didn't move an inch.

"It's right behind us!" Lucy screams, looking back to see the entirety of the wedge twister sitting directly on top of the highway.

"Come on! Come on!" Lynn pleaded with the van to the point of tears, shifting into reverse to try to back out, but to no effect.

But what was most haunting was hearing Lincoln's laughter from Lisa's computer. It was not like some evil genius gloating or madman relishing someone's horrible situation; it was genuine laughter, like hell wasn't currently being unleashed, and he was enjoying his favorite amusement park ride.

["HAHAHA! WE ARE IN IT!"] he cheered without a care in the world as what could only be described as an entire squadron of jet engines was flying around him. ["IT'S BEAUTIFUL IN HERE!"]

["What is your current position?"] Erin's voice barely made it through.

["Latlong 37.389, negative 93.151, taking heavy winds! A lot of debris in this thing!"]

["Repeat the latitude, please?"]

[37.389, heavy winds!"] he repeated, still cheering on as the van began to rock violently.

Feeling the front of the van lifting, Lisa knew what could possibly be next and yelled as loud as she could, but the roar of the wind made it hard for her to know if even Lynn could hear her. "EVERYONE GET DOWN AND COVER YOUR HEADS!"

Trying to make herself as small as possible below the dashboard, she could hear and feel an endless bombardment of small rocks and dirt to everything from houses and forests flying past or slammed into the van. Though she wouldn't know at the time, the others did hear. They all heeded her words, stretching their seatbelts enough to stay strapped in but pushing themselves closer to the floor, kicking away anything loose as the van took another hit from something that jolted it further to the side.

Against better judgment once again, Lisa lifted her head as she heard the wind surge. Seeing what she knew was the north, or maybe the northwest, some side of the tornado's edge was now directly in front of them. The vortex condescending the debris cloud, growing darker as she didn't dare to risk peaking out the side-

*pnk*

She looked back at the windshield, seeing another impact near the bottom of the last-

*pnk*

Another just above the right of that one.

*pnk*

One directly above the windshield where the mirrorp\-

*pnk*

The cracks were growing…

*pnk*

*pnk*

*PN-*

Living in a single-family home that somehow managed 13 bodies daily, the family lived up to their name very often, sometimes multiple times in one afternoon. Either it is from screams of someone being on the unfortunate end of a prank, a science experiment, a wild animal's ire, a makeup disaster, hitting their thumb with a hammer, being scared when least expecting it, or just playing it loud. It was ingrained into their blood to be used to it.

Nothing… nothing in her 13 years of being on this earth could compare to how loud their world became when the windshield gave in.

Disintegrating into tiny fragments, she could feel them fly into her hair and blast through the vehicle. The back window suffered the same fate, taking anything not secured in hand or in a spot the wind couldn't reach, being sucked out into the dark abyss. Hair and clothes flew in the wind tunnel created by the side windows, refusing to break under the extreme pressure, channeling the rain and dirt through the very center and soaking them all.

In the tiniest form, she could hear them.

All her sisters were screaming louder than ever, but the air was being ripped from their lungs. Ears popping from the pressure, making them cry in pain, but the wind stole their sound.

And it just wouldn't stop…

Lisa could feel the van rocking side to side like a mob was trying to push it over. Something impacted the roll cage, sending sparks flying past her window in a flash of orange light. But she could feel the winds shifting. From when it was from her side being pushed, it was the one being pulled.

It was the favored angle. Them stuck like this in the ditch; the winds shifted to the southwest; their broadside was fully exposed to a 100-plus mile-an-hour wind force testing to see when the tipping point would be reached. They might roll onto their side and be it, but they could keep going. Momentum building up until the updraft finally got its hold on them, and it bounced off the earth just one more time…

All it would take was one… last… push…

She could hear crying again. Ears feeling clogged as the pressure started to stabilize. The wind flow rapidly decreased as anything flying lost its momentum and fell to the ground or laughably bounced off the van. Once she could feel her hearing was stable enough, Lisa lifted her head, feeling pieces of glass, roc,k and unknown fall out; she could see a coat of dirt blasted on her glasses, and with a flick and quick wipe on her shirt, cleared her eyes before plopping them back on.

Holding onto her door hand to brace herself, she took slow and deep breaths until her other senses returned. Her focus at first was off into the distance. Trees leveled in every direction as the tornado, now a much more cone shape than its previous wide-mouth form, continued onwards with debris still circling its base and much more falling from the sky behind it.

Then came the coughing and crying.

Slowly twisting around like her whole body had been wrecked, she saw Lynn slowly rise from her spot between the dashboard and glovebox. The back of her clothes was caked entirely brown, like she had been rolling in a mud puddle. She combed a hand through her hair, trying to get any debris out, and she had an utterly baffled look as if she didn't know where she was anymore. To the back, Lori was among the first to rise back up. A shaking hand grabbed Lisa's seat as she pulled herself up, looking much better than the two of them despite being slightly soaked, and her blonde hair had a darker tint in places.

"Is everyone okay?!" Lori shouted, checking to see if Lana was alright. The mechanic, shaken, nodded her head and leaned back against the door, pulling her red hat off and fanning herself as she tried to process what had just happened.

In the back, Luna was trying to do double duty, comforting a distressed Luan who looked like she had just stared down a raging bull as it jumped straight through her like a ghost, and an inconsolable Leni as she cried into her little sister's shoulder, still holding onto her arm as her life depended on it. In the last row, Lucy, Lola, and Lily looked arguably the least affected, with hair blown everywhere and clothes covered in a scattering of dirt.

Lola was the first to look over the back where very little of the window remained—seeing the mass debris field behind them stretching beyond the horizon. Lucy checked over Lily, searching for any sign of injury, but the youngest Loud looked around, almost unbothered by the chaos they had just spent not even seconds inside that felt far more like hours.

Turning back forward, Lisa sighed. Letting herself fall back into her seat as the reality of what just happened began to sink in. She reached for her laptop, brushing off the muddy water and peddles that scattered the floor, until she saw Lynn struggling in her seat.

"Lynn? What's wrong?" she questioned, immediately on guard if her sister was hurt.

"I gotta get out!" She urged, trying to unlock her seatbelt.

"What? Lynn, it's too-"

"JUST LET ME GET OUT!" she yelled, finally getting the lock to disengage. She threw the door and herself out, landing on her hands and knees in the muddy grass. Water splashed all over her, and the rain and wind only added to beating her down every inch. Then, she rose back up.

Trying to wipe away the dirt from her eyes, she saw the growing blur of amber and green rapidly approaching. She tried to stand back up, using the door for support as she heard the truck get closer. She could see its blue and gray steel, the mist cloud behind it being taken by the wind, and for a moment, could see his face again.

"Linc-" She tried to speak, but the wind took her words away. She tried waving him down, staggering across the median where she was in the middle of the headlights, watching him get closer…

…but he didn't stop.

She heard the tank roar again. Picking up speed, he raced up the empty northbound lanes, becoming blurred into the rain. Then, he and the tornado disappeared, and others began to follow.

The wind finally knocked her down, but she was stopped from falling onto the ground again. She looked up, seeing Lisa and Lana on either side of her as Lori tried to shield them. Gathering them in each other's arms, they slowly trekked back into the van, but Lynn, feeling everything that this day had become since the start, made the howling wind hear her voice.

"LINCOLN!"

---

(Note: These AN notes are written before, during, and afterhand to convey my thinking. Not based on what's changed, reviews, etc., and is borderline me ranting out loud my way of thinking.)

*Takes a very long drag of a cigarette. Holding in that warm feeling until slowly releasing it out into the cold winds as I rock slowly back and forth on and old wooden chair*

Have you ever worked on something you set out with a goal, thinking you got the general idea of where each piece would fall once you crafted it? How long do you think it'd take to reach a given deadline, each day given plenty of time to make much progress… only to have your motivation taken away, placed somewhere else, or have no idea where to go until you realize that deadline is approaching?

That was a third of what this chapter was.

Started right on the heels of the last one, I started slow and planned it out, knowing things would change, but damn, did this go to places I didn't think I would do.

By some miracle, goddamn did I make something that is once again the biggest piece of work I've ever made to date. In just 20 days, I made a chapter big enough to span what would take most stories 15-20, sometimes even 40 chapters to each, to span so much time, yet all this focuses on is a single day. Hell, this entire author note had been written out 4 days after chapter 35 went live, yet technically, here I am at literally six minutes after 6am on December 31st writing a completely new one after spending the last five hours hammering out and editing the last 6k words.

And oddly enough, there was still more.

Just think, the last chapter and this was supposed to be combined into one. And technicall,y there is another 3k word section of this chapter I felt would fit best for what 37 has to go and not take away how this chapter ended.

*flicks cigarette away*

SO

If you're reading this part, it means you either skipped to the end and have no idea what just happened (shame on you), or you actually managed to read this monster and got this far into the note to know what I have to speak about. Initially, this note was divided into two sections, one about the chapter itself and the other about the story's future. But with how things changed, I figured it could work better together in this situation.

Like Chapter 10 and Nashville, I had a growing personal anticipation of writing this part. As anyone who reads this story knows, I really get into it when it comes to storm chasing. The fact that Chapters 12 through 25 take place over the course of a single day, from the literal crack of dawn to nightfall, shows how much can happen within one day for just one person and a whole nation. Like several others, this chapter had a significant part of it rough drafted a long time ago when I was first building up the story's outline, and helped be used as a template to refine from.

And because of that, come to the tornado scenes, especially the latter 10k, my writing seems utterly bleh until the actual chasing begins. I debated on even having a part focused on Lincoln's side of the day, but that took away the fact this was the Loud Sister's day of experiencing what storm chasing is like—some drama, headaches, terrors.

But you can see where it was dragging on because I had to get them from Great Lakes to southern Missouri in a day. In what world would there be any point in trying to fill in those gaps with useless info or talk? There's a reason any TV show or movie that has storm chasing starts with the group lingering somewhere talking about the day, some driving, stopping, talking some more; storms go up, and once a tornado actually drops, then it fast pace until the end and they find somewhere to sleep for the night until the next day. No one is going to watch a 10-hour episode of people getting ready in the morning, driving for hours and hundreds of miles for, at best, an hour combined of action.

Even Chapter 10 skimmed over that, and though 12 through 25 was over a single day, too, there were so many more points of interest to draw upon. It's very likely that this will be the second to last time I do a chapter like this, as it makes me see how I can utilize these characters for later situations.

For the most part, this seems a lot like a Lisa and Lynn-focused chapter after St Louis, and this is because what can you honestly do with 10 people stuck in a van for the better part of 10 hours? The context had been established, the thoughts and goals heavily known, and there was no point repeating the same info again. And that led me to see what will happen later, as Lisa and Lynn's interaction is the template for what any future interactions on the road could be, as its the Driver and Navigator who make the decisions. Anyone else is pretty much along for the ride until they reach their destination.

Hell, I originally had the destination set somewhere in Kansas. Still, the choice of St Louis and around Springfield, Missouri, as a whole was something that I gradually began rolling with. Oddly, a lot of what actually drove me with this chapter was finding out where I could set things up. What roads would someone actually travel on in this situation? How long would it take to reach that point? What would they see? Where would the storms be, and how would they interact with the world and characters? The more and more I found how all the roads lead together it just literally paved the way for where I could go.

So, while talking about the road trip would be boring, let's talk about the chase itself…

..this was about 30 percent of what I originally had planned and everything else was basically building it out to what the scene needed.

The pure driving in the rain, hail and wind for a while is something that almost EVERY chaser has to deal with no matter the chasing. You might get lucky if you position yourself just right, but for literal first-timers? That isn't ever the case.

The first tornado/the Waynesville Tornado was completely unplanned. I originally pictured it as them stopping somewhere to rest only to get caught in the hail storm like the motel scene from the movie Into the Storm (which is what this chapter is named after), and then that storm would have been where all this action would have taken place. The whole scene eventually created itself into the more civilian pov to these situations, being stuck in town with nowhere to run as a bad storm with something worse is coming at you and you can only sit and wait.

The second tornado/the Fair Grove Wedge was to be the main show but got its attention split by the above. The tornado itself would have been a mashup of several tornadic events; the primary two being the April 15th, 2015 Richelle EF4 event, as a high contrast fast-moving, violent but beautiful wedge tornado like that would be shocking to anyone to see, even chasers, and the May 22, 2011, El Reno-Piedmont EF5 as the situation rapidly degrading the further into the storm they went. However, this was both a reverse of the problem as it formed visible, became rain-wrapped, and then became visible again.

Eventually, I came upon footage of the May 29, 2008, Glen Elder, Kansas event. I immediately saw what opportunity I could build from a scenario of its type (search up 'Close Encounters of the Supercell Tornado kind!' on YouTube for a far better visual idea.) After that, the entire event was changed, as I even was in the process of writing a scene when the sisters reach the highway the first time there's a satellite tornado coming at them, and then dies before reaching them. Still, in practical terms, it would have been physically impossible if the primary tornado itself was almost ten miles away when such an event is really close to each other.

From there it was suppose to be them going down the highway trying to get out of the way, only for Lincoln to come up behind them. Originally basing it on the Season 4 Episode 8 "Judgement Day", also known as the Dominator/TIV showdown, but then realizing I didn't have the road space, I needed to create more road space and buy myself literal time. The addition of all the vehicles and radio talk was meant to show just how wide spread an event could be when dozens to hundreds of people from normal civilians to seasoned professionals jockey to get into the right position and how once the tornado is on the ground, everything can change. The brief cameos of the real world TIV2 and Dominator vehicles was to reflect that this could be the kind of day you'd see in the real world.

For the 'intercept' part, it was half planned 70 percent redone. As it did have them almost crashing into Lincoln but the tornado was closer, they'd back up he was's deploying, listen to him on the radio, tornado passes and they see him turn around and go for it again and try to go after him only to get stuck in the ditch trying to go through grass while having a repeat of the"Amazing Tornado Passes Right in Front of This Guy" video where a guy is being utterly calm as hell as the Richelle EF4 comes right at him and misses him on a highway by mere yards, and the sisters having the opposite reaction in realizing they needed to get the hell away from that spot.

This took a completely different turn as the back and forth between Lisa and Lynn was causing both to be so 'out of it' they lost situational awareness. Once they started backing up, something I took inspiration from the firenado scene in TWISTERS; they were supposed to back up and get free of the tornado, but then I thought to myself, "What if they experienced what but a small fraction of what Lincoln experienced during Kingman?" and worked with that idea at the end.

And with all that said, where does this go for the story in the future?

Throughout this, I have started to go further in trying to build up the accuracy of the weather. As I've kept things in regards to past events, mainly to outer years like 2024 and later (as its all history to everyone now) I'm in debate to how to see how this year will develop compared to my penned apocalyptic hypothetical 2025 tornado season, which in turn, will give me a better idea from 2022 to June 2025 of how a possible prequel story following Lincoln during his chase years would be like. As most references and chases I've done so far are one to one real life, modified, or completely fictional, so when it comes time to it, I'll know what to build that past year as. Though there is a chance that I'll probably go back into this story's earlier chapters and modify parts to better relate to irl events (like Hurricane Olga happening in November.)

For what this story going forward is being an even worse hypothetical 2026 season, I'm pulling from inspiration for several tornado years like 1997, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, and the last 2 and soon 3 years to build up how chase days and downtime will be like.

On a side note: I wondered how crazy things would get if I had broken this and several chapters down into 2-3k segments. The entire Great Lakes and St Louis parts would have been 2, and yet the entire main chase would have been at minimum 8 other chapters. Maybe in the grand scheme to pump the brakes on burnout, I might do something like that as 5-6k chapters and help throttle my workload better. Give things more time for others to be situated with what is happening and possibly increase upload time.

But anyways, this has been a wild year compared to when I first started this story and when I set out for the second. By now I was expecting this to be at minimum Chapter 50 with this post, yet as my first outline only had 60 chapters planned, and the current outline goes over 100, and 36 is the literal Day 1 of the season, it's boggling even myself how this keeps changing.

And that's where it's getting a bit complicated, as for a lot of these chapters, I've had to break them down into two, three to five parts; as for what this involves. As collectively this was aimed to be a nearly 30k chapter by itself without the merger, yet so much got refined down to what's present. In contrast, what is currently slated for my 3 month write down; Chapters 37 to 41 are expected to only get to three days into the future. With the average count being expected around 15k for most, but they too are undergoing that 'reevaluation' in cutting off unneeded and incorporating something new.

After Chapter 41, a LOT is getting rebuilt again. As I'm using the actual time between what is now (in story) Sunday March 15th to June 20th to map out when there's chase time, downtime, or anything in between. Because of this, Chapter 42 to 50 is expected to be roughly when the day of actual chasing gets rolling (need to build up the atmosphere, you know?) So chances are this story is going to get even bigger than it is planned now.

My current hope, with 5 chapters going over the winter, is to get at least 45 done next year instead of the 17 and 19 for the first two. As most of my projects often take 3 years to finish, this one is shaping to be a different beast.

Though for projects, I have this bad habit of getting old ones popping back up with new ideas for this story and other things, to which I know 90 percent won't ever see form aside from descriptions and somewhat outlines/summaries. One that is taking hold more aside from a future story is a one I call Sin13. Something that if I complete the 3 main stories or have some power of a writing God within the next two years will be just another idea for now.

On a side note: Seasons 8 and 9 of the show are trucking along, and at the time of this note being written and the chapter going live, the European road trip arc has yet to be released. Looking over everything that has been revealed in Season 8 so far, with some parts in Season 9 looking to be more in line that I can say was just 'another day in the family' for events. So "yeah" so far for not having to retcon more than 10 percent.

AND WITH ALL THAT SAID and done…

I need to start making author notes smaller, but then again, this nearly 3000-word monster was explaining the contents of this chapter and what this now 500k word mass and possibly the next 3 years contains.

Thank you to anyone who has followed and favored this story. It's probably not what you all were expecting so far for a Loudcest/NSL story, but believe me when I say we still have one helluva road to go. If you have any direct questions or things to share, I now have a more dedicated Discord account where I can take DMs for questions or share stuff instead of dealing with the outdated crap of FFN's system. The name and logo is one to one for my name here, or if it gets technical its either Blonkess or blonkess2 in the search, though given time zones, response times will vary.

But once this goes live (as it is now almost 7 am when I am typing this sentence), I'm going to enjoy a long break before getting back into this and finally go to bed with the horror of realizing I need to wake up in about 4 and a half hours to get ready for work.

With that, I hope you all have a Happy New Year and 2025.

(Note: These AN notes are written before, during, and afterhand to convey my thinking. Not based on what's changed, reviews, etc., and is borderline me ranting out loud my way of thinking.)