Chapter Seven ~
When Jim caught up with the rest of
his team they were scoping out a monster tornado.
Faith gasped when she saw it. "Wow,
They look so different than they do on radar, don't they? It's nowhere near as
exciting to see it on a computer screen as it is to see it in real life."
She pulled her camera up and started shooting video. She spoke quietly, but the
excitement was obvious in her voice. "It must be almost a mile wide! I see
debris! Oh, those poor people are losing their homes!" Dear Lord, be with them.
She continued to take pictures after
she clicked the record button to the off position. She had never been so
excited in her life, but the excitement was tempered with sadness at the
destruction the mighty storm was causing.
"It looks like its shifting,
Faith. We need to get out of here," Jim yelled.
Faith didn't respond. She was too
busy taking pictures. A thrill rushed through her as the monster twister headed
straight for her.
"Faith, we need to leave!"
Jim yelled. He ran up and grabbed her, forcibly pulling her back to the SUV. He
opened her door and shoved her inside, ran back around to his own side and
hopped in, starting the car as he did. He peeled out and backed up until he
reached a side road. He backed into it until they were out of the twisting
storm's path.
The other SUVs were already there and
Jim stopped a few feet in front of John Haney's. He picked up the CB mic,
pushed the button on the side and said, "That was a close call guys. Did
we get any data?"
"We did, boss," John Haney
returned. "Did you see how big it was?"
"Yes, I also saw the debris from
the damage it did."
"That's true boss, I'm sorry,” John
said. "I just get excited every time we see one that big.”
"I know, and I feel the same way,
I just don’t want any of us to lose sight of the death and destruction these
beasts cause. That's why we do this, so we can stretch the warning time out,
maybe save some of those lives," Jim said.
"You're right, Jenny's on the
data right now. She says there's another system developing about an hour from
here. Should we go back and get our gear and head out?" John asked.
"That's affirmative, let's
roll," Jim answered and began to pull-out of the muddy road. He shook his
head and asked Faith, "Did you get some usable footage?"
"I sure did, It's even better
than last time. I can't believe I've wasted so many years sitting behind a
desk."
"The people sitting behind desks
are just as important to this job as we are."
"I know, but this is so much
more exciting. I want to learn everything I can. I want to be as good as you
are."
"I think you are that good, you’re just not giving yourself
enough credit. Think of all the lives you've saved by tracking these storms and
issuing warnings."
"I tracked the storms, but I
didn't issue the warnings. That's my sister's job."
"Still, don't sell yourself
short. Your job is important."
"I know." She said
wistfully. "It's just these last few months I've felt a discontent I didn't
understand. I mean, my job pays well and it does
save lives, but it's become so tedious and predictable, ya know?" I wish I could explain this better.
"I know what you mean. Some
people are happier with more excitement in their lives. I happen to be one of
those people." He gave her an understanding smile.
"I guess I am too, I just didn't
realize it until now. I mean, I've spent my whole adult life sitting behind a
desk, and I thought that's what I wanted, but since I saw that first tornado up
close and personal my whole outlook on life has changed. Do you think that's
wrong?"
"No, I think as people age they
go through different growth spurts. They become more emotionally mature and
their intelligence grows along the way. Sometimes, their needs and desires
change, too. I believe as long as you follow God you can't go wrong." His
tone was hesitant, like he was fishing for the answer to a question but didn't
want to push too hard.
"I...don't know about all that
God stuff. I mean, I believe in Him, I just don't know if I want to follow all
His rules and regulations. There are some pretty confusing stories in the Old
Testament I don't understand. I don't know if I can love a God like that."
She wasn’t conveying her thoughts about this the way she wanted, either.
"You can't sit on a fence
forever. If you only call on God in times of trouble He might quit calling on you," He warned.
"I know. When that tornado came
through my Dad's property the first thing I thought to do was pray to Him, and
then again later when I shot my first video, but now I'm right back in that
state of confusion that keeps me at arm's length. Do you know what I
mean?"
Jim liked the fact she was searching
for answers. That was better than not thinking about God at all. "I do know what you mean and if you have
any questions about God or the Bible feel free to ask me. If I can't answer
them I'll call my pastor and ask him. Between all of us we'll find the answers
you're looking for."
"Thank you.” She smiled.
"It's nice to know someone cares about my soul."
"I do care about your soul, but
God cares even more. Do you have a Bible?"
"I did, but it was at my Dad's." Guilt flooded through her. She
should’ve kept it at her apartment.
"How long have you lived on your
own?" Jim asked as he pulled into the motel parking lot.
"I've been on my own for about seven
years." She gave him a sheepish grin.
"You need to read your Bible,"
Jim said in a shocked voice.
A shiver of alarm went through her at
his tone. "I'm sorry. I know I should read it, but that Old Testament just
got to me and I can't seem to get through it." That isn’t a good excuse.
As if reading her mind he said, "That's
not a good excuse." He turned toward her. "If you want, I can study
with you. I can even set up a meeting for you with my pastor if you want."
"I don't think I'm ready for
anything that drastic yet. Maybe we could read together or something, see how
it goes."
***
She got out of the car and walked
toward her room. He watched her go, knowing it was too late to guard his heart
from this woman who'd wormed her way into his life faster than he'd been able
to build a barrier to keep her at bay. He’d been praying for a wife, maybe God
had sent Faith to him, in more ways than one. In his own mind the play on words
was enough to convince him that was exactly what had happened. He got out of
the car with a secret smile on his handsome face. He went toward his own room
to gather his things and get ready for the next run.
***
When Faith got back out to the car
Jim was already waiting on her. He had a map out, studying it intently. She
slid into the passenger seat after throwing her bag in the back. "Do you
think my car will be safe here?"
"It'll be fine. I already called
Chuck. He's the manager. I told him to keep an eye on it. Now all you have to
worry about is the tornadoes," He teased her with a wide grin. It
brightened his baby-blue eyes and made Faith's heart take a flip.
"I didn't see any more weather
headed this way," She said, scrunching her eyes.
"I was kidding, but you know how
it is around here." He started the car and pulled-out.
There was nothing around but farm
land and red dirt so Faith laid her head back against the seat because it didn't
quite reach the headrest. She tried to doze, but it didn't last long. A few
minutes after shutting her eyes she felt the air pressure in the car change. Her
eyes flew open to see what was going on. She was astounded by the sight of
trees ripping from the ground out her side window. There was debris flying
everywhere and she hastened to get her camera up in a position to take it all
in. "Wow that was quick. I just looked at the radar before I closed my
eyes and there wasn’t anything there,” She exclaimed in excitement.
"It happens that way sometimes.
We can't always tell when a system will drop a twister, or where for that
matter." His grip tightened on the steering wheel.
Faith could just make out the other
bright red vehicles through the dust and debris. It looked like they were
slowing to a stop. "What's going on, we need to get out of the way,"
She yelled, pushing her foot into the floorboard, hitting an imaginary gas
pedal.
"They're going to turn right up
ahead. There's a small service road that's hardly ever used. It should bring us
up beside it, but still out of its direct path. You should be able to get some good
footage."
"Oh, I see." Embarrassment
colored her face. She felt like a child. "I thought you were going to
stop, I'm sorry."
"Nope, I was turning to get out
of the way. We've been doing this for a long time, Faith. We make mistakes, but
not very often.
"There it is,” she exclaimed.
She turned on the video recorder and began following it with her lens.
"It’s a nice rope. I've never
seen one so big," She said for the video's sake. "It's awesome to be this
close to something so beautiful and dangerous."
"Faith, look to the left,"
Jim said in excitement. There was another tornado coming out of the same wall
cloud. It was massive in size, and wedge-shaped.
"Oh wow, it’s beautiful. It
isn't hard to believe in God at all when we see such evidence of his power,"
Faith said in a hushed tone.
"It certainly isn't. I just wish
people would quit attributing the power of God to some false idol called
'mother nature.' He has to be angry about that one," Jim said.
"I bet. It's times like these I
don't have a problem acknowledging His existence. I wish the Old Testament
wasn’t such a stumbling block for me,” She said after she turned the video
recorder off.
"I meant what I said earlier. We
can study together if you want. I'll do whatever it takes if it means you'll come
to know the truth." He pulled out and headed toward Texas.
Three hours passed as they drove down
U.S. two-eighty-seven going south. They made small-talk, getting to know each
other.
Jim had just told her he was about
ready for some lunch when a huge wedge tornado dropped down to the west of
them. It didn't last long, but he saw his chasers rushing to deploy some of the
little electronic pieces into it that he lovingly called his 'bugs.' They
collected all kinds of data about the tornado itself, including wind speed and
velocity. His hope was to extend the warning time to more than just a few
minutes.
They sat together and watched the funnel do
its damage to the countryside. Jim picked up the mic to the CB and pushed the
side button in. "John, did we get any data?"
He seemed weary and Faith felt
sympathy for him. This was a side of him she hadn’t seen yet.
"We sure did Boss. Jenny's in
her element right now. Her fingers are flying over the keyboard. She was saying
something about a triple-hook echo..." His voice became mumbled and static
took over.
Jim looked at Faith. "Did he
just say 'triple-hook echo?"
When she nodded he said, "I've
never heard of such a thing."
"I've heard people say it's
possible but I've never even seen two, let alone three. Call her Jim,” She
demanded with excitement.
Jim pulled out his cell phone and
made the call. After Jenny answered he said, "did I hear John right? Did
you see a triple hook echo on the radar? What does it look like?"
"It's one of the coolest things
I've ever seen. We have to get the warnings out now, though. I already put a
call into the weather station. The storm system is developing just southeast of
Wichita Falls. It's heading right for Dallas. I don't even know what a system like
this is capable of. What I do know is if those systems combine it'll be the
worst direct hit to a city this nation has ever seen," She warned.
"Are you sure about what you're
seeing, Sis? It's possible cloud cover is causing it to look like something it
isn't," Jim suggested.
"I'm pretty sure, Jim. Faith,
pull out your computer and take a look," She ordered.
Shivers of fear and excitement were
traveling up and down Faith's spine. She got her computer out and pulled up the
satellite radar. Sure enough, she saw what looked like a triple-hook echo on
the screen. Unfortunately, it looked like it was already developing into one
massive storm. "It's one huge storm system with several hooks. It'll take
out whole towns even if it just grazes the ground," She yelled in a
panicked tone. She turned the computer so Jim could see the screen.
Jim took in a sharp breath, causing an
involuntary whistle. "Oh my, let's go team," he said into the mic
he'd grabbed from Faith's fingers. "We have to get in place before it gets
here." He depressed the mic and said to Faith, "Hold on, we're gonna
be traveling fast." He pushed the mic button down again and asked Jenny,
"how fast is it moving?"
Faith was a little hurt he hadn't
asked her, but she couldn't really
hold it against him, she wasn't part of the team.
"It’s traveling about fifty miles an
hour," Jenny said over the radio.
Jim looked at Faith. "Let's get
set-up ahead of the storm. We'll go grab some lunch and a new motel before it
gets here." He said into the mic, "Team, we're going in for some
lunch and a room. We'll set-up as soon as we're done."
He got several affirmative replies as
he sat the mic back on its holder and headed the car toward rooms and a quick
meal.
As soon as arrangements were made
they set-up all their equipment and waited impatiently for the storm of a
lifetime to rear its ugly head.
Faith glanced at Jim as he watched
the sky, thinking, He is such a handsome
man. Could he ever be interested in someone like me?
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