"Stay on my wing, Static," Elias radioed. "Watch the updrafts. They’ll try to swallow you whole."
"Listen up," Elias barked over the rising wind. "This isn't about the trophy. We have twenty minutes before that cell touches down near the valley. Your sensors are the only eyes Oakhaven has. Get in, drop the pods, and get out." The Scramble tornado_scramble_for_sky_chase
Sarah looked back at the horizon, where the storm was moving away. "I think I'm ready for next year's chase." Elias smiled. "Next year, you’re leading the formation." "Stay on my wing, Static," Elias radioed
As they banked hard toward the east, a funnel cloud finally touched the earth behind them, a roaring finger of dust and debris. Back at the base, the screens lit up with precise data. Because of the sensors, the sirens in Oakhaven had gone off five minutes earlier than expected. "This isn't about the trophy
The clouds began to rotate, a massive, swirling ceiling of gray. "I'm losing visibility!" Sarah shouted over the comms. "The hail is hitting the canopy like gravel!"
"Level out! Flaps to full!" Elias dove, placing his plane between Sarah and the worst of the wind shear, creating a momentary pocket of calmer air. It was a risky "draft-block" maneuver. Sarah’s engine sputtered, then caught. She pulled back on the stick, clearing the treetops by a mere fifty feet. The Aftermath
The engines of the modified scout planes roared to life, a mechanical chorus against the low rumble of thunder. Elias climbed into his cockpit, his hands moving with practiced ease over the controls. To his left was Sarah "Static" Jenkins, a rookie with a brilliant mind for meteorology but a nervous grip on the stick.