Twist of Fate

by Parker, Syd

  “Tell me about it.” Sarah agreed. She prayed the danger around them would leave her and Parker untouched, and that anyone in the small town being ravaged right now would survive. Her mind wandered back to her childhood. The funny thing is she had been afraid of storms as a child, hated them actually. She always hid in the bathroom anytime one came through, convinced that she wouldn’t survive the fury outside. She did survive every time though, and by the time she met Remy, she was ready for a new adventure. She wanted more than just a one night stand, but it was a start. She had been bitten by the bug and there was no turning back.

  She came to when the intense pounding stopped and turned to Parker who was regarding her quizzically. “Still with me?”

  “No, yeah, I’m here.” Sarah laughed. “I think the worst is over. We need to go in and see if everyone is okay.” She started the car and said a silent thank you that they had survived another storm. She had made it only a mile before she was forced to stop.

  “Holy shit!” Parker swore loudly. “We aren’t getting any closer than this.” The highway was littered with overturned semis. Trees that had the tops violently wrenched off lay scattered about. If they wanted to survey the town, they were going to have to do it on foot.

  They grabbed their cameras and flashlights, threw parkas on, and started towards the city. They were only a mile outside the city, but having to traverse the highway strewn with debris was going to take them awhile. “It’s gonna get dark fast, we better put down tracks.”

  Parker nodded and cinched her parka closer around her body. The wind had died down, but the temperatures had dropped with the storm and there was a chill in the air.

  They walked with no words, the somberness of the surrounding area dictating long moments of silence. Parker snapped pictures of the devastation along the way. The closer they got, the more litter was scattered about the road, and by the time they hit the city limits nothing could have prepared them for what they saw.

  Even in the waning daylight, the scene in front of them took their breath away. Cars were upended, whole buildings lay in rubble on the ground. “We need to find a sheriff and make sure everyone’s okay.”

  “Come on, that looks like the center of town.” Parker gestured with her head. “The courthouse is still intact.”

  They passed a sign along the way for the local school. Sadly, the entire structure had been damaged and the entire back half of it had been ripped away. The sounds of sirens filled the eerily still air, and the flashing lights of the police cars and ambulances lit up the night sky. Coming around a corner, they saw a mass of emergency vehicles. A look of panic crossed both their faces.

  When they got closer, Sarah’s stomach lurched. The EMT’s were wheeling two stretchers out to waiting vehicles. She didn’t see faces, only the white sheets drawn up over the unfortunate persons who hadn’t survived. “Oh God, Parker.”

  Parker managed to make it to an abandoned yard before her stomach heaved, and she emptied the contents of her stomach. Sarah rubbed her back. This was Parker’s first time witnessing fatalities, and she reacted like any normal person would. Unfortunately, Sarah had seen it before. In the small town she grew up in, hunting was engrained in all the men and half the women. She remembered the first time she had seen a person hanging on to life, an errant shot finding the wrong target. When he had died, she had thrown up until there was nothing left.

  Nothing can prepare a person for the shock of death, especially an unexpected death. A person didn’t have the luxury of preparing himself like someone did with a person who was seriously ill, there is only a moment of shock that most people aren’t emotionally or physically adept to deal with. Sarah had known that feeling, the swift sucker punch in the gut. She knew what it was to look in the eyes of a person that was leaving this world, the far off look in his eyes, the pallor of his skin, the final breath that escapes and the ultimate moment of realization of knowing that this is his last breath.

  This didn’t make it easier to see, only easier to deal with. It was probably worse to know the last seconds of a life cut short. She pulled Parker’s body against hers, feeling sobs rack her body. After what seemed like an eternity, she felt her body still and wilt into her arms. “Come on, Cuz, let’s find a place to sleep. I don’t think there is anything we can do.”

  Chapter 4

  Remy watched the news report solemnly. The damage in Oklahoma was horrible. The storm dropped five tornadoes, including the one that tore through Tushka. It was responsible for two deaths and dozens more injured. Remy sensed that Sarah had been there. She didn’t know for sure, but the nagging feeling wouldn’t go away. She hoped she was safe and wished she had exchanged numbers so she could have at least texted and made sure she was okay.

  She and Carmen hadn’t seen more than a couple small tornadoes in South Dakota. No larger ones and fortunately no fatalities. She heard the water in the bathroom stop and knew Carmen’s marathon shower was over. They had spent the day chasing, and she was ready for a drink. Carmen, on the other hand, was horny, or so she said. Thanks to her little fixation with Parker, she had spent the day talking about sex and swore tonight she was getting laid. Apparently, she was making sure that she was all groomed and ready.

  “Hey, Chica, where did you say we were headed tonight?”

  “I didn’t.” Remy yelled over the hotel hair dyer, which thanks to its impressive twelve—hundred watts, had been running for the last twenty minutes in a futile attempt to dry the mop Carmen called hair. Better dryers than that had fallen victim to her thick brown locks.

  Rather than try to shout over it and have to repeat herself, she waited till Carmen plopped down on the bed beside her. “You ready?”

  “Yeah.” Remy cut the power on the tv and dragged all five feet ten inches off the bed with a loud groan. At twenty—nine, she shouldn’t feel this sore from sitting all day. Maybe, she was just tired. No, exhausted was more like it. She felt off today. Just not her normal hundred miles an hour self. She shook her head and pulled a jacket off the chair.

  They headed out to the car, the cold wind whipping around them. Spring hadn’t quite hit South Dakota yet, and although it had been a little warmer today, the night brought back the colder temperatures.

  “So, what are you feeling?” Remy asked once they hit the road.

  “Blond for an appetizer, brunette for the main course, and I’m thinking something ginger for dessert.” Carmen said saucily. “And, I might even want seconds.”

  Remy groaned loudly. “You are such a guy.”

  “Oh, and you aren’t?” Carmen snickered. “Chica, I seem to remember a few times when you left with more than one woman, and you were totally game for anything.”

  “Yeah, maybe.” Remy agreed. “I’m just not feeling it tonight. I think I just want a drink and a hot bath.”

  “Oh, I’m sure we could find a little something for you to heat up your bath.”

  “Not tonight, okay.” Remy was getting antsy and frustrated and she didn’t have a clue why. She shouldn’t have snapped at Carmen. She was just teasing, something they always did. Sex too, was something they always talked about and wanted. But tonight, she couldn’t muster up enough energy to even think about looking at a woman. “Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. Tonight’s just not a good night for me.”

  “It’s cool, Chica.” Carmen smiled. “More for me.”

  Remy grunted. “Good. Maybe you will forget about Parker.”

  “Not likely, Chica.” Carmen laughed. “That’s one butch I’d like to wrap my brown legs around.”

  “God, your mind is always in the gutter.” Remy groaned loudly.

  “I can’t help it. I’m Latina. I think we have an extra sex chromosome.”

  “You have an extra something.” Remy snorted. “Hey, what about that place?”

  Carmen checked out the sign in front of a colorful restaurant that was obviously a Mexican restaurant. “Gaudalajara? Can’t be too bad, the parking lot is packed. I coul
d use a ‘rita to get the night started off right.”

  It took them twenty minutes to get seated, but the smells coming from the kitchen and the entrees whizzing by them as they waited were all the encouragement they needed to stay.

  When they were finally seated and had ordered margaritas and fajitas, Remy stuffed a chip loaded with house salsa into her mouth and let out an appreciative moan. “I could fill up on chips alone.”

  “That good, huh?” Carmen followed suit and ate several before she spoke again. “They’re good, but hopefully not the best thing I’ll put in my mouth tonight.”

  Remy rolled her eyes at her suggestive tone. Carmen thought about sex like guys thought about sex. She liked to joke that she should have been born a boy. “So, today was kind of a bust.”

  “Yeah, for us.” Carmen agreed and sampled the margarita that the waitress had just dropped off. “But the girls did alright.”

  “The girls?” Remy’s brow furrowed with feigned confusion. She didn’t want Carmen to know that she was well aware of who the girls were, and that Sarah hadn’t been far from her thoughts all day. She couldn’t deny that over the years since their one night stand, she had reminisced about that night. But lately, it haunted her. She was no stranger to loving them and leaving them, so to speak, so it puzzled her that this encounter bothered her unlike the others. Maybe not bothered her so much, but stayed with her. She couldn’t remember most of their names. Yet, Sarah, she couldn’t make herself forget.

  “Parker and Sarah.” Carmen said sarcastically. “You know, the girls we just saw last night. Don’t think I believe for a second you didn’t know who I was talking about.”

  “No, yeah, I know.” Remy stumbled over her words nervously. She and Carmen had been together long enough that there was no way she could hide her thoughts. If she didn’t figure out a way to get over them or bury them, she was apt to incriminate herself pretty quickly. “Just thinking about other stuff.”

  “Like what?”

  “Today, where we are headed next, I don’t know. Just stuff.”

  “Okay, fine, you got other stuff on your mind.” Carmen was quiet long enough to make a fajita and eat half of it. “But, they did good, no?”

  Remy shook her head, chewing her own dinner. “Yeah, if they were in the right place. There was a line of storms that dropped five tornadoes, a couple south of Oklahoma City. I hope they are okay.”

  Carmen detected a hint of protectiveness in her voice, but let it slide. “Me too. Can’t have anything happen to Parker before I get a piece of that.”

  “Oh yeah, don’t want to miss that sweet piece of ass.” Remy said sarcastically.

  “Don’t hate.” Carmen scolded jokingly. “What about you? I haven’t seen you interested in anyone in ages.”

  “I don’t know.” Remy drained her margarita and signaled for another one. She toyed with the straw wrapper on the table. “You ever think about quitting?”

  “Quitting what? Being a lesbian?” Carmen wrinkled her nose. “No, and I never will.”

  Remy laughed. “No worries on that count. Everything’s fine in that department. I just mean this. Chasing, tornadoes, women. Maybe finding something to give us a little more happiness instead.”

  “Okay, now I’m worried.” Carmen set her fork down and fixed her gaze on Remy. “What’s going on with you?”

  “I’m not sure.” Remy shrugged. “I’ve been doing the same thing for nearly ten years now and sometimes I don’t feel like I have accomplished anything. It’s just running from one place to the next, or one woman to the next. I’m almost thirty, and I don’t have a thing to show for it. I guess I just want something tangible, something to validate my existence.”

  “Deep stuff, Chica.” Carmen’s brow furrowed. “This used to be enough. What changed?”

  “Who knows? Maybe I have grown up or something. Maybe I’m just tired. I love what we do, don’t get me wrong. But I just wonder sometimes if it’s enough. Maybe I could be doing something more important.”

  “You don’t think this is important?” Carmen queried. “We’re out there risking our lives trying to find out what makes a tornado tick. Maybe figure out a way to predict them, and in doing so, save some lives. That’s not important?”

  Remy rubbed her hands over her face. “No, I know it’s important. I just don’t want to look back on my life one day and be disappointed that I cheated myself out of something great. Like maybe, I’m only taking half of what life has given me. What if what was good enough yesterday won’t be enough tomorrow? What if there is something better out there and I’m missing it by going a hundred miles an hour all the time? Does that make sense at all?”

  Carmen shook her head. “I guess I don’t get it, Chica. I’m happy. I thought you were too. What you need is a hot woman in your bed to get your head back in the right place, no?”

  Remy opened her mouth to answer then shut it again. Carmen was great as a partner, but as far as being deep, that only referred to how far inside a woman she could bury herself. Emotionally, she was as deep as a creek. Trying to get her to understand her feeling of restlessness was like trying to make a rich man understand poverty. “Yeah, you’re right. Forget I mentioned it.”

  Chapter 5

  Remy squinted into the bright morning sun. “What’s the radar looking like?”

  Carmen refreshed her web browser and shaded with screen with her hand. “It’s small now, but it should give us something this afternoon.”

  The sign welcoming them to Mississippi flew by as they ate up the miles. Two days of driving brought them to the south, where a high risk of severe weather had been issued in the states of Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. High risks warnings were rarely ever issued, and they sensed the storms brewing over the large area were sure to produce multiple tornadoes.

  Carmen had chosen Mississippi. With little more scientific reasoning than throwing darts at a map, she had pushed for this area, insisting that she felt this was where they should be. “Looks like a couple small supercells are moving this way, just north of Dallas. I put ‘em here in a couple of hours.”

  “Head towards Jackson, maybe?” Remy passed a sign indicating Jackson was still ninety miles away. “If so, I need to hurry.”

  “Nah.” Carmen shook her head and glanced at the radar again. “I’m thinking somewhere around Silver City or Lexington will give us the most action. I’d get off on Country Road 432 and head west towards Benton. There’s not a clear shot, but that will put us close.”

  Remy watched the low mountains roll by. They weren’t tall by any means, but they certainly obscured the view as far as tornadoes were concerned. She preferred the flat plains further northwest of Mississippi. They afforded the best opportunity for spotting storms and getting good footage, and a better opportunity to study the different facets of each storm.

  As much fun as she had chasing, it wasn’t all about that. There was a serious side to chasing as well. It was only in recent years that scientists and chasers had started to work together to learn as much about the damaging storms as possible, and in doing so, help protect people from the violent tornadoes.

  Of course, this involved some pretty dangerous maneuvering on their parts, going as far as putting themselves in the path of large tornadoes just to drop probes or launch sensors into the rotation to read anything from wind speed to direction to velocity and send it back to computers that would calculate the data. For that reason, Remy and the few adventurous souls like her were tagged extreme meteorologists.

  Carmen sighed loudly. “Hope these mountains flatten out, or we are going to have a hell of a time seeing anything. I don’t want to be stuck looking the other way and some bad ass tornado come sneaking over the hill and catch us by surprise.”

  “No kidding, we don’t need another repeat of Kansas. I felt a little like Dorothy.” Remy’s mind flashed back to the time they had been chasing in Kansas. Tall trees lined the roads and made spo
tting the storm almost impossible. On this particular day, a rare EF4 tornado had formed and by the time they saw the rain—wrapped wedge tornado barreling down on them at sixty miles an hour, they had barely made it out of its path. It was also the first time she had met Sarah Phillips.

  Sarah had been one of the first field meteorologists on the scene after that tornado. She had zeroed in on Remy immediately, eager to find out firsthand what it was like to outrun a tornado. Remy, on the other hand, had zeroed in on Sarah, eager to find out firsthand what a hot meteorologist was like in bed. She had sensed her lack of experience in the romance department immediately, and it only added to her appeal. At twenty—two years old, Sarah had the wide—eyed innocence that only lasted until life hardened you and made you jaded.

  It hadn’t taken much to talk Sarah into bed with her. Dinner, a couple of drinks, some light—hearted banter and of course stories, somewhat embellished, about her first couple of years as a chaser. Sarah was as impressed with Remy as Remy was with herself. Years ago, she had been a cocky bastard. Not afraid of anything, and in her opinion, the best damn chaser there was. It had been hard to see the look of regret on Sarah’s face the following morning, knowing that she was mostly responsible for the hard edge she now saw in her eyes.

  “Stop, it’s the girls.” Carmen’s excited shout broke through her reverie. “Ooh, a flat. Guess it’s time for me to swoop in and save the day.”

  Remy snorted loudly. “And, break a nail.”

  Carmen’s long, brightly painted nails were a subject of constant teasing. The only thing about her that was girly was her nails. Other than that, Carmen pretended not to be a girlie girl. “Just shut up and pull over. I need to see if Parker needs our, I mean, your help.”

  They slowed to a stop behind Sarah’s hail battered Chevy. She had angled the rear of the car away from the road since it was the rear tire that was completely flat, and she didn’t want to get hit by a passing car. Remy stretched her five foot ten inch frame and walked over to Sarah with a big smile on her face. Glancing upwards, Sarah shielded her eyes and returned Remy’s smile. She was rewarded with an even bigger smile.