Twist of Fate

by Parker, Syd

  Parker groaned loudly and eased the seat back up slowly. It wasn’t till she saw Sarah’s shocked expression that she looked to her left and saw a face looking back at her. “Oh shit!” She turned the key and fumbled with the buttons on the door till she found the window down button and pushed it, its decent painfully slow as though it were mocking her and trying to cause more trouble. “Officer?”

  “Ladies.” His tone was slightly amused. “Mind telling me what you’re doing.”

  “Honestly, Officer, it’s not what it looks like.” Parker said quickly.

  “Oh, so you’re not sleeping together.” He stated with a chuckle.

  Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. They had actually gotten a trooper with a sense of humor. She leaned over Parker, grinding her elbow into her leg. She was rewarded with a loud groan. “This is my cousin and my driver. We’re storm chasers. We are just waiting for the storms to hit.”

  “Reckon that’s all right.” The trooper took his hat off and scratched his head. “Might have made my day a bit more exciting if you had been sleeping together. But, since this is Oklahoma and not Kentucky, I’m sure glad you’re not.”

  Sarah laughed. “Besides, her feet stink.”

  “Got one of them cousins myself. Not with stinky feet, he’s an amateur chaser. Caught a funnel up to Medford ‘bout a year ago.”

  “Oh yeah.” Sarah replied excitedly. “We missed that one. We were stuck in Iowa. Good storm.”

  “Listen, I’m gonna let you girls go.” The trooper offered. “Next time, try to find a safer spot to take a nap.”

  Parker finally got her wits about her and smiled. “Sure appreciate that Officer…Officer Cock.” She managed to say it without a snicker.

  He didn’t respond for several seconds, and Parker was sure she had just gotten them back on trouble. Finally, he smiled and let her off the hook. “It’s Koch, pronounced like cook. Fought that my whole life.” He tapped the top of the car and walked away, his laughter echoing all the way back to his car.

  “Holy hell!” Parker blew out a breath. “That was a close one.”

  “Tell me about it. And then you almost blow it by calling him a cock.”

  Parker shrugged. “Stop worrying. He wasn’t going to do anything to this hotness.”

  Sarah snorted loudly. “Oh lord, I can’t wait till someone tames you.”

  “Not gonna happen, Cuz.” Parker said smugly. “I just finally found someone that could handle my gorgeous self.”

  “I think I just threw up in my mouth.”

  A gust of wind shook the car, and Sarah finally looked to her right. “Oh shit. It’s here.”

  A massive mesocyclone had descended upon them and was turning rapidly. “Looks like you picked the right spot today.” Parker offered. She pulled a small Nikon out of the back seat, leaned over Sarah and started snapping shots. “Oh man, it’s really going. Look! Small rope funnel starting to form.”

  Sarah had the camera rolling. Her gut had been right again. “We’ve got another one. It’s dropping another. See the tail.”

  Parker followed her finger and snapped pics as a larger rotation dropped out of the wall cloud. “The smaller one is dead. It’s roping out, but that one looks like it will be massive. I see debris. It’s on the ground.”

  The tornado looked to be several miles away, and at least a mile north of them, but Sarah kept her guard up. Tornadoes were known to turn on a dime. She had already been pulled into one, and she wasn’t too keen on it happening again.

  She pulled the map up and guessed where the tornado would track. Norman was directly in its path, and Oklahoma City wasn’t far behind. She feared the worst, and knew that even the smallest window of warning could save lives. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed 911. Moments later, she hung up, having warned the operator that at least one tornado was on the ground and heading for Norman.

  By the time it hit, it was a full half—mile wide wedge tornado and the devastation was massive. By the time the intense trough was done, it dropped over sixty tornados through Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. It had leveled a trailer park and killed three in its merciless trek across the states.

  Parker had faired a little better this time as they drove through parts of the damage. Like most people in high stress, high fatality jobs she was becoming desensitized. Sarah still felt immense grief and she could understand the passion that drove Remy. She would chase until she found a way to prevent any fatalities or the sweet kiss of death lighted upon her. Either way, Sarah knew that whatever else happened in her life, it would come second to her quest.

  It was late when they finally pulled away from the city, having helped where they could and mourned with those that needed it. She could see the weight of it all in Parker’s face and felt it in her own heart. She needed some respite to preoccupy her mind and block the images that haunted her, at least for a while.

  “Call Carmen. Find out where they are and tell them we’ll meet halfway.”

  Parker merely nodded, the smallest of smiles teasing the corner of her mouth as she dialed the number and waited for the voice she knew would calm her down.

  Chapter 9

  “…and then Parker calls him Officer Cock.”

  “Hey, it was an honest mistake. It was spelled K—O—C—H. How was I supposed to say it?”

  Remy and Carmen couldn’t contain their laughter. “Way to go, Parker.” Remy teased. “My favorite is still you guys sleeping together. Kissing cousins, eh?”

  “No.” Sarah punched Remy in the arm. “I’d rather kiss you.” She wished the words back the second she said them.

  Remy caught her hand and her green eyes held Sarah’s gaze, not allowing her to look away. “I’d much rather you kiss me too. Lucky you, we can arrange that.”

  Sarah could feel her cheeks getting hot, and she jerked her hand away. She looked down at her lap, but not before she caught the knowing wink that Parker shot her. She was the last person she wanted to know about her and Remy.

  The waitress chose that moment to come to their table, saving her from further scrutiny. They had chosen a pizza joint just outside Wichita, Il Vicino. A small chain of wood oven pizzerias that Remy suggested they try. They each ordered a different pie and refills on their beers.

  When the waitress left the table, Remy turned to Parker. “So, other than the run in with Smoky, how was your day? Ours was a complete bust. The storm dropped a small tornado about twenty miles north of us and we missed it.”

  Parker shrugged. “If you call three fatalities good, then we did alright.”

  “I know it is hard now.” The concern was evident in her voice. “After a while, you sort of get numb to seeing it. You still feel awful, but it doesn’t make you want to puke your guts out anymore.”

  “Well, that’s comforting.” Parker said sarcastically. “I don’t know that I’m cut out for this.”

  Carmen squeezed her arm. “You’d be surprised what the human mind can tolerate when you have a goal in mind. Take Rem, for example. She’s seen it all, but in the forefront is the desire to save as many people as possible, and that’s what keeps her going.”

  “Oh, so a few lives lost for the greater good kind of thing.”

  “Not necessarily, but you don’t lose sight of why you’re out here when you focus on the real reason we do it.” Carmen rubbed Parker’s arm softly, trying to comfort her. “It’s about remembering the people, but not necessarily picturing their deaths.”

  “It’s not easy, Parker.” Sarah smiled sadly. “I didn’t mean to drag you into this.”

  “It’s fine, Sarah. I just wasn’t prepared for the pain that came with it. I always heard about the deaths on TV, but never witnessed them first hand. It’s an adjustment.”

  “I’m sorry too, Parker.” Remy said quickly. “I guess we have just been around longer so we forget what a newbie experiences their first few times. Let me tell you a story that might help you think about the positives. It was my first year out. Mind you, I had
already witnessed tragedy most people don’t see.”

  “Yeah, the EMT thing.” Parker had overheard Remy telling Sarah why she got started chasing in the first place. It had seemed kind of crazy to her that she would want to trade in a job like that to do something as dangerous as chase tornadoes.

  Remy nodded. “As rough as that was, nothing prepared me for the first year. There were so many times I almost gave up. I was young and brash, and I expected to come out and solve all the problems with forecasting tornadoes. I was going to save lives. But, the reality of it hit me pretty hard.”

  “Are you talking about Stockton?” Carmen asked in a serious tone. “That was bad.”

  Remy nodded at Carmen. “Stockton, Missouri, spring of 2003. It was a bad, bad season for tornadoes. We were following a trough that was working its way across the Midwest. By the time the system moved through, it had produced over 400 tornadoes all the way into Canada. For chasers, it was paradise. For everyone else, it was devastating. There were more than ninety people that lost their lives in less than a week.”

  Carmen nodded. “It was bad, Chica. But I promise there’s a good part to this story.”

  “Two months into my first season, and we got hit with some of the worst weather I’d seen. Anyway, I told you this would help, so let me stop talking about how bad it was and get to the good part. We were driving west of Stockton when the storms got close. We had called 911, but it was dropping tornadoes faster than we had ever seen. There really wasn’t a chance to get the warning out. We were driving through the main strip, and there was a school in session. We just knew the warning sirens would never go off in time. I was young and stupid and didn’t realize there was a certain protocol for issuing the warnings. But, I would be damned if I was going to sit around and let a bunch of kids get hurt when there was a chance we could help. We stopped, ran to the office and told the principal that a line of strong storms was getting ready to hit Stockton and he needed to get everyone to safety.”

  “It ripped the roof off the school.” Carmen said excitedly. “But, not one person was hurt.”

  “That does help some.” Parker agreed. “Thank God you were there.”

  “Wait, it gets better.” Remy smiled. “We stuck around after the tornado went through and helped anyway we could. The mom of one of the students ran up to me and threw her arms around me. She had two kids there and she had flipped out when the storm hit. When she found out her kids were okay, she started talking to the principal about how grateful she was that he was aware enough to get everyone into the bathrooms. He pointed her in my direction.”

  “Wow.” Parker’s voice was almost a whisper. “That had to feel good.”

  Remy brushed away tears. “I still can’t talk about it without getting all choked up. I was ready to walk away. I couldn’t take seeing town after town devastated. People left with nothing. But, when she hugged me and thanked me for saving her babies, I knew this was what I was meant to do. I couldn’t turn my back on all those people. I had to accept that I may not save everyone, but even if I saved one life, it made my existence there worth it.”

  Sarah put her hand over Remy’s arm. “You never told me that.”

  Remy shrugged. “You never asked. There’s a lot I would tell you, if you were interested in hearing it.”

  Sarah pulled her hand away. It had merely been an observation, a comment made without censure, but it stung anyway. Had she really shut Remy so far out that she had never given her the opportunity to share her life? Parker saved her from responding, but her thoughts still bothered her.

  “So, how did you deal with seeing your first…first dead body?” Parker swallowed a lump in her throat. She was trying to get past it, for Sarah anyway.

  “The first couple of years, I got really good at forgetting, or at least filling my brain with something else.” Remy was quiet a moment. “Carmen helped a lot.”

  “She did?”

  “Uh-huh.” Remy nodded and winked at Carmen. “She…umm…helped to get my mind off the harder parts of the job.”

  “Whoa! You two didn’t sleep together, did you?” Parker’s eyes narrowed.

  Sarah leaned forward, suddenly very curious as to the answer. The answer shouldn’t matter to her like it did to Parker, who was obviously now emotionally invested in Carmen, but she couldn’t pass the sick feeling off as curiosity. Remy had mentioned that she wasn’t attracted to Carmen and they hadn’t slept together, but what if it hadn’t been the truth.

  Remy snorted loudly. “Me? Carmen?” She shook her head, her eyes dancing amusedly. “No way. We’ve always been more like sisters than anything else. Let’s just say she came up with some activities that helped take the edge off.”

  Sarah let out the breath she had been holding. She knew it was foolish to let something like that bother her. She knew Remy had shared a bed with multiple partners over the years, and she was just another notch on her belt, or she thought she was. Her conversation with Remy a few days earlier was still running through her mind, opening doors that she had thought closed. “So, what did you two get into?”

  Their waitress, as if sensing the need to intervene and save Remy from answering, picked that moment to bring their food out. The smell coming from the food was so enticing that the earlier conversation was momentarily forgotten. They were four friends united by a cause, thankful for the chance to be part of something greater than each one of them alone.

  Chapter 10

  Sarah opened the door without even looking and sat back on the bed.

  Remy quirked an eyebrow and came inside chuckling. “Expecting me, huh?”

  “Given the fact that they couldn’t keep their hands off each other, I’m surprised they made it past the car.”

  “True.” Remy held out a bottle of wine. “Wine?”

  Sarah leaned forward and checked the label. “Cab? Nothing like your wine bighting you back.”

  Remy took the teasing in stride, a small smirk on her face. She pulled her arm from behind her back and handed Sarah another bottle. “Better?”

  “Mmm, pinot. Now, you are talking.” Sarah grabbed a couple of plastic cups off the bathroom sink. “These okay?”

  Remy shrugged. “Either that or just chug.”

  “I think I’ll suffer with the cup.” Sarah looked around confusion on her face. Her eyebrows furrowed, and Remy was forced to admit that she was quite cute when she was presented with a conundrum.

  Remy pulled a small wine opener from her back pocket and waggled it in front of Sarah’s face. “You didn’t think I was going to offer wine and not come prepared, did you?”

  “Maybe.” Sarah admitted with a blush. “I should have known better.”

  Remy opened both bottles and poured them a glass. She took hers and sat on the opposite bed. They sat for several moments without talking. The day had finally caught up with them. Decompressing often consisted of long moments of silence, rather than rehashing the details, allowing them to unwind and finally relax.

  “This is good, thank you.” Sarah smiled sweetly.

  A loud bang on the wall made them both jump. Remy smirked. “I might have to rethink this whole rooms being together thing. I don’t know about Parker, but Carmen can go for hours. I may be here awhile.”

  Sarah shrugged her shoulders. “It’s okay. I figure I need to let Parker blow off steam. I didn’t realize this would be so hard on her.”

  “It’s harder on some people.” Remy leaned her head against the wall and sighed. “What about you? How did you take your first time?”

  “It was bad, but not like it was for Parker.” Sarah replied. She stopped to pour herself another glass and sank back down. “I watched my brother die in front of me.”

  “What?” Remy’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t know that.”

  “Not many people outside of my family do.”

  “What happened…if you don’t mind me asking.”

  “Hunting accident.” Sarah swiped her eyes.

  “It’s okay,
we don’t have to talk about it.” Remy offered.

  “No, no, I’m fine. Some days are just harder than others. It’s that time of the month, and I’m always more emotional then.”

  Remy nodded knowingly. “I know exactly what you mean.” She sat quietly waiting for Sarah to start talking again.

  “Deer.” Sarah offered after a while. “The town I grew up in was about an hour from Nashville. My family hunted for as long as I can remember. It was never a question that once we hit the age we could fire a rifle that we would join everyone else. My brother was a couple of years older than me, so he had been hunting for at least six years when it happened. There was a small reserve north of us that my dad suggested we try.” The more she talked the more her voice trembled.

  Remy joined her on the bed and grabbed her hand to comfort her. “You don’t have to tell me.”

  “No, I think I need too. I never talked about it after that day. My family was what you call emotionally closed off. We didn’t talk about it. We didn’t really grieve in front of anyone. My dad had always been the guy that taught us it was only sissies that cried. We didn’t show emotion.”

  “That had to have been hard.” Remy squeezed her hand.

  “God, it was. I was thirteen and I couldn’t even mourn my brother’s passing. We just went about our lives. The only thing my dad did to acknowledge that it happened was hanging my brother’s rifle in his room. No one was allowed to use it after that day.”

  “I don’t know how you did it. My family, we are criers. Even my dad.”

  Sarah chuckled softly, thankful for something to lighten the mood. “I find that hard to believe. Somehow, I don’t see you tearing up at the latest Hallmark commercial.”

  “Well, it’s actually the On Star commercials, but you get the idea.”

  “Thank you.” Sarah smiled, laughter in her voice. “I needed that.” She took a sip of her wine. “Anyway, it was the last day of the hunt and we had only gotten one small buck, a four point that my uncle shot. My brother didn’t want to leave without getting something. He went off without us, which wasn’t out of the norm for him. He was kind of a loner even then. There was another group in the valley he chose, a bunch of guys that had come in from the city to experience the whole wildlife thing.” Sarah said acerbically. “My brother had taken off his vest, for whatever reason we won’t ever know. One of the guys saw movement and assumed it was a deer. He shot my brother and pierced a lung.”