Chasing the storm

Chapter 1: Racing Against the Storm

Oklahoma – 8:47 PM

The air is too still.

Rowan Carter feels it in his bones. The unnatural silence, the heavy pressure, the electric charge crawling over his skin—the storm is coming. And it's going to be bad.

"Storm cell shifting fast!" Milo Reyes' voice bursts through the truck's radio, sharp with urgency. "Wind speeds hitting 200 miles per hour. You need to MOVE, NOW!"

Rowan grips the wheel tighter, his jaw ticking as he presses the gas. The tires skid against the rain-slicked road, headlights cutting through the growing darkness.

Beside him, Sienna Vale is tense, her fingers gripping the dashboard. Her emerald-green eyes flick between the GPS and the swirling clouds in the rearview mirror.

"This is insane," she mutters. "We should've been out of here an hour ago."

Rowan smirks. "Where's the fun in that?"

"Fun?" She whips her head toward him, incredulous. "We're being chased by a damn tornado, Carter. This is NOT fun."

Rowan just chuckles.

Because to him? This is living.

"ROWAN!" Milo's voice spikes in frustration. "Turn left! There's an abandoned gas station five miles ahead. You can take shelter!"

Sienna immediately perks up. "Yes! Listen to the smart one for once. Let's go there."

Rowan pretends to consider it. Then? He slams the gas harder.

Sienna's eyes widen. "You did NOT just—"

The truck lurches forward, tires spinning over the soaked road.

"Relax, Vale," Rowan says smoothly. "We got time."

Sienna stares at him, absolutely fuming. "We got—are you even LOOKING at the storm behind us?!"

She reaches over, grabs his wrist, and forces him to look in the mirror.

Rowan does.

And his smirk finally fades.

Because the tornado isn't just coming.

It's already here.

A monstrous, twisting funnel of black clouds and lightning is ripping across the land, trees snapping like toothpicks, houses crushed in seconds.

And it's gaining on them.

"ROWAN, LISTEN TO ME!" Jaxon Ryder's voice booms through the comms. The ex-military pilot, flying above them in a storm-tracking chopper, sounds tense as hell. "This isn't normal. The wind shifts—something's off. You have to OUTRUN it."

"Gee, thanks for the advice," Rowan mutters, shifting gears.

The truck roars, picking up speed, but the storm is faster.

Much faster.

The wind screams against the windows, shaking the truck violently.

"ROWAN!" Sienna grabs his arm. "You NEED to take shelter!"

"There's no time," he snaps back. "We wouldn't make it."

Her eyes blaze. "So your plan is just to FLOOR IT?!"

"Yep."

"That's not a plan, Carter! That's a SUICIDE MISSION!"

Rowan just grins.

He thrives on this. The rush, the risk, the feeling of dancing one step ahead of death.

Sienna curses, shoving him. "Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable. I swear, if we survive this, I'm going to—"

A BOOM shakes the ground.

Lightning splits the sky in half, striking a telephone pole up ahead. Sparks explode, wires snapping loose like live snakes.

Rowan yanks the wheel hard to the right.

The truck veers off the road, crashing through an open field.

Mud sprays everywhere. The tires struggle for traction.

Sienna shrieks. "Are you TRYING to kill us?!"

Rowan laughs breathlessly. "Not today, sweetheart."

"You guys have LESS THAN TWO MINUTES!" Milo shouts. "The tornado is almost ON TOP OF YOU!"

Rowan's heart hammers. He can see it now—a massive, black vortex tearing up the land.

"Rowan," Sienna breathes, gripping the seat. "Do something."

He does.

He hits the gas one last time.

And they race into the unknown.

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