Racing to Their Deaths (ONC 2024)

🌪️ Epilogue

The wind is changing...—-The Return of the King.

THREE MONTH'S LATER.

The pale pink light to the south illuminated the grassy  prairie as wispy clouds moved across sky. They were alone parked on Bailey road. Halle laid her head on Zane's shoulder and sighed.

"Ouch," He winced and his body stiffened with pain.

"Oh, sorry." She lifted her cheek from his shoulder and looked at his face.

He brushed her cheek with his lips and used his good arm to pull her closer. "Ha. Never thought it would take so long for my shoulder to heal after the surgery. I feel like a weakling."

Halle laughed. "You're my bionic cowboy."

"And you're my six-million dollar bionic lady." He gently pulled her onto his lap. "Able to wrangle mega tornados like Athena, the Goddes of War." She nuzzled his neck. After a minute, she pulled away and grew serious.

"I'm worried about James. Since Lars passed, it's been hard on him. His father never allowed him to get too close, but I think the last few moments of his life, he showed James what he could have had."

"He wasn't a natural father," James agreed, "but I think Irwin's going to provide what Lars couldn't. He had a giant ego with a metric shit-ton of confidence, but not enough humility to say when he was wrong and apologize."

"The data he procured will bring a new level of  warning systems and save countless lives," Halle said. "I also realized that he wasn't the evil man I thought he was."

James laughed, "Lars was a complex, lone wolf."

"He was lonely," she agreed." Her face brightened. "After Lars' memorial, Irwin's invited me to join him and James to discuss work on his tornado research."

Zane raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "He offered you a position in his new company?"

She nodded. "I can't believe it. I still remember the first time I stopped after I escaped a close call during my second chase. My hands were shaking, probably a mix of adrenaline and gripping the steering wheel, but I was a nervous wreck. Since that day, I've been on over a hundred storm chases and I haven't been this nervous."

"You'll do fine, Halle. Irwin's lucky to have you."

She chewed her lower lip. "What about the Go Pro footage of Lars being taken by the sub vortex? I've never had the nerve to ask Naseem what happened to it. He didn't upload it, did he?"

"Don't worry," Naseem deleted it. "James will never see it. We've all had enough nightmares of cars being lifted one by one off the ground and several hundred feet up in the air."

"It could have been us." She hugged him and he encircled his arms around her.

"I love you, Halle."

"I love you too, Zane."

The cb radio crackled to life. "Is everyone ready?" Charlie Munson's cheerful voice sounded over airwaves.

Halle answered, "This is Storm Riders1. We're in position." Zane started the Chevy and gave her a thumbs up.

She smiled as Amy cut in on the channel and made a loud hee-haw. "Let's get this show on the road." All in separate vehicles, the storm chasers chattered excitedly as everyone prepared to create a colorful mile wide electronic gps signature of Lars's initials as a tribute to his sacrifice.

Halle smiled as the storm chasing community gatherered together. Onscreen, cobalt-blue and lime-green dots shifted and realigned over the Texas roads to form the letters LW.

The sun set behind them and extinguished the last remnants of the day as they met up with Irwin and James outside the designated diner for the memorial dinner.

Outside the eatery, Halle observed James and Irwin's relaxed body language as they stood talking and smiled. Zane leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Irwin looks more like James's father than Lars ever did. The old bastard finally did something right."

"Shh.." She elbowed him in the ribs.

Irwin walked over to join them. "Halle, Zane. Thank you for participating in the memorial ceremony. I know Lars would have been touched."

James walked over and hugged her. "Thank you, Halle," he said. "It means a lot to me." Zane grabbed him in a brief hug.

She brought her face close to her cousin's. "We're all proud of your father, James, but I'll never forget how you saved that little girl."

On that note," Irwin's eyes twinkled. "You know what they say, 'Poor people are crazy, rich people are eccentric'. He walked over to a vehicle that was covered with a tarp and with a flourish exposed an exact copy of The Interceptor.

He gently grasped Halle's hand and placed a pair of keys into her palm. "Amy worked overtime to install my specifications. The data Lars procured will bring a new level of warning systems and save countless lives." He met her gaze and smiled. "I want you to continue his work."

Zane laughed as Halle stood, speechless. "I guess it's time to retire the Chevy."

"That's right," Amy chortled. She walked up behind Halle and encircled her arm with her freshly manicured fingers. "Storm Riders" just got pimped out with a new ride. A la Amy."

She drew Halle closer to the elite storm chasing vehicle and stroked the beast's hood. "Don't worry about insurance. This baby could withstand Armageddon."

Irwin groaned. "Amy you didn't turbocharge it, did you?"

She winked at Halle. "Of course, not."

Halle turned to James. "This is your father's legacy. You should be the one receiving this gift."

James smiled, ruefully. "Halle, I never want to chase another tornado as long as I live. Take it with my blessing."

"Come on everyone." Irwin shooed them towards the diner. "Enough about storm chasing. Tonight's about family."

Halle trailed after the boisterous group that made their way, laughing into the diner. Zane looked back at her. "Halle?"

"I'll be there in a minute."

Sensing her need for a privacy, he lingered a moment in the lighted entrance of the diner. Halle breathed in the fresh night air. She looked up at the clear night sky and felt a sense of serenity.

I wish I'd had a chance to get to know you, Lars.

The celestial heavens were pierced by a shooting star that raced across the sky. After a minute, she smiled and then strode purposely to join the other storm chasers.