𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝. | 𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐬.

chapter one.

she was like the wind, never in one place for a long time. kai lenore wasn't an oklahoma native. she was originally from louisiana, not exactly knowing much about tornadoes. but she eventually got very bored of being home, and tornadoes seemed so big. but seeing the carnage most of them left behind, she felt so compelled to help people.

she was like a ghost, too. no online presence, no famous people or any sorts. she showed up in the back of news feeds and such, helping people and leaving. she never stuck around for too long. she stayed around, watched those tornadoes, and drove off. she hated being in the public eye, she always had. something about helping people just.. turned her into a different person. one side of her liked to sit on the hood of her car and watch from afar as the tornadoes roared through the air, and the other side of her was so caring and gentle towards people who needed help. she didn't do this for a living, but she did it whenever she had the time. she'd take a month off work at a time to leave and head to another state to help people out. truly, she didn't stay in one place for long.

back for another season, tyler owens found himself back in oklahoma. this time, in addition to having his crew, he had javi and kate tagging along as well. they were back home, and they were ready to cause some chaos. not in the sense that they wanted to do any harm.. but they wanted to shoot some more rockets up tornadoes and bump their music.

as they watched another one forming in the sky, tyler put on a big smile.
" here we are, folks. this is gonna be a big one. what are we thinkin', kate? "
he asked with a happy ambition, that giddy look on his face. tyler owens seeing a tornado was like a kid seeing santa claus. he was just ecstatic. kate's reply only fueled the excitement.
" it's got good odds, the inflow of warm air is really gonna give it what it needs. "
she answered, her own smile coming to light. javi sat in the back with her, and boone was up front like usual with his camera. picking up the radio, tyler gave a big laugh.
" hear that? we got good odds, y'all! "
dani, dexter, and lily all gave cheerful replies. everyone was ready for this tornado.

tyler's foot hit the gas pedal, flooring it towards the tornado. the whirling winds around them only added to the scene. it was beautiful, to them. maybe normal people didn't see it, but everyone there did. this was a tornado wrangler's dream. looking around to examine the surroundings. the vast hills and the wheat fields. and in the far distance, he could see someone. it was unclear who, but a woman sat on the hood of her car. it looked like an older car, and all he could see was her blonde hair whipping in the wind. who was this? but he snapped his gaze from the side window, looking through the windshield now. making a sharp turn, his focus was turned back to the tornado.

it was amazing. chasing it, driving into the middle, shooting those rockets up. boone gave an excited yell as tyler floored it again. they moved closer to the tornado, though they didn't feel much of a pull. the truck was sturdy, it was tough. kate and javi smiled with wonder as they looked out the windows. even though they'd done this so many times already, but it never failed to amaze them every time. tyler pressed the button, and the fireworks went flying. the colorful explosion whirled around in the air, blending with the wind inside. it was like a rainbow mixed itself with the deep gray.

as the tornado moved along and slowly fizzled out, the group started to converse again, over what they did. javi leaned forward a little, giving tyler's shoulder a big pat.
" that was so sick, man! i said that last time, but it just seems cooler every time we do it. "
he exclaimed, shaking his head. kate grinned, and boone only looked more and more excited by the minute. boone was like that sometimes.. very overexcited. but now that the fun was over, a somber reality came in its place. a nearby town had been hit. so now, the team was on their way over. tyler led the way, with lily, dani, and dex in his trail. it was a small town, clearly. the population wasn't far over a thousand people.

the trucks and the caravan pulled aside at the edge of town, seeing the destruction the tornado had left. shambles of businesses and houses that had once stood. piles of rubble and broken trees. twisted and broken cars, the metal mangled and tangled. families huddled together, people searched through the rubble for their things. and among the many volunteers helping, tyler saw a face that felt so familiar in some weird way. the woman from earlier, who had been watching the tornado from afar. who was she, and what could she possibly be doing here?