Glass Storm Chasers

Camille didn't know how long she spent staring ahead at the road that kept going on and on. And, on both sides, all there was to entertain her during these three days of driving was miles of crystalized fields: a tundra of frost and stone. Two quick taps on her shoulder made her tense and quickly look back. She pulled herself out of her reverie and focused back on the road. She shook her head to push away the fogginess of fatigue out of her senses and paid attention to Oron who had started talking to her.

"So, you can stop, now," he told her with his usual matter-of-fact tone and leadership attitude. "Location's perfect,"

He disappeared once more into the back of the van and Cam parked the van in the middle of the frozen road. She pulled the E-Brake, but that was all she could do to keep it from rolling away. She pushed three buttons Jazz had added several weeks back - when they had first found the van - and these made metal plates slide down from the roof and cover the windows. She then unbuckled herself and squeezed between the seats to join her friends in the back.

She sighed at the mess that had accumulated in the van. There wasn't much she could do about it when she was stuck in the front, listening to the same playlist on replay. This left Oron and Jazz, the brains of their trips, to take care of preparations and destroy her organization in the meantime.

Cam could easily admit that she had never cared about how the storms worked, or why they were certain ways at certain times. She understood that it was important to be able to predict how bad the storms would be and how the van could be best prepared, but she couldn't help it if she simply didn't understand when her friends were talking about the technology and programs they had to use. She had barely managed to finish high school, while the other two had taken countless courses in programming and engineering. Oron had also taken some kind of meteorology courses and had storm chased all through his early twenties when the world was still at a relatively peaceful state, before the apocalypse.

The only reason she tagged along on these highly dangerous storm chases was because she didn't want to be left behind at some stranger's camp while her two remaining friends went off on adventures. Also, Cam couldn't deny that being in the center of massive storms - miniature ones compared to the ones that practically destroyed the planet a few years back - was absolutely thrilling. She adored being confined in this tin can of a vehicle, being jostled by extreme winds. She loved their set up that allowed them to look up at the cloud formation and hearing the sounds the rain and ice made as they drove to the ground. She would hold her breath after each lightning strike and she would barely have time to brace herself before the thunder would clap around them.

However, they weren't ready for this storm just yet. Cam had to put aside her excitement for the afternoon to come and put her mind to her personal role in their Glass Storm Chasing team. She was the glue that held them together. Maybe she didn't have legitimate advice like her friends did, but she could still act as a tie breaker. She was the one that prevented her friend's hoarding tendencies and would make sure they didn't live in a pigsty.

The van was greatly organized because of her. On the right was what they considered the living space which simply had boxes and drawers of anything that could be considered living supplies. This meant that there were cans of food and batteries, clothes, shoes, helmets, and lots of socks. There were tubs of water bottles, gasoline, and oil. Piles of sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets. There was everything necessary to live in a -40° tundra.

Cam evaluated her task at hand - one that she hadn't been able to finish before departure - and was actually mildly excited for. It was always important for her to be needed, even for something that seemed much less important than her friends' roles. There would soon be an organized tower of electronics, flashlights, high definition cameras, and night vision goggles.