Storm Rider

Okay - maybe I'm procrastinating on some other projects a little by starting this one.  But what do you do when a fully formed idea pops into your head??  I'm thinking this will end up being another serial on my blog.  Don't quote me on that, though.  I may change my  mind.  Either way, here's my take on the Don't Panic Picture prompt for this week.

The air stilled as the line advanced.  Flashes danced across the clouds like mischievous sprites of legend.  The world seemed to hold its breath.  I watched, knowing just a short distance away, the fury of the storm had been unleashed.

The anticipation was almost enough to kill me.  I knew this storm would give me one hell of a high and I didn't want to wait.  It was hard to stop myself from jumping in the car to go meet it.

I’m not some crazy, drugged out thrill seeker or adrenaline junky.  I swear.  I’m a Weather Rider.  Well, a Storm Rider to be exact.  Meteorological events give me a psychic charge.  My job as a Storm Rider is to help direct the energy of storms like the one I stood watching that night.  The easiest way to explain how I do that is I have a psychic power that lets me connect with storms.  One side effect of that charge is one intense high. It’s far better than any drugs.

And far more dangerous.  See, Weather Riders can become corrupted by their powers.  Hurricane Katrina is one example.  Most people believe it was a freak super storm of the century.  The truth is it should have been a normal hurricane except a corrupted Storm Rider enhanced it for a better high, thinking he could control it.  He couldn’t.  Among the dead were three other Storm Riders who burned themselves out trying to undo the damage he’d done.  Believe it or not, they went a long ways in doing so before they died.

So, why was this storm so different?  In truth, it wasn’t.  I remember watching this storm, craving the high, because it was just before all hell broke loose in my life.  Part of me still wonders if I should have caught on that night.

It started like normal.  The thunderstorm was a typical Midwestern storm.  Nothing I needed to worry about.  I got to ride the high for free on that one.  The stranger that rolled in hard on the heels of the storm was another matter.