Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 THE NEXT DAY MAY 22 1:30 P.M. Mom was tutoring one of her students after church, so it was just Dad and Dex waiting on the porch when Dr. Gage zoomed into the driveway. He hopped out of the SUV and came rushing over to Dad. They hugged each other like long-lost brothers. Zeke seemed happy to see Dr. Gage, too. Of course Dad insisted on a personal tour of Dr. Gage's SUV, which had been specially equipped for storm chasing. There were the extra-strong

metal plates bolted to the sides to protect from flying rocks and debris. There were oversized tires for driving at high speeds across flooded fields and rocky ditches. The cluster of antennas gave Dr. Gage instant access to the latest weather data. And that was just the outside. Inside were three different computer screens, all mounted to the dashboard. There was even a mini freezer in the back. "For keeping hailstones frozen," Dr. Gage explained, grinning like a kid showing off a new LEGO set. When they finished with the tour, Dr. Gage told them about their plan for the day. He and Dex would be chasing a big storm that was charging in from the west. "It's already a supercell." Dex knew that supercells were the most violent and dangerous thunderstorms, the storms that could unleash tornadoes.

"We'll head over to Galena and see if we can catch it as it heads north."

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And Dr. Gage had a surprise for them. "Dex will be helping me with a research project." It turned out Dr. Gage had been working with a team of scientists. "We're trying to figure out if a tornado makes a sound just as it's beginning to form inside a storm." "The cry of a baby tornado," Dad said. Dr. Gage chuckled. "In a way. We believe some animals can sense when a tornado is coming, long before it touches down. Our theory is that they can detect sounds that we humans can't hear." "Fascinating," Dad said. "If there really are these sounds, and we can find a way to detect them, we could have much earlier warning before tornadoes touch down." "Tell us about the research," Dad said. Dr. Gage's face lit up. He hit a button on his key chain, which popped open the tailgate of his SUV. Inside was a large cardboard box filled with metal balls. Each was the size of an apple.

"I call these sound pods," said Dr. Gage, handing one to Dad and one to Dex. "Each has a little recording instrument inside." The metal ball was surprisingly light. "How do you get them up into the storm clouds?" Dad asked. "That's the fun part," Dr. Gage said. He reached behind the box and brought out what looked like a toy rifle. "It used to be a paintball gun," Dr. Gage said. "I tinkered with it, added a wider barrel. So now it's my official sound-pod launcher." He loaded one of the silver balls into the barrel and handed the rifle to Dad. "Give it a try," he said. Dad smiled excitedly as he aimed the rifle into the blue sky. He pulled the trigger. Phfffft! The ball hissed out of the gun, a silver blur. And then,