Free The Tornado Chasers by Ross Montgomery Page A

needs glasses to
see
.’
    Orlaith put her head in her hands and quietly counted to ten.
    ‘Look,’ she said. ‘Let’s just stick to the facts: if we get caught, then we’re going straight to County.’ She looked at us gravely. ‘And I doubt
anyone
here wants that to happen.’
    We took a moment to think about it. I might not have heard much about the Warden, but I certainly didn’t want to find out any more.
    ‘So,’ said Orlaith, turning back to the bed sheet, ‘we’ll need to be fast. We need something to get us in and out the village as quickly as possible.’
    Callum shrugged. ‘Bikes?’
    Orlaith rolled her eyes. ‘We can’t just
cycle
past my dad, Callum.’
    ‘We could if we made them less easy to see,’ I piped up. ‘You know, like …’ I fumbled for the right word. ‘…
Stealth
bikes.’
    Everyone muttered in agreement.
    ‘God, that sounds cool,’ said Callum.
    ‘Yeah!’ said Ceri excitedly. ‘We could paint them black, so they couldn’t be seen in the dark! The helmet, the handlebars, the wheels … everything.’
    Orlaith thought about it for a moment.
    ‘You know, that could work,’ she said. ‘I could adapt all your bikes to make them lighter, and faster as well. Put silencers on the wheels, maybe …’
    ‘Er,’ said Callum. ‘Aren’t we all forgetting something?’
    We looked at him. Callum shifted uncomfortably on his seat.
    ‘Well … er …’ He rubbed at his neck awkwardly. ‘There are
certain
members of the gang who might not be able to, you know … use a bicycle.’ He paused. ‘Because of their legs.’
    We all turned to look at Ceri. She looked back at us blankly.
    ‘Hmm? What?’ she said.
    ‘Er … Ceri,’ I said carefully. ‘Can you use a bike?With your braces?’
    Ceri rolled her eyes. ‘What do you think? Of course I can’t!’
    She turned back to the others.
    ‘But aren’t we missing something here? I mean – what’s the whole point of us doing this?
To get a photo.
And I’m the best person to do that, aren’t I? I’m a photographer! But unless there’s someone else riding my bike for me, I’m not going to be able to get a shot – and I’m not going to get off the bike and stand next to a flipping tornado, am I …?’
    ‘Ahem.’
    We turned round. Pete had put his hand up, like we were still in school. He looked at us timidly. There was a long pause.
    ‘You can talk, Pete,’ Orlaith muttered.
    Pete put his hand down. ‘My nan’s got a special bike. It’s got a sidecar – like an old motorbike from black-and-white films.’
    ‘Pete lives with his nan,’ Orlaith explained.
    Pete nodded shyly. ‘It’s old, but it still works. My nan would never even notice it’s gone. Ceri could sit in it and take photos while I pedal her.’
    Orlaith nodded. ‘Well then, that’s settled. Ceri can share Pete’s bike.’ She turned to face us. ‘Bring them allto the next meeting – back here, same time tomorrow. We can’t afford to lose any time – I mean, who knows how long we have left before the tornado lands …’
    As if on cue, another groan of wind picked up outside, rattling the metal roof. We looked at each other nervously.
    ‘It’s coming fast, isn’t it?’ I said nervously.
    ‘Yeah,’ said Ceri with a sigh. ‘I hope Flossie’s alright.’
    I frowned. We all turned to look at her.
    ‘What do you mean, you hope Flossie’s alright?’ said Orlaith.
    Ceri looked at her blankly. ‘I mean, I hope she doesn’t get blown away or anything. Outside. On the steps.’
    She jerked a thumb at the door. We stared back at her in horror. Ceri blinked.
    ‘What?’ she said. ‘I had to bring her with me, didn’t I? She’s my Home-Time Partner! Don’t worry, she doesn’t need a fun bun or anything. I gave her a bag of crisps.’
    We all leapt up.
    ‘
You just left her standing outside?
’ Callum cried.
    Ceri looked confused. ‘You … you said it was a top-secret meeting.’
    ‘Are you thick?’ said Callum. ‘It’s Weekend