Storm Runners

One of the two main lessons of the story is the value of preparedness—the other is the importance of teamwork—and preparation is emphasized repeatedly.

Chase travels with his father as John searches for gainful employment. Because that work involves dangerous weather, both father and son must be prepared for any emergency. John teaches Chase to respect those dangers and plan for them in case they happen. To that end, John trains his son always to keep nearby a “go bag” filled with emergency supplies—night lights, nutrition bars, water, communication devices, a high-efficiency blanket, and first aid—and Chase reliably totes that bag everywhere. The bag’s contents prove crucial when their school bus crashes, and they need the very things the bag contains.

The boy is also prepared by training to expect people to issue bad emergency commands and be ready to suffer ridicule from them and others. Chase asks Dr. Krupp to keep the bussed kids at school, but she chastises him, thinking him merely afraid; meanwhile, other students poke fun at him for his apparent cowardice. They have no idea that he’s already thinking ahead on plans to protect Nicole and the others who must ride the bus home.

When, later, Nicole introduces Rashawn to Chase, she says, “You’re the boy who was afraid to get on the bus” (71). Used to the misunderstandings of others, Chase replies with a simple, “Yeah” (71).

Chase’s dad practices what he preaches. John brings along not one but two 4x4 SUV trucks, and when one is seriously damaged, he moves his gear from it to the other truck. As he drives north in search of Chase during the hurricane, he and partner Tomás split up their search paths, make plans to get around roadblocks and other obstacles and work as a practiced team to solve problems as they spring up. When a tree blocks the road, the two men bring out a chain saw they keep for just such a situation. If there’s no cellphone service, John has satellite phones for his team.

Nicole, raised to handle dangerous animals and high-tension circus acts, reacts coolly to the dangers she faces alongside Rashawn and Chase. Rashawn, who also knows about wild animals from her life on an animal rescue ranch, also shows coolness under pressure. She’s good at thinking through problems and coming up with answers and solutions that help the trio of kids deal with new situations that arise.

By contrast, those in the story who aren’t prepared suffer for it. Dr. Krupp sends students home on buses, which leads to the accident that sends Chase and his friends into the heart of the storm. The bus driver, poorly trained to handle bad weather, gets lost on a levee and loses control of the vehicle, dying in the process. News anchor Richard tries to head north toward the hurricane but has no practice with real weather dangers and must hang back at a shelter while his competitor, Cindy, drives into the maelstrom with John.

Preparedness thus saves lives during the emergency, while ignorance and other forms of unreadiness take heavy tolls on life and property.