Crash!

Dex hit the pavement. It took him a few long seconds to realize what had happened.

It wasn’t the car that had knocked him down.

It was Zeke!

The dog had smacked into the bike, sending Dex tumbling to the street seconds before the car would have hit him.

Dex sat there in shock until Zeke revived him with an attack of slobbering licks.

“You saved me,” Dex said, burying his face in Zeke’s smooth gray fur.

Dex was still catching his breath when a man came rushing toward him. Dex realized that it was the owner of the car that had almost hit him.

Dex hauled himself to his feet.

“Are you okay?!” the man asked breathlessly. “I think that dog of yours might have superpowers! Did he actually push you off that bike?”

“I think he did,” Dex said, staring at the man. There was something familiar about his shiny bald head and friendly brown eyes.

Wait … no … could it be?

Dex’s heart started to pound.

“You’re Doctor Norman Gage,” Dex blurted out. “The storm chaser!”

“That’s right,” the man said with a surprised laugh.

Dr. Gage had his own TV show, called Tornado Mysteries. Dad and Dex watched it every week. Jeremy had loved it, too. What was extra cool was that Dad had actually known Dr. Gage in college. Dad always regretted that they’d lost touch.

“I’m Dex James,” Dex said, trying not to squeak with excitement like one of the Tucker twins. “I think you maybe know my father, David.”

Dr. Gage studied Dex with a confused look, but then he burst into a big grin.

“You’re kidding me! You’re Dave James’s son!” he said. “I miss that guy! Your dad is one of the smartest people I’ve ever met!”

“I love your show,” Dex gushed.

“Ha!” Dr. Gage said. “And to think I almost ran over my only fan.”

“No! My dad and brother love your show, too.”

“That makes my day,” Dr. Gage said, and Dex could see he really meant it.

Dex looked over at Dr. Gage’s vehicle, which he recognized now from the show. It was a bright red SUV with thick tires and a forest of antennas sprouting from the roof. It looked more like a tank than a regular car.

“What are you doing here in Joplin?” Dex asked.

Dex knew that Dr. Gage lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was a good two hours away.

“There’s a workshop I’m going to this evening,” Dr. Gage said. “But I’m going to stay over and do some storm chasing tomorrow. There’s an interesting storm brewing to the west of here.”

“You think we’ll get a tornado?” Dex asked.

They got plenty of storms every spring, violent thunderstorms that turned the sky black and sent down sheets of rain. There were tornado warnings practically every week. But there hadn’t been a big tornado in Joplin in forty years.

“You never know for sure when a tornado is going to strike,” Dr. Gage said. “But I’ve been tracking this storm all week. From the way things are looking, I think we could get a tornado somewhere north of Galena.”

Galena was about seven miles from Joplin, just over the Kansas border.

Dex felt a mix of fear and excitement.

“I’ve always wanted to see a tornado,” he blurted out.

Not a big one, of course, and not up close. He understood that tornadoes are one of the most destructive forces in nature. Powerful tornadoes are like mile-wide chain saws, with winds that can get up to 300 miles per hour, strong enough to pulverize buildings, turn a neighborhood into a pile of wood chips, or pick up a tractor trailer and hurl it a hundred yards.

Tornadoes were terrifying. But they were fascinating, too, like Komodo dragons and black mamba snakes.

And Dex had always wanted to see one with his own eyes, not just in YouTube videos and on Dr. Gage’s show.

“Tell you what,” Dr. Gage said. “Why don’t you and your dad come along with me tomorrow? I can’t guarantee we’ll see anything — most times I don’t. But there’s always something new to learn.”

Dex’s heart leaped up, but then he remembered that both Mom and Dad had to go to the Joplin High School graduation tomorrow. All of the teachers had to be there.

“My dad won’t be able to come,” Dex said.

Dr. Gage reached into his pocket and took out a business card, which he handed to Dex.

“Have my old buddy give me a call. Maybe he’ll let you come and help me out.”

Dr. Gage gave Zeke a last pat on the head and got into his SUV.

Dex blinked his eyes hard, sure this was all a dream.

But no! He had been invited to go storm chasing with Dr. Norman Gage.

He might actually see a tornado, for real.