Page 153 of The Storm Boys Series Collection

“They make them do it,” Doreen said.

“Well, any producer who makes their reporters stand in harm’s way for good ratings should be fired.” I shook my head. “The ratings will be awesome when she’s speared with flying debris live on morning television. Great family viewing.”

Doreen snorted, and Tully sipped his coffee. “I think she’s the one I gave an earful to the other day.”

“We’ve had non-stop reports coming in from the weather bureau overnight,” the reporter said on the screen. “Now, we know that station has to be controlled manually, so I’d like to give a shout out to the hardworking team that gives us the information to keep us safe.”

“Woo-hoo!” Doreen hollered and whacked my shoulder. “She made us out to be heroes.”

I rolled my eyes. “I still don’t like her, and she’s still an idiot for standing out there like that.”

Tully shrugged. “Well, at least she’s not here, annoying us.”

That was true. “Fair point.”

“Gonna call my fam,” he said, quickly hitting the FaceTime app. In just a few seconds, the screen filled with a bunch of faces. “Hey, guys,” he said.

“Morning, Tully,” his dad said. Others chorused in as well.

Including Ellis. “Hey, dick bag.”

Then Rowan and two women I’d never seen before—maybe Zoe and Rowan’s wife—shoved him out of the screen, admonishing his language in front of the kids.

Tully thought it was funny. “There’s duct tape in the drawers. If you hogtie him, youhaveto send me pictures.”

His mum sighed. “So how’re you holding up?”

He had to kind of yell over the storm. “Yeah, we’re fine here, Mum. How about you guys?”

His dad nodded. “We’re all fine. It’s nice and cosy right now. The noise above us is crazy, but we’ve got food and water, and everyone’s safe.”

“Good, good. And yeah, it’s loud here too. Probably a good thing we can’t see outside, though the video feeds are lookin’ pretty wild.” Tully’s smile faltered for a brief second, and it hurt to know a part of him, even the smallest part, wished he was there with them and that I was the reason he wasn’t.

“So,” he said. “Things are gonna get rough for the next couple of hours. Jeremiah, what’s the status?”

I didn’t want to say specifics because I didn’t want to sound pessimistic or scare them. I could only nod and repeat what he said. “Yeah. Things are going to get rough for the next couple of hours.”

My eyes caught his, and he nodded. Then Tully smiled back at the screen. “Okay. We’ll talk again soon, okay?”

They all nodded. “Love you,” his dad said, and my heart burned. Hearing their affection and love for one another made my relationship with my own father feel so... sad.

I busied myself with the console, reading some incredible data. Wind speeds I’d never seen before, lows of 980 hPa and rainfall in excess of 200 ml in just a matter of hours. It was all Doreen and I could do to keep the alerts up to date with the data coming in. But my mind kept wandering...

Until Doreen’s big hand gripped my shoulder. Gentle but firm. “You okay there, doc?”

Startled, I nodded quickly. I hadn’t realised I’d zoned out. “Ah, yeah, of course.”

Tully came over and parked himself on my lap. “Tully, I can’t see—”

He held my phone. “Call your dad.”

“I’m kinda busy.”

He pressed the phone into my chest in hopes I’d take it. “While we still have mobile phone towers. While you still can.”

“Tully—”

He sighed, then held my phone up to my face to unlock the screen. He scrolled for a second, pressed some buttons, then held the phone to my ear. My father’s voice was faint. “Hello.”

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