3 nouns, Day 6: Tornado, Combine, Bob

            A howling wind rushed across the fields of wheat.  The sound of a large vehicle contested the noise of the gusting wind.  Bob Russel was out in his field in his combine.  Bob was a farmer and his day of work was almost done. 

            As he glanced longingly over his shoulder in the direction of his house, he noticed a cloud spinning in a funnel shape, descending rapidly towards the ground.

            “Oh no,” muttered Bob. 

            He immediately turned his combine around and gunned it towards the house.  The tornado touched down and also sped towards the house. 

            “This is not good.”

            Bob pushed down on the gas as hard as he could.  The tornado was not going fast and Bob was gaining on it quickly.  Just as Bob was getting close, the tornado sped up and was getting dangerously close to Bob’s house.

            “No!  Stop!”

            Bob had to slam on the brakes as the tornado did in fact stop.  The tornado was still spinning it just wasn’t moving. 

            Bob sat there scratching his head.  The tornado slowly began, it almost seemed like it was shuffling, towards the house again. 

            “Stop!” yelled Bob.

            The tornado stopped. 

            “I want you to get off my property.”

            The tornado wavered back and forth as if it was shaking its head somehow. 

            “Yes.”

            The tornado wavered again and began slowly moving forward.

            “No!”

            The tornado stopped.

            Bob revved up his engine and slowly skirted around the tornado.  He then again slammed down on the gas pedal and shot towards the tornado (at least as fast as a combine can shoot forward).  Bob’s hunch had been right.  The tornado rushed away in the opposite direction, fleeing from Bob.  Whichever way Bob directed his combine the tornado would try to avoid him, but for some reason it couldn’t seem to pull far away from Bob.  Bob chased it around his property until eventually the tornado rose up into the clouds and disappeared as all tornadoes eventually do.

            “That was odd,” said Bob.

            Bob tried telling his friends about the odd happening.  None of his friends believed him, so Bob made a bet with them.  The next time there was a tornado in the area, Bob would try and chase it. 

            It took a couple of years, but finally another tornado touched down in the area.  It was at Bob’s friend Phil’s farm.  Phil had been the most skeptical out of all of them. 

            Bob smiled as he drove over to Phil’s property.  This was going to be satisfying.  Not only was he going to be vindicated, but Bob would also be making a fair portion of money from his bets.

            Bob arrived at the farm and Phil came out to greet him. 

            “You don’t need to do this, Bob,” said Phil with a worried expression on his face.  “You could get yourself killed.”

            Bob grinned cockily and revved his engine.  He drove straight ahead and the tornado was heading straight for him.  Sweat beaded on Bob’s forehead as he approached the twirling mass of dirt and cloud.  It didn’t show any sign of slowing down or swerving.  They got closer and closer.  Bob’s stomach jumped into his throat.  At the last possible second the tornado turned and Bob turned to follow.  He exhaled the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding.

            Bob chased the tornado around for a good half-hour whooping and laughing and sending his friends weird expressions.

            “Well?” said Bob as he pulled up to Phil’s front deck where his friends had been watching the whole crazy thing.

            Eventually they all mumbled they had been wrong and payed up.

            Bob drove away with the taste of sweet victory and the feeling of sweet cash in his pocket.