Chad clumsily fumbled with the zippity-zoppidy. He'd maintenanced them hundreds of times over the years but new challenges presented themself here and there- this particular instance proved more frustrating than usual.
Hail. High in the vortex of their most recent venture, a Super Saiyan 3 tornado, baseball sized hail had pummeled the boppity. It could take weeks to get it fully functioning again, but Chad had no such time.
The system that had produced the daunting giant they'd just pursued threatened to unleash an even greater adversary. A storm chasers' dream.
'Let's go already! Christ, the thing's beat to shit!' Marty, the driver, sputtered through an obsessively ashed cigarette.
'There won't be any point of goin' if this thing ain't workin', Mart.' Chad shouted back, knowing his retort would buy him but a few more seconds.
The sputtered purr of the old van's ignition firing was the response he received, 'boat's leavin'!' Marty smirked, tossing his butt out the window. 'Got me a funnel to find, bud'.
Chad looked anxiously to the darkening sky, holding the abused instrument like an injured puppy, let out a sigh and scurried into the van without an argument.
They cruised down the traffic-less interstate in silence aside from the shrill country music Marty preferred. They'd worked together so long that they'd become comfortable with silence.
Chad needed the silence. His heart had been racing since the last funnel had finally finished its course of devastation. For all the calm Marty was putting forth he knew his partner was nervous, too.
'He had to have seen that too'- he thought- 'that just wasn't natural'.
He shifted his eyes to his partner who was dragging from his third cigarette in the last half hour.
'Mart-'
'I don't know Chad. I don't know.'
'But you seen that-'
'I don't know what I seen Chad. Fuck.' He took a long drag from his cigarette and his body language indicated he wasn't interested in continuing. Chad looked down at the zippity zobbidy.
'If I could just find a new Boppidy... Then we'd know...' He lamented to himself.
The car continued its march towards the darkening horizon ahead, and Chad's heart sink deeper.