“You too,” Nicole responded. “We’re gonna need it.”
01:23AM
“What are you doing out here?” the sopping-wet policeman shouted through the driver’s window of John’s truck.
“Emergency services,” John answered calmly.
The policeman acted like he hadn’t heard him. “Maybe you missed the memo, or maybe you’re just insane. Do you realize that you’re driving around in a Category Five hurricane?”
The shouting policeman woke Mark. He pushed his long hair behind his ears. “What’s happening?”
Cindy turned. “Go back to sleep.”
“Fat chance. Where are we?”
The policeman shined his light in Mark’s face. “You’re smack-dab in the middle of the biggest hurricane ever to hit here. Maybe the biggest to hit the United States.”
“I heard that it’s been downgraded to a Category Four,” John said.
“Three, four, five … makes no difference to me. It’s destroyed every road up ahead. It’s an ongoing disaster. A national disaster.”
“Which is why we’re here,” John said. “We’re contractors. If the roads are impassable ahead, how did you get here?”
The policeman glared at him for a second, then said, “I just turned back two Federal Emergency Management Agency trucks. The FEMA people weren’t too happy with me either, but I have my orders. The only people we’re letting through are law enforcement and National Guard. We’ll let you know when you can pass.”
“It’s hard to help people if you aren’t there to help them,” John said.
“I hear you, but there’s nothing I can do. And there’s nothing you can do for anybody in a little four-by-four with a winch.”
“We have two big rigs stationed ahead with supplies.” Cindy raised her eyebrows but didn’t contradict him.
“Providing that your rigs are still intact, and there’s a good chance they aren’t. As bad as it is here, it’s worse up ahead. A lot worse. About five miles back down the road is a high school. We’ve set up a temporary shelter in the gym. You’ll find uncomfortable cots, bad coffee, stale donuts, and dozens of annoyed people just like you waiting to get through to do their thing. Don’t expect to get through until midmorning at the earliest. We’ll assess the damage and let you know if and when you can proceed.”
John turned the truck around and headed back down the road.
“It’s not that long before daylight,” Mark said. “Bet that shelter is filled with news people. I’m kind of partial to bad coffee and day-old donuts.”
John passed his Thermos back to him. “Help yourself. There’s half a box of donuts under the seat. You’ll need the bad coffee to soften them up.”
Mark took the Thermos. “I take that to mean that we’re not going to the shelter.”
“Nope.”
“Then where are we going?”
“The road less traveled,” Cindy said.
“First I have to talk to Tomás.”
John pulled to the side of the road and called his partner on his sat phone. They proceeded to have a short conversation in Spanglish, which Cindy and Mark could barely understand. He ended the call and punched in some coordinates on his in-dash GPS, then studied the map.
“Tomás thinks he’s found a way past the roadblock. Do either of you know how to use a chain saw?”
01:28AM
Chase swam in widening circles for six minutes, shouting Rashawn’s name, listening, then shouting again, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. He hated to stop looking, but they had to get back to shore or risk drowning themselves. He treaded water and looked at his GPS. Rather than risk having to cross another breach he decided he’d haul out where the road ended. As he swam toward shore he continued to call out for Rashawn.
Nicole was exhausted and hoarse from shouting.
Rashawn wouldn’t be able to hear me from twenty feet away.
She spotted Chase’s light, which seemed impossibly far away in the dark rough water.
“Rashawn! Rashawn!”
Chase stumbled up on shore, staying low to the ground to keep from getting knocked over by the wind. He shined his headlamp all around, looking for gators, then sat down on the bank to catch his breath.
Now that he was still he could feel the throbbing pain in his shoulder. If he had jumped a second later, the entire slab of asphalt might have hit him, knocking him out, or worse, pinning him underwater.
He scanned the churning water for Nicole’s light and began to panic when he didn’t see it. He stood and squinted against the rain, then let out a sigh of relief when he spotted a pinpoint of light much farther away than it should have been.
If she’s having trouble, the light should be flashing. What is she doing?
“Thank God you’re okay!”
Chase nearly pitched forward into the water. “Rashawn? What are you doing here?”
She ran forward and threw her big arms around him, crunching his shoulder, but he was so happy to see her he didn’t care. She squeezed him tighter and he grunted in pain.
She let go of him. “You hurt? What’s the matter?”
“Some of the road fell on me when we went in after you, but I’m fine. What happened to you?”
“I really thought I could make it across, but you were right about the wind. It picked me up like I was a goose feather, then the current sucked me under. I thought for sure I was going to drown. When I finally came up I had no idea where I was. I just started swimming and climbed out about a hundred yards down from here. I hurried back to the breach, which is huge now. When I didn’t see you or Nicole, I freaked. I thought you got washed away. Where were you?”
“We jumped in the water after you. We kept calling, but you couldn’t hear us up on the road.”
“Where’s Nicole?”
Chase pointed to the water.
“You mean that tiny light out there?”
“She should be heading in by now, but it doesn’t look like she’s getting any closer. I’m worried. She’s been out there too long.”
“This is all my fault,” Rashawn sobbed. “If I hadn’t tried to jump, you and —”
Chase cut her off. “If you hadn’t tried to jump, one or all of us might have been crushed by the asphalt that got me. We were wasting time talking. You got us moving.”
“Thanks, Chase.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Let’s get Nicole.” She started toward the water.
Chase took her arm and pulled her back. “I’m not going to get far with this bum shoulder. And I’m not about to let you get back in the water. We need to stick together. I’ll let her know you’re safe. Let’s get up on the road.”
They scrambled to the top. It was hard to believe, but the wind seemed to be blowing even harder. They had to get on their knees and hang on to each other to keep from being blown back over the edge into the water.
Chase took his headlamp off, switched it to emergency mode, and held it above his head. He hoped Nicole could see the light. He hoped she’d understand that Rashawn was with him. He hoped she had the stamina to make it back to shore against the wind.
01:41AM
Everything the makeup artist had done to Richard Krupp’s face and hair came undone the moment he stepped outside into Emily. The sound and ferocity of the wind and rain scared him and his two-man crew half to death. If the crew hadn’t been there, Richard might have run back through the doorway they’d just slipped through. He locked arms with his cameraman, who in turn linked up with the sound guy. The three of them made their way to the filming location they’d picked from the van when they first drove up. When they’d chosen the spot, it had looked easy to get to. Halfway there, they all had serious doubts. Bits of flying debris slammed into their Gore-Tex rain suits like shotgun pellets.
“We should be wearing body armor!” the cameraman shouted.
“I’m getting way too old for this …” The sound guy’s last word was carried away by the wind.
&nb
sp; Richard was speechless. It was all he could do to move his legs forward and breathe. The wind was blowing so hard it was tough to catch enough to fill his lungs.
He was worried about getting hit by a large chunk of debris. He was also worried about being completely blown away by the wind. But his biggest concern was how he was going to look on camera and what he was going to say.
If they could manage to get the video uploaded, there was a good chance that it would be played all over the world. His producer wanted to run a live feed of the video, but Richard insisted on a review before it hit the airwaves. He argued that at this time of morning, viewership would be low, especially locally with the widespread power outages. He wanted a second shot if he didn’t like the first one. But now that he was out in the storm, he had absolutely no desire for a second take. Somehow he had to mask his abject terror with a look of calm courage.
The cameraman stopped, and started pushing buttons on the video camera and wiping the lens. “You’re going to have to do double duty!” he shouted at the sound guy. “You’ll have to keep the lens dry!”
“Can’t you just change the angle?” his coworker shouted back. “I’m going to have my hands full with the sound in this wind.”
“It doesn’t matter what angle the camera is at. The rain’s coming from every direction. The lens is going to get drenched.”
The sound guy looked at Richard. “You’ll have to use the hardwire mic. The wind’s too loud for the lapel or boom mic.” He handed the mic to Richard. “Hold it right to your lips. Don’t shout, but talk loud, or no one’s going to hear you. On three.”
Richard spread his legs and braced himself as best as he could. He tried to set his expression into “bravery in the grip of terrible adversity” but it was difficult with the wind contorting his face as if he were in a free fall without a parachute.
The cameraman held up his index finger. When his ring finger went up, Richard began.
“If Emily has been downgraded to a Category Four hurricane, I would hate to be standing in a Category Five hurricane to bring you this update.
“As you can see, I’m right in the thick of it. All around me is complete and utter devastation as I try to get home to my loved ones. But they say there is no way home. Every road in is impassable. I’ve fought my way through the storm all night, and I’ll continue to fight regardless of personal risk.
“I realize that it’s difficult for you watching in your living rooms to get a true sense of Emily’s power, but let me tell you … it … is … immense. I have stood in the face of at least a dozen hurricanes in my life, but never one of this magnitude.
“I’m going to sign off now because I need to push forward. Stay tuned and stay safe. I’ll update you when I can.”
Richard stared at the camera for a dramatic beat, then gave the crew a nod to shut the equipment down. “Let’s get out of here.”
Huddled together against the wind and rain, they shuffled fifteen feet to their left, yanked open a door, and stumbled into a large gymnasium filled with people, cots, food, water, warmth, light, the smell of coffee, and the hum of generators.
His producer met them with an armload of fluffy white towels, hot coffee, and a dozen glazed donuts.
Richard grabbed a towel and looked down at the box of donuts. “No sugar donuts?”
“They’re out,” the producer said. “But the rumor is that more are on the way. How’d the shoot go?”
“We’ll have to run tape to be sure, but I think it’s good.”
“You weren’t out there very long.”
“And you weren’t out there at all,” Richard snapped. “I just risked my life.” He grabbed two donuts. “Let’s take a look at the vid and get it on the air. I need to get some sleep.”
01:53AM
John, Cindy, and Mark had left the main road and managed to circumvent the first roadblock.
John bumped the 4x4 back onto the highway and stepped on the gas. He’d been on the sat phone with Tomás almost constantly.
“Tomás says they aren’t letting anyone past the roadblock he’s at, but he thinks he’s found a way around it. He’s waiting for us seven miles up ahead. If we can get around it, we’re home free.” A large branch hit the windshield and cracked it. “Well, at least we’ll be past the authorities. We’ll still have to deal with Emily.”
Cindy looked at her watch. “That should just about give you enough time to tell me about your earring.”
John stared straight ahead, then told her what it felt like to get struck by lightning.
01:54AM
“I think her light is definitely getting bigger,” Rashawn said.
Chase couldn’t tell, but he was certain the wind was blowing harder. He and Rashawn were nearly hugging the road, trying to stay in one place. He hoped that when Nicole made it to shore she had enough strength left in her legs to walk.
“Maybe I should swim out to her,” Rashawn suggested again.
“I thought you said she was getting closer.”
“I think she is. But she’s been in the water a long time. She has to be getting tired.”
“Let’s wait,” Chase said, but he was tempted to let Rashawn go. The problem was that they might have to carry Nicole, and he would need Rashawn to help him. They were fifty yards from the end of the levee road. As soon as Nicole reached shore they’d have to move quickly or they’d be back in the water with the gators. According to the GPS, about a hundred yards past the levee the road took a sharp turn to the left. If the wind held its current direction, it would be at their backs all the way to the road the Rossi farm was on. Two miles up that road was the gate. They were less than three miles from safety.
“Three miles!” he said aloud, but the words were swept away by Emily.
02:08AM
“I’m so sorry about your wife and little girl. I don’t know how I would have —”
Something large and loud slammed into the side of the truck. John yanked the steering wheel toward the impact and stepped on the gas, trying to get the 4x4 under control. The truck slid sideways for twenty feet, then came to an abrupt stop against something hard.
The air bags deployed.
The engine stopped.
John felt the side of his head where it had bounced off the window. There was a bump the size of an egg, but no blood.
“Everyone okay?” he asked, pushing the air bag away from his face.
“You need side-impact air bags.”
“I’ll get them when I replace this truck, which I probably just totaled.”
“There are no air bags back here,” Mark said. “But I’m fine even though we just got hit by a flying tree.”
“We got hit by a boulder,” John said. “Then we hit a tree.” “Whatever,” Mark said.
Bright headlights filled the windshield.
“Tomás,” John said. They’d been following him on back roads for nearly fifteen minutes.
John tried to start the engine.
“Dead.” He rolled the window down.
A yellow rain slicker appeared at the window. “Hurt?”
“No, but I think we’re going to have to buy another truck. Let’s get the stuff transferred.”
Tomás nodded, then jogged around the back, seemingly oblivious to Emily’s fury. A few minutes later they were back on the road, with Tomás behind the wheel and Saint Christopher on the dash.
02:11AM
Nicole knew she should have headed back to shore sooner, but every time she started in that direction the possibility of missing Rashawn’s call for help stopped her. Finally she saw Chase’s red and white flashing light. It was above her, which meant it had to be up on the road. Chase was either in trouble, or Rashawn was with him. She prayed it was the latter and started toward the light.
It turned out to be the most difficult thing she’d ever done in her life. She was swimming hard, but Chase’s light was not getting closer. In fact, it looked like it was getting farther away. And it was. Despite her eff
orts, the wind was pushing her backward. She began to think she should turn around and swim to the opposite shore, but she had no idea how far away it was, or how hard it would be to get back around to the levee. The lake was surrounded by thick vegetation. She might have to find a place to shelter and wait out the storm.
She decided to try to reach Chase one more time before giving herself to the wind.
“See?” Rashawn shouted.
Chase squinted against the rain at Nicole’s light.
“It’s getting bigger!” Rashawn said. “And there’s a pattern to it. Her light disappears at regular intervals. The whitecaps could not possibly be causing that.”
Nicole’s headlamp did seem to be getting bigger, or at least brighter. Chase stared at it until it disappeared. He glanced at his watch, noted the second, then looked back at the water where the light had been. The light reappeared. He looked at his watch. Thirty seconds. The light bobbed crazily for ten seconds, then disappeared again. He timed it two more intervals. They were the same within a couple of seconds. He looked at Rashawn.
“See what I mean?” she said.
What Chase saw was a sixth-grade girl with incredible courage. Instead of succumbing to paralyzing fear, like any normal person would in a storm like this, she’d been able to figure out the pattern to Nicole’s swimming. This meant that Rashawn was no longer afraid.