AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Twenty-Five
We come across an elderly couple, their home a muddy mess with a dark line along the walls about four feet high. It’s a sick reminder of where the flood waters rose and receded. I fight to hold back the tears. They’re sitting in a foot of mud on their couch, shaking from shock and cold. Who would leave these elderly people here alone? Why didn’t anyone get them out?
The soldiers jump into action, assessing their vitals and then getting them out of the house. These people are too weak to walk far and the roads aren’t drivable, so we wait with them until a rescue helicopter arrives.
They take the woman first, strapping her into a chair-like contraption so they can fly her over to the hospital, before coming back for the man. She cries as she goes and her husband cries too. I can’t help it, so do I. It’s terrible. Nobody should have to go through this. Ethan takes my hand and squeezes, dragging me away from the group.
“Do you want to go?” he asks.
I wipe away the tears and shake my head. “There’s more people that need our help.”
Rather than wait for the helicopter to come back for the elderly man, Ethan and I head to the next house, marking it as clear for the coast guard. And then the next. And the next. We only come across a few more people in distress, but thankfully no bodies or anybody as heartbreaking as the elderly couple.
It’s close to midnight when we’re told to go home, that more troops are being deployed and they won’t need us to come back in the morning. We thank them for letting us help and start the trek back to Ethan’s SUV. It’s pitch black out here but luckily Ethan’s phone has battery left for the flashlight. What if there are more people stuck in the homes that haven’t been checked yet? What if they don’t have flashlights? I start crying again. It’s not fair. All these homes. All these people. And we weren’t even in the worst hit area.
Did people die in this?
“There’s nothing else we can do,” Ethan says solemnly, taking my hand and squeezing. “But you did good work today. We did what we could.”
He’s right, but it doesn’t make it any better.
We make it back to the SUV and Ethan checks his phone again.
“I’ve got service,” he says relieved, and immediately calls his dad to let him know he’s alright and to give the status on the house. I can hear Conrad’s booming voice through the other line and hold my breath as I listen. As far as I know, Ethan didn’t tell his dad I’m here.
There are a couple of security cameras outside of the house, none inside because the twins demanded privacy, and Conrad tells Ethan that the cameras went down during the storm. They’re still not up. Ethan has to be the one to break the news about the damage but Conrad doesn’t sound the least bit worried. I fight to roll my eyes—damaged floors in a hallway is the end of the world but an exterior wall caving into the primary bedroom is apparently no big deal.
“How’s Camilla? Did she evacuate?” Ethan asks.
The line goes silent and I know exactly what that means. None of the Kings checked up on her before the storm. What a bunch of selfish assholes.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I grumble, sinking down into my seat.
Ethan shushes me, giving me a dark look and holding his finger over the mic on his phone. “He doesn’t know you’re with me,” he mouths.
Well, I guess that confirms that.
“Give me her address and phone number,” Ethan insists to his father. “You must have it somewhere.”
“I’ll text it to you shortly,” Conrad replies. “Stay safe, son. We’ll see you when the island is clear.”
They hang up and Ethan pauses for a second, a contemplative line between his eyebrows. What is he thinking? But he shakes it off and puts the car into gear.
We drive back to the house which is much easier with the path we cleared on the way down. Ten minutes later and we’re sitting in the driveway with Camilla’s address. Ethan looks it up on Google Maps before we even head into the house.
“She’s nowhere near the flood zone. She’s probably fine.”
I release the biggest sigh of relief. “See if you can call her.”
“Already on it.” But she doesn’t pick up and I’m right back to square one.
We can’t go to her place because it’s not close, and it’s too dark for the chainsaw. Ethan calls his father back and demands Conrad find a way to check on her and call us back as soon as we know she’s okay. I’m sitting next to him in the passenger seat, practically boiling over. These people suck. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Camilla is nothing to them when she’s not in their kitchen.
“Just find her,” Ethan finishes, hanging up.
“And how long has she been working for your family?” I ask, my tone accusatory but I don’t even care. Camilla had told me the exact number, which I forgot, but I know it’s been since the twins were boys.
Ethan tenses. “I know I’m an asshole, okay?”
