AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I climbed a few rungs of the ladder, which was more rickety than it had been yesterday. I got up high enough to see the roof and didn’t need to see anymore. All the ariels and antennas, gone. The satellite was twisted on its side, the bracket that once fastened it, now bent with screws facing up.
But by some miracle, the roofing iron looked secure. Nothing lifted or bent, nothing likely to become a liability once the second half of the storm hit.
I jumped back down, squelching into the mud as I trudged around the other side of the building. All the window boards I’d put up looked to be holding, and as I got to the front of the building, I noticed someone across the street standing out the front of their house. An elderly man, lookin’ a little lost.
I walked toward him, talking through the fence. “You okay? How you holdin’ up?”
He gave a shaky nod and gestured around. “House’s okay, I think. Is it all over?”
“No. This is just the eye. Still got the backend to go yet. You should go back inside.”
He grimaced. “Better go check on Jean and Michael,” he said, going towards the house next door.
“Don’t stay out long,” I said, but he didn’t say anything, just kept walkin’.
I trudged through the mud, back up the stairs, and inside. Jeremiah’s phone torch was the only source of light and it took my eyes a second to adjust. “The generator’s gone,” I said.
Doreen’s eyes flashed in the dark as she stood up straight. “What do you mean gone?”
“I mean no longer there. Just one bent and rusted bolt stickin’ up where it used to be.”
She grunted. “Fuck.”
“And the roof,” I said. “Antennas are all out. Satellite’s still there, but it’s blown over and hanging on by a screw or two.”
Both Jeremiah and Doreen turned to the one and only working radar. “This old thing is still working,” Jeremiah said. “That means there’s one radio tower still operational.”
“It bounces off the Coastal Radio Service,” Doreen said. “But it’s east of here.” Jeremiah’s gaze cut to hers, like that was bad news, and she gave a nod. “We won’t have it for long.”
“I’ll try and fix the satellite,” I offered, going to the shelf where I’d put the drill... the drill that needed power.
Fuck.
“Is there a screwdriver anywhere?” I asked.
Doreen dropped her head back with a groan. “It don’t matter at this point. It’s all over.” She gestured to the black screens. “We got nothin’ and we can’t communicate with no one.” She let out a deep, resigned sigh. “This happened after Tracy. We lost all comms. The whole city was cut off.”
I wanted to say those were different times, that technology was different... but this bureau was so freaking old.
“We need to let people know,” Jeremiah said, shaking his head. “It’s imperative that people know.”
I was almost afraid to ask. “Know what?”
“Hazer. He’s tracking due east along the coast, much faster than we anticipated. He’s pinballed, and he’s not slowing down.”
“Okay,” I said, not really understanding his urgency. “We knew that was a possibility. Those people along the eastern—”
He put his hand through his hair. “It means the time in the eye is significantly shorter. We estimated a ninety-minute window in the eye, but that’s now not going to happen.”
“How much time do we have?”
His eyes cut to mine. “Twenty minutes, maybe.”
Fuck.
Suri, still sitting on the floor with Bruce, drew her knees up. “Doreen,” I said calmly, “why don’t you take them outside for fresh air. I’m sure Bruce needs to pee. And the old guy across the street was going next door to check on his neighbours. I told him not to be long, but I don’t know if he heard me.”
Doreen took the hint and led Suri outside, leaving me with Jeremiah. “I’ll have to drive to the police station,” he said. “Maybe I can let them know. Oh god, is the Jeep still even here?”
