CHAPTER THREE
As night fell, Stormy and the others were gathered around the weather tracking systems, whispering to one another.
“It looks as if the worst is gone,” said Ham.
“Maybe,” said Stormy. “We have to worry about the flooding, the levees, and the storm surge it could create. If it continues to move across land, it will weaken. But if this bitchy girl decides to move back into the Gulf, God help us all.”
“Wait. You’re saying it could move back out and regain strength? Again?” asked Rowe.
“It could,” said Stormy. “I don’t think it will but I don’t want us to rush out there too quickly. Let me watch this through the night and I’ll have a better idea of what she’s doing. Either way, the storms created by the outer bands will wreak havoc on all of us.”
“Get some sleep, honey,” said Jalen. “We can watch from here and wake you if needed. You won’t do anyone any good if you don’t get some sleep.”
“Okay,” she nodded. “If you see any changes in wind direction or barometric pressure at all, let me know. I just need a few hours.”
As she walked toward her waiting cot, Jalen’s expression darkened. He was worried for his wife. She’d been following the storm since its inception. She was exhausted, not eating or sleeping, and he wanted her safe.
“It will be over soon,” said Matthew. “At least the active storm will be. Then the clean-up starts. Our neighbors will need us.”
“We need to check our own properties first,” said Ham. “I don’t mean to sound cruel, Matthew, but we have to ensure that we have homes to go to.”
“It’s not cruel,” smiled Matthew. “But you need to trust me. Our homes are just fine. Even the big house. The trees survived, the animals survived, G.R.I.P. survived. We all survived. Our neighbors haven’t been as lucky, although the sandbags saved many.”
“What about the fire station?” asked Ham.
“They’re all fine. The firefighters and their families, those that have them nearby, were all on the second floor of the station and they only got a little water in the bottom level where the trucks are parked.”
“That in itself is a miracle,” said Christian. “A storm like this? Category five? We are more than a little blessed.”
“We are indeed,” said Matthew. “But there is much work to be done. Get some rest. The real fight starts tomorrow.”
At times it sounded as if the storm were returning for another round of kick ass. At other times, it was so quiet it brought more fear than the thunderous sounds of winds and rain. Most slept very little and Stormy was no exception.
She fell asleep for a short time, woke and checked the radar readings, and then went back to sleep for another hour. By morning, the devastation was clear.
She found Jalen and the others huddled around a group of screens showing the drone footage from the surrounding areas.
“Good morning,” she said taking the coffee that Kate offered her. “Is this one view?”
“Multiple views,” said AJ. “We have twelve drones in the air. The worst of the damage is to our east. The levees held this time but the surges were higher than anyone expected. We’ve got homes completely gone. Not just roofs, not just flooding. Completely torn from their foundations.”
“Dear God,” she whispered staring at the footage on the screens. “How do we help all those people?”
“Most have left and were going to be returning in a few days to assess the damages once the roads were cleared. I think we need to let the local authorities know what we’re seeing,” said Luke.
“In the meantime, make sure we have cases of bottled water, extra generators, and any non-perishable food items for those in need,” said Cam. “We’ll need to check deep into the bayou. We all know about the folks that live out there and refuse to leave.”
“Once we know it’s safe, we’ll gather boats and volunteers and go out searching,” said Eric.
“It’s going to be difficult,” said Baptiste.
“We know,” nodded Luke.
“No, not like that. We all know it will be a difficult task but the hurricane has changed the landscape, Luke. The trees and markers you used to navigate the bayou are gone. You won’t see them anymore.
We’ll all need to rely on the G.R.I.P. technologies for navigating the area more than using just our internal compass. ”
“Shit,” muttered Luke. “I didn’t even think about that. Those people south of us didn’t even have addresses. They used P.O. boxes. Very few had cell phones. Very few had any form of electricity.”
“Maybe that’s my next big project,” said Grant. “Maybe I need to get with Finley, Celeste, and the others to see if we can get power and water out to those folks.”
“They’ll need some convincing,” said Gabriel, “but Luc and I can help. They’ve known us since we were babies. They should trust us.”
“Can I ask a stupid question?” asked Hex.
“As good as anyone,” smirked Luke. Hex flipped him off and grinned.
“I know we don’t get hurricanes like this every year, I get it. But why keep building in a place that clearly doesn’t want you here? I mean, there have been some doozies come through here in the last fifty years. Why not just leave?”
“It’s actually not a stupid question,” said Antoine.
“Like we said earlier. It’s home. People have been asking that question for years.
But I would ask the same about people in the earthquake zones.
You could fall off the earth with one big one.
Be swallowed by a crevice. Taken out to sea by a tsunami.
Or the folks in tornado alley. You can count on having at least a handful near where you live or exactly where you live. ”
“He’s right,” said Raphael. “We stay because this is our home. You can call it stupid or stubborn or maybe it’s a mix of both. But this is where we were born, raised, lived for generations. If you let a little wind and rain run you off, then what kind of human are you?”
“No offense, brother, but that was a fuck lot more than a little wind and rain. I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Hex.
“Sure you have. It just had a different name,” said Gaspar. “You’ve been in sandstorms where you couldn’t even see your own hand. You’ve suffered through blizzards in the most remote parts of the world, fearing you’d lose your fingers and toes, or worse. You dick.”
The men all chuckled nodding at Gaspar.
“I get it,” smirked Hex. “You’re right. It’s our home and we’ve been fortunate enough to ensure that our homes are safe and stable. Now we need to check on our neighbors.”
“It’s going to be a long process for everyone,” said Luke. “We start with ensuring our homes are good and no disasters here. Grandpa says all is good, I believe him. Once we’re sure of that, we need to check on those closest to us. Those that rely on us for protection and provisions.”
“We need eyes on the businesses at the front of the property,” said Nine. “We’ll take a few of the ATVs, once the water has gone down some, and double check the shop, the spa, Gwen’s place, and the General Store. They should be fine but we’ll have people needing those places soon enough.”
“What do we do with folks who have lost everything?” asked Camille. “We can’t bring everyone back to the property.”
“We’ll find places for them to stay. The shelter downtown is fine according to Molly and Asia. If we have to, we’ll set up extra cots there for folks,” said Ian. Luke nodded at everyone and looked outside.
“If the sun stays out, we’ll see the water recede fairly quickly. If we get more rain, we’re going to be out of luck for today. Until then, we wait and plan.”