36. Chapter 36
Chapter 36
GRAY
I had to find her. Elle could be in trouble, and the thought made me sick to my stomach. I said goodbye to Weston and got straight to work, packing a few basic supplies. Weston said he’d come with me. Dad overheard our conversation and was already moving by the time I put the phone down. Thank you, God, for the good people in my life.
“I thought you’d have your own fridge to raid at twenty-five,” Mom said, laughing at her own joke.
“Sorry, Mom, Elle is on St. Helena Island, and I don’t know what the situation is like there. Just packing some food. Can I fill a flask with some coffee? Not sure how long we’ll be out there. ”
“Oh no, honey! Was she caught in the floods? I’ll make the coffee. You pack whatever else you need. Should Dad go with you?”
“Weston and Dad are coming. We aren’t certain where she is. Becky said she only knew it was a campsite on St. Helena Island. So, we will have a big search on our hands.”
We drove in separate cars as we intended to split up. All of us had camped at various campsites on the island over the years, so we decided to search the sites we knew as a start. We also packed our kayaks. If the floods were as bad as the newspaper reported, we would have to paddle to search some sites.
A desperate need to be with Elle, to know that she was safe, burned within me. I prayed the entire hour’s drive, asking God again to forgive me for my judgmental attitude with Elle and begging Him to keep her from harm. St. Helena was well-equipped to deal with small seasonal floods, so casualties were rare. However, Elle wasn’t a local, and these were record-breaking floods, so nothing was guaranteed. I kept praying.
The three of us drove in convoy and stopped at the outskirts of the flood area to discuss our plan. Weston said he would drive a further thirty minutes to the other side of the island and search two campsites he knew there. Dad said he’d head to the main emergency center to see if he could get any information. I would start with the first campsite Elle would have reached if she drove the route we did. I’d work my way through each campsite until Weston and I met. If we could get through them all before it got too late. It was already mid-afternoon.
We wasted no time and set off on our routes. Much like Hilton Head, St. Helena hosted a collection of waterways, estuaries, rivers, bays, and lagoons. It was beautiful. And it was huge. Before we left, I’d Googled campsites on the island and wasn’t surprised to find fourteen registered campsites in and around St. Helena. Please help us find her, God.
I searched the first campsite I thought Elle would have come across. It was untouched by the floods so I could drive around and search. No sign of yellow Mabel. This campsite had no waterfront, so I suspected she wouldn’t have chosen this one, anyway. I moved onto the next campsite my GPS brought up. I had to paddle through some sections of this one. There were several camping vehicles floating or washed up all around the campsite. But again, no Mabel.
I stopped to call the guys to see if they’d had any success.
“Hey Dad, any sign of Elle?”
“No one here has seen her van.”
“Okay, let me call Weston.”
Weston had only explored one location, so he said he’d update me once he had checked out the other campsite. I kept searching.
The sun was fading fast as I pulled into my fifth campsite. God, please help us. We would have to call off the search soon. It would be too dangerous to keep searching in the dark. Coastal floods could be very unpredictable. This campsite was quite a way from the waterfront, and I immediately assumed Elle would have skipped it. But I had to be thorough. I drove through the camping area to where several cars were parked. A large building was lit up and dozens of people were coming in and out. They must have been using it as a satellite shelter of sorts. It was far enough away from the flood line. I decided to park and chat with someone to see if they knew anything about a big yellow van.
I parked at the side of the building and walked toward the entrance. Movement to my right caught my attention, and I looked that way. It was dark, but the silhouette sitting against the building was unmistakable.
“Estelle?” I asked. As I moved in her direction, my hopes grew as I was ninety-nine percent sure it was her.
She stood, and I ran to close the distance between us. As soon as I reached her, she covered her eyes and sobbed.
“Elle, are you okay?” I said, as I took her in my arms. She kept her hands over her eyes and rested her head on my shoulder as she sobbed. “Did you get hurt? Are you okay?” I asked again, desperate to know what was wrong. I rubbed her back to comfort her. She was ripping my heart out with these sobs. “What’s wrong?” I asked a third time.
This time she looked up and her tear-streaked face pierced my soul. “Oh, Elle.”
“I’m fine. Just scared and lonely. I just prayed for God to send someone to help me, and He sent you,” she said and then covered her face and cried again .
“It’s okay, I’m here now. You don’t have to be lonely. I’ll always be here. I’m so sorry.”
Elle didn’t talk again; she only cried into my shirt. I would hold her as long as she needed. Relief covered me, and I realized I’d better call off the search.
“Let me just tell Weston and Dad I found you,” I said, as I took my phone out of my pocket. I kept one arm around her while I typed.
Gray to WhatsApp group: Praise God. I found her. You guys can head home. I’ll get her packed up and head home ASAP. Thank you for helping me. I appreciate it.
Weston: Great news. Need help?
Dad: Thank you Jesus.
Gray: Nope. All good. Thanks guys.
When I finished typing, Elle had stopped crying and looked at me in confusion. “Were Weston and your dad looking for me, too? How did you know where to look?”
“Becky told Weston where she thought you were, and we started searching for you just after lunchtime.”
“Becky talked to Weston?” Elle asked, clearly shocked that the two had conversed.
I nodded, but didn’t elaborate, there were other more pressing words I was aching to say, “Elle, I need you to know I am so sorry for refusing to offer you grace when I found out about the car. I was wrong. I acted like a jerk. Will you forgive me?”
“I already forgave you,” Elle said in a quiet whisper.
“Thank you. I promise I’ll never do that to you again.”
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea for there to be a next time.”
Elle may as well have sucker punched me with her words. I couldn’t accept them. But now was not the time to talk through everything. Elle must be at least as cold, wet, and hungry as I was.
“I understand, but let’s not talk about it now. Let’s get you home and dry. We can chat later. I just want to help you get somewhere safe. Please, just let me help you.”
Elle wiped her face and nodded. She showed me where all her stuff was and we both worked to load it all into my Jeep. It was a snug fit to have both kayaks on my roof, but we made it work with some extra cam straps. Elle introduced me to a few of the people at the shelter and we both thanked them profusely for their help as we left. It would be great to stay and help, but Elle and I would take up the space that other flood victims needed, so it was better to go.
Once we got into the car, I gave Elle the food and coffee my mom had prepared .
“Ah, this is heaven,” Elle said as she sipped the lukewarm coffee.
I smiled. Some of the worry from the day fell off my shoulders at hearing her say something happy. “Have I told you how relieved I am to see you safe and sound?”
“Like, ten times already,” Elle said sweetly.
“Get some sleep while we drive. I haven’t been fighting floods for two days. I’ll get us home safe.”