Chapter 65
An hour later the whole house was in full motion.
Kaitlyn had an army of kitchen staff working on vats of soup.
Anna was mobilizing the grounds crew who lived at the manor.
The house staff was running amidst the cats setting any spare room for incoming guests.
Harper had been directing Murphy to try to get as many people as possible to common ground, the meetinghouse or the clinic.
The Bell Manor staff who lived in the village were going door to door trying to get the residents prepared.
Harper found Anna in the foyer talking to Lady Bell and Nigel.
“We’re heading down on the Trekkers. We’ll cart up as many as possible, anyone who can’t walk the road on their own. The sheriff and the clinic will start up with the most urgent cases now.” Anna was pulling on a rain cover as she spoke.
“I’m coming with you,” Harper said from the stairs.
Anna paused. Harper could tell she wanted to object. “Okay. We can use the hands.”
“We’re ready for them. I alerted the Coast Guard, they think I’m nuts, but they’re sending help as soon as they can, but it won’t be until morning with this wind. The sheriff in the village is getting everyone ready.” Lady Bell nodded at Harper and Anna. “You’ve got this. We’re ready for company.”
They exited out the front doors and fought the winds to the garage. Harper hadn’t even seen this building in the day; at night it rose into the skyline casting a terrifying profile. Anna glanced at Harper and laughed.
“Guess you hadn’t taken the full grounds tour yet? Used to be the stables back in the day, now it’s a garage, apartments overhead. Remind me to show you around after the natural disaster.”
Harper gave her a sardonic grimace. “It’s a date.”
Inside the grounds crew was assembling, a dozen men and women, some still pulling on their wellies and rain gear. Trekkers lined the wall alongside the larger golf carts, like the one that brought Harper to Bell Manor.
“Alright, people, we have to get down to the village and get everyone back up here. Fast. No time. Harper, are they sheltering in the meeting hall?” Anna’s voice filled the room.
Harper nodded, looking down at her phone. “Murphy’s working on it, but they’re starting to flood, it’s slowing everything down.”
A message flashed on the screen from Akiel:
Get to shelter now, our scopes are spotting fifty, sixty foot waves in open water east of Bell, shelter now
Harper’s blood turned to ice, that wasn’t the half of what was coming to Bell. She looked up. “Alright, we’ve got sixty-footers east of Bell, time to move.”
Anna nodded and looked at the crew. “What we’re heading out to do is dangerous, stay back if you think you’ll freeze up. No judgment.”
The crew stood silent and wary. A man in the back spoke up. “Fuck that. Let’s go.”
“Alright,” Anna shouted back. She barked out orders for the Trekkers and they started pulling out of the garage; the last Trekker stood empty. “You and me,” Anna said as they jumped in and she started the engine.
“You and me,” Harper repeated softly as they pulled out into the night.