Chapter 10

Author's Note: I wrote this chapter while Hurricane Irma was traveling over my state last year, which is how I got the inspiration to include it in this story. My family and I did stay, as we have through many hurricanes in the past, and it's all taken from my personal experiences the night it came through. I hope you enjoy!

The trees began rustling again, ominous and foreshadowing the inevitable: another band was about to come through. Liz sighed and sat up. She had just gotten used to the silence again. Their power had gone out over three hours ago and Liz was the last one awake. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until the worst was past them but her tired eyes threatened her with sleep every time she blinked.

Liz picked up her phone and checked the radar once more. Another alert popped up after it unlocked, saying the tornado warning was being extended an additional 15 minutes. Big surprise, given this was the same update she had been receiving every 15 minutes since 8 p.m. Noting the time, she groaned. 2 a.m. From her estimates, she had another hour and a half to go until the worst was past them and she could finally sleep.

The eye of the hurricane was making its way up the west coast of Florida. The inner bands of the storm were coming through their area, bringing high winds, heavy rainfall, and possible tornadoes. Before their power was cut, Liz heard a reporter mention how one tornado had already touched down. She scanned social media and read accounts of people claiming sounds could be heard resembling jet engines or waterfalls and for everyone to brace themselves. Liz had always been told it sounded like a train, but she added those sounds to her mental list of ones to be mindful of for the next two hours.

Placing her phone down, Liz adjusted herself on her perch in the front room of her parent's house. Her and Jane had arrived two days earlier with all their necessities after the school closures had been announced. Lydia, on the other hand, had waited until the last minute to leave her dorm room and drive over with her packed up belongings, which included several cell phone charger packs. By the time Lydia showed up, the house was all board up and all necessary prep was complete. Liz had tested her patience waiting in an outrageously long line to fill up her car with gasoline and while at the grocery store stocking up on water and nonperishables. She had also helped Jane search in every closet, drawer and cupboard in the house for extra batteries, matches, flashlights, candles, and battery powered lanterns.

"We should have gone to your aunt and uncle's home," their mother was murmuring for the hundredth time that day.

She had been glued to the television all day, scanning between various news stations, all of which displayed the same doom and gloom storyline: get out now while you still can. She hollered about how nervous she was, going on about how the house would most likely collapse around them if they stayed, or, worse, be carried of in a tornado with them all trapped inside. Before Liz knew it, her mother had begun packing her belongings while calling hotels in the surrounding states. The closest vacancy she could find was over 7 hours away. Jane had managed to talk her out of reserving the room by showing her the traffic on the interstate. Unlike their trip back from The Keys, the cars were at a complete standstill for miles and miles.

"See," reasoned Jane, "we wouldn't be getting anywhere anyways. We are all prepared and the hurricane will weaken before it even gets to us. We have stayed through worse hurricanes before."

After that moment, the girls thought it best to not let their mother subject herself to anything relating to the hurricane. They told her to rest and read a book while they completed all the necessary preparations with their father, to whom she mumbled and complained some more. Liz poured her a generous glass of wine and that seemed to put it all at rest. At least for now.

Their father pulled the generator from out of the back of the messy garage and, after several attempts, finally got it working. Having lived in Florida for their entire lives, the Bennets were pros when it came to hurricane prep. What no one is ever prepared for, however, is the aftermath. The lack of power and especially the 90-degree weather, was miserable. At least they knew enough to put their air conditioning on very cool so it didn't start sweating too quickly. During their last big storm, the Bennet's had lost power for over 14 days. By the time their power was restored, Mrs. Bennet was constantly horizontal in front of one of the working fans, assuaging her headaches. Their father, on the other hand, cleaned up their yard and assisted neighbors as he was able. Jane and Liz alternated between sitting with their mother and bringing their father and neighbors cold beverages. Then there was Lydia, who went stir crazy without her reality TV shows. She huffed around the house complaining about anything that came to mind. Overall, Jane and Liz did their best to keep the general peace.

Staring out the window into the darkness, the sky lit up blue once more as another transformer exploded in the distance. The fifth in the past ten minutes. She had helped her father board up their house two days before and this was one of the only windows left untouched. Since it was shielded by the garage and front sitting room, it seemed like the perfect place to "hunker down" as everyone annoyingly labeled it. The only other windows providing any sort of dimly lit view were along the back of the house near where everyone was sleeping. Those windows overlooked the pool, and the screen enclosure had provided plenty of shelter in the past. With no trees in their backyard, it was the only room large enough to fit them all inside and a half wall would shield them should something happen.

Liz stood and stretched before turning on her flashlight and walking quietly into the kitchen. Using the light, she grabbed a bottle of Coke from a cooler on the counter and took a sip. She sighed contentedly and hoped the caffeine would help. It was only 2:30am and the radio hosts were saying there was at least nine hours to go before the hurricane had completely passed them. This was one of those times when Liz wished she liked coffee. On her way back Liz peeked into the back room to check on her family.

The battery-operated fans were whirling and despite the typical Florida heat, it was still comfortable. Lydia had fallen asleep as soon as the power cut out, declaring there was nothing better to do. She had dragged a twin mattress in front of the couch and now lay on her stomach grasping a pillow in a peaceful slumber. Their mother stayed up a half hour longer talking with Jane. She originally tried to sleep in her bedroom but soon emerged stating it was too hot. After making up both couches, she took the smaller one, knowing it would fit her petite frame. Their father was snoring in his chair, reading glasses still perched on his nose and book against his chest. His legs were crossed at the ankles. Jane slept curled up on the other couch. She had been determined to keep Liz company but, in the end, her eyelids had lost the battle, and Liz had insisted she get her rest. Her university emailed saying they would be closed for at least four more days, whereas Jane was already told to expect to return in two days time.

Liz went back on her perch. She took another swig of her drink and settled back into a sitting position on the daybed. Switching her flashlight off, she checked her phone for any new weather alerts or text messages before locking it again. The tornado warnings had ceased, to which she was grateful. There had been so many reports within the past few weeks as to where the hurricane would go, with all potential tracks leaving Liz and her family on the "dirty side" of the hurricane, which would bestow them with tornadoes, storm surges, high wind gusts, dangerous lightening, exponential rainfall, and extensive flooding.

During these moments you could spend every minute worrying if flying debris would break through the window, or if the wind would rip your roof off, or if the storm surge would rush in, flooding your house. There was also the possibility of a tornado tearing through and leaving you homeless. Yes, in these moments when everything was outside of your control and you couldn't do anything but hope and pray, the worry could consume you if you let it. And it would. Eagerly. Liz could feel it bubbling just below the surface.

Once her eyes adjusted, Liz could see their neighbor across the street shining their flashlight within their garage. She was contemplating sending a SOS signal with her own flashlight when the radio hosts interrupted the governor's update by stating another tornado could potentially touch down in her town. Liz reached for her phone and pulled up the radar. After impatiently waiting for it to load, she saw the formation they were referring to was already north of them. Zooming outward, the picture didn't show any additional dangerous cells heading towards them for the rest of the evening; just wind and rain. They were finally in the clear. Liz released the breath she didn't realize she was holding.

The wind and rain had picked up again and Liz decided to lie down. This she could deal with. Fluffing up a pillow and placing it beneath her head she stared at the tall palm trees across the street bending back and forth. Before she knew it, the whirling had lulled her into a deep sleep.

You never realize how much noise there is in the world until you're force into quiet nothingness. Liz awoke from a surprisingly good slumber to complete and utter quiet. No tvs, cars on the street, appliances whirling, nothing. Stretching, she yawned and padded out towards the kitchen to get something to eat.

"Wow. You look awful," commented Lydia when Liz entered.

"Well some of us didn't get a full night's rest because we were keeping an eye out for tornados," retorted Liz as she grabbed an apple from a bowl on the counter. "Where's dad?"

"Hooking up the generator," Jane responded.

Liz finished eating and threw on some old clothes before walking outside to see if she could help. The sky was still cloudy, with spurts of rain now and again, which was perfect given the work their dad would want done today. It still didn't stop her from starting to sweat the moment she left the house. Their neighbors had already begun their cleanup process as well, dragging large limbs to the ends of their driveway and raking up leaves and other fallen debris.

"What's the damage?" she asked her father upon spotting him on the side of the house.

"The Petersons had a small tree fall across their driveway and another large tree fell back into the woods. They're lucky it didn't crush their house," he said.

Liz smiled knowingly. Their first big storm in their house brought down an old tree. It had missed their house by mere inches. Although, one branch had draped itself onto the edge of their roof, giving the appearance that it was holding on for dear life.

Her father cranked the generator to life and they began running industrial cords throughout the house. Before long, their refrigerator was running once more, along with strategically placed boxed fans. A power strip was in the kitchen, powering a lamp and an electric fryer, when needed, and another cable ran into the back of the house, bringing the TV back to life. Lydia began praising their parents for switching to satellite TV earlier that year.

They were stuck with the boards up for now until the electric was restored to power the drill, so Liz and Jane helped their dad with dragging downed branches to the end of their driveway and raking and bagging up the debris. They then walked around their small neighborhood to see if anyone else needed assistance.

By the time Liz was finished, she was soaked with sweat. Walking around to the back of the house, she sat at the edge of the pool and placed her feet into the cold water. Before long, Jane sat down next to her and Lydia brought them each a cold bottle of water, per their mother's instruction, before hiding in the house once more. Liz took a sip before sealing the bottle and placing it against her neck.

Jane had been distant the past several days, and Liz wondered if she was reading into things too much. Her sister hadn't uttered a word about Chris in the past few weeks, but Liz rationalized it was because the hurricane was at the forefront of her mind, like everyone else.

She removed the cold bottle from her skin and placed it beside her. Dipping her hands into the water, she skimmed away the dirt and brought cool water to her face. Moving her wet hands over her arms and neck, she instantly felt better. Liz leaned back, listening to the birds chirping in the trees surrounding them.

"It's been almost a month since I've heard from him," Jane admitted to the stillness.

Liz glanced over at her sister.

"I assumed I would hear from him before the storm hit saying to be safe or even afterwards to make sure I was fine," Jane confessed, "but nothing."

She could hear her sister crying softly.

"I texted but the those went unanswered as did my calls. What's wrong with me, Liz?" Jane asked. "Why did he stop? What did I do?"

Liz pulled her sister into her arms, trying to sooth her.

"You did nothing," Liz assured her. If she had one guess, Liz would bet Will had something to do with Chris' lack of response. It seemed very likely that he would interfere and persuade his friend that Jane was not right for him, especially after what he overheard their mother say in the Keys.

"You know how communications can be after the hurricanes come through, calls don't come through and it's difficult to send texts or even get reception," Liz rationalized, hoping it would make her sister feel a little better in the meantime. "I'm sure he is thinking of you."

She kissed the top of Jane's head. Yes, she was sure of that. Chris was probably thinking about Jane, but so long as Will stood between them, Liz knew Jane would not hear from Chris again.

Liz adjusted the fan and plopped into bed completely exhausted. The cold shower had felt good and she was hoping it would be enough to help her fall asleep. All clouds had floated away that afternoon, revealing the blazing sun. As a result, the house had gotten exceedingly warmer despite the boards blocking out most of the sunlight. Hearing her phone buzz, Liz saw a text from Charlotte.

C: Please tell me you're still alive.

L: Yes, I'm alive and sunburnt... and possibly melting…

L: I think I am going to be sore for weeks.

C: Why?

L: Had to clean up. Raked leaves, hauled limbs, helped a neighbor chop up downed tree.

C: Oh wow. How's the apartment?

L: Haven't gotten over there yet. Venturing out tomorrow… hopefully.

Liz smiled. Charlotte had always flown back to northern Texas whenever the words "Florida" and "hurricane" came in the same sentence. As a result, she was quite ignorant about the restrictions that were placed on those that did stay. There were downed power lines, flooding, and no traffic lights due to the lack of power. Curfews were also put into place. From dusk until dawn, no one was allowed outside for their own safety and the safety of others.

L: When do you fly back?

C: In two days. Let me know if you need me to bring anything back with me.

L: Will do!

C: Glad you're safe!

Turning off her phone, Liz stared up at the dark ceiling, letting the sound of crickets lull her into a fitful sleep.