Chapter 5: Help is On the Way!

[Author's Note: Sabal, Florida is a fictional location that I made up for the sake of the story. Obviously, I mean no offense or disrespect to either the people of Florida, especially those who are members of the Miccosukee tribe.]

Main Street
Sabal, Florida
1 Hour Later

The hectic tropical storm that caused immense havoc in the Florida Everglades had passed through in just about an hour's time. Luckily, there were no reported fatalities and the only known injuries were from people encountering flying glass or other debris during the height of the storm.

There was, however, a prominent amount of damage that seemed to be particularly concentrated in the small village of Sabal, Florida, which wasn't far from the neighboring community of Ochopee. Essentially, every exterior window in town was either damaged or completely obliterated by flying debris, and the rush of storm water intruding upon the town's sewer system caused a major water main break, among other issues.

Named for the type of palm trees commonly found in the region, this small settlement on Miccosukee tribal land was home to only about 1,000 residents. It was also home to a large chain grocery store on the edge of the village and a medium-sized community hospital in the center of town. These 2 institutions served as Sabal's biggest employers.

Miccosukee Police Sergeant Timothy Thundercloud had spent the last 30 minutes or so taking in the damage caused by the storm, now named by weather experts as "Tropical Storm Lucifer". Finding that no one was in immediate danger by the end of the storm, he returned to his 2018 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor patrol SUV.

Timothy Thundercloud was a tall and athletically built dark-haired Native American man in his late 40's. A widower and father to fraternal 18-year-old twins, he had worked as a tribal police officer for 22 years, having spent the last 12 with the privilege of being a Sergeant and working in his hometown of Sabal.

The overtired sergeant sat back in the driver's seat of the SUV and exhaled deeply. This was the first time in nearly 12 hours that he had a moment to himself.

He worried about his father, Amos, and his twin son and daughter, Rachel and Timothy Junior, who was known by his nickname "Timmy". The trio ran Double Thundercloud Auto Body & Towing on the edge of Sabal. Did they make it through the storm unscathed? Was their shop able to withstand the force of the storm? These intrusive questions troubled Thundercloud even more as they popped into his head.

This extended moment of anxious serenity was abruptly interrupted by the ringtone of his cell phone, which was an instrumental sample of David Bowie's iconic song, "Let's Dance".

Sergeant Thundercloud scooped his phone from the center cupholder and answered. "Hello?" he answered.

"Hi Sergeant," the voice of service plaza clerk Mona replied from her end of the line, "It's Mona from the service plaza."

"Ah," Thundercloud said, "Hey Mona. What can I do for you?"

"I'm a little worried about these two kids who came into the store a little while ago," Mona began explaining, "They aren't from around here and I don't think they're used to this kind of weather."

"Where did they say they were headed?" Thundercloud inquired.

"The kid said that he had just recently purchased Old Man Jack's Fishing Camp," Mona replied, "You know, that old place out on Old Turquoise Road?"

"Sure," Thundercloud said, "Jack Rivers finally sold the place, huh?"

"Yeah," Mona said, "A few weeks ago. The kid paid for all the stuff they bought with a Mastercard in the name of 'Richard Harper'. He said his sister's name was Dawn."

"Did they at least have storm supplies?" Thundercloud asked.

"Yeah," Mona replied, "They bought all the necessary stuff. But I'm still worried."

"I understand," Thundercloud sympathetically said, "Did you happen to notice what kind of car they were in?"

"It was a white Chevy Traverse," Mona replied, "It had Colorado plates, so I guess they're from there. The girl, Dawn, bought enough gas to fill a quarter tank."

"Okay," Thundercloud replied, "Thanks for the head's up, Mona. I'll head out there and check on them."

"Great," Mona said with a tangible tone of relief in her voice, "Thanks Sergeant. Let me know how they are, will you?"

"You got it," Thundercloud said, "I'll talk to you later." He then hung up the phone, started the SUV, and headed out towards Ochopee.

Old Man Jack's Fishing Camp
15 Minutes Later

The sergeant made it to the old camp in 15 minutes, despite being somewhat held up by the influx of countywide emergency vehicles that had arrived as part of the disaster response operation in response to Tropical Storm Lucifer.

Noticing the soggy and essentially flooded terrain beneath him, he slowly crept the Interceptor down the outstretched driveway and shined both his headlights and spotlight in the direction of the Chevrolet Traverse that sat parallel to the cabin.

A lower limb from a sabal palm tree had apparently been blown off by the storm's high winds before subsequently falling onto the vehicle's hood and leaving a noticeably considerable dent on it.

Thundercloud exited the vehicle and momentarily eyed the damaged hood, at which point he realized that the vehicle's windshield had been cracked.

This had most likely occurred as a secondary result of the forceful palm limb detachment and the force with which it had made its impact with the hood. He shook his head before carefully making his way to the cabin's front door and pounding on it.

"Hello?" Thundercloud called out, "This is Sergeant Thundercloud from the Miccosukee Police! Is anyone in there?"

A shadow was seen through the square-shaped window into the door before Ricky Harper appeared and opened the door.

"Hi there," Thundercloud greeted as he took off his campaign-style police hat, "Richard Harper, I presume?"

Ricky opened the door wider, permitting the sergeant to come inside. "Ricky," he clarified.

Thundercloud nodded as he came inside and closed the door behind him. "'Ricky'," he parroted, "Okay, got it. I'm Sergeant Timothy Thundercloud from the Miccosukee tribal police." He extended a hand to the young man.

The perpetually polite Ricky reciprocated the kind gesture with a warm, firm handshake. "Nice to meet you, sir" Ricky replied, "My apologies for the circumstances."

"Don't worry about it, kid" Thundercloud replied, "Mona from the service plaza called me and asked me to check on you and your sister. She was worried about you guys."

"I see," Ricky said before turning toward the kitchen. "Dawn!" he called out, "We've got some company!"

Dawn, still wearing her bathrobe, came out into the living room and caught sight of the visiting sergeant before standing beside her brother. "Hi," she greeted, "I'm Dawn Harper, Ricky's sister."

"Hello Dawn," Thundercloud cordially replied, "I'm Sergeant Thundercloud with the Miccosukee Police. I was just telling your brother here that Mona from the service plaza asked me to check up on you guys. Is everything okay?"

"Yes," Ricky replied, "We made it through everything fine. We didn't even lose power."

"Well," Thundercloud said, "That's good. Unfortunately, it looks like the hood got dented on your Traverse out there."

A suddenly miffed Ricky politely moved past the sergeant to look out the window in the door at their car. He grimaced at the sight of the fallen limb. "Oh man!" he exclaimed.

"Your windshield's cracked a little as well," Thundercloud added.

Dawn then had her turn to eye the damage to her car, at which point she bowed her head and sighed deeply. "Crap," she said under her breath before turning to the sergeant. "Are there any auto shops out here?" she asked him, "I have good insurance and everything. The Traverse is in my name."

Realizing that he could be very helpful, Thundercloud grinned. "Actually," he replied, "I happen to know some folks who'd be more than willing to help you guys out. My father and my twins run the local auto shop and tow yard in Sabal not too far from here."

"Really?" a now excited Dawn replied, "Well, yeah, that would be a great help if you could get them on the phone."

The sergeant nodded and excused himself, stepping back toward the door and taking out his cell phone to make the call.

"Double Thundercloud Auto Body and Towing," a young female voice answered after two rings, "This is Rachel."

"Hey kiddo," Thundercloud replied, "This is your dad."

"Hey Daddy," Rachel sweetly said, "Is everything okay?"

"Oh yes, honey" Thundercloud said, "I'm fine. But I'm with some young kids from out of town who have run into a little car trouble. You know Old Man Jack's Fish Camp on Old Turquoise Road right near Ochopee?"

"Sure," Rachel replied, "Who around here doesn't?"

Thundercloud chuckled. "Right," he said, "Anyway, I'm here with a brother and sister from Colorado who are staying at the camp for a while and their Chevy Traverse was damaged by a falling palm tree limb. The windshield's got a bad crack in it and the hood is dented. I don't think it'd be a good idea for them to drive it with that cracked windshield. Do you think either you, your brother, or Grandpa could bring the tow truck out here?"

"Timmy's outside in the tow yard now," Rachel replied, "I'll go get him and let him know. I'll come along to give him a hand."

"Sounds good," Thundercloud said, "Thank you, sweetheart."

"No problem, Daddy" Rachel just as sweetly replied, "See you in a bit."