Hurricane Gregory

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y� Part 15

Several minutes later, he arrived back at the motel in Gulf Breeze.

Jamie tried to remain as quiet as possible, as he opened the door and slipped back into the room. As soon as he slid into his bed, he realized that someone was in his bed!

“Hey! Who…? Carrie?” he whispered, when he recognized the girl.

“What are you doing up at this hour? And, what were you doing in our room?” Jamie asked her.

“I couldn’t sleep. My parents were sound asleep, and I wanted to come over here to see if you guys were awake. When I came into the room, I saw that you were gone. Now, what were you doing out, so late in the night?” she asked him.

Jamie let out a deep sigh.

“Come on, Jamie. Tell me!” she insisted.

“I was outside, flying around…”

“I can tell” the little girl giggled. “You’re soaking wet!”

“I flew down to the Florida Keys. That’s where that hurricane is right now.” Jamie responded gravely. “One of the bridges between the islands was about to cave in, and there was a mother and her son, trapped in their SUV. They were trapped on that bridge. They were stuck out there and I had to them. I barely made it. As soon as I got them off, the bridge went down.”

“A hurricane? At the Florida Keys?” she pondered. “How far away is that from here?”

“It’s pretty far… Don’t worry, Carrie… I don’t think…” Jamie said to her.

Jamie froze when he heard a slight moan coming from Greg’s bed. The boy turned on his back, and then lifted his head.

“Carrie! What are you doing in here? Go to your room!” he snapped at her.

The Gregory turned to face Jamie. He saw that the super kid was completely drenched.

“What’s going on? Why are you awake? How come you’re standing in the hotel room, dripping water all over the place?” Gregory asked his best friend.

“I couldn’t sleep. I could hear the news from the TV in the next room. They had the news on and they were talking about the hurricane. So I decided to fly down to the Florida Keys to check it out. And it’s a good thing I did. Like I was telling Carrie, there was a lady and her son. They were trapped on one of the bridges between the islands and the bridge was about to give way. I barely got them off in time.” Jamie explained to him.

Jamie slowly pulled the wet t-shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor.

“Wow… You’re a muscle boy!” Carrie grinned.

“I bet you’re all pumped up now, huh, Superboy?” Greg laughed out loud. “You flew to the keys, you lifted an SUV to safety, and you flew all the way back…”

“Yeah…” Jamie grinned, as he stooped down to get a dry t-shirt out of his suitcase. “That hurricane was nasty! The winds were blowing and it was pouring rain! It was rough out there…”

“I hope it doesn’t come here! A hurricane will ruin our vacation!” Greg said.

“If a hurricane were to come here then it would ruin a lot more than just our vacation, you guys…” Jamie said, in a serious tone of voice. “A hurricane could level this place!”

Carrie suddenly turned to face her older brother. Her face clouded with worry.

“A hurricane isn’t coming here, is it?” she asked him. “I mean, what would we do, if a hurricane were to come here?”

“I… I don’t know…” Greg whispered. “I guess I’ll ask dad in the morning…”

After a few more minutes, Carrie returned to her room. Jamie took a quick shower, dried himself off, got dressed with some dry clothes, and then crawled back into bed.

When morning came, both boys showered and got dressed to go to the beach. Greg briefly visited his parents’ room, and his father had asked him to wait for them in the small coffee shop just off the lobby of the hotel. Greg’s parents finally arrived with Carrie, and the group ordered breakfast. Jamie ordered a bagel for breakfast, while Greg and Carrie ordered pancakes. They were watching TV while as they ate, all attention focused on the weather report.

“The forecast calls for clear skies and the high around 92 degrees, lows in the mid 80’s. There is a twenty percent chance of evening thunderstorms. Currently, Tropical Storm Gregory is churning away in the Gulf, heading North North-west at thirteen miles per hour. The storm has maximum sustained winds of sixty-six miles per hour, bringing it dangerously close to a Category One Hurricane. A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the western Florida panhandle, extending as far west as New Orleans, Louisiana with a tropical storm watch extending west to Vermillion Bay, Louisiana. Please follow the weather reports closely, for further updates…” the announcer said.

“No way! Is that thing coming here?” Greg exclaimed. “Oh, no!”

“Ha!” Carrie chuckled. “Hey, Greg, they named the storm after you!”

“Yeah, Greggy!” Jamie teased. “I guess somebody knew you were going to be here!”

“Guys, this is serious. We may need to evacuate…” Herb said calmly. “I’ll go to the store and stock up on some batteries, a flashlight, drinking water, and non-perishable food. A hurricane is serious business!”

“What do you mean, daddy?” Carrie asked her father. “What do we do if we have to evacuate?”

“We may need to take grandma and stay at a shelter for a few days…” Herb responded.

“Well, I guess we’re lucky we have you here with us” Greg chuckled, as he turned to face Jamie. “You can help us in case a hurricane came here, right?”

“Well, I really don’t know how I can be of much help!” Jamie shrugged. “A hurricane is huge! I can’t stop a storm that big! I’m not really sure what I could do!”

Suddenly, the morning program on TV was interrupted, when the screen turned black. The word “Special Report” appeared over the screen in red letters. An announcer appeared on the screen. He was standing in front of a map of the Gulf coast. There was a satellite image of a large spiral of clouds on the screen over the Gulf coast just northwest of the Florida Keys.

“A hurricane warning is in effect for Escambia County. Hurricane conditions are expected in the next thirty-six hours. Hurricane Gregory is moving North-North-West at nine miles per hour, with maximum sustaining winds of one-hundred miles per hour, making it a Category Two Hurricane. All efforts must be made to protect life and property. Again, a Hurricane Warning is in effect for Escambia County…”

“Category Two?” Greg asked his father. “What does that mean?”

Jamie continued to eat his bagel, as he, Carrie and Greg stared at Herb and waited for his answer.

To be continued


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