Page 6 of Hurricane Irene

Jethro looked around the room slowly. He spotted Grayson holding Jennifer, then looked toward Iggy laughing with several others. He turned to Ham and Rush, then at Mama Irene and Matthew.

“No need, Mr. Babineaux. I think I found it.”

CHAPTER THREE

As night fell, Stormy and the others were gathered around the weather tracking systems, whispering to one another.

“It looks as if the worst is gone,” said Ham.

“Maybe,” said Stormy. “We have to worry about the flooding, the levees, and the storm surge it could create. If it continues to move across land, it will weaken. But if this bitchy girl decides to move back into the Gulf, God help us all.”

“Wait. You’re saying it could move back out and regain strength? Again?” asked Rowe.

“It could,” said Stormy. “I don’t think it will but I don’t want us to rush out there too quickly. Let me watch this through the night and I’ll have a better idea of what she’s doing. Either way, the storms created by the outer bands will wreak havoc on all of us.”

“Get some sleep, honey,” said Jalen. “We can watch from here and wake you if needed. You won’t do anyone any good if you don’t get some sleep.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “If you see any changes in wind direction or barometric pressure at all, let me know. I just need a few hours.”

As she walked toward her waiting cot, Jalen’s expression darkened. He was worried for his wife. She’d been following the storm since its inception. She was exhausted, not eating or sleeping, and he wanted her safe.

“It will be over soon,” said Matthew. “At least the active storm will be. Then the clean-up starts. Our neighbors will need us.”

“We need to check our own properties first,” said Ham. “I don’t mean to sound cruel, Matthew, but we have to ensure that we have homes to go to.”

“It’s not cruel,” smiled Matthew. “But you need to trust me. Our homes are just fine. Even the big house. The trees survived, the animals survived, G.R.I.P. survived. We all survived. Our neighbors haven’t been as lucky, although the sandbags saved many.”

“What about the fire station?” asked Ham.

“They’re all fine. The firefighters and their families, those that have them nearby, were all on the second floor of the station and they only got a little water in the bottom level where the trucks are parked.”

“That in itself is a miracle,” said Christian. “A storm like this? Category five? We are more than a little blessed.”

“We are indeed,” said Matthew. “But there is much work to be done. Get some rest. The real fight starts tomorrow.”

At times it sounded as if the storm were returning for another round of kick ass. At other times, it was so quiet it brought more fear than the thunderous sounds of winds and rain. Most slept very little and Stormy was no exception.

She fell asleep for a short time, woke and checked the radar readings, and then went back to sleep for another hour. By morning, the devastation was clear.

She found Jalen and the others huddled around a group of screens showing the drone footage from the surrounding areas.

“Good morning,” she said taking the coffee that Kate offered her. “Is this one view?”

“Multiple views,” said AJ. “We have twelve drones in the air. The worst of the damage is to our east. The levees held this time but the surges were higher than anyone expected. We’ve got homes completely gone. Not just roofs, not just flooding. Completely torn from their foundations.”

“Dear God,” she whispered staring at the footage on the screens. “How do we help all those people?”

“Most have left and were going to be returning in a few days to assess the damages once the roads were cleared. I think we need to let the local authorities know what we’re seeing,” said Luke.

“In the meantime, make sure we have cases of bottled water, extra generators, and any non-perishable food items for those in need,” said Cam. “We’ll need to check deep into the bayou. We all know about the folks that live out there and refuse to leave.”

“Once we know it’s safe, we’ll gather boats and volunteers and go out searching,” said Eric.

“It’s going to be difficult,” said Baptiste.

“We know,” nodded Luke.

“No, not like that. We all know it will be a difficult task but the hurricane has changed the landscape, Luke. The trees and markers you used to navigate the bayou are gone. You won’t see them anymore. We’ll all need to rely on the G.R.I.P. technologies for navigating the area more than using just our internal compass.”