Hurricane Heroes in Texas by Mary Pope Osborne & AG Ford

Author:Mary Pope Osborne & AG Ford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2018-08-06T16:00:00+00:00

“Upstairs!” cried Rose. Holding Lily in her arms, she splashed across the parlor to the stairway. Jack grabbed his knapsack and hurried up the steps after Annie and Rose.

When they reached the second-floor hallway, Jack heard glass shatter below. He looked down the stairs. The first floor windows had broken. Water covered the parlor floor and was rising fast.

A chunk of the upstairs ceiling crashed to the floor of the hallway! It barely missed them.

“This way!” shouted Rose. “Be careful!”

Still carrying Lily, Rose led Jack and Annie into a dark bedroom. She shut the door. “There!” she said.

Shutting out the hurricane was impossible, though. The windows in the bedroom were broken. Glass was everywhere. Wind and rainwater swirled in. Jagged pieces of roof shingles blew inside.

“Get down! Cover your heads!” Rose cried.

Shielding Lily, Rose knelt between the wall and the bed. Jack and Annie crouched behind her. The baby buried her face against Rose.

The house swayed back and forth. Jack felt water under his feet. It was seeping under the bedroom door!

“We need to get higher!” said Rose. “The roof!”

“How?” said Jack.

“Follow me!” said Rose. Carrying Lily, she led Jack and Annie out of the bedroom.

The rising seawater had reached the upstairs hall. Rain was pouring through a giant hole in the roof.

“If we can just get up there—on the roof—we can get above the water!” said Rose.

“We can climb on furniture!” said Annie.

“Good!” said Rose. “The dresser! The chest! The chair!”

Jack and Annie pushed a tall dresser under the hole in the ceiling. They hoisted a chair on top of the dresser. Then they pushed a blanket chest against the dresser to help them climb up.

“Rose, you go first!” said Jack. “Use the chest to get up onto the dresser. Then use the chair to get to the roof. Once you’re safe, we’ll hand Lily up.”

Annie took the baby from Rose. She whispered softly to her as Rose climbed from the chest onto the top of the dresser.

“Careful!” said Jack.

Rose then climbed onto the chair. She grabbed the edge of the torn roof and hauled herself up. “Now Lily!” she called to Jack and Annie.

Jack climbed up on the chest, then the dresser. Then he stood up on the chair and reached down as Annie held the baby up to him.

The baby was heavier than Jack had expected! He steadied himself on the chair, then lifted Lily up toward Rose.

Jack held the baby as high as he could. Rose grabbed Lily and pulled her onto the roof.

“You go next,” Jack said to Annie. He stepped off the chair.

Annie climbed onto the dresser. Jack held the chair steady as she pulled herself up onto the roof.

Jack followed. He stood on the chair and peered above the roof. The wind and rain pounded him. He felt the chair shaking. The dresser shook, too. The whole house was shaking!

With no time to think, Jack gripped the edge of the broken roof and pulled himself up. He joined the others on the windblown, soggy rooftop.

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